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Use the Many Types of Military Service Records
HOW TO…
In the previous chapters you have learned the importance of building a firm foundation on your ancestors’ and family members’ records of many types. We discussed census records in Chapter 5, and you saw that there are cases in which a census document may have included information about someone’s military service record. The U.S. federal census of 1840 was the first to call for the name and age of American Revolutionary War veterans, and the 1890 census included a separate census schedule specifically for surviving Union veterans or the widows of Union soldiers who died during or after the war. In Great Britain, the 1851 census included those persons living on vessels in inland waters or at sea, including members of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy. In addition, persons serving abroad with the armed forces and those working with the East India Company were enumerated.
As you can see, census materials may provide information about an ancestor that can spur you to search for military records. Even if you are unsure whether or not your ancestor or a family member served in the armed forces of a particular country, it is wise to invest some amount of time researching the official rosters and/or indexes to see if a familiar name appears there. You would be surprised how often people make the discovery of a military ancestor when they didn’t know or think there was one. Registration and enlistment records can help link a person to other relatives, and they may provide a physical description of the individual. Military service and pension records also can provide more detailed insight into a person’s life than you could imagine. There is sometimes a link between military service and other records. For example, the U.S. federal government compensated some military personnel with land rather than or in addition to paying them cash. These “bounty lands” were granted to persons in reward for their military service or for rendering goods and services to the government and/or troops. We’ll discuss bounty land in more detail in Chapter 8.
You may find military-related documents among family papers. Commendations, medals, and other awards are often cherished family treasures. Military discharge documents provided proof of service and, because military service often entitled the veteran to certain benefits, they were typically stored with important papers. Other sources you may encounter may refer or point to military records. Some examples of these are pension statements, copies of income tax documents, obituaries and death notices, wills and probate records, tombstone carvings, and naturalization records.
Military records in the British Isles, as you will see, have become more accessible in the past several years. Many of these are available on microfilm at The National Archives (TNA) at Kew, and others have been digitized and made accessible online. These can contain exceptionally detailed history for an individual. Military medals cards from World War I have been digitized and copies are available for a small fee through DocumentsOnline at TNA at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline. Naval Officers’ Service Record Cards for more than 5,000 Royal Navy, Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, and Women’s Royal Naval Service officers are also available. TNA hopes to make available in their DocumentsOnline facility the service records related to Service Record Cards held in their files during 2012. More than five million First World War Medal Index Cards, which record an individual’s medal entitlement, their rank(s), their unit(s), and often the first theater of war in which they served, are digitized and online. Other military records are available online, but others have not yet been digitized.
Many genealogists fail to follow through with a search for military service records and pension files. These omissions or oversights can generally be attributed to a lack of understanding of the history of the area where their ancestors and family members lived, the military history of which might have played a very significant role in their lives. However, another contributing factor is that military records are not always located together. Sometimes the military service records are in one archive, the pension files are in another, and perhaps other pertinent records are in the possession of another governmental office. This can be confusing if you haven’t taken the time to determine what records were created at a particular time, what part of the government or military used them, what they were used for, and what was done with those records when they were no longer needed. Context is important!
With all of this in mind, let’s set out to become experts in the research of military records. I think you will find that these are fascinating types of records, and that they provide insights into history you never imagined.
Expand Your Knowledge of the Military Services
Military service is a job and, as such, can produce a vast amount of written documentation. Census records provide information at ten-year intervals, which is a substantial span of time between milestones. Military records, on the other hand, provide a more regular form of documentation, at shorter intervals, than a census. From the date of registration, conscription, or enlistment, there will have been official military records maintained. These may include the following record types:
Draft registration cards Draft notices
Enlistment forms and related documentation Medical records
Quartermaster or provisions records Educational testing and training reports/diplomas
Duty assignments Muster rolls
Payroll records and pay stubs Announcements/postings of promotions
Records of the awarding of medals and awards, such as the medal shown in Figure 7-1 Casualty reports
Service files or dossiers Discharge papers
Records of courts-martial Pension applications
Pension files containing affidavits, correspondence, payment records, and other documents Pension payment vouchers
Veterans records Veteran’s life insurance certificate
Benefits records Death and burial records
Military unit daily reports Military unit histories
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FIGURE 7-1 The Congressional Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest military award.
That is an impressive list. It is important to note that not every country generated or maintained this broad a range of documents, and that fewer types of records were created the farther back in history you research. Specific personnel units, too, may have required the use of additional or unique records. Still, the sheer volume of military documentation of a soldier’s daily, monthly, or annual affairs can present you with a detailed insight into his or her life at that time. Remember, too, that military assignments take a person to many locations and expose him or her to a wide range of experiences. That exposure may influence the decisions made later in life to select a particular profession, to relocate to another area, or to take some other course of action. In some cases, a soldier, sailor, or airman may have met and married someone during his or her period of military service. Pay attention to these events and follow the leads to locate records of the spouse in his or her country of residence.
In addition to the official file contents listed above, you may find items among materials in the home that can further your research, such as uniforms, dog tags, insignia, patches, badges, medals, ribbons, certificates and awards, correspondence, and photographs. Each of these can provide clues and pointers to military records and documentation.
Investigate Military History for the Appropriate Time Period
Every time I visit a library, a bookstore, or an online bookseller’s site, I am impressed by the vast number of books and periodicals available on the subject of military history. More and more of these publications are becoming available in electronic book (ebook) editions. There are books available about armies, navies, and every conceivable military branch. Innumerable historical accounts and examinations of military units, their engagements, and strategic analyses from the present and extending back to ancient times have been published in books, magazines, journals, and other media. There are specialty book and magazine titles that discuss the uses of horses, wagons, tanks, jeeps, ships, airplanes, helicopters, land-sea transports, landing vehicles, and other transportation modes employed in warfare. Every manner of weapon you can imagine is documented in intricate detail, from swords, scimitars, cutlasses, spears, lances, maces, sabers, knives, and bayonets to catapults, pistols, rifles, cannon, mortars, bombs, bazookas, flamethrowers, missiles, fighter aircraft, missiles, computer-assisted weapons, and other types of armaments.
You will find extensive information on the Internet about these same topics. Remember that, whether you search in print or electronic media, you should review the sources used to determine the veracity and reliability of the content.
