The next step to finding your father's war - hit the National Archives

Research — military history research — may not sound exciting, bringing to mind dusty, aged tomes that deal with past wars and days gone by. But imagine, as you thumb through those worn and often ragged pages, suddenly coming upon a familiar name in the U.S. Army Morning Reports — your own father's name.

 

If you've already interviewed your father or other veteran, you know about his or her* military life: where he fought, his rank, and something about the experiences he had. Unfortunately, it may be too late for a personal interview, especially with a veteran of the Second World War. You're left to do your own investigation. In my blog last week, I outlined steps you can take to dip into this research, and so now you're ready to tackle Big Research — the National Archives. If you're anything like me, just naturally inquisitive, this part is fascinating.

 

The National Archives is a terrific place to do this detective work. Try to spend a few days at the Archives in College Park, Maryland (just a stone's throw from D.C.). If you can't do that, quite a bit of information is still available to you online. Just go to http://www.archives.gov/veterans and start there. Be sure to check out the brochure for World War II veterans. 

 

But there's something deeply satisfying about burrowing down in one of those desks, settling in to touch and leaf through original World War II documents. The papers you hold were written in the midst of the chaos of battle. 

Let's say your father's name is John Fine. You know his Division and Company. While at the Archives, you can look for:

• Unit journals and histories
• After Action Reports
• Morning Reports
• Photos and movies
• Stars and Stripes (the daily newspaper published for the U.S. military)

 

Imagine that John Fine was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. You've learned, perhaps from the helpful people at the Archives, what dates encompassed that gruesome battle. Poring over Morning Reports and scanning pages full of names you don't recognize, you become a bit bleary-eyed. Then you see a familiar name — John Fine. It's quite a moment.

 

The Morning Reports also contain much more sobering information that you will see: the names of individuals who were killed in action or listed as missing in action, as well as wounded.

 

The first time I found my dad's name in the records, I encountered a yellowed sheet of paper dated November 10, 1944 and labeled "318th, E Company," listing:

Elvin William J Jr. (Inf) 1st Lt.

Above 2 O and 3 EM fr dy to LWA sk 305th Med Clr Sta. fr LWA sk 305th

Med Clr Sta to lost hosp as of 8 Nov 44.

 

Those abbreviations meant that Lt. Elvin had been wounded in action and was sent to the hospital.The feeling it gave me is hard to describe. The phrasing, "lost to hosp[ital]" seemed quaint yet chilling when connected with the bullet that took a portion of my father's forearm. The worn paper and the words on it brought me closer to imagining the pain, blood, and fear behind them.

Here's what the abbreviations stand for:

• O - officer
• EM - enlisted men
• Fr - from
• Dy- duty
• LWA - lightly wounded in action
• Sk - sick
• Med Clr Sta - Medical Clearing Station

If you follow these guidelines, you will see how to make historical research personal.

* I use the pronoun "his" when referring to combat veterans for several reasons. My book is about my father, who served in World War II, so my research centered on him and that time frame. But of course readers may be searching for women. I mainly use the masculine because women will only rarely appear in the documents I reference.