United States, World War II Army Enlistment Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States

What Is in the Collection?
This collection is a name index to Army Serial Number Enlistment Card Records, which covers the years 1938-1946, excluding officers, in the United States Army including the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the Enlisted Reserve Corps circa 1938-1946. The index is part of Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. This index is not complete covering about nine million men and women and may contain scanning errors. Database courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

What Can This Collection Tell Me?
Information found in this collection generally include the following:


 * WHEELER RAYMOND W JR
 * 1920 Texas
 * White
 * Dallas, Texas
 * 01 Feb 1944
 * Skilled mechanics and repairmen, n.e.c.
 * Married

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search you will need to know:
 * The name of the enlisted person.
 * The birth date and birth place of the soldier.
 * The residence of the solider.
 * The date of enlistment for the soldier.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the boxes on the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the individuals in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to look at the information on several individuals comparing the information about them to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:
 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names, or variations of their name, throughout their life.
 * If your ancestor used an alias or a nickname, be sure to check for those alternate names.
 * Even though these indexes are very accurate they may still contain inaccuracies, such as altered spellings, misinterpretations, and optical character recognition errors if the information was scanned.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s World War II Army Enlistment Record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. Download a copy of the record, or extract the genealogical information needed. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details. Add this new information to your records of each family. The information may also lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Continue to search the index to identify other relatives.
 * When looking for a person who had a common name, look at all the entries for the name before deciding which is correct.
 * You may need to compare the information of more than one family or person to make this determination.
 * Be aware that, as with any index, transcription errors may occur.

I Can't Find Who I'm Looking For, What Now?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Try alternative search methods such as only filling in the surname search box (or the given name search box) on the landing page leaving the other box empty and then click on search. This should return a list of everyone with that particular name. You could then browse the list for individuals that may be your ancestor.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):