Beginning United States World War I Research



Begin your research by looking for a discharge certificate, a picture of your ancestor or relative in uniform, a victory or service medal or any other record that identifies military service. Other sources include a cemetery tombstone which may also include the military unit, an obituary or evidence of membership in a local American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars Post (VFW). A local war memorial might a include the names of the men and women who served or died in the war. Questions 30 and 31 of the 1930 United States Census will also identify World War Veterans(WW). Contact other relatives who might have information about possible service. Local newspapers will be a good source to find information about the men and women who served in the war. The majority of the men that served in the armed forces were born between 1873 and 1900.

The men that did serve could have enlisted in the Regular Army or the National Guard. Most however were drafted through the Selective Service.The Selective Service Draft Registration Cards have been indexed and are available on FamilySearch. It is also important to identify the military unit, division, regiment, naval vessel etc. The following table can help you what division your relative or ancestor's military unit was assigned.
 * American Expeditionary Forces Table of Organization, 1917-1919

Local libraries, historical societies and state archives may also have World War records including unit histories or enlistment records in the National Guard and state of service cards.. The National Archives will have additional records of the American Expeditionary Forces.

The following publications will identify and discuss records that were created on soldiers and their military units.
 * William H. Waldron. Company Administration. New York City: George U. Harvey Publishing Co., 1917
 * Company Administration War Department 1919

Number of Soldiers Serving by Age from April 1, 1917 - December 31, 1919
Source:The Medical Department of the United State Army in the World War V. 15, Pt 2 Statistics Washington, DC: GPO, 1921. Page 25, Table 6, Strength by Age....; Estimated from ages furnished by 3,683,133 applicants for War Risk Insurance.

Archives and Research Centers
National Archives at St.Louis
 * World War I Records at the National Archives at St. Louis
 * Finding Your World War I Veteran at the National Archives at St. Louis
 * The SIck and the Dead. Veterans Administration Claim Files and World War I Burial Files

 The National WWI Museum and Memorial, Kansas City, Missouri
 * Edward Jones Research Center

Related Websites

 * Documenting Doughboys
 * WW I Genealogical Research Resources
 * Constance Potter. Getting Started with WWI Genealogical Research
 * Researching Individuals in WW I Records NARA

Related FamilySearch Blog Articles

 * Remembering World War I
 * Discover Your Ancestors in World War I Records
 * Accessing US Soldiers’ Records for World War I
 * World War 1 Centennial Commemoration: Indexed Records Connecting Families
 * Remembering the Harlem Hellfighters of World War I
 * Uses of Military Dogs in World War I

Reference

 * Edward A Gutierrez.. Doughboys on the Great War. How American Soldiers Viewed Their Military Experiences. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2014.
 * Richard Rubin. The Last of the Doughboys. The Forgotten Generation and their Forgotten World War. Boston:Mariner Books, 2013.


 * Michael E. Hanlon. Researching Your World War I Relative ?: Guidelines, Tips and FAQs. Stanford, California: The Great War Society, 2003. FHL 973 M2h.
 * M.M. McMahon. Researching Your U.S. WWI Army Ancestors. Crownsville:CreateSpace, 2017.

 Recording your Ancestor's Military Service 
 * Algar Monroe Wheeler. The "Honor Roll" and our family's part in the World War. [Baltimore, Printed by H. Sadler Co., 1920
 * Chalres T. L. Allen. My War Record.Pittsburg, Adams Printing Co., 1918
 *  At Story of the War and Family War Service Records.St. Paul,Minn.: Mackey, Smith & Stiles, 1919.

Prologue Quarterly Publication of the National Archives

 * Knapp, Michael G. “World War I Service Records.” Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives 22. (Fall 1990): 300–2. (Family History Library book 973 B2p.)
 * Knapp, Michael G., and Constance Potter. “Here Rests in Honored Glory: World War I Graves Registration.” Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives 23. (Summer 1991): 190–4. (Family History Library book 973 B2p.)
 * Potter, Constance. "World War I Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimages, Part I" Prologue 31(Summer,1999)
 * Potter, Constance. "World War I Gold Star Mothers Pilgrimages, Part II" Prologue 31 ( Fall, 1999)
 * Manning, Mary J. "Being German, Being American" Prologue (Summer, 2014):15-55
 * Yockelson, Mitchell.“They Answered the Call: Military Service in the United States Army during World War I, 1917–1919.”
 * Yockelson, Mitchell. "Wilson Struggles as he Prepares the Nation for World War I" Prologue 49 ( Spring, 2017)

NGS Magazine (National Genealogical Society)

 * Tina Beaird. Recreating a World War I Veteran's Service History. 42 #2 (April-June 2017):11-15.
 * Craig Robert Scott. Tracing the Movements of US Army Units in World War I. 42 #2 (April-June 2017):17-22.
 * David R. Hardin. Official Military Personnel Files of World War I Veterans. 42 #2 (April-June 2017):23-27.
 * Kathy Petlewski. World War I and the Hyphenated Americans on the Homefront. 42 #2 (April-June 2017):29-34.
 * Claire Prechtel Kluskens.Interment of Enemy Aliens During World War I. 42 #2 (April-June 2017):35-39.
 * Julie Miller. Enemy Alien Registrations during World War I. 44 #2 (April-June 2018):21-28.
 * John W. Graham.Gold Star Mother Pilgrimages of the 1930s. 44 #2 (April-June 2018):35-39.
 * Susan Goss Johnson.World War I Statement of Service Cards. 43 #3 (July-September 2017):42-45.
 * Jonathan R. Casey and Stacie Peterson. The National World War I Museum and Memorial's Edward Jones Research Center. 43 #3 (July-September 2017):46-48.
 * Theresa Fitzgerald. Auxiliary Records of World War I Veterans. NGS Magazine 43 #4 (October-December 2017):50-55.
 * John P. Deeden. Military Service in the 'War to End all War.'  NGS Magazine 37 #2 (April-June 2011): 26-32.


 * Patricia A. Case.  Don't Let Your Twentieth Century Veterans Fade Away."The Genealogical Helper (Jan-Feb., 1987):15-18.