Veteran's Day and Genealogy

VETERAN’S DAY AND GENEALOGY

By Karen Utter Jennings

            In honor of Veteran’s Day, let us remember those who have and who are serving to protect our country. For all of the wars, my family has documented those who served in the military. I have done some, but not all, research on the military side of my families. Other family members are continually searching and finding information that we share with each other.

            If you want to research the men and women who served in the military, following are good places to do so.

            According to evidence, there are at least 25 Utter men who served in the Revolutionary War. A good website to search for the Revolution is Liberty’s The American Revolution. It offers teachers guides and resources and chronicles the war. Another site is Revolutionary War Sites: A Guide to the Battlefields. This site arranges the battlefields by states.

            During the Civil War, our family has many who served.  My mother’s side of the family documents Confederate Cherokee Mounted Volunteers. A few websites you might search are: The Civil War Archive: United States Colored Troops, Grand Army of the Republic, Cyndi’s List: US Civil War, and United States Military Records on the Family Search site.

            World War I is also known as the Great War.  I have the pictures that my great, grandmother, Ollie, saved of her husband during the time he served in France.  Some websites for WWI are The Great War, World War I Trenches: On the Web, and the First World War.com.

            For World War II websites, search U.S. Airborne During World War II; The National World War II Memorial; and the World War II U.S. Veteran’s Website.

            Transitioning to a more current time, my husband, Stephen Jennings, served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  My cousin, Charlie Beam, served in Japan with the Air Force.  Presently, Cousin Sonya has twin grandsons serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

            The National Archives Record Administration (NARA) offers a huge database filled with military information.  You will find links to genealogy, how to request military service records, historical documents and much more.  Ancestry.com has a nice military database, but you must subscribe to use Ancestry. 

            I hope these websites will help you find your military ancestors.