You already know the importance of placing your ancestors and family members into geographical, historical, and social context. This is also emphatically true when it comes to researching the history of someone who may have performed some military service. You will benefit from the study of the history of the country and locale in which your ancestor lived. You will want to focus particularly on the military establishment there at the time, military service requirements, and the military conflicts in which the country and its population were engaged. This information can help you better understand what records you might expect to find. You could expect to find that a government in a time of war imposed conscription or impressments to force enrollment of personnel in the military service. In the United States in 1917 and 1918, a series of draft calls were made by the U.S. federal government to quickly build the armed forces for involvement in “The Great War” in Europe. Men in certain age ranges, such as 19-year-old Charles Ray Morrison shown in Figure 7-2, were required to present themselves at the office of their local draft board to complete a draft registration card. Knowing that every male between certain ages was required to complete a card will prompt you to attempt to obtain a copy of the record for your research. Likewise, if you had a male ancestor living in Prussia in 1816, it is important to know that compulsory military service had been imposed, even in peacetime. You might therefore want to investigate the history of Prussia, and the existence of military service records that documented your ancestor’s date and place of birth and other details that might be included about him.
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FIGURE 7-2 Charles Ray Morrison, born in 1899, was enrolled in the United States’ Third Draft Registration on 12 September 1918.
Sometimes you will find that individual records may no longer exist, in which case you will need to seek out alternate sources of information. State, county, parish, and local histories can be beneficial in that regard because they frequently include sections about military units that originated in the area and rosters of the people who served in them. Even if your ancestor or other family member is not listed by name, identifying the military unit(s) that originated in that area can provide important clues that might lead you to alternate materials.
Biographies of legendary military leaders, such as Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Horatio Nelson, General George Washington, General Robert E. Lee, General George S. Patton, and others, provide minute details of their lives and military leadership. Military unit histories, analyses of battles and strategies, diaries, and memoirs are abundant. Following the U.S. Civil War and throughout the remaining decades of the 19th century, former officers and veterans penned exhaustive memoirs and historical accounts of their experiences. These narratives often contain complete rosters of the people serving with them and anecdotal materials about them. In some cases, these accounts may contain the only surviving details about the fates of individual soldiers lost in battle or to disease. Likewise, copious British military histories exist relating to many military campaigns, including the Seven Years’ War, the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Napoleonic Wars, the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, the New Zealand Land Wars, the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the Boer Wars, the Fenian raids, the Irish War of Rebellion, and other engagements.
Historians also have chronicled military units’ histories and their engagements, compiling official records and personal accounts to re-create a chronological account of events. Military-related heritage societies also have organized to honor the veterans, their families, and their descendants, and to perpetuate the history of their service. Organizations in the United States such as the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution, the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, and the Daughters of the British Empire foster education, caretaking activities for historical materials, maintenance of cemeteries, and publication of information relating to their respective group.
There are other organizations whose members may or may not be descendants of veterans of specific military personnel but who are interested in preserving information and materials and encouraging the study of a specific area or period. Examples of these groups include the English Civil War Society (http://english-civil-war-society.org), the Military Historical Society of Australia (www.mhsa.org.au), the Scottish Military History Website (www.btinternet.com/~james.mckay/dispatch.htm), and the United Empire Loyalists’ Association of Canada (www.uelac.org). Military reenactment groups are extremely popular and provide excellent experiences for participants and spectators alike. They can help you understand what life was like at the time that your ancestor lived.
In addition, there are a number of magazines with military and historical themes, currently among them World War II, World War II History, Military Heritage, Military History, Civil War Times, History Magazine, Naval History, Canadian Journal of History, BBC History Magazine, British Heritage, and Journal of Australian Naval History. You may want to purchase a copy of a magazine at a newsstand to determine if it contains information of interest or help to you. You can then subscribe to one or more publications that will contribute to your growing knowledge of the subject. These publications can help contribute to placing your military ancestors into context with their time and branches of the armed forces. You can expect to locate vast amounts of military unit information both in book and magazine form, in ebooks, and also on the Internet. Whenever you begin to research an ancestor who was or may have been in the military service, do some preliminary investigative work into the history of the area and time period, and into the records that may have been created for the military command and the personnel. Once you know what was created, you can then begin tracking down the locations where those materials may be stored and the procedures for accessing them.
Identify Possible Sources for Military Records
Military records are government documents. You will find that for a particular country or government, military records may well be distributed across a number of document depositories. This is a primary reason why it is important to study history. In the United States, military records are held by both the National Archives and Records Administration (www.archives.gov) and its National Personnel Records Center (www.archives.gov/st-louis) in St. Louis, Missouri. In Canada, most of the military service records are held by Library and Archives Canada (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-909-e.html). In the United Kingdom, significant collections of military records, including service and pension records, are held by The National Archives (www.nationalarchives.gov.uk). Other UK military records, however, may still be in the possession of the Ministry of Defence. The National Archives of Australia holds Army, Navy, and Air Force records (www.naa.gov.au/collection/explore/defence/services.aspx). Please note that, if your ancestor served in the military forces in other than his or her native country, the records for that service will be in the other country’s possession. Let’s examine each of these governments’ records in detail.
Many indexes, transcripts, and abstracts of military records have been prepared. These include summary personnel records, muster rolls, casualty lists, medical reports, and many other types of records. These can point you in the direction of original, primary source documents, a copy of which you will want to obtain for your own review.
Locate Military Records in the United States
The United States, as a comparatively young nation, has a considerable military history, and a vast collection of military records from colonial times still exists. You will find that the earlier the era, however, the less complete the military records may be. Documents may have been lost or destroyed, or they may simply have deteriorated before they were gathered together for archiving and preservation. You will be amazed, however, how many of the military records have been or are in the process of being digitized, indexed, and made available online.
Learn About Early Records
The earliest recorded military conflicts are perhaps those that occurred at Jamestown in the colony of Virginia. The Native American attack on the settlement in March of 1622 killed more than 300 settlers and almost destroyed it. The English retaliated and, over the next 22 years, almost decimated the Native Americans in the area. Documents in the form of correspondence and historical accounts do exist from these years, which can be found among the documents both at TNA in the United Kingdom and at the Library of Virginia in the United States.
