Military Service Records of World War II

A few years ago I wrote about searching for information on someone who served in World War II, George DeForest Russell (1913-1997).

Military records in the United States are collected, housed, and maintained by the National Archives and Records Administration ("NARA"). NARA holds other records and performs other functions as well.

Draft cards can be viewed on Ancestry. A draft card does not mean that someone actually served in the military; however, in George's situation, the notations on his draft card indicated that he served in the Army.

Draft card of George DeForest Russell
World War II
Collection at Ancestry

Side Two of draft card.
Don't forget to look for another side on any record!

After 62 years, you can request an individual's military service records. Unfortunately, there was a fire in 1973 where the records for World War II were stored in Missouri. Although not everything was destroyed, the standard response from NARA is that only the Final Pay Voucher is available (for purchase). 

Letter from NARA to writer that only the Final Pay Voucher
is available for George D Russell

Below is the Final Pay Voucher received via postal mail from NARA.

Final Pay Voucher for service in World War II
George D Russell

Some companies advertise that they can search for remnants of a veteran's file within the repositories. I contracted with one such company who claimed that nothing was found.

I tried another researcher, Alex Beckstrand, of Legacies of Service. (Substack link here.) He was able to find documents of two types: Specific to the veteran and specific to the units he was assigned to.

Below are some of the copies found by Alex Beckstrand for the service of George D Russell. I don't know why NARA did not offer copies of these records years ago.

Some of the paperwork for the honorable discharge of
George DeForest Russell from the Army 1946

George earned:

-Asiatic Pacific Service Medal

-European African Middle Eastern Service Medal

-Good Conduct Medal

-Philippines Liberation Ribbon

-World War II Victory Medal

Part of George D Russell's discharge paperwork.
The section of "Civilian Occupations" placed him
in Kearny, Hudson County, New Jersey in 1942 and 1943.
This was a missing piece of this puzzle.

Apparently, promotions and movements within units was documented and these records survive. From these, a veteran's activities can be gleaned.

Company Morning Report
[George D] Russell promoted on October 1, 1943.
He was stationed at Fort Screven, Georgia.

George D Russell moved to another unit
on December 10, 1943

Where a unit was and what that unit was doing at any given point during the War is also preserved. A veteran's whereabouts and activities can be inferred from these documents.

October 1945 activities of George and the 1053rd Engineers

Thank you, Alex, for learning how to research these repositories and helping others who seek answers about lost stories of World War II.

If you would like information on a veteran's life during World War II, please reach out to Alex Beckstrand at Legacies of Service and inquire if he might be able to help your research goals.