The Great War: United States Resources

Listed on this page are a few resources to help you in your Great War research in the United States.

  • The Veteran’s History Project at the Library of Congress (http://www.loc.gov/vets/): The Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war.
  • U.S. Army Center of Military History (http://www.history.army.mil/)
  • World War I, Library of Congress (http://bit.ly/2vWoPoy)
  • The Western Front Association (http://www.westernfrontassociation.com/)
  • World War One Historical Association (https://ww1ha.org/)
  • The National World War I Museum and Memorial (https://www.theworldwar.org/): America’s leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community.
  • Trenches on the Web (http://www.worldwar1.com/): a website which has one of the largest collections of information about the Great War on the web. Their resources include posters, songs, photographs, maps, and weaponry.
  • Firstworldwar.com (http://www.firstworldwar.com): a multimedia history of world war one – This website contains links to Great War basics, battlefield tours, a section of transcribed primary documents which document the course of the war from many different countries (note: these are not personal documents from individuals but cover the larger events and governmental entities and contain items such as the Zimmerman Telegraph, abdication proclamations, and other primary documents which will help give you an understanding of the events of that time period)
  • The United States World War One Centennial Commission (http://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php)
  • Naval History and Heritage Command (https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/wars-conflicts-and-operations/world-war-i.html)
  • The Heritage of the Great War (http://www.greatwar.nl/): CAUTION – this website contains some graphic medical images, however, they claim to have one of the most extensive historical photo collections on the internet. Whether their photo collection is truly the most extensive or not, they have some great images available for viewing. War is not pretty, and this website provides photographic evidence of that.
  • Books containing general information about the Great War and the AEF:
    • First World War For Dummies by Dr. Seán Lang
    • The War to End All Wars by E.M. Coffman
    • Over There by Frank Freidel
    • Lady in the Navy: A Personal Reminiscence by Joy B. Hancock
    • Soldiers’ Songs and Slang of the Great War collected by Martin Pegler
    • The Doughboys by Gary Meade
  • Books containing detailed information about the Great War and the AEF:
    • American Armies and Battlefields in France (GPO)
    • Order of Battle of United States Land Forces in the World War, 1917-1919 (U.S. Army)

Some of these records were impacted by the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Additional information about that fire can be found at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973.

  • (Army) Official Military Personnel Files, 1912-1998: NARA record group 319, Records of the Army Staff, 1903-2009 (NARA identifier 299741). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299741.
  • (Navy) Official Military Personnel Files, 1885-1998: NARA record group 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel, 1798-2007 (NARA identifier 299693). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299693.
  • (Marine Corps) Official Military Personnel Files, 1905-1998: NARA record group 127, Records of the U.S. Marine Corps 1775- (NARA identifier 299715). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/299715.
  • (Coast Guard) Official Military Personnel Files, ca. 1898 – ca. 2004: NARA record group 26, Records of the U.S. Coast Guard, 1785-2005 (NARA identifier 597218). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/597218.
  • Monthly Reports and Personnel Records, 1917-1950: NARA record group 247, Records of the Office of the Chief of Chaplains, 1902-1964 (NARA identifier 6016856). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6016856.
  • United States Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918: An index of over 18,000 naturalizations of soldiers who served in the Great War. NARA publication M1952, accessible via Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/publication/107/naturalization-index-wwi-soldiers), Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2362/) or FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/1858291)
  • General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934: NARA microfilm publication T288 which reproduces a general index to pension files, 1861-1934. Information on this microfilm can be found at (https://www.archives.gov/research/military/pension-genealogy/1861-1934.html).
  • Court-Martial Case Files, 1917-1938: NARA record group 153, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (Army), 1792-2010 (NARA identifier 5916929). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5916929.
  • Discharge From the Draft Records, 11/10/1918 – 11/15/1918: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 5752997). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5752997.
  • U.S. Army Discharge Reports, ca. 1917 – 1920: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 4683632). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4683632.
  • World War I Army Officers Reports of Change Cards, 1918 – 1918: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 6050409). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/6050409.
  • World War I Officers and Nurses Pay Cards, 1917 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 1488333). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1488333.
  • Field Clerk Pay Cards, 8/1916 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 2990428). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2990428.
  • U.S. Army Warrant Officer Pay Cards, 1917 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 3518560). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3518560.
  • World War I Officers and Nurses Final Pay Vouchers, 1917 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 1561423). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1561423.
  • World War I Enlisted Men Final Military Pay Vouchers, 1917 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 1436496). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/1436496.
  • U.S. Army Enlisted Personnel Payment Records, 7/1915 – 9/1917: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 5756921). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5756921.
  • Army Reserve Officer Training Camp Rosters, 1917 – 1919: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 4735009). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4735009.
  • Returns of the Nurse Corps, 1917 – 1921: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 3370993). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/3370993.
  • Army Student Nurse Individual Academic Records, 1918 – 1951: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 4851528). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/4851528.
  • U.S. Army Files of the Mexican Border Service, 1916 – 1917: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 2462216). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2462216.
  • Russian Railway Service Corps Personnel Files, 1917 – 1920: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 5721174). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/5721174.
  • National Guard Papers, 1916 – 1919: NARA record group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789 – ca. 2007 (NARA identifier 2990429). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/2990429.
  • Pilgrimage for the mothers and widows of soldiers, sailors, and marines of the American forces now interred in the cemeteries of Europe as provided by the Act of Congress of March 2, 1929 by U.S. Government Printing Office: this publication can be viewed online through Villanova University Falvey Memorial Library’s digitalLIBRARY (https://digital.library.villanova.edu/Item/vudl:458977)
  • U.S. World War I Mothers’ Pilgrimage, 1929: a database of names of women who were entitled to make a pilgrimage as shown by the U.S. War Department records on 15 November 1929, accessible via Ancestry at https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4224/. This collection is both browsable and searchable.
  • U.S. YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919: The original collection is housed in the Kautz Family YMCA Library at the University of Minnesota, but digitized copies can be viewed on FamilySearch at https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2513098. The records are both browsable and searchable.
  • World War I casualties on Wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_casualties.
  • Prisoners of the First World War, the ICRC archives: this database is a result of the POW records of the International Committee of the Red Cross and can be accessed at https://grandeguerre.icrc.org/. This site also provides information on life in internment camps, postcard photos, and copies of reports, letters, and other historic records sent to the ICRC.
  • Officers and Enlisted Men of the United States Navy Who lost their lives during the World War, from April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 by U.S. Bureau of Naval Personnel: this book was published in 1920 and can be accessed digitally at ​​https://archive.org/details/officersenlisted00unitrich.
  • U.S. Casualties of World War I by William Mitchell Haulsee: a three-volume book that lists the name of every American casualty in the Great War. This book was published in 1920 and can be accessed digitally at https://www.google.com/books/edition/Soldiers_of_the_Great_War/dswMAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA5&printsec=frontcover.
  • U.S. World War I Naval Deaths, 1917-1919: a database of over 7,200 sailors who died between 1917 and 1919 accessible via Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4022/)
  • American Battle Monuments Commission (https://www.abmc.gov/): The federal government agency that administers, operates, and maintains 26 permanent American burial grounds and 29 separate memorials, monuments, and markers on foreign soil.
  • U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Nationwide Gravesite Locator (http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/)
  • The Honor Roll 1917-1918-1919 by Clifford Russell Trimble: this book was published in 1920 and can be accessed digitally at ​https://archive.org/details/honorroll191719100trim.
  • Correspondence, Reports, Telegrams, Applications, and Other Papers Relating to Burials of Service Personnel, 1/1/1915-12/31/1939: NARA record group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985 (NARA identifier 595318). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/595318.
  • Deceased Veterans Claims (XC Files), 10/1917 – ca. 1945: NARA record group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007 (NARA identifier 23904754). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/23904754.
  • Deceased Veterans Claims (XC Files), 10/1917 – ca. 1949: NARA record group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007 (NARA identifier 12280123). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/12280123.
  • Deceased Veterans Claims (XC Files), 10/1917 – ca. 1955: NARA record group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007 (NARA identifier 28894631). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28894631.
  • Deceased Veterans Claims (XC Files), 10/1917 – ca. 1955: NARA record group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, 1773-2007 (NARA identifier 26466267). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/26466267.
  • Disinterment Records Files, Gravesite Reservation Cards, Records of Interments, and Grave Cards, 6/15/1864-12/31/2011: NARA record group 319, Records of the Army Staff, 1903-2009 (NARA identifier 7543569). More information on this series can be found at https://catalog.archives.gov/id/7543569.