Other conflicts between the English and French colonies during the colonial period, in territory that is now split between the United States and Canada, and against the Native American tribes were numerous. However, no appreciable military documents exist per se. Rather, correspondence and anecdotal accounts form what historical materials exist, and these are in the hands of various archives in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and some of the states’ and provinces’ libraries or archives. A number of histories have been published about a number of these conflicts.
Military forces serving in what is now the United States during the colonial era consisted primarily of European military personnel from the countries controlling specific respective areas. The Spanish governed Florida on multiple occasions, California, and some southern areas. The English governed the eastern colonies and Florida for a time. The French governed the Louisiana Territory. In addition, Mexico governed what now are the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, and Oklahoma. And Russia owned Alaska until it was sold to the United States on 30 March 1867.
Research Your Ancestors in the American Revolutionary War
American colonists supplemented the British troops with local military units and militia. It was not until the mid-1700s that the 13 original colonies began to actively oppose British governance. The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783) was the first really organized armed conflict initiated by the Americans themselves, and there are unique military-related documents that were generated as a result of the clashes that occurred. There are four major sources for discovering who actually served during that war:
However, these are not the only resources you might expect to find. Let’s look at one excellent example. Let’s say that you are looking for an ancestor’s records relating to his military service during the period of 1775 to 1783 in what is now the United States. You will be seeking records relating to the American Revolutionary War, and you will be looking in a number of places. It is important to know first of all the state from which he served. For our example, let’s choose South Carolina.
You next need to know or investigate whether your ancestor served in the local regulators, the state militia, or the Continental Army (or a combination of the three). You therefore are going to be dealing with records originally created at the local/county, state, and/or national level. This makes a great deal of difference in how you approach locating any surviving records.
If your ancestor served with the local regulators, he was probably assigned to policing and protecting the area in which he lived. If he served in South Carolina’s state militia, the records relating to his military service and his military pension, if any, would have been created and maintained at the state level. Records of regulators and state militia are most likely to be found in the South Carolina Archives & History Center, in the South Carolina State Library, or with the state genealogical or historical societies. That is assuming, of course, that he enlisted in the state in which he lived.
If your ancestor served in the Continental Army, his military service and pension records would have been generated at a higher level and would be among the records maintained at the national level today. Payroll records, such as the one shown in Figure 7-3, can show the soldier’s status on regular intervals throughout his service. Records for the Continental Army would be found among the records at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Washington, DC.
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FIGURE 7-3 Company payroll record for John Soards [sic, Swords] for 1 August to 1 December 1779
Your ancestor may have served in one or more military units at all three levels, in which case your research might reveal records in multiple places. Your ancestor may have begun service in the local regulators, for example, and then enlisted in the state militia or the Continental Army. Similarly, he may have served his term in the state militia and then may have enlisted in the Continental Army. His unit, too, may have been sent by the state to be attached to the Continental Army. Your study of military units’ history for that state’s soldiers would help you understand where to seek existing records. You may find, as I did, that your ancestor collected a federal Revolutionary War pension and, upon its termination, applied for and was granted a state military pension for his service on behalf of the state in the Revolutionary War. What’s more, all of these documents will be unique, created at different times by different government, military, or judicial officials, and therefore will contain different documents and potentially more information about your ancestor’s service.
An American pension file typically includes an application for the pension, a doctor’s statement, and an affidavit sworn by the applicant concerning the details of his military service. This personal account of the person’s service can be very revealing, and even poignant. Another affidavit was required from someone else who personally knew the applicant and could vouch for his service. When the veteran died, his widow could apply for a continuation of her husband’s pension for herself. She had to provide evidence of her marriage. Eleanor Swancy Swords applied for a continuation of her husband’s pension. She submitted proof in the form of the actual family Bible pages for births, marriages, and deaths. These pages were removed from the Bible and they are among the contents of the pension file held at NARA. Children of the veteran also could apply for a continuation of the pension, and this was granted if requirements were met to establish relationship and need. Copies of the federal Revolutionary War pension files can be ordered from NARA. They also have been digitized by Fold3.com, in collaboration with NARA, and are available as part of a subscription to that service at www.fold3.com. Portions of these digitized files are also accessible through libraries with an institutional subscription to the HeritageQuest Online subscription database.
Research Your War of 1812 Ancestors
An important development for genealogists concerns the War of 1812 pension application and bounty land files. These files had been manually indexed at NARA many years ago but they had never been microfilmed. The Federation of Genealogical Societies (www.fgs.org) entered into an agreement with NARA in 2010 and began a fundraising effort to pay for the digitization and electronic indexing project for the more than 180,000 pension files held at NARA. Digitization is under way and the records are being made available for free at Fold3.com as they are completed. Diverse documents such as the one shown in Figure 7-4 can provide details of a veteran’s life after the war.
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FIGURE 7-4 Survivor’s Brief, one of 34 document pages from the War of 1812 pension application of Josiah Adams of Massachusetts, approved 13 July 1878
Research American Civil War Records
The United States’ bloodiest conflict was its Civil War, which occurred between 1861 and 1865. The sheer volume of records produced is prodigious. NARA holds the Union and Confederate records in its collection. Fold3.com (www.fold3.com) has digitized and placed vast groups of Civil War era military service records and pensions online. FamilySearch.org (https://familysearch.org) also has placed indexes and images in its Civil War Era Records database. State archives may hold the original state-level militia records.
You will want to search for and research your American ancestors at these online sites, as well as the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System at http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/. This site offers indexes to the men who fought, the regiments in which they served, battles in which they fought, national cemeteries, prisoners, and Union Medal of Honor recipients.
Find Later Military Records
Military records of different eras also may be located in different places. Military service records in the United States are located at NARA for the period from 1775 to 1916. The United States’ World War I draft registration cards were created during three calls for registration in 1917 and 1918, as shown in Table 7-1. These draft registration cards are in the possession of NARA at its Southeast Region Branch in Morrow, Georgia. They were microfilmed by NARA and have also been digitized and indexed by Ancestry.com. Understanding the history of the World War I draft registration process helped me determine that Charles Ray Morrison, shown previously in Figure 7-2, who was born in Munford, Talladega County, Alabama, on 27 March 1899, was not required to register until the Third Registration Day on 12 September 1918. I was able to locate his registration card and obtain additional personal details about him from that record. This is one example of how understanding the historical background of the period for a specific area can help you to locate records that can further your research.
