Friday, May 31, 2013

Tracing Your Family's WWI Military History


How do I access my WWI relative's military records?

  • Missouri Digital Heritage Soldier's Records. The Missouri State Archives holds nearly 1½ million pages that document the service of Missourians in domestic and foreign wars between 1812 and World War I. The database include the names of men and women who served in the regular United States Army, the National Guard, the United States Marine Corps, or the United States Navy.
  • Ancestry.com's U.S. Military Collection. This collection contains WWI draft registration cards. These cards can be an extremely useful resource for genealogists because they cover a significant portion of the U.S. male population in the early twentieth-century. Between 1917 and 1918, approximately 24 million men living in the United States completed a World War I draft registration card. Spanning from 1914 to roughly 1930, this collection includes more than 40 million names from all existing U.S. states (requires subscription.)
  •  National Archives Military Personnel Records.The National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR) in St. Louis, Missouri is the repository of millions of military personnel, health, and medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century.  These records are not available online. Information from the records is made available upon written request, directions and a form to do so can be found here. Many of the records were destroyed in a 1973 fire. See our May 10, 2013 blog post for more details about the fire.
  • The Missouri State Archives and Missouri History Museum WWI Biography & Service Record Collection. In 1919, the Adjutant General's Office collected biographical information of Missouri soldiers who fought in World War I. These records contain rich genealogical information such as military rank, branch of service, battles fought, prior military service, date and place of birth, occupation, nationality, spouse and parent's names, education, religious affiliations, fraternal organizations, ancestors who participated in earlier wars, and names of children and siblings. The collection is organized by county and split between the organizations. These records are not available online. Visit the Missouri State Archives or the Missouri History Museum for more information.
  • The Missouri State Archives Missouri Home Guard and Missouri National Guard Service Muster Rolls. The Muster rolls contain information such as rank, date and place of enlistment, and number of years in service, as well as information about each company - name of the captain, company, regiment, and name of the colonel. These records are not available online. Visit the Missouri State Archives for more information.

How do I learn what my relative's WWI experience was like?

After you have determined your relative's unit by looking at their military records, you can find out more about your relative's experiences by researching his unit's history. Here are some links that will help you begin your research, as well as a few Missouri-based unit histories that are available online:


Did my relative receive a Medal of Honor during WWI?
How do I find out more about my relative who died during WWI?
  • Haulsee, Howe, and Doyle. Soldiers of the Great War. Washington, DC, Soldiers Record Publishing Association, 1920. This 3-volume work provides as complete a record as possible of the American soldiers who lost their lives in World War I. Each volume contains photographs and lists of names for particular states.


  • Many institutions and public libraries have county and city honor rolls, with photographs of servicemen and women who were killed or wounded in action. Click here to view a directory of genealogical organizations in your area that may have honor rolls.


How do I find my WWI relative's grave site? 
  • American Battle Monuments Commission's Casualty List. The American Battle Monuments Commission has records of WWI casualties that are buried in American cemeteries overseas or listed on the Walls of the Missing—a total of 33,717 records.

  • Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator. The Nationwide Gravesite Locator includes burial records from many sources. These sources provide varied data; some searches may contain less information than others.Search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker.

Who can I turn to for help with my research?


Many public libraries and institutions offer WWI genealogy workshops and materials written about WWI genealogy. Click here to view a directory of Missouri institutions (local historical societies, museums, and genealogical societies) in your area, or contact your local public library. Additionally, there are many great online sources written on WWI genealogy.

Online Guides: 
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