Can I find dates and places my grandfather was in the war(world II) by his army

Question:

Can I find dates and places my grandfather was in the war(world II) by his army serial number?

I found my grandfather's military records but he didn't like to talk about the war. Is there any place (preferrably free) that I can find more info on what action he saw or some one who might have been with him? His name is William Abraham Shipley from Knoxville TN.

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: They're only free if you travel to St Louis to copy them yourself. Otherwise, you have to pay normal copy fees and that National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Military Service Center in St Louis can provide you with all of the information. BTW, if you don't need physical copies and just want the basics, ask any funeral director in your area to get a printout of his service record for you. If you know the funeral home where he was shown, they should already have a copy in his file and can fax it to you. But that will just be the basics. If you want the entire blow-by-blow of where he was assigned, battles that he saw, his enlistment and discharge papers, etc, then you still need to write to NARA.