Michael,
Ancestry is the best route. This is where Tom pulled the Jewish Welfare Board card. The other resources work great if you don't have the money to spend on an Ancestry account, although I'm not seeing much else on there that would be of use with respect to Petit.
It looks like Petit's son, Arthur Petit Jr. has a findagrave memorial (another valuable, free online resource). Confirmed it is his son through the 1940 Census record:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K4XB-CDM
Arthur James Petit, Jr ( - 1996) - Find A Grave Memorial
Based on an article I found, his son was a firefighter who died in the line of duty:
Firefighter Fatality Retrospective Study, 1990-2000 - Google Books
Possible there is still family living in the area that you can contact, if you want to go that route (tread carefully, though). There are a few public records for Petit's living in Holyoke:
https://familysearch.org/search/reco...lace%3Aholyoke
Another option is to search "Petit" and "Holyoke" on Facebook. Couple of returns there that could be possible relatives.
Pulling some other information, I can determine the following:
Arthur J Petit
DOB - 8 February 1907
DOD - September 1958
SSN - 032-09-5750
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JB2B-86B
If you use the above information along with his ASN (31417561), you can submit a request to NPRC for Petit's service record, using SF-180 found on archives.gov:
http://www.archives.gov/research/ord...d-form-180.pdf
It's free to request records, however their may be a fee for copies, which can vary from $20-$60.
You may also receive notification that the records were lost in the fire of 73. More info on that here:
1973 Fire
If you get this, you could always go the route of a private researcher such as:
Golden Arrow Military Research-Order Military Service Records
However, before going that route, I would try contacting the local VFW or historical society to see if they have any information. According to several family trees on Ancestry, Petit died in Hampden, MA:
Hampden Historical Society
616 Main St, Hampden, MA 01036
(413) 566-5803
VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars)
190 Main St, Hampden, MA 01036
(413) 566-8797
Another place to contact is the county clerk's office. Many servicemen filed their discharge paperwork with the county clerk upon returning home from service. Contact info here:
Town Of Hampden, MA | Town Clerk
If they can't help, they may be able to tell you where Petit is interred. If he received a military burial, the cemetery may also have a copy of his discharge paperwork, which would have been needed to confirm military service.
In any case, good luck with your research!
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