{"id":58593,"date":"2020-05-15T11:58:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T15:58:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.genealogybank.com\/?p=58593"},"modified":"2023-10-12T14:28:18","modified_gmt":"2023-10-12T18:28:18","slug":"tips-for-researching-your-military-ancestors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.genealogybank.com\/blog\/tips-for-researching-your-military-ancestors.html","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Researching Your Military Ancestors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/em><\/strong>: In this article \u2013 for tomorrow\u2019s celebration of Armed Forces Day \u2013 Gena Philibert-Ortega describes many sources for researching military records. Gena is a genealogist and author of the book \u201cFrom the Family Kitchen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Tomorrow is Armed Forces Day. Perhaps this celebration of our active duty service members has you thinking of an ancestor who served in the U.S. military. Ready to start researching their life?<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: Flag Manual, U.S. Marine Corps. Credit: USMC; Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ordering or downloading a soldier\u2019s military records are just the beginning. Your research should extend beyond just the same old sources. There are many online resources to aid in your search to tell their story. The following are just a few ideas to help you get started.<\/p>\n

Learn More about the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and Its Records<\/strong><\/p>\n

When most researchers think of military records they think of service or pensions records. Those are great records to start with, but take some time to learn more about the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration\u2019s holdings and what they can provide.<\/p>\n

U.S. military records can be found at the National Archives and \u2013 depending on when the soldier served \u2013 they will be in one of two places. The records from the Revolutionary War to 1912 are in the National Archives Building<\/a> in Washington, D.C. Military records from WWI to the present are held in the National Military Personnel Records Center<\/a> (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri.* Please note that NARA does not hold state militia records.<\/p>\n

\"Photo:<\/a>
Photo: screenshot of NARA page for military records. Credit: National Archives and Records Administration.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To learn more about NARA\u2019s military records I suggest reading the Military section of their Research Our Records<\/a> web page. Also, consider looking over back issues of NARA\u2019s Prologue Magazine<\/a> for articles spanning the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War, including:<\/p>\n