TABLE 7-1 U.S. World War I Draft Registration Calls and Age Ranges of Eligible Registrants
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You can request copies of the military service records held by NARA by completing NATF Form 86. You may request copies of military pension file records by completing NATF Form 85, or by submitting a request via the Internet. However, you will want to use NARA’s eVetRecs site at www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records to create a customized order form to request copies of military service records. NARA has produced tens of thousands of rolls of microfilmed military records. Their Military Service Records: A Select Catalog of National Archives Microfilm Publications is available in printed form but is also available in its entirety online. Visit their Publications web page at www.archives.gov/publications/genealogy/microfilm-catalogs.html. These microfilmed records are accessible at NARA facilities, a complete listing of which can be found at www.archives.gov/locations. (Be sure to check the locations website and contact the facility in advance to verify their microfilm holdings, because not all branches maintain a complete collection of all microfilm materials.) In addition, contact or visit the nearest LDS Family History Center (FHC) to determine if they can order copies of the microfilm from the Family History Library (FHL) in Salt Lake City, Utah, for your research use.
United States military service records from about 1917 to present are maintained by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) at its new facility at 1 Archives Drive St. Louis, MO 63138. Unfortunately, a fire on 12 July 1973 at its previous facility destroyed an estimated 16–18 million military personnel files. Approximately 80 percent of the U.S. Army personnel records for persons discharged between 1 November 1912 and 1 January 1960 were destroyed. An estimated 75 percent of U.S. Air Force personnel records were lost for persons discharged between 25 September 1947 and 1 January 1964. There were no duplicates or microfilm records of these records. Some of these records in files were damaged but not destroyed, and these have been refiled. The NPRC, on receipt of a veteran’s or surviving family member’s request, will attempt to reconstruct a destroyed service record for an individual using other sources when possible.
You can learn more about the NPRC at www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/about-ompfs.html. Records are accessioned to NARA and become archival at the NPRC 62 years after the service member’s separation from the military. There are therefore rules governing who can and who cannot access the service records. A guide is available at the website listed above.
As you can see, there is some overlap between the military records held by NARA and by the NPRC. Again, by doing some research in advance of making requests for documents, you may avoid the expense, delays, and disappointment of coming up empty-handed because you requested material from the wrong place.
This all might be confusing if you don’t take the time to understand the historical background of the period in which your ancestor lived, the military service requirements at the time, the years and military conflicts in which he or she might have been serving, the branch of the military, the types of records created, and where they might be stored. For U.S. military records, the best book currently available is James C. Neagles’ U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources—Colonial America to Present. Published by Ancestry Publishing in 1994, this book provides excellent descriptions of the records created and where they are located. There are no Internet addresses in the book and, since its publication, some government departments have been renamed and their addresses and telephone numbers may have changed. However, the content of the book is excellent and you can use your Internet search skills to search to locate current governmental contact information.
Locate Canadian Military Records
Canada is a fascinating combination of French, British, and aboriginal cultures and a study of strength and courage of individuals carving life out of a rich but often harsh wilderness. It is interesting to read and learn about military conflicts between all of these groups, plus the clashes with the Americans to the south. In addition, Canadians have participated in both world wars and in other military conflicts around the world. If you are researching your Canadian ancestors, written histories may provide information to augment the contextual portrait of those individuals and their families.
Search for Early Records
Library and Archives Canada (LAC) (www.collectionscanada.gc.ca) is the primary source for the majority of the military records that exist, and has done an excellent job of indexing materials for ease of location. You can access these materials by visiting the main webpage and clicking the Genealogy and Family History link. Select the Military topic in the list in the middle of the page, and then choose the subtopic for the military records about which you would like to learn more. Many of the military records have been microfilmed, and links are included to complete lists of microfilm reel numbers for easy consultation.
The earliest Canadian military materials are from the colonial era and relate to records of the French Regime, records concerning British regiments that were stationed in Canada, and a variety of United Empire Loyalists resources from the time of the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). The latter group also includes some petitions to the Crown seeking reward for their loyalty and service. Some collections are broken up into two sections, Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
Unfortunately, however, few military records of any genealogical value exist for the period prior to World War I, with the exception of records for the South African (or “Boer”) War, which lasted from 1899 until 1902. Earlier records consist of little more than muster rolls and pay lists, and these contain very little information other than the name of the soldier. Most of these records also have not been indexed, which means that you will need to know the regimental unit in which your ancestor may have served.
LAC’s collection of British military and naval records includes materials with references to the British army units in Canada, Loyalist regiments during the period of the American Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, Canadian militia records, and some other materials. The index to this collection and the collection itself may be available through inter-institutional loan. The index includes a short description of the document, the date, the volume number in the collection, and the page number.
The military service personnel records for soldiers who served in the South African War are in the possession of LAC. They have been organized in alphabetical order and have been microfilmed.
Locate and Access Records from World War I
LAC holds an extensive collection of records relating to World War I, accessible from the main page at www.collectionscanada.gc.ca by clicking the Genealogy and Family History link, clicking the Military topic, and then clicking the First World War topic. The database of Soldiers of the First World War (1914–1918) consists of the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF), and images of each soldier’s Attestation Papers, such as the one shown in Figure 7-5, are indexed and searchable.
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FIGURE 7-5 Portion of page one of an Attestation Paper for a soldier of the Canadian Over-Seas Expeditionary Force
Each CEF unit was required to maintain a daily account of its field activities from the beginning of World War I. These accounts were known as “War Diaries” and are actually detailed unit histories. They include reports, maps, copies of orders, casualty listings, and other documents. Many of the War Diaries have been digitized and placed online, and are searchable by unit name and date. When you locate one that you wish to view, enter the collection and you will find the contents’ images listed in chronological sequence by date and page. Click the link, and the document, or facing pages, will be displayed. Some images will be displayed at full size. Others may be resized using your browser to fit in its display window. If your browser has resized the image and it can be enlarged, there is a simple way to zoom in for easier reading. To zoom in on the image, move your mouse cursor to the lower-right corner of the image and pause. If it can be enlarged, a small orange box with blue arrows pointing outward from the four corners will pop up. Click that box and the image will be expanded to full size. While the contents of these War Diaries have not been indexed to make them searchable by keyword or phrase, you will find that the details of your ancestor’s or family member’s unit’s activities will provide a clear picture of day-to-day life.
