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.

Jonas Long: War of 1812 Bounty Land for His Widow

In the prior article, I mentioned that Elizabeth Merrill, widow of Jonas Long, filed an equipment claim for $50 in 1860 stemming from Jonas's service in the War of 1812.

In 1855, Elizabeth filed for 160 acres of bounty land based on Jonas's service as authorized under the "Act approved March 3, 1855."

I obtained copies of these papers in hopes of uncovering genealogical information. I used the company Civil War Records to retrieve the records from the National Archives.

Jones Long's service in the War of 1812 was through both New York and New Jersey. In her application, Elizabeth only mentioned three months of service from September 3, 1814 - December 4, 1814 with Captain Abraham Webb of the 2nd Regiment of New Jersey. She wrote that he was "draughted" at Perth Amboy on Sept 3, 1814 for the term of three months.

Declaration of the Widow of a deceased person who has not before had a Land Warrant.

These dates of service are consistent with the muster roll card.

Muster Roll. Captain Abraham Webb's Company,
2 Reg't New Jersey Detached Militia.
Card of Private Jonas Long.
Present in Hoboken [New Jersey] November 8, 1814 - November 24, 1814.

Company Pay Roll. Captain Abraham Webb's Company,
2 Reg't New Jersey Detached Militia.
Card of Private Jones Long.
Paid 24 dollars and 52 cents for service of 3 months and 2 days.

Jonas also served December 18, 1812 - March 2, 1813 and March 1, 1813 - May 22, 1813.

Muster Roll. Captain James Bruce's Company,
1 Regiment United States Artillery Volunteers.
Card of Private Jonas Long.
Present on Bedlow Island [New York] March 1, 1813.
[Now called Liberty Island]

Muster Roll. Captain Charles Lawton's Company,
1 Regiment United States Artillery Volunteers.
Card of Montross Jonas Long.
Present in New York May 22, 1813.

Note that Elizabeth provided Jonas' date of death as the 13th day of August 1835 (five overwrote another number) in Richmond County. I have not uncovered any contemporaneously created record of his death. The other date of death is from Elizabeth's application for Letters of Administration, which she filed in 1860. On this probate document, the year of death was 1837.

The correct date of death of Jonas Long has not been verified with contemporaneous records.

The date of marriage, October 13, 1816, matches the typed transcript I found for the church in Staten Island.

Elizabeth Owen, widow of Jonas Long, was granted 160 acres of land in Missouri for his service in the War of 1812.

Elizabeth did not relocate to Missouri. She assigned or sold the property, as was common practice. Through the Bureau of Land Management you can search these property records.

Online search
Bureau of Land Management
General Land Office Records

1776 Badge at Find A Grave

Find A Grave has created a special badge to indicate service in the American Revolution. 

1776 Badge at Find A Grave
for those who served in the American Revolutionary War 1775-1783

I checked on some ancestors.

Charles Marsh was my fifth great grandfather. He resided in Essex County, New Jersey in the area of Elizabethtown and Westfield. (These are now in Union County.) He lived long enough to apply for a pension. In his affidavit, Charles described participation in battles throughout his area. He first volunteered in June 1776 in the Infantry of the Militia of New Jersey. He fought at the Battle of Springfield and Connecticut Farms in June of 1780.

The memorial page of Charles Marsh already had the 1776 badge when I visited.

Memorial page of Charles Marsh (1755-1833)
Buried in the Presbyterian Church Burial Grounds
Westfield, Union County, New Jersey

Cover page
Pension papers of Charles Marsh

The memorial page of Conrad Hopler, my sixth great grandfather, was lacking the 1776 badge but now has one after my edit request. He lived in Morris County, New Jersey and fought with Arnold's Light Horse Troop.

Memorial page of Conrad Hopler (1730-1814)
buried at First Presbyterian Church Cemetery
Rockaway, Morris County, New Jersey

Book mentioning members of the Morris County, New Jersey Light Horse Troop.
Does anyone know where I might find this "original enlistment paper"?

George Taylor, my sixth great grandfather, was also lacking the 1776 badge, but that was remedied. George lived in Monmouth County, New Jersey. He lived long enough to file for a pension. 

Memorial page of George Taylor (1756-1835)
Buried in Holmdel Cemetery
in Holmdel, Monmouth County, New Jersey

Suggest an Edit page Find A Grave
George Taylor (1756-1835)

Cover page of George's pension papers.
This paper is a tertiary source of his date of death.

Simeon Rockefeller was my seventh great grandfather. He served as a private in Colonel Henry Livingston's Regiment New York Militia. His memorial did not have the badge for a veteran "V" and did not have the 1776 badge. I requested that these be added, but as of this writing, they have not.

Memorial page for Simeon Rockefeller (1730-1795).
He was born in what is now Germany, not New York.

Index card for the service records
of Simeon Rockefeller or Rockenfeller,
Livingston's Regiment New York Militia.

You can find some Revolutionary War service records at Fold3.

Revolutionary War Resources in New Jersey

On Saturday, April 18, 2026 I attended an all-day presentation entitled "Revolutionary Roots" hosted by the Monmouth County Genealogy Society. The location was at the Visitor Center at what is now Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold and Manalapan, Monmouth County, New Jersey.

The Battle of Monmouth was fought during the Revolutionary War on June 28, 1778.  Friends of the Battlefield reenact annually.

On this field in what was known as Monmouth Courthouse
many people died in 1778 fighting over the newly formed country called
The United States of America

Here are my takeaways from the presenters:

1. New Jersey's inhabitants were not overwhelmingly in support of one side or the other. From a research standpoint, this means that you need to check records of those who supported the British and those who supported the newly formed United States. Records of Loyalists are located across the pond in The United Kingdom's National Archives, Canada, as well as the United States. In New Jersey, those who sided with the crown were called "volunteers;" Stryker compiled their information into a book.

2. Monmouth County maintains digital archives. Below is an example of a page of confiscations on their website. A trial would have preceded this order to confiscate.

Order to confiscate property of Thomas Thorn for aligning with the King of Great Britain
January 6, 1779

3. New Jersey kept created its own records about activities during the Revolutionary War. 

a. While federal pensions became available to certain soldiers in 1818, New Jersey granted its own pensions to soldiers in some circumstances. These were official Acts and are recorded with the rest of the Acts (Laws) of the legislative term.

The New Jersey State Legislature could enact an Act
to provide a pension to a veteran of the Revolutionary War

b. New Jersey Council of Safety Records 1776-1778 are digitized online at this site on the New Jersey State Archives website. They include testimonials of those aligned with the United States testifying against Loyalists.

In the papers included below, William Imlay of Upper Freehold, Monmouth County, testified on April 12, 1777 that two individuals, Jesse Woodward and Richard Robins, took his property for use in the British service.

William Imlay's deposition against Jesse Woodward.

William Imlay's deposition against Richard Robins.

c. For those whose property was damaged, lost, or stolen, a claim could be submitted. You can search this collection on the Archives' website, but copies of claims are $5 by mail. The claims were not paid.

Search page of Revolutionary War Damage Claims
New Jersey State Archives
You can select a file to receive a paper copy of the contents.

d. Taxes were paid during the War. You can view them at the Archives' website. The names of towns might seem unfamiliar and some counties might appear missing, but this is because these are from the late 1700s and early 1800s.

Paying taxes during the Revolutionary War could qualify that person as a Patriot, making a descendant eligible for membership in Daughters of the American Revolution or Sons of the American Revolution.

Tax ratables in Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey for the year 1779.
Page 1.

Thank you to all of the participants and presenters who made this educational experience possible.

Two Death Certificates for a Soldier

I found another death certificate filed in two states. The difference from the prior finding is that the death occurred in North Carolina instead of Pennsylvania and that the deceased was an active member of the military when he died.

Carl Bagley Duryee (1918-1942) resided in Long Branch, Monmouth County, New Jersey with his parents, Stanley Loveman Duryee (1893-1978) and Elsie Lee Waite (1893-1971). Around July of 1941, he enlisted in the United States Army to serve in World War II. He was sent for training to Camp Davis in Onslow County, North Carolina. While stationed there, he married Selma Helen ONeil (1916-2012) on December 21, 1941.

Within three weeks of his marriage, Carl was admitted to the military hospital at Camp Davis with a brain bleed followed by clotting and pneumonia. He lingered for four weeks, dying on February 4, 1942.

A death certificate was filed in North Carolina. These death certificates are available online in a database on Ancestry (North Carolina, U.S., Death Certificates, 1909-1976).

Death certificate filed in North Carolina
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

A death certificate was also filed in New Jersey. These are not online, but rather on microfilm in the New Jersey State Archives in Trenton.

Death certificate filed in New Jersey
Carl Bagley Duryee
died February 4, 1942 in North Carolina
while a soldier in the United States Army

These death certificates do not indicate that Carl's condition was caused by external trauma. Maybe this was a natural stroke, in spite of his youth. His obituary did not mention the causes or circumstances of his death.

