Free Military Record Lookups

The original GI Joe

Time for a review! I've covered a few top-notch resources for looking up military records.

The resources are all from either the US or UK.  US lookups go back to the Revolutionary War, through the Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea and Vietnam.  English records extend back centuries, all the way to the medieval times of knights and crusades.

Here's what we've got so far:

Forces Reunited: Searching UK Military Records.  More than a million records available here. Searching is free, though they'll try hard to get you to subscribe.

Free Civil War Military Records.  This is one of the great internet resources for US military history...worth a visit even if your family has no connection to the War Between the States.


Free World War II Military Records.  Another great resource with millions of US enlistment records from WWII.

Medieval Soldier Military Records (That's right...Knights!).  It's always amazing to find how well records were kept, even centuries ago, and how they've managed to find their way online.

National Gravesite Locator for Veterans.  Find the burial locations of millions of US soldiers.

Revolutionary Era Genealogy Research.  These tools from the Daughters of the American Revolution mix military and non-military records.
Some Civil War Genealogy Resources You May Not Know About.  Pensioners lists, Confederate war reports, slavery records...a lot here to explore.

Some Military Family History Resources That You May Not Know About.  Official US Army history sites can turn up a lot of useful genealogical information.  

World War I and World War II British Commonwealth Deaths.   A resource as vast as the British Empire itself, with records spanning the world.

Online State Archives. Individual states often have deep records of their own, both military and otherwise. Spend some time getting familiar with what's available in the states where you and your ancestors lived.

Good hunting!

P.S. Know a veteran -- or friend or family member -- who needs some help with PTSD? Maryville University put together a good PTSD resource.

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Don't forget to also check for your family history at NewspaperArchive and Newspapers.com. These are subscription databases, but they are among the most powerful research tools available for looking into family roots. And visit the main page of Free Genealogy Tools for more, umm, free genealogical tools.