You might also want to visit the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) website at www.vac-acc.gc.ca for some of the best historical material about Canada’s recent military past. Visit its Canada Remembers Program area (by clicking Remembrance on the home page), where you can search the Canadian Virtual War Memorial, a registry of more than 116,000 names of Canadians and Newfoundlanders with information about their graves and memorials. The site provides access to a searchable database of personnel information, which includes the soldier’s name, date of death, service number, branch, regiment, and unit. The cemetery name, location, directions to it, and the precise burial location are included.
Another website you will want to visit is the Commonwealth War Graves Commission at www.cwgc.org. Here, too, you can search by name for an individual. At this site, which represents war memorials for the entire British Commonwealth, there is even more information, including rank and nationality, as well as a link to provide details about the cemetery of interment. A recent addition to this website is a large section called North Africa, 1940–1943. It includes campaign narratives, the campaign in context, an image library, and an engaging animated campaign map area that shows troop movements and includes text descriptions.
The VAC also maintains the Canadian Merchant Navy War Dead Database at www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/history/secondwar/atlantic/merchant_search. This database can be used to search for the names of sailors killed while serving in the Canadian Merchant Navy. It can also be used to search for the names of Canadian merchant naval vessels. You can enter the name of one of the Canadian Merchant Navy war dead, the vessel they served on, or both.
Some but by no means all of the Canadian military records are available on microfilm through the LDS Family History Centers. Microfilmed records are available for research at the LAC or through inter-institutional loan arrangements.
Search for Canadian Military Records After 1918
LAC holds personnel records for more than 5.5 million former military personnel of the Canadian Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Federal Public Service. You can request copies of records from LAC in writing, using their Application for Military Service Information form, an Access to Information Request Form, or by letter. All requests are subject to the conditions of Canada’s Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Except for those who died in service during World War II, there is no public online database for the World War II personnel and service records because of access restrictions. Visit www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-909.007-e.html for more information about what records are and are not accessible.
Other military records not held by LAC are referenced by links to other websites.
Locate Military Records in the United Kingdom
Military records are of great interest in the United Kingdom because they are inextricably linked with documenting the history of the British Isles going back as far as William the Conqueror. You will find during your research that literally hundreds of books have been written about military conflicts that have involved the British Isles and their residents. The authors have used manuscripts and historical accounts of the military units and individuals, and have worked with the incredible wealth of records that have been preserved. The Naval & Military Press, for example, is one of the largest independent booksellers in Britain, and their focus is on specialized titles concerning military conflicts. You can visit their website at www.naval-military-press.com to view or search for specific titles and subjects.
Understand the Historical Background
It is important with any research in the British Isles to spend time understanding the historical background of the time period and the geographical area in which your ancestors lived. This is especially true when seeking military records, because understanding the military structure at that time can help you determine what might be available and where any existing records may be located.
The English Civil War (1642–1651) is an important milestone in your military research. Prior to that period, there were no standing armies in England and Wales. Armed forces were raised as needed to fight in specific wars or for special circumstances. Parliament raised the New Model Army, an organization of professional soldiers, in February of 1645 in order to more effectively fight the forces of King Charles I. This was the first real army in England. The Union of 1707 brought England and Scotland together, and Scottish regiments became part of the British armed forces after that period.
A significant number of army documents exist starting from about 1660, and some fragmentary military records from slightly earlier can also be found. However, it is not until you begin researching military units dating from the early 1700s that you will find that large numbers of military documents have survived and have been preserved. Still, the records from these periods are records of organizations and not documents about specific individuals.
King Henry VIII’s reign (1509–1547) saw the formation of the first permanent English navy. A few naval records exist from approximately 1617. The majority of the surviving records, however, date from about 1660, the same era as those of the army.
Soldiers were organized into specific units that were known by various designations depending on the function of the organization. It helps to know that infantry troops were organized into regiments, and that subdivisions of these regiments were battalions and companies. Cavalry regiments were subdivided into squadrons, while the artillery units were subdivided into batteries. The subdivision distinctions were typically named in earlier times after their commanding officers, and it was not until the 1700s that numeric designations and a description were used to distinguish one from another. That does not mean that commanders’ names were no longer used in references to the units, because you still might encounter a reference to a numeric designation along with a reference to a specific commander’s group. Don’t be surprised to find multiple commanders’ names associated with a specific group, as there were numerous changes in leadership over time. It is therefore wise to focus on both a commander’s name and a specific unit number and description. Other designations you will find for military units on active duty include armies, corps, divisions, brigades, and others. If your ancestor was an officer, there may be specific records concerning his service and command. However, if he was not an officer, it may be more difficult to locate specific records for him unless you know the unit in which he served, especially in the military records prior to the 20th century, which may not have been well organized and indexed.
If all of this seems confusing to you, don’t feel that you are alone. The designations and names that were used have changed over time, and this just serves to illustrate the importance of learning more about your ancestor’s origins and the military history of the era and unit in which he or she may have served. This can be especially important if your ancestor did not serve in the government’s army but instead served in a volunteer militia.
TNA has prepared an excellent web page titled “Looking for a person?” at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/looking-for-person/default.htm. Here you can learn more about specific Army, Navy, Air Force, and other records—by period—that exist at TNA, what you can access online or at the archives, links to other websites, and links to TNA in-depth research guides. These resources can help you understand the types of records created, what is available, and how you might accomplish your most effective research.
Locate the Repositories Where Records Are Held
The National Archives (TNA) in Kew, Richmond upon Thames, is the best starting point for your military research. TNA was formed in April 2003 from the Public Record Office (PRO) and the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC). Movement of the holdings of the HMC to Kew was completed in the autumn of 2003, and everything is now housed and accessible at one location. When you are reading reference materials that refer to the PRO or the HMC, remember that these now refer to the holdings of The National Archives, whose website is at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Military documents at TNA have been organized, stored, and cataloged in groups for ease of access, and a majority of these records have been microfilmed. Therefore, TNA’s holdings form a huge body of reference material that can help you learn more about and more successfully locate military documents for your ancestor. In addition, you will find that specific governmental and civilian organizations can provide information and reference assistance.