Carl's widow, Selma, remarried in 1945 to Aubrey B Howland (1914-2004). Carl's father "gave the bride away" at this ceremony in Long Branch, New Jersey.

Thank you, Carl Bagley Duryee, for your service.

Death Record in Two States

Sometimes an out-of-state death record is filed in New Jersey. I have seen this most often with military-related deaths.

Edwin Jayne Duryea (1886-1942) died at the United States Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A copy of his Pennsylvania death certificate appeared New Jersey's deaths for 1942. (New Jersey death certificates are housed on microfilm at the New Jersey State Archives and are not online.) He was a resident of New Jersey, not Pennsylvania. He was not active in the military at the time of this death, but was an inpatient at a military hospital for over two months.

Death certificate of Edwin J Duryea,
died March 8, 1942 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Filed in New Jersey.
Printed image from microfilm.

Screenshot of the negative image of microfilm

Ancestry has a database of Pennsylvania death certificates (Pennsylvania, U.S., Death Certificates, 1906-1973). This is a color reproduction of the records. Edwin's Pennsylvania death certificate in this collection is not identical to the certificate filed in New Jersey.

Collection at Ancestry

Edwin's full middle name was given on the death certificate filed in Pennsylvania, but only the initial was written on the certificate filed in New Jersey.

The Pennsylvania death certificate has a second side. This is the next image, so remember to click when viewing online. This side tells us that Edwin served in the Army in the World War (World War I) in the 146th Infantry, rank of sergeant, from April 4, 1918 through April 7, 1919. His brother was Paul G Duryea of Trenton, New Jersey.

Edwin was born July 21, 1886 in Frenchtown, Hunterdon County, New Jersey to Albert B Duryea (1853-1924) and Margaret Lear Heavener (1851-1903). His given name on this document was Edward, not Edwin.

Birth certificate of Edward J Duryea, 1886 in New Jersey.
Note that the mother's full age is given: 34 years, 8 months, and 17 days.

Thank you, Edwin Jayne Duryea, for your service.

You Missed

I found this article about my grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980), in the collection of online newspapers hosted by the Newark (New Jersey) Public Library. In October of 1948 Clifford was 33 years and lived on Chester Avenue in Newark with his wife, Beulah Cook (1921-2003), and two small sons. Their third son (my father) arrived the following month.

Without digitization, this gem would have never been found. I was looking for an obituary for a different person and stumbled upon this mention.

Research tip: When searching digital collections, be mindful that the collections themselves are usually not complete and some damage has afflicted individual pages. Also, letters can be read as other letters, such as r and n, b and h, e and o.

Clifford Lutter presented with a certificate, purpose unknown.
The other two men are not identified on this physical photograph.

Clifford worked many jobs during his lifetime. His professional photos are displayed at this link. Most are not labeled, so maybe a family member can discover a picture of a loved one from long ago.

Clifford Lutter is seated on the far right of this photo.

Note the 48 stars on the flag in the background.
This picture was taken prior to 1960.

Joseph Alexander McGrail registered for the draft for World War II in 1940 in Newark. The notations on this document illustrate the trouble he often found himself. "Caldwell Pen 40 days 2/15/45" and "15 days County Jail. He had addresses in Newark: 289 Sherman Avenue, 12 Court Street, 70 Green (or Queen?) Street, and a rural delivery address in Underhill, Pennsylvania.

Note: the county jail no longer has facilities in Caldwell- only in Newark. See this link for some photographs of the penitentiary in Caldwell.

What became of Joseph has not been discovered as of this writing.

Text of above article:

‘FBI Man’ Misses
Uppercut Smashes Window as Policeman Ducks

A man who insisted he was an FBI agent smashed a plate glass window of Cowburn’s Store at 255 Market street last night with a right-hand uppercut which he had aimed at a special policeman.
Special Officer Lutter said he saw the blow coming and stepped aside. The man’s fist then went through the store window.
Lutter identified his assailant as Joseph McGrail, 38, homeless. McGrail had been refused drinks in a nearby bar, according to Lutter. The special officer escorted him from the bar, with McGrail warning that “J. Edgar Hoover won't like this.”
After the wild swing McGrail was led off to City Hospital to have stitches taken in his right hand. He still insisted he was an FBI agent. Patrolman Mandall aided Lutter.

The Newark Evening News
October 10, 1948
Page 18