Many people come to local military history hoping to trace a single person — a grandfather, a great-uncle, a name on the town memorial. The good news is that reconstructing an American service record has never been more accessible. This guide points to the most useful public archives and databases.
Start With What You Know
Begin at home. Gather full names (and spelling variations), approximate dates and places of birth, the branch of service, and any photographs, letters, medals, or documents the family still holds. A discharge paper, a service portrait, or even an old envelope with a unit address can unlock the next step. Interview older relatives while you can; their memories are a primary source in their own right.
Official Service Records
The single most important repository is the National Archives, whose National Personnel Records Center holds the official military personnel files. Records for veterans discharged long ago are open to the public, and the Archives' website explains exactly how to request a file. Be aware that a 1973 fire destroyed many Army and Air Force records from the mid-twentieth century, so some research requires reconstructing a record from other sources.
Casualties and Graves
If your veteran died in service, several dedicated resources apply:
- The American Battle Monuments Commission lists Americans buried or memorialized in overseas military cemeteries.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs National Gravesite Locator finds veterans buried in VA and many national cemeteries.
- Find A Grave, a large volunteer-built database, often includes photographs of headstones and memorials.
Draft Cards, Census, and Unit Histories
Between the wars, most American men registered for the draft, and those draft-registration cards — for World War I and World War II alike — are widely digitized and searchable. Federal census records place a person in a household and neighborhood, and published unit histories can tell you where a soldier's regiment or ship was and what it did. Subscription services such as Fold3 aggregate many of these military collections in one place.
Recognitions and Citations
For the highest awards, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society publishes the full citation and biography of every Medal of Honor recipient. Service branches maintain similar public records of major decorations.
Local and Oral History
Do not overlook local sources. County and municipal historical societies, public-library local-history rooms, and old hometown newspapers often hold obituaries, enlistment notices, and photographs found nowhere else. The Library of Congress Veterans History Project preserves first-person recollections of veterans from World War I onward, and welcomes new interviews with living veterans.
A Photograph Index and Its Limits
The Still Picture Branch has indexes for several military branches. The National Archives' May 27, 2025 guide to Air Force photographs reports that its Air Force photograph index is fully digitized in the catalog. That index is 342-Z, the Personality Index to Photographs of Activities, Facilities, and Personnel. The index covers people included in Air Force photographs from approximately 1910 to 1980, while the vast majority of associated photographs have not been digitized online. The guide also notes that most of the Archives' candid military photographs do not identify the people shown. A digitized index can point to a photograph without making the image itself available online.
Organizing What You Find
As your research grows, good organization becomes as important as good sources. Keep a simple timeline of the person's life and service, and note the source for every fact — the archive, the database, the relative who told you. Save copies or screenshots of the records you find, since online collections change and family papers are fragile. Distinguish clearly between what a document proves and what you are inferring, and record the questions you still cannot answer; those gaps often point to the next record to seek. A well-sourced research file is not only more trustworthy but far easier to share with relatives or donate to a local archive later.
A Word on Accuracy and Respect
Finally, handle what you find with care. Spelling of names varied widely in old records, ages were often misstated, and clerical errors are common; treat a single document as a clue rather than a verdict, and corroborate where you can. Remember, too, that you may be researching someone within living memory of a grieving family. Approach that responsibility with the same respect a town shows when it carves a name in stone.
Putting It Together
Piece by piece — a draft card here, a cemetery record there, a paragraph in a unit history — a full portrait emerges. That is exactly how the story of any town's honor roll is reconstructed and kept alive. When you are ready to preserve what you find, our guide to memorials explains how communities give that memory lasting form.