 
Army Records   Army records prior to 1914 are held at TNA. Officers’ records from 1914–1920 have been transferred from the Army Records Centre (ARC) to TNA, but those from 1920 and later remain at the ARC. All records of enlisted personnel from 1914 and later remain at the ARC.
You will want to visit the Army Museums Ogilby Trust website’s “Ancestor Research & Military Genealogy” pages at www.armymuseums.org.uk/ancestor.htm to determine what is in their holdings and what may have been transferred to TNA, especially as this situation changes over time. You also will want to visit their Useful Addresses page at www.armymuseums.org.uk/addr.htm for postal, email, and website addresses that may supplement your research.
 
Navy Records   Naval records can be a bit more problematic to locate. Royal Navy records prior to 1914 are held at TNA, while the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, London, retains the post-1914 records. The location of records, however, is subject to change periodically. Some good references for the location and accessibility of naval records are found at the website of the Mariners Mailing List at www.mariners-l.co.uk/MarinersList.html. In addition, be sure to check the United Kingdom Maritime Collections Strategy website at www.ukmcs.org.uk for links and access to specific sites holding maritime materials that may be of help in your research.
 
Ministry of Defence   The Ministry of Defence’s Veterans UK website was created in 2007 and is the ideal place to begin your inquiry for personnel service records and pension information for those who served in the armed forces from World War II and later. The website at www.veterans-uk.info contains links for Service Records, Medals, and other information. The A–Z index is particularly helpful. There is a charge for record requests for family history/genealogical research purposes.
 
Military Museums of Note   Military museums hold fascinating collections of historical military materials that may be useful in your research. Inquiries for information and guidance usually receive prompt responses. The following list highlights some of the best of these resources:
Other Helpful Resources   Don’t overlook the resources of local public and academic libraries in the area in which your ancestors lived or from which they may have served. Other helpful resources in locating military records and historical materials include the following organizations:
Learn About the Types of Military Records in the United Kingdom
Military records may vary across the different branches of service. The following are document types that you may expect to locate, especially among the more modern era:
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FIGURE 7-6 Page from the medical records of a wounded English soldier in World War II
Learn About Military Records for Ireland
Military records for Ireland and its citizens who served in the military during the time that it was under the British government will be found among those records at The National Archives. Ireland has its own Army, Navy, and Air Corps forces, and those more modern records will be in the possession of the Irish government. An excellent website to begin your research for more contemporary Irish military history and records is the Defence Forces site located at www.military.ie.
As you can see, there are many, many avenues of research available for your search for military records in the British Isles. It is therefore important to conduct your preliminary historical research in advance so that you are better informed concerning what records may or may not be available and where to search for them.
Locate Australian Military Records
The National Archives of Australia holds records of its defense forces from the time of Federation in 1901. This includes Australian Army records from the Boer War, World War I, service between the wars, World War II, and service subsequent to World War II. The Royal Australian Navy records include two categories: service up to 1970 and service after 1970. The Royal Australian Air Force Records are also grouped into two categories: service before World War II and service after World War II. The archives also hold a number of other types of records relating to wartime service. You can learn about all of the holdings by visiting the website at www.naa.gov.au.
The Australian Ancestry.com site at www.ancestry.com.au is a genealogy database collection accessible by subscription, and it includes several military databases for Australian servicemen and servicewomen. They can be found by using the Ancestry Card Catalogue under the Search link. These include at this writing, among many others:
Another excellent site for locating information is the World War Two Nominal Roll website at www.ww2roll.gov.au. It “was created to honour and commemorate the men and women who served in Australia’s defence forces and the Merchant Navy” during World War II. It contains the service details of individuals who served during the period 3 September 1939 to 2 September 1945. The number of individuals collected for the Nominal Roll includes some 50,600 members of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), 845,000 members of the Australian Army, 218,300 members of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), and approximately 3,500 merchant mariners. This database is searchable by name, service number, honor awarded, or location (within Australia or elsewhere). For each search result, you can print a certificate (see Figure 7-7), see a full explanation of all the details in the record, or request a copy of the actual records from the National Archives of Australia.
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FIGURE 7-7 A certificate from the World War Two Nominal Roll website
Examine Samples of Military Records
I find that one helpful strategy in investigating military records is to examine specific representative examples of records created during the period I am researching. Army, Navy, Marine, and Army Air Corps records created during World War II in the United States all contain similar if not identical information. Military records from the same period in the United Kingdom will all contain information of a similar type as defined and required by the central governmental organization. Examining these materials can provide insight into just what types of data were recorded, and this helps me focus my search on those records as well as other locations where identical or similar data were collected. Therefore, if I am unable to locate the information in one place, I can investigate alternate research paths to possibly locate it elsewhere.
There are many reference books available that can help you learn more about military records and their contents. James C. Neagles’ books, U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Sources, Colonial America to the Present (Ancestry Publishing, 1994) and Confederate Research Sources: A Guide to Archive Collections, Second Edition (Ancestry.com, 1986), are both excellent American references. Mark D. Herber’s book, Ancestral Trails: The Complete Guide to British Genealogy and Family History, Second Edition (Genealogical Publishing Company, 2006), contains an exhaustive study of available military records for that area. Other works, such as John J. Newman’s book about U.S. World War I draft registrations, titled Uncle, We Are Ready! Registering America’s Men, 1917–1918 (Heritage Quest, 2001), provide comprehensive, definitive information to help you research specialized topic areas and record types. You will find that these and other reference works can help you significantly with your research. You just need to start investigating what is available.
Your research into military records can provide you with many details about the individual. Let’s look at a number of specific examples of military records from the United States. These are not arranged in chronological sequence by when these records were created, but rather in something of a logical order in which they might occur in the career of a serviceperson.
