Alaska Military Records

United States U.S. Military  Alaska   Military Records



The United States Military Records Wiki article provides more information on federal military records and search strategies.

Military records are found at the Family History Library, the National Archives, and other federal and state archives.

U.S. servicemen have been in Alaska since 1867, when Alaska was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Department. Most of these soldiers were from the lower 48 states. The Family History Library has enlistment registers for the regular army, 1798 to 1914 Also found on line in FamilySearch Historical Records ;  The registers provide the soldier's name, rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birthplace. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.

Forts
A historical sketch of forts in Alaska is in Bruce Grant, American Forts Yesterday and Today (New York, NY: E. P. Dutton Co., 1965; )


 * Fort Richardson
 * Fort St. Michael-- Also known as Fort Archangel Michael, Fort Archangel Gabriel, Fort New Archangel, or Novo Archangelesk and finally the fort was renamed Post of Sitka (Fort Sitka). Textual records of this fort, 1867-1877, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
 * Fort Selkirk

Spanish-American War (1898)
The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

Indexes


 * (NARA T288). (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. The index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. (Learn more.)


 * (FamilySearch) Free digital copy. (Learn more.)

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)
World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.


 * (FamilySearch) - free


 * United States. Selective Service System. Alaska, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. These cards have been digitized and are searchable online at

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

World War II (1941-1945)
Draft Registrations

On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.


 * (FamilySearch) - free
 * (images with partial index) (FamilySearch) - free


 * Also available at:


 * Ancestry ($)
 * Fold3 ($).

Other Records

For sailors from Alaska who died in World War II, see Volume 2 of Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, Two Volumes. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1946;

A national cemetery with about 500 graves is located at Sitka (see Alaska Cemeteries).

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

Korean War (1950–1953)
The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)
The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Web Sites

 * Alaska Military Records
 * epodunk.com
 * FamilyMilitaryRecords.com
 * The Civil War Pension Index Cards Collection, has a few pension cards for servicemen, from Alaska, who served in the military during the early 1900s.