I received an e-mail from a friend and business associate last week with a simple inquiry. Vince Mariner wrote: "My wife's grandfather died in WWII and is buried in Europe. How can I find out where he is buried?" Certainly, this is one of the burning questions among families who lost a loved one during a war overseas. In "Along Those Lines . . ." this week, let's discuss how to approach the problem of obtaining such information about both U.S. and British Commonwealth service personnel, and what we can expect from our research.

Preparing for the Search
Your search for any military ancestor should begin with everything you know about him or her. Start with the full name, date of birth and location, place of enlistment or induction, the branch of service, unit, rank, serial number, and any information known about the person's places of service. Most of us will not have all of these details, but it is important to start with everything you know. Certainly there are many John Smiths in the service, and you need a way to help narrow the search.

Where to Start
Depending on the war in which your ancestor or relative participated, military service records can be located in multiple places. For example, Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Civil War military service and pension records may be found at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), and copies can be obtained by completing the NATF Form 80. Civil War records for persons serving from a specific state may also be held at state archives, don't overlook writing for those. These records probably will not tell you where your ancestor is buried. However, by reviewing military records, muster rolls, or correspondence, or by determining where a final pension payment was made, you may gather details or clues to help you locate the person's place of interment.

When you begin looking for information on U.S. service personnel who participated in WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, and other conflicts, you may want to look elsewhere. An excellent starting point for researching U.S. personnel is James C. Neagles' book U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Resources. Here you will find names and addresses of contact points for all branches of the service and descriptions of the types of records they maintain.

NOTE: Please make sure to contact each military branch's office before sending an inquiry, as some of the addresses and telephone numbers (especially area codes) may have changed since publication of this or other books.

If you are specifically looking for U.S. service personnel who were casualties of overseas battles and who are buried overseas, an excellent place to look is the American Battle Monuments Commission's Web site. A site for Vietnam War casualties is "The Wall," and a site for Korean and Vietnam War listings is NARA's Center for Electronic Records site.

If you are searching for information about service personnel from the British Commonwealth, an excellent place to look is the Web site for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Let's examine each of these Web sites and what they provide.

The American Battle Monuments Commission
In the course of researching Vince's wife's grandfather, I located the American Battle Monuments Commission's Web site. It is a relatively new site, and yet it contains a tremendous amount of information.

The Commission is a small independent agency of the Executive Branch of the federal government. It is charged with commemorating the services of the American Armed Forces at the locations where they have served since April 6, 1917 (the date the U.S. entered into World War I); establishing memorial shrines; designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining permanent American military burial grounds in foreign countries; and arranging for maintenance of these facilities.

Of particular interest to researchers of U.S. service personnel, however, are the databases of the WWI, WWII, and Korean War dead. Vince's wife's grandfather's name was Carl Hanson. On entering his name at the search site, the site was slow (be patient or try later) but the detail presented was impressive:

Carl G. A. Hanson
Private, U.S. Army
42063656 [his serial number]
330th Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division
Entered the Service from: New York
Died: December 12, 1944
Buried at: Plot B Row 36 Grave 42
Ardennes American Cemetery
Neupre, France
Awards: Purple Heart

In addition to the databases, the Commission also offers some important services. These include helping you locate an individual's grave (or memorial site), providing information and photographs (at no charge) of the headstone or marker of any individual buried or memorialized at their cemeteries or memorials, placing of floral tributes (for a charge) on graves and at memorials, and providing an honor roll certificate for service persons who died during the Korean War.

"The Wall" - The Vietnam War Memorial Web Site's Details
One of the most popular and most visited sites in Washington, D.C., is the Vietnam War Memorial, also called "The Wall." It is difficult not to be affected as you walk down the ramps and the wall surrounds you. As your own image is reflected in the dark, polished stone, you are drawn into the wall and can appreciate the enormity of the Vietnam War and the massive loss of U.S. life involved.

From the Web site for "The Wall," you can perform a search for a specific individual by name or view records by panel on the wall. (Be sure to read the search tips.) You can also link to another page to perform an alphabetic search by first letter of a surname. I located the record for a soldier from my hometown who was killed in Vietnam—Harry Truman Satterfield. His record at the Web site includes the following:

CPL - E3 - Army - Selective Service
1st Infantry Division
21-year-old, Single, Caucasian, Male
Born on Nov 14, 1945
From MADISON, NORTH CAROLINA
His tour of duty began on Oct 10, 1966
Casualty was on Feb 28, 1967 in TAY NINH, SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered
Religion: BAPTIST
Panel 15E - - Line 122 [Location of name on the wall]

In addition, from each person's individual record Web page, there is a button to link to personal comments and pictures that may have been posted to the site.

This Web site is not affiliated with the U.S. government, but it can provide you with significant details to extend your search. You should consider contacting the branch of the service in which the individual served for more detailed, official information.

The National Archives and Records Administration - Center for Electronic Records
NARA maintains the Center for Electronic Records, which has custody of two data files in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense which contain records of U.S. military casualties from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. However, I found two problems with the site. First, the link to the alphabetic list by last name links to the "Home of Record" map page. Second, the Vietnam casualty list doesn't include Harry Truman Satterfield's name, which makes me question the completeness of the content. In any event, this is another resource for Korean and Vietnam War casualties. You can also purchase a paper copy of a state-level casualty list or inquire about the availability of the full files in electronic form, and contact information is provided for that purpose.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established in 1917. It is responsible for marking and maintaining the graves of the members of the forces of the British Commonwealth who were killed in the two World Wars, for building memorials to those who have no known grave, and for keeping records and registers, including, after the Second World War, a record of the Civilian War Dead. Its Web site contains a great deal of information about the services provided for persons seeking information about casualties and burial sites. You may search the Debt of Honour Register by entering a surname or an exact given name and surname. You will be presented with details about the service person, including the cemetery/grave location information or the site of the memorial commemorating the person. Historical information is also provided about the site. (For a sample of the detail, click here to view the entry for Thomas Edward Shrapnel-Smith.)

Following Up
The Internet is growing quickly, and more details about our ancestors and relatives are being provided. Vince Mariner's e-mail last week caused me to conduct research into this area, and as a result, I found new resources in the form of the American Battle Monuments Commission's relatively new Web site, expanded content at "The Wall" site, and the vast wealth of information at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Web site. If you are searching for information for the graves of your family's war dead, you will find some excellent Web-based materials to help direct you to them.

Happy Hunting!

George

Bibliography
Neagles, James C. U.S. Military Records: A Guide to Federal and State Resources. Salt Lake City: Ancestry, Inc. 1994 (This publication is currently undergoing revisions and will be available again this fall. Look for updates in the Ancestry Daily News.)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ancestry.com subscribers can also search the following databases:

Korean Conflict Death Index

World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Internees

Vietnam Casualty Index

Click here for a complete list of military databases available at Ancestry.com. (Note: Database pages are annotated on the upper righthand side of the page as "Subscriber Only," "Free," or "Free until [date]." "Subscriber Only" databases are available exclusively to Ancestry.com subscribers. Annual subscriptions can start at less than $5 per month. Click here for information on subscribing.

George G. Morgan is a proud member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, Inc. (ISFHWE). He would like to hear from you at atl@ahaseminars.com, but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual research. Visit George’s Web site at http://ahaseminars.com/atl for information about speaking engagements. George is also the author of The Genealogy Forum on America Online, which is available in the Ancestry Online Store.

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