World War II United States Military Records, 1941 to 1945 (2024)

Over 16.5 million men and women served in the armed forces during World War II, of whom 291,557 died in battle, 113,842 died from other causes, and 670,846 were wounded.

National WWII Memorial[edit | edit source]

The introduction to the memorial on the website says, "The memory of America's World War II generation is preserved within the physical memorial and through the World War II Registry of Remembrances, an individual listing of Americans who contributed to the war effort. Any U.S. citizen who helped win the war, whether a veteran or someone on the home front, is eligible for the Registry." The memorial was dedicated 29 May 2004. Visit their website National WWII Memorial for more information.

The WWII Registry combines four databases of the names of Americans who are:

• Buried in American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) overseas military cemeteries.
• Memorialized on ABMC Tablets of the Missing.
• Listed on official War and Navy Department Killed in Service rosters now held by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
• Honored by public enrollment in the Registry of Remembrances.

American Battle Monuments Commission[edit | edit source]

• Cemeteries - Memorials
• Search ABMC Burials
• Search ABMC Burials and Memorials

Research Tools[edit | edit source]

WWII American Cemetery, Madingley, Cambridgeshire: 3 miles west of Cambridge and donated by the University of Cambridge. This is the only American WWII burial ground in England. There are 3,800 white crosses and an additional wall with 5,000 names to pay tribute to the American servicemen and women who died in this war. You can read more about this on the website.

State World War II Records[edit | edit source]

Websites[edit | edit source]

• United States Army Military History Institute Contains photographs, cemeteries & obituaries, land records, wills, and newspapers; along with a Soldier's Memorial searchable database.
• World War II Links and Resources
• Veteran's History Project
• Dad's War: Finding and Telling Your Father's World War II Story
  Use the information at this site to make sure a record of your own military service is preserved.
• Stories of the Survivors of the ship USS Henry Mallory
  This ship was part of the one of the largest convoy battles of WWII.
• Maps of World War II arranges WWII maps by place and date.
• World War II Maps Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection.
• World War II Toolbox contains a list of repositories, online books, and records resources for all branches of the military.
• Were You Or Your Relatives Exposed To Mustard Gas? Search Database NPR has compiled the first public database of American veterans who were secretly exposed to mustard gas in military experiments conducted during World War II.
• Air Ferry Squadrons. Newly-built aircraft, replacement parts, supplies, and support personnel were delivered to the Atlantic and Pacific Theaters and around the United States by thousands of male and female civilian and military personnel between 1941 and 1945.
• World War II (and other conflicts) records of aviation crashes, etc.

Online Records

• 1939-1946 World War 2 Allies Collection at Findmypast - index ($)
• 1940-1947 U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1942 U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1942-1945 Idaho, Jerome County Historical Society, Minidoka Japanese Relocation Center Mixed Vital Records, 1942-1945 at FamilySearch — index
• 1943-1945 U.S., WWII Army Deserters Pay Cards, 1943-1945 at Ancestry - index & images ($)
• 1942-1946 United States, War Relocation Authority centers, final accountability rosters, 1942-1946 at FamilySearch — index and images
• Web: Japanese American Veterans Association Personnel at Ancestry - index ($)
• United States, World War II Casualty Lists at Findmypast - index & images ($)

National Veterans Gravesite Administration[edit | edit source]

• National Cemetery Administration. Department of Veterans Affairs Cemetery Listing.
• Nationwide Gravesite Locator. 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.

National Archives and Records Administration - Washington, D.C.[edit | edit source]

• World War II Records
• Military Resources: World War II
• Finding Information on Personal Participation in World War II- Brochure
• Finding Aids Related to WWII at NARA
• National Archives. Archives Library Information Center. Military Resources: Women in the Military
• Records of the Adjutant General's office RG 407. Most of the records cover 1917-1958
• Theodore J. Hull The World War II Army Enlistment Records File and Access to Archival Databases. Prologue 38 #1 (Spring 2006)
• Records Relating to D-Day
• United States National Archives Twentieth Century Military Records
• Records of U.S. Army Overseas Operations and Commands, 1870–1942 RG 395 NAID 693
• World War II War Diaries, Other Operational Records and Histories, ca. January 1, 1942–ca. June 1, 1946 NAID 4697018

FamilySearch Catalog

• Timothy P. Mulligan, comp.; Rebecca L. Collier, ed. et.al. World War II:guide to records relating to U.S. military participation. 2 volumes. Washington, D.C.: National Archives Trust Fund Board, 2008. FS Library 973 J53mt
• Federal records of World War II. volume 2. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Service, 1951.
• Publications of the Office of Military History, U.S. Army, American Forces in action series NARA Pub T1107

European Theater[edit | edit source]

• Order of Battle of the United States Army World War II. European Theater of Operations. Divisions.
• WWII Operations Reports, 1941-1945. 29th Infantry Division. Omaha Beach. June 6th-June 10th 1944. Map
• National Archives. Records Relating to D-Day

Philippine Islands[edit | edit source]

• Philippine Archives Collection
• Philippine Archives Collection - Alphabetical List of Guerrilla Units
• Philippine Archives Collection - Glossary of Initialisms, Abbreviations, and Acronyms
• Philippine Prisoners of War Card Files, 1941 - 1946 RG 64, US Army Personnel and civilians held as prisoners of war

