Library Articles of Interest

Finding Veterans Online

By Kim Komando, Host of The Kim Komando Show

Q. I'm a graduate student getting my Master's degree in military history. I'm researching my grandfather's military service in World War II. He received a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts. His division, the 8th Infantry, fought across Germany and liberated the Wobbelein concentration camp.

I've been doing research on this division. I want to ensure that the sacrifices and achievements of these men are not lost. I'm working on compiling records and contacting former division members and their families. My goal is to write a book about the division. I'd also like to gather memorabilia like photos and journals and curate a collection.

Unfortunately, World War II veterans are passing away rapidly. It's also very hard to find them. Much of the contact information I have is decades old. For some I only have name, birth date and hometown. I was hoping you could recommend some good search sites. I don't have a lot of money to shell out for paid sites.

A. This sounds like a fantastic project, Geoff! As you know, I'm a huge fan of our military. The deeds and sacrifices of our soldiers should never be forgotten.

World War II was an especially significant chapter is world history. The men who fought through it deserve our respect and remembrance. All too often we forget about them.
Your grandfather, for example, sounds like an amazing individual. I would love to hear about how he got his medals. There are probably some great stories attached to them.

It is a fact, however, that World War II veterans are disappearing quickly. The last World War I veteran died not too long ago. It won't be long before World War II veterans are gone as well.

Unfortunately, finding people isn't an easy thing. Sure, it's easy to look up their names. Matching the names to the correct people is much harder. That's especially true if you're using 60-year-old records.

In this case, it's an especially daunting task. You aren't trying to find a few people. A WWII military division had well over 10,000 members! That's a lot of people to track down. Fortunately, it makes it more likely some of them are still alive.

I usually don't recommend using people search sites. In fact, I have instructions for removing your information from those sites. You can try these sites. However, they'll probably be too general.

Instead, you should go for more specialized sources. There are plenty of websites dealing with veterans. These often have large user bases and more recent contact information.

Let's start with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This has records on a large portion of former military members. In many cases, that includes contact information.

Now, the VA won't actually give you any information from personnel records. However, it can forward letters on your behalf. That can help veterans get in touch with you. The American Legion may also perform this service if you ask nicely.

The National Archives' National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis keeps military records. Its website has a lot of information on visiting and requesting records. You did mention that you've visited the records center already. Hopefully, you found some good information.

You can also make requests online to the National Archives' Veteran's Service Records. The online system can be found here. The National Archives has posted rules for researchers looking for records.

These services are all a good start. However, none of these organizations is up to finding an entire division. The National Archives says it receives 4,900 requests a day. Plus, it has a backlog of 51,000 requests. Even one request will take a while to get through.

|Fortunately, there are other sites to be found. VetFriends, for example, is a paid search site. It claims to have more than 1 million military records.

You can browse military units by signing up for a free account. A paid account lets you search by name, branch, unit and more. This can help narrow things down considerably.

You can also set up alerts. Whenever someone from a specific unit joins, it will notify you. Paid accounts range from $10 a month to a $97 one-time payment.

There are some free services you can try as well. The Foundation for American Veterans has a searchable database. It only has about 3,000 records so far, but you might get lucky.

Military.com has its Buddy Finder service. This is a free location service. However, its search is limited to the Military.com community. It doesn't say how many members it has.

MilitaryConnections.com also has a buddy finder. It claims to have over 450,000 records. However, the search options are limited, making it difficult to find specific people. Still, it's free, so give it a try.

GISearch is something like Facebook for military members and families. It claims to have more than 140,000 members. You can browse and search through members before you join. However, the service is free, so there's no reason not to join.

Searching is fairly comprehensive. You can search using the usual identifying information. However, it also has an assignment search. You can search by a person's assignment country, posting type and year.

There is another place you might not think to look. You might try genealogy tools. These are geared toward finding individuals by name, birth date and hometown. You can quickly comb through public records

Finding veterans is only part of this project. Once you've found them, you need to record their information. There are several ways to go about this.
A video biography of each member would be the most comprehensive method. However, it can be a complex process. Plus, you'd have to do a lot of traveling, which can get expensive.

You could try doing Skype interviews. Most computers can handle Skype video calls. You just need to record the interview. However, the quality probably won't be the best.

Audio recordings can work. There are ways to turn audio into text transcripts .

You can also use a mobile gadget like an iPhone or iPad. There are speech-to-text apps for both gadgets. Find out more in this tip.

You might receive photos from veterans and their families. If you get film copies, you'll want to scan them. Learn more about scanning photos here.

Compiling all this research is a good beginning. You mentioned that you'd like to write a book. When it's finished, here are some options for self-publishing.

You will also want to put together a website. I have resources to help you create one yourself. You can also find services that will help you build one.

A website is a good way to host a collection of text and photos. You can even post photos of objects you may acquire. Paying for a Webhost requires money. Fortunately, there are several sites that can help you fund a project like this.

Hopefully, that's enough to get you started. I do have one more suggestion, though. You'll probably be compiling gigabytes of irreplaceable information. Don't forget to back it up!

The Internet can be a great place to find people. However, it can also be used by companies and hackers to track you. Find out how to keep your privacy online:

• Advertisers love tracking your online activities. It gives them data for targeted ads. Learn how they know where you are and how to stop them.
• Facebook is an easy way to connect with old friends. However, it may be tracking every site you visit. Find out how to block Facebook from tracking your surfing.
• Hackers love to snoop on your Internet communication. They can pull all kinds of information about you. Thwart hackers by encrypting your communication.