Locate Enlistment and Draft Registration Records
Some of the most detailed and descriptive records you will find are those relating to the enlistment or conscription of personnel. They contain name and address, date and location of birth, parents’ names, a personal physical description, and other information, depending on the era. Bear in mind, however, that the information supplied on these documents should be corroborated with other sources. For example, it is not unusual for a minor to lie about his or her age in order to enlist in the military. It was not until well into the 20th century, when formal birth certificates were created, that a person was required to present such official proof of his or her age.
Figures 7-8 and 7-9 show both sides of a sample World War I draft registration card from the files at NARA. On the front are spaces for a serial number for the registration, the registrant’s name, address, date of birth, whether a U.S. citizen, nearest relative, employer’s name and address, and the signature of the registrant. The back includes spaces to provide a physical description of the registrant, the signature of the registrar, and the date. The stamp of the local draft board that had jurisdiction over the area in which the applicant registered was also applied.
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FIGURE 7-8 Front of a U.S. World War I draft registration card
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FIGURE 7-9 Back of a U.S. World War I draft registration card
The information on this draft card may point you to city directory listings, a voter registration, driver’s license, land and property records, religious congregations in the area, employment records, and other records. The name of the nearest relative provides yet another research clue for you. In this case, E. E. Holder is indicated as the registrant’s brother, and you might look for that name in census records, city and telephone directories, land and property records, death certificates, wills and probate records, obituaries, and other documents to locate that person in Rome, Georgia, and trace other family members. You might also search earlier census schedules to locate the two brothers together with their parents.
Military Muster Rolls and Pay Records
Military units regularly muster their troops to verify attendance, issue orders, make announcements, drill, and perform other functions. Muster roll records for a military unit and muster cards for individual soldiers can be found in many U.S. military service files from the colonial period forward. In addition, unit payroll records and payment stubs or receipts can provide important information to help place your ancestor at a specific place and time. The pay stub shown in Figure 7-10 for my ancestor John Swords indicates that he was paid “Three Pounds, five Shills, & eight Pence half Penny Sterling” for 43 days of military duty in 1782. Coupled with other military records, such as his sworn affidavit of service found in his Revolutionary War pension file, it is possible to link John Swords with a particular military command at that date. Further, by researching military history for that unit, I can determine where he traveled and what military action he saw.
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FIGURE 7-10 Image of a Revolutionary War pay record for John Swords’ military service in 1782, obtained from a NARA pension file
Seek Out Educational and Training Records
Military personnel are trained to perform their jobs at an optimal level. We are all familiar with the idea of infantry troops going through their drills of marching, combat assault, hand-to-hand combat, rifle practice and marksmanship, use of artillery equipment, bivouac, flight training, seamanship, and a wide range of operations training. Military service records may contain information about the education, testing, and evaluation of an individual’s skills and any specialized education or training provided. The records you may encounter in an individual’s personnel files and/or the service files may include test scores, correspondence documenting successful completion of training, certificates, and diplomas. Figure 7-11 is an example of a certificate of completion of an Air Force medical training course.
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FIGURE 7-11 Certificate of completion of a medical training course
Look for Military Station and Duty Assignment Orders
Personnel are assigned to specific locations and are attached to specific units. Documents are created to order the individual to report to a location and to perform explicit duties or functions. These documents are often referred to as “orders,” and the individual is typically charged with delivering his or her orders to the new unit’s commanding officer or clerk. A copy of the orders is retained in the individual’s service file. Figure 7-12 shows an example of a Permanent Change of Station Order. Again, the information in this document can be used to verify the movement of an individual from one place to another and to help relate his or her service to the activities of the military unit at that time.
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FIGURE 7-12 Permanent Change of Station Order
Promotions and Commissions
A successful individual may, in the course of his or her military service, be promoted to higher levels of authority and greater responsibility. In the U.S. armed forces, there is a distinction made between recruits, noncommissioned officers (also known as NCOs), and commissioned officers. You can learn more about the various ranks by researching the individual branches of the military service and their history at the time your ancestor or family member served. There are typically several documents associated with a personnel promotion or a commission.
A promotion of a noncommissioned officer is usually documented with a written notice to the serviceperson, a copy to every level of command under which the person serves, a copy to the person’s file, and a notice posted in a unit’s communication media, such as on a bulletin board, in a newsletter, or in some other venue.
An officer’s commission is more formal. A congratulatory letter is delivered to the individual formally announcing the commissioning. The notification processes throughout the echelon are similar. In addition to the letter, an example of which is shown in Figure 7-13, a formal certificate like the one shown in Figure 7-14 commemorating the new appointment is created and presented to the individual.
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FIGURE 7-13 Letter notifying George Thomas Smith of his promotion to Captain
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FIGURE 7-14 Certificate commissioning George Thomas Smith to Captain
A promotion or commissioning, the awarding of medals, ribbons, clusters, and special insignia, and the awarding of a commendation and other recognition to the unit or to an individual is a ceremonial occasion. The ceremony may be as simple as an announcement made at a unit formation or as formal as an occasion at which dress uniforms are worn, a military band performs, troops march in formation, rifle salutes are fired, and high-ranking officers and other dignitaries speak. In any case, records are created and become part of the military record for the individual and for the military unit.
Locate Military Discharge and Separation Records
You will find that the normal conclusion of an individual’s military service generates a significant number of important documents. A document detailing the permanent change of duty assignment or station order may be created, along with other internal administrative documentation that may or may not be included in an individual’s personnel file. There will be, however, some record of discharge or separation. These documents vary depending on the time period. Let’s examine three examples.
World War I
Emil I. Hoffman’s Honorable Discharge from the United States Army, dated 9 January 1919, is shown in Figure 7-15. This document is important for a number of reasons. It states that he was born in Smorgan, Russia, and that “he was 30 years of age and by occupation a Salesman” when he enlisted. Further, it describes him physically as being 5 feet 4¾ inches in height with brown eyes, brown hair, and a ruddy complexion.
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FIGURE 7-15 World War I Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army for Emil I. Hoffman
On the reverse side of the Honorable Discharge certificate is his enlistment record, shown in Figure 7-16. This document is filled with great information, starting with the date of his enlistment on 27 May 1918 at Youngstown, Ohio. He was not an NCO, and he served with the AEF (Allied Expeditionary Forces) from 22 July 1918 until 24 December 1918. He was married and deemed to be of excellent character. He was vaccinated against typhoid fever and was in good health when he was discharged. A stamp in the upper-right corner and a notation indicates that he received a bronze Victory Lapel Pin on 16 September 1919. The remarks indicate that there was no A.W.O.L. or absence from duty. He also was entitled to travel pay.
