Researching US Military Ancestors

Although Memorial Day is traditionally a time to remember those who died in service of their country, I also think about the men and women in my family tree who were in any of the armed forces at any time.

This month I've been doing a bit more research into some US military ancestors so I can better document their service.

For this kind of research, I check the usual suspects and a little beyond:

• Family Search (great place to start, lots of online links-shown at top)
• National Archives/NARA (key source of US military documents)
• Fold3 (military pension documents, draft/enlistment, more)
• BIRLS (how to look up and send for US vet files, via Reclaim the Records; if you request the files, be aware the VA is slow to respond and provides very little info*)
• Ancestor Hunt (state-by-state links to free info about military vets)
• National Grave Locator (via Veterans Adm listing)
• American Battle & Monuments Commission (search overseas graves/memorials for fallen US service members)

In addition, I want to chronicle my husband's peacetime military service for the sake of future generations. We already have his military memorabilia saved in a shadowbox frame, with the stories in an envelope on the back, a handsome future heirloom.

The next step is to have him tell the story in his own words--and have it saved in the Library of Congress! He is considering submitting oral history as part of this Library of Congress Veterans History Project. 

Remember: LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe). Stories of our military relatives and ancestors deserve to be preserved!

* My Veterans Affairs request for my Dad's medical records remains stalled, although my US Rep is attempting to nudge it through the appeal process, where it has languished since Sept 2025. More as soon as I know whether this will work!