Original manual names

[Joseph Scott 0]

I have an original 41 pocket manual with three different names and a date on the front cover. Two names are crossed out as if the manual was passed on. First is "JAS" and date "11-19-41", second is signature "V. N. Crasnoff"(no date) and last in pencil is "A S Hill" (or Kill?), (no date). Does anyone else have a signed manual? How might we look up the names from that time period? Were they Johnson employee's? How were the manuals distributed? With the guns or separate? It is NOT for sale!

[Texasradio 0]

I've got an original manual rubber stamped on the outside with C.B Galkowski, and inside is an inscription " Property of Sgt. C.B. Galkowski USMC."

See the post Johnson Bayo on Ebay for picture of inscription.

Texasradio

[ArtR 0]

An interesting question.

Census records are the most obvious, but they are only released after 72 years. The 30's records are out and the 40's records will not be available until 2012. You will need either to be near one of the 13 sites, or you can order a copy of a microfilm, if you know what you are looking for.

As many ancestry sites seem to have a paid in, this might be a faster way to search. Years ago these were free, but now everyone has jumped onto the Internet business train. It really helps to know what state the individual might be from as it will narrow the search.

The VA would also be an obvious choice, but privacy acts kick in here, unless you have some pull somewhere. With the VA the service number is best record, and secondly the dates of service and branch.

The least effective, sometimes helpful, is the broad phone search. There are many available, but be prepared as they are very broad, and inconclusive.

[Jim Peden 0]

I searched a 9,000,000 name database in the National Archives for WWII enlistments (38-45) but did not turn up a single "Crasnoff". It's a relatively rare name ( Russian origin ).

There was a Victor N. Crasnoff, born 1898 in Russia ( immigrated to US in 1915 when he was 26 years old ). The 1920 census lists him as a boarder, another reference shows him as a mechanical engineer. He was in WWI, however, enlisted in New Jersey.

This guy was too old to be a soldier during WWII, but he could have been involved with Johnson, engineering background and such.

"Hill" unfortunately is too common to research without additional information.

Sorry can't be of more help on this.