United States, Korean War Repatriated Prisoners of War - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This is an index to Korean War former prisoners of war acquired from the National Archives "Access to Archival Databases" (AAD). The records are from Record Group 15 Records of the Veterans Administration. The event date is the date of release and event place is the prisoner of war camp. Additional information about this collection may be found on the National Archives website.

Record Content
Information found in this collection may include:


 * Soldier’s full name
 * Date of capture
 * Date of release

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know one of more of the following:


 * Ancestor’s name
 * Year of capture
 * Year of release

Search the Collection
To search the collection 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.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s 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.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Look for variant spellings of the names. You should also look for alias names, nicknames and abbreviated names.
 * Check other Korean War records in case your ancestor was not a repatriated soldier.
 * 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.

Related Websites
NARA Series Description

To reach the series description, click on the above link, then select "Korean War." After the "Korean War" page has loaded, look for "Record Group 15" and click on the "Search" icon.

Related Wiki Articles
United States Korean War 1950 to 1953 United States

Citations for This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually.

Collection Citation:

Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):