Maryland World War II Draft Registration Cards - FamilySearch Historical Records

United States Maryland

= What is in the Collection? = Name index and images of Draft Registration Cards of Maryland, 10/16/1940-3/31/1947 for men born between 1896 and 1929 who registered during World War II with the exception of the fourth registration. This collection is part of National Archives Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System, 1926-1975. The event place is the residence of the registrant. The collection is arranged alphabetically by the name of the registrant. National Archives ID 2660907. Images courtesy of Ancestry. The records are located in the National Archives at St. Louis.

With the start of World War II in Europe the United States passed the “Selective Training and Service Act of 1940.” The first registration was conducted on October 16, 1940 for young men ages 21 to 35 to register. Over 6,000 local selective boards, one for each county or for cities one for each unit of 30,000 were established. Additional registrations followed. The second July 1, 1941; third February 16, 1942; fourth or Old Men’s Registration, was held on April 27,1942. The purpose of this registration was to collect information on industrial capacity and skills of men who were born between April 27, 1877 and February 16, 1897 (ages 45 to 64). This draft registration was not intended to be used for military service but to provide a complete inventory of manpower resources in the United States that could be utilized for national service during World War II. This fourth registration is not include in this collection. The fifth and sixth registrations occurred June 30, 1942 and December 10-31, 1942. Over 50,000,000 men registered during the war with 10,000,000 inducted. While there was a chance of a recording error, each individual signed his card to attest that the information was correct.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Draft records include:
 * Name of the registrant
 * Date of birth
 * Place of birth
 * Residence at the time of registration
 * Employer
 * Name and address of someone who will always know the whereabouts of the registrant.

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