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| Follow Their Footsteps |
Many World War II veterans give few specifics about
their service. If you want to visit battle fields or simply complete your
family history, it turns out there is an amazing amount of information on the
Internet and in atlases. Here are some quick hints about how to play WW II
detective.
First, collect all that you have learned from your veteran – what was their
job, in which division did they serve, in which campaigns did they fight. Next,
collect other documentation such as letters that they wrote home or that
relatives received from the Army. The biggest help is the veteran’s discharge
record -- a document that most veterans keep to prove eligibility for veteran
benefits. It will contain the specific unit in which your veteran served plus
the campaigns in which he served, and that's the key to tracing your veteran's
service on the Internet and in atlases. If you have access to none of this
information, some of the Internet links listed below can likely help you start.
The Army loves abbreviations, so you'll need to decode what you find. For
example, "BTRY B 109TH FA BN" -- Battery B, 109th Field Artillery Battalion
which, a Google search will show, was part of the 28th Infantry Division of the
Pennsylvania National Guard. Most online histories and maps use the division
designation, so it's particularly important to find this (the Navy and Marine
Corps may use different designations). Using many of the Internet links listed
below and from acquiring WW II atlases, you can reconstruct almost a day-by-day
itinerary of his time overseas, including many stories of individual battles.
Good luck! |
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Finding Information for Personal Participation in World War II |
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The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR)
The repository of millions of military personnel, health, and medical records
of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century.
Information from the records is made available upon written request (with
signature and date) to the extent allowed by law. |
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The National Archives – Access to Archival Databases
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Click WWII
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Search by different criteria
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Claiming U.S. Military Medals from the U.S. Government
Veterans of any U.S. military service may request replacement of medals which
have been lost, stolen, destroyed or rendered unfit through no fault of the
recipient. Requests may also be filed for awards that were earned but, for any
reason, were never issued to the service member. The next-of-kin of deceased
veterans may also make the same request. |
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U.S. Army - 16th Armored Division |
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Order of Battle Of the United States Army - World War II
European Theater of Operations - Divisions By the Office of the Theater
Historian - Paris, France - December 1945 |
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Combat Chronicles of U.S. Army Divisions in World War II
The following combat chronicles, current as of October 1948, are reproduced
from The Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United
States, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1950, pp. 510-592. |
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Hyperwar: U.S. Navy in World War II
Provides lists of ships, Naval Intelligence Combat Narratives, U.S. Naval
Operations, Naval Stations and Facilities, U.S. Coast Guard members, and US
Navy Histories from WWII.
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Campaign Chronologies of the United States Marine Corps
Selected World War II Marine Corps Chronology 1941 - 1946 |
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A Guide to Research Resources Relating to World War II
A National Gallery of Art publication in PDF format, this manual offers
comprehensive information on the branches of the federal government,
departments, offices, and related bodies. |
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Center of Military History
The Force Structure and Unit History Branch's primary mission is to provide force
structure and historical support to the military planners, doctrinal developers,
and force accounting personnel on the Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA)
staff and at the major Army commands. |
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