Hello,
First of all, I apologize for my English as it is not my first language.
I'm from Belgium and I'm trying to find a soldier during World War II. He briefly lived with my grandmother during the war (in 1944) in Combain-au-Pont. She and her sister found a long-lost letter from him, dating from may 1945. They wrote him a letter after he left and this was the answer. They never translated it though. I did it for them and they asked me if I could try to find him or what happened to him after the war. The problem is that I don't have any idea how to do that with the informations I have.
Here's the envelope (the letter doesn't contain anything relevant, except maybe for the date (12 may 1945) and that it was sent from Germany):
Don't pay attention to the "Delbert américain 1945" on the center, it's something my grandmother wrote (="Delbert american 1945").
I was able to read his identification number (35645737 or 35645137), his company (291st Engineer combat battalion) and that it was the Third US Army (APO #403). I have no idea what is the last line (E.F.O. ?)
I looked in the research section, and it seems that I could theorically obtain a copy of his discharge document ? But I'm not a family member and I don't know what state he was from.
Should I also try to contact the Army Corps of Engineers Office of History ? I suppose he was an engineer if he was in the 291st Engineer combat battalion ?
I also thought about contacting the embassy to try and find him today, if he is still alive ? I have absolutely no idea how to find someone in the United States with just their name...
I hope someone here can help me, at least to steer me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance !