We should be proud of the sacrifices of the military servicemembers who defend the everyday freedoms we enjoy - including the ability to pursue happiness in the form of a genealogy hobby! Have you ever wanted to learn more about those heroes? Perhaps you are even aware of one in your own family and want to honor their service with a meaningful tribute in the family history. So, where to begin?
You can locate conflict-specific records at several sites - with records like draft registrations, enlistment documents and casualty reports. One of the best online resources for this kind of information is Fold3, so named after the "tri-fold" American Flag presented to the grieving family at a military funeral. You can search a variety of indexes there - and even access the original source data (at certain times of the year for free!). Additional index records at Ancestry and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) can also direct you to a good starting point for locating a military relative.
A good search for military information should also include a Google search for fraternal veterans organizations (or even war specific groups) that often post and/or store basic servicemember information online. Some of these sites may also allow for a form of social networking for you to find some of Grandpa's old Army buddies. You would probably be surprised at the number of people who want to trace the service history of their loved-one - even when they don't have genealogy research interests.
Here are some good examples of military genealogy sites I've found in web searches:
B-29.org
Great War Society
American Merchant Marine at War
Navy Memorial
If you discover your veteran in one of the indexes above, you may be able to view a copy of their service record. Visits to the National Archives site in downtown Washington, DC, often yield results but if you can't travel, you should explore the new options provided by the NARA at their site: Veterans' Service Records. Happy hunting!
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