Veterans Day is a time to recognize the veterans in our lives — to honor their service for our country and to show them that we appreciate their sacrifices made in our behalf.
In commemoration of Veterans Day, FamilySearch.org has announced the addition of three World War I collections containing information on the millions of American and British citizens who served and registered for military service between 1914 and 1920. The First World War, also known as the “Great War,” began 100 years ago and later ended on November 11, 1918. These vital genealogical resources are available in collaboration with the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.; the National Archives in Kew, Surrey, England; and findmypast.com.
- FamilySearch Military
- FamilySearch Military
- FamilySearch Military
- FamilySearch Military
- FamilySearch Military
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These online resources include the free United States World War I Draft Registration Cards 1917–1918. This collection “acts like a national census,” said FamilySearch collection manager Ken Nelson, “because it includes over 24 million records representing almost half of the male population of the United States at the time." Out of those who registered, approximately 4.8 million served and 2.8 million were drafted.
Nelson said the draft registration cards include notables such as baseball great Babe Ruth, entertainer and musician George M. Cohan, immigrant Metropolitan tenor Enrico Caruso and silent film star Charlie Chaplin, who was a British enrollee.
FamilySearch has also made two additional significant WWI collections available online for free with the help of the National Archives in Surrey, England, and findmypast.com. These resources include the United Kingdom WWI Service Records 1914–1920 collection and the United Kingdom WWI Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Records 1917–1920 collection. These two collections combined add more than 43,000,000 images to FamilySearch’s growing military databases while allowing users a unique glimpse into their connection to WWI.
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources and services to learn more about their family history.