Alaska Military Records

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United States

U.S. Military Records

Alaska

Military Records

Fort Selkirk Yukon

Online Resources

• See United States Military Online Genealogy Records for more resources.
• 1898-1934 Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Military Service Discharge Records, 1898-1934 at FamilySearch; index - How to Use this Collection
• 1940-1945 Alaska, World War II Draft Registration Cards,1940-1945 at FamilySearch; index & images - How to Use this Collection
• 1948-1949 Alaska, WWII Statement of Service Records, 1948-1949 at FamilySearch; index & images - How to Use this Collection
• The Vietnam Veterans Memorial - Alaska
• Vietnam Conflict State-Level Casualty Lists - Alaska

Background

U.S. servicemen have been in Alaska since 1867, when Alaska was placed under the jurisdiction of the War Department. Most of these soldiers were from the lower 48 states. The FamilySearch Library has enlistment registers for the regular army, 1798 to 1914 FS Library film 350307 (first film.) Also found on line in FamilySearch Historical Records United States, Civil War Soldiers Index; United States, Registers of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914. The registers provide the soldier's name, rank, unit, commanders, physical description, occupation, and birthplace. The records are arranged by year and by the first letter of the surname.

Forts

A historical sketch of forts in Alaska is in Bruce Grant, American Forts Yesterday and Today (New York, NY: E. P. Dutton Co., 1965; FS Catalog book 973 H2gb.)

• Fort Richardson
• Fort St. Michael -- Also known as Fort Archangel Michael, Fort Archangel Gabriel, Fort New Archangel, or Novo Archangelesk and finally the fort was renamed Post of Sitka (Fort Sitka). Textual records of this fort, 1867-1877, including registers, reports, and correspondence, are in the National Archives and are described in Records of United States Army, Continental Commands, 1821-1920, under the section entitled Records of Posts, 1820-1940 (Record Group 393.7).
• Fort Selkirk

Spanish-American War (1898)

The Spanish-American War was largely fought in Cuba and the Philippines. Spanish-American War records might exist in the state from which the soldier served or in a state where the veteran later resided.

Indexes

• United States, General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 (NARA T288) at FamilySearch; Index covers veterans of the Civil War, Spanish‑American War, Philippine Insurrection, Boxer Rebellion (1900 to 1901), and the regular Army, Navy, and Marine forces. (Learn more.)

• United States, Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898 at FamilySearch; images How to use this collection.
• Alaska, State Archives (Juneau), Military Service Discharge Records, 1898-1934 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection

Click on the link to learn more about the Spanish American War.

World War I (1917-1918)

World War I was a global war fought on multiple continents with several nations involved. Over four million men and women served from the United States.

• 1917-1918 United States World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 at FamilySearch; index & images — How to Use this Collection

• 1917-1940 United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection

• 1917-1919 United States, World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection

• United States. Selective Service System. Alaska, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. National Archives Microfilm Publications, M1509. Washington, D.C.: National Archives, 1987-1988. FS Library films 1473296–1473299 These cards have been digitized and are searchable online at United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918.

• United States, YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch; index & images — How to Use this Collection

See WWI Draft Records for more information.

• Alaska and WWI: A Centennial Exhibit Alaska State Archives
• Alaska World War I Veterans Data - Alaska State Archives - See Collection Guides
• Alaska, World War I soldiers' discharge records, 1917-1919 at FamilySearch; index & images

World War II (1941-1945)

Draft Registrations On 16 September 1940, President Roosevelt signed into law the first peacetime Selective Service Act. During WWII, the Selective Service System conducted six draft registrations; these records are held collectively in two groupings at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO. The registrations are part of Record Group 147 Records of the Selective Service System. From December, 1942 to August, 1945 no enlistments were allowed. The Selective Service became the only way men entered the service for the remainder of the war.

• 1940-1945 Alaska, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 at FamilySearch; index & images — How to Use this Collection
  

Fourth Registration
On April 27, 1942, the Selective Service conducted the fourth of six draft registrations related to WWII. The "World War II Selective Service Draft Cards: Fourth Registration, 1942" is often referred to as the “Old Man’s Registration” or the “Old Man’s Draft" because it included men with a date of birth from April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897. Since there is overlap in the WWI and WWII Selective Service registration, men born in the years 1877 to 1900 may have registered twice and have both WWII and WWI draft records.

• 1942 United States, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 at FamilySearch; index and images — How to Use this Collection; also available at Ancestry ($); Fold3 ($)
  

Relocation Records

• 1942-1945 Idaho, Jerome County Historical Society, Minidoka Japanese Relocation Center Mixed Vital Records, 1942-1945 at FamilySearch; index — How to Use this Collection
  

Other Records

For sailors from Alaska who died in World War II, see Volume 2 of Combat Connected Naval Casualties, World War II, by States, Two Volumes. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1946; FS Library film 1440393 item 1; book 973 M23un

A national cemetery with about 500 graves is located at Sitka (see Alaska Cemeteries).

World War II United States Military Records provides additional information.

• World War II in Alaska
• Kodiak Alaska Military History Museum World War II Units
• copied and typed by the Tahlequah Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. National Cemetery records, Sitka, Alaska FamilySearch Catalog
• Donald M. Goldstein and Katherine V. Dillon. The Williwaw War : The Arkansas National Guard in the Aleutians in World War II. Fayetteville, Arkansas : University of Arkansas Press, 1992, c1992. FS Library 976.7 M2g

Korean War (1950–1953)

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea (and its communist allies) and South Korea (with support of the United Nations, primarily the United States). See the Korean War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Vietnam War (1964–1972)

The Vietnam War was a conflict between North Vietnam (and its communist allies) and South Vietnam (with support of its anti-communist allies, including the United States). See the Vietnam War wiki article for information on records and their availability.

Websites

• Alaska Military Records
• The Civil War Pension Index Cards Collection, United States, Old War Pension Index, 1815-1926 has a few pension cards for servicemen, from Alaska, who served in the military during the early 1900s.

References

Alaska. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department,1998, 2001.

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.

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