US WWII Vet silver find quest.

[Paperone]

Hi all from Ole Europe !

A fellow detectorist found an US WWII nominative relic. It is certainly not a tag dog, but a personal silver bracelet.

Hi and his m8 found it in woods at the German/Belgian border, amongst various other finds showing evidence of the presence of US soldiers in the area.

They found quite alot of information about this man :

His full name : Andrew Jackson "Jay" BARFIELD

Born May 8, 1923 Randolph county AL
Died May 2, 2002 (or 2003?) Seminole, FL

Was a D-DAY UTAH BEACH veteran, 12th regiment of the 4th division.

Now, here's our QUEST :

We'd love to get in touch with his family. I am also quite sure they'd love to hear about that find. BUT we dunno how to do that.

So I thought the guys on the treasure quest forum might be so kind just to give us some tips and tricks, also maybe useful links. We are complete rookies in that matter , and also so far away...!!

The guy has a great military history : Utah Beach, the fight for Cherbourg, freeing Paris, and fighting the Germans through Belgium, where he lost his bracelet.

We sincerely hope to get some useful information from you guys.

God bless and happy hunting !

[bdahunter]

If you can find out where he was buried you can contact the cemetary who will have contact information for the family. The Veteran's Administration may also be able to help. Still not an easy task but a step in the right direction.

Cheers,

[RobbieD]

Hi Paperone, and thanks for posting such a fascinating find. It seems that you guys have already found a lot of information on this soldier, but a Google search turns up an obituary for him: http://files.usgwarchives.org/al/ran...ts/200205L.txt

Here's the short obituary text:

"Andrew Jackson 'Jay' Barfield

(ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla.) Andrew J. "Jay" Barfield, 78, of Altamonte Springs, Fla., died Friday, May 3, 2002, at his residence. Mr. Barfield was born in Randolph County May 8, 1923, son of the late Robert L. Barfield and Sally Yarbrough Barfield. He was retired as owner and operator of Barfield Fence Company. He was a member of Sanlando United Methodist Church and Pine Castle Lodge #368 F&AM. He was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II.
Mr. Barfield is survived by his wife, Hazel Luttrell Barfield.
Arrangements are by Baldwin Fairchild Funeral Home, Forest City Chapel, Altamonte Springs."

You may have this information already, but if not, at least it may give you some leads. Unfortunately, from this obituary it appears that he may not have had any surviving direct-descendant children. Regardless, good luck on your quest, and your desire to contact the family is commendable.

[bbqcook]

Here is the address of the VFW in Seminole. There is a good chance he belonged to it and some one there may know of some family.
Sure hope you can find His Family.

Veterans of Foreign Wars

(727) 393-1894 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

10997 72nd Ave N, Seminole, FL 33772 Map it | Get directions

Cross Streets: Near the intersection of 72nd Ave N and 108th Way N
==================================================

Here is the one for Seminole County, near his Death place

Veterans of Foreign Wars

(407) 339-6016 Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

1520 North St, #427, Longwood, FL 32750 Map it | Get directions

Cross Streets: Between Allison Ave and Archibald Ave

================================================== ========================

Might check here

Barfield Fence and Wall - Welcome

[Riff]

Military.com has a discussion board and a buddy finder. You could post your info there.
Google the 4th ID and get a newer contact #.
This was the 4th ID Association contact # a few years ago. Even if old, they can give you a new contact #
Rober S. Barton
Executive Director National 4th IDA
2 Spring Drive
Walkersville, MD 21793
rbarton@fred.net
home 301-845-4168

I am sure they have a roster and a possible NOK to give you a start.]

Good Luck,
Riff

[Joker]

That is truly amazing.. good luck with finding his family.. A true American hero!

[Paperone]

HI

And thank you all for the fast and very useful replies. We didn't ahve the informations you gave and sure will try to make the best of it.

Of course we will keep you further informed through this thread.

Any further info will be welcome.

Thanks, guys !

[EBCIII]

What a great find! I wish you luck in locating the family> It is a great thing you are trying to do, Beale.

[PAPPY]

I located Mr Barfields WWII records and his family history in Ancestry.com BUT I will have to wait until MA gets back home to get a print out of his record...Due to the fact that I don't have her password to get into the system. Hopefully we can track down this family and get the word to them that the bracelet has been recovered.

FANTASTIC FIND !

[PAPPY]

PAPERONE, I will send you the information that I have and you may follow it up. I'll send it by PM.