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FIGURE 7-16 World War I U.S. Army Enlistment Record for Emil I. Hoffman
World War II
The documentation changed somewhat by the time of World War II. In fact, there are even more documents that comprise the military service record and the certificates awarded to the individual.
The Honorable Discharge document and Enlistment Record for George Thomas Smith, which occupy the front and back of a single sheet and which are shown in Figures 7-17 and 7-18, are very similar to those from World War I.
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FIGURE 7-17 World War II Honorable Discharge from the U.S. Army for George T. Smith
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FIGURE 7-18 WWII Enlistment Record for George T. Smith
In addition to those records, the separate Honorable Discharge certificate on heavy paper stock, shown in Figure 7-19, was presented to the individual.
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FIGURE 7-19 Honorable Discharge certificate for George T. Smith
Another two-sided document was created and given to the individual at the time of separation. The Certificate of Service shown in Figure 7-20 was another form of honorable discharge documentation. On the reverse side is the detailed Military Record and Report of Separation, which is shown in Figure 7-21.
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FIGURE 7-20 Certificate of Service for George T. Smith
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FIGURE 7-21 The Military Record and Report of Separation for George T. Smith
The Military Record and Report of Separation contains name, rank, serial number, military organization and occupation, permanent civilian address, date and place of birth, race, a physical description, and marital status. The detailed military history includes the locations where the individual served, decorations and citations, education and training schools attended while enlisted, areas of service outside the United States, and information about continuation of insurance. His right thumbprint was applied as another form of identity confirmation.
One additional document of interest was awarded to the individual, the Army Air Forces Certificate of Appreciation for War Service, shown in Figure 7-22. I find this document particularly interesting in terms of the patriotic text that appears in the second paragraph: “Together we built the striking force that swept the Luftwaffe from the skies and broke the German power to resist. The total might of that striking force was then unleashed upon the Japanese.”
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FIGURE 7-22 Certificate of Appreciation for War Service presented to George T. Smith
An interesting development during World War II was the development of Victory Mail, also known as V-mail. The transport of mail between U.S. service personnel and their families in America was bulky and expensive. The Eastman Kodak Company developed the “airgraph” in the 1930s as a means of reducing the weight and bulk for two British airlines, Imperial Airways (now British Airways) and Pan American World Airways. The process involved the use of pre-formatted forms on which people addressed the letter and wrote the body of the document. The airgraph forms were photographed and stored as negatives on microfilm. At their destination, the letters were printed on photographic paper and handled through the Army Postal Services (APS).
During World War II, letters to service personnel were addressed to Army Post Office (APO) addresses. They were opened, censored, and microfilmed. At their destination, they were printed and distributed to servicemen and servicewomen. The same process was employed for letters from military personnel back to the United States. Censors read all letters and redacted any sensitive information.
As you are researching home sources, be on the lookout for V-mail documents. You can easily identify them. (See Figure 7-23.) The envelopes measure 4” × 3” and have an oval window through which the address on the letter could be seen. The letter sheet was 4” × 5” when printed from microfilm. U.S. soldiers and their correspondents between 1942 and 1945 used V-mail. Its use was not mandatory but, during that period, 556,513,795 pieces of V-mail were sent from the United States and 510 million pieces were received in the United States from military personnel abroad. V-mail and standard mail from this period may contain information to help expand your knowledge about your ancestors and family members.
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FIGURE 7-23 An example of a Victory Mail (V-mail) letter
Post–World War II
The mix of military documents changed somewhat following World War II. In 1950, a new document, the Report of Transfer or Discharge from Active Duty, was introduced. It was used to facilitate the transfer of personnel between branches of the armed services and to provide documentation for separation and discharge. The document has become most commonly known as and referred to by its form number, DD 214, and an example is shown in Figure 7-24. In addition, a certificate of Honorable Discharge was issued.
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FIGURE 7-24 Report of Transfer or Discharge from Active Duty, also known as the DD 214
Death and Burial Records
An inevitable consequence of military service for some is the loss of life. The U.S. military is meticulous in its communications with surviving family members and in offering support. When military personnel were killed overseas in World War II, they were interred in military cemeteries and families were contacted to determine whether to return the remains to the United States for burial. One case I have reviewed is that of 1st Lieutenant William J. Smith, who died in England in 1943. (He was the brother of George Thomas Smith, whose records are included in Figures 7-17 through 7-22.) William J. Smith was initially interred in the military cemetery at Brookwood, England. After a series of detailed written communications, the family decided that his remains should stay in England rather than be returned to the United States, and the U.S. War Department arranged for permanent interment in the U.S. Military Cemetery in Cambridge, England. Figure 7-25 shows the letter received from the War Department.
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FIGURE 7-25 Letter from the U.S. War Department concerning final interment of 1st Lieutenant William J. Smith
Congress established the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) at the request of General John J. Pershing to honor the accomplishments of the American Armed Forces where they have served since World War I. The Commission is responsible for the establishment and maintenance of war memorials and cemeteries in foreign countries. Its website at www.abmc.gov provides access to databases of information regarding World War I, World War II, and Korean War casualties buried overseas. The site provides detailed information about the name, rank, unit, date and place of death, cemetery where the individual is interred, and information about services that the ABMC can provide to help honor and commemorate individuals buried in these places.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall USA website at http://thewall-usa.com has a searchable database of all U.S. casualties in the Vietnam War, and vast amounts of information is accessible there. A separate website exists for the United States Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office at www.dtic.mil/dpmo.
Locate Other Military-Related Records
Military records, as you have seen, can be a gold mine of detail if you know where to look. Your investment in the study of the history and geography of the areas where your ancestors and family members lived and from where they may have served in the military can prepare you for locating records more effectively.
There are many strictly military records created by governments and archived in their repositories. Other materials, including books, ebooks, magazines, and historical materials, can expand your knowledge and help you place your military ancestors into geographical and historical context. Letters, V-mail, diaries, journals, photographs, and other materials found around the house can also provide clues to open doors. Military-related materials truly can bring family history to life.