Pacific Theater[edit | edit source]

• Order of Battle of the United States Army Ground Forces in World War II. Pacific Theater of Operations.
• George J. Chambers. World War II as seen through the eyes of United States Navy cruisers: an integrated, chronological history of cruiser operations during the war against the Axis powers 1939-1945 2 volumes. Berwyn Heights, Maryland: Heritage Books, Inc., c2015 FS Library 973 M2cgj

Pearl Harbor

• National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
• Pearl Harbor Survivors Association
• Pearl Harbor Survivors Association Collection
• Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors
• Pearl Harbor National Memorial - National Park Service
• Pearl Harbor Visitors Bureau
• Battle Ship Row
• List of United States Navy Ships Present at Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 - Wikepedia
• Ships Present at Pearl Harbor 7 December 1941 - Navy History and Heritage Command
• United States, Hawaii, Pearl Harbor, Muster Rolls of US Navy Ships, 1941 FamilySearch Wiki Article
• Department of the Navy. Arizona (Battleship). 10/17/1916-12/29/1941 Organization Authority Record - National Archives

Casualties

• U.S. Navy Casualties
• U.S. Marine Corps Casualties
• U.S. Army Casualties
• U.S. Army Air Force Casualties
• Pearl Harbor Casuality List, December 7, 1941
• USGenWeb Pearl Harbor Official Casualty List, 1941

Medical Department Naval

• Medical Department of the U.S. Navy, Compilation of the Killed, Wounded and Decorated Personnel
• Army Hospital Ships of World War II

Oral History Projects[edit | edit source]

The following is a selected list. Check with you state archives, historical society or veteran organization for veteran oral history projects in your state.

• Veterans History Project - Library of Congress
• The National Museum WWII - New Orleans - Oral History Resources
• Atlanta History Center - Veterans History Project
• University of Maine - Veterans Oral History Program
• National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey - Center for U.S. War Veterans' Oral Histories
• New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center - Veterans Oral History Program
• State Archives of North Carolina -Veterans Oral History Program
• Southeastern Oklahoma State University - Veteran Oral History Project

Sources for Further Reading[edit | edit source]

• Ancell, R. Manning, with Christine Miller. The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers: The U.S. Armed Forces. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996. (FS Library book 973 D36anc.)
• Bunker, John. Heroes in Dungarees. The Story of the Merchant Marine in World War II Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1995.
• DeWhitt, Benjamin L. “World War II Ship’s Logs.” Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives 24 (Winter 1992): 400–4. (FS Library book 973 B2p.)
• Gray, Paul D. “The Human Record of Conflict: Individual Military Service and Medical Records.” Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives 23 (Fall 1991): 307–13. (FS Library book 973 B2p.)
• National Archives. World War II Prisoners of War Data File, 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946. Records of World War II Prisoners of War, created 1942 - 1947, documenting the period 12/7/1941 - 11/19/1946.
• Heaps, Jennifer Davis. “World War II Prisoner-of-War Records." Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives 23. (Fall 1991): 323–8. (FS Library book 973 B2p.)
• Holik, Jennifer. "Stories from the Battlefield: A Beginning Guide to World War II Research." Woodridge, IL: Generations, 2014.
• Johnson, Melissa A. Researching World War II Naval Armed Guard Veterans NGS Magazine 42 #1 (January-March 2016): 54-61. FS Library 973 D25ngs
• Kennett, Lee G.I. The American Soldier in World War II. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1987 FS Library 973 M2ke
• Mix, Ann Bennett. Touchstones: A Guide to Records, Rights, and Resources for Families of American World War II Casualties.Bountiful, Utah: American Genealogical Lending Library, 1996. (FS Library book 973 M27t.)
• Molnar, Michele.U.S. Merchant Marine Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Pub. Co., c1993 (FS Library book 973 M3me)
• Moore, Arthur R. A careless word -- a needless sinking: a history of the staggering losses suffered by the U.S. Merchant Marine, both in ships and personnel during World War II Kings Point, New York: American Merchant Marine Museum, c1983, 2006 (FS Library 973 U3ma)
• Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. Pearl Harbor Survivors: 50th Anniversary. Paducah, Ky.: Turner Publishing, 1992. (FS Library book 996.93 M2p.) This book contains biographical sketches of veterans and a list of association members.
• RootsWeb Review, 21 February 2007, Vol. 10, No. 8. By Doris Demet, Article entitled "Locating Information about Your Veteran"
• Robert T. Kimbrough and George Herman Chapman. World war II veterans' rights and benefits; a handbook for veterans of World War II and their families. Rochester, N.Y., The Lawyers co-operative publishing company
• United States. Selective Service System. Handbook, veterans assistance program of the Selective service system.
• Dorthy Lazelle Williams United States military bases during World War II and as of 1947 Sacramento, California: D.L. Williams, c1987. FS Library 973 M2wd
• United States War Department. TM 12-252 The Army Clerk, 1943
• United States War Department. Department of the Army Army Life 1944.
• Wittmer, Paul W. United States submarine men lost during World War II: a compilation of basic information on all the known men who died while in, or attached to, a command of the U.S. Submarine Service; including passengers lost on U.S. submarines 2 volumes. Manchester, Missouri: P.W. Wittmer, c2006 FS Library 973 M3wu