World War II Research and Writing Center

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February 18, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Are you Preparing to Travel in your WWII Soldier’s Footsteps?

Have you walked in the footsteps of your WWI or WWII service member in Europe? