United States Enlistment and Discharge Records
Online Resources
| |
FamilySearch Historical Records
Enlistment and Discharge Records
Those who served in a military unit (company or regiment) were listed on muster rolls (similar to attendance rosters). These records generally give the soldier’s name and the date and place of enlistment and muster. You may also find descriptive rolls that provide the individual’s name, rank, age, physical description, marital status, occupation, place of birth, place of residence, and service information. The National Archives or the state’s adjutant general’s office may have these rolls. When an individual was discharged from military service, he or she was listed on muster‑out rolls. Copies of the federal muster‑out rolls were sent to the office of the state adjutant general. Discharge certificates, however, are not usually part of the service record. If a soldier served between 1865 and 1944, the discharge certificate may be in the family’s possession. Copies of the discharge were not kept in soldiers’ service files, but counties sometimes recorded discharges.
National Archives and Records Administration
National Personnel Records Center
- National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)
- About Military Service Records and Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs, DD Form 214)
- What is an Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)?
- Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) - Veterans and Next-of-Kin Separated after 1960
- Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Holdings
- DD Form 214, Discharge Papers and Separation Documents
- Service Numbers and Social Security Numbers
- Request Your Military Service Records
- Veteran's FAQ
- Archival (Accessioned) OMPFS and EMFS NARA)
- Norman Eisenberg. 20th Century Veterans' Service Records Prologue: Journal of the National Archives. 37 #1 (Spring, 2005):
- Trever K. Plante. An Overview of Records at the National Archives Relating to Military Service Prologue: Journal of the National Archives 34 # 3 (Fall, 2002):
National Archives Catalog
- Disability Discharges, 1917 - 1939
- U.S. Army Discharge Reports, ca. 1917 - 1920 "...camps in the United States and it's territories, Europe, the Panama Canal Zone, and Puerto Rico."
- World War I Enlisted Men Final Military Pay Vouchers, 1917 - 1921
- U.S. Army Enlisted Personnel Payment Records, 7/1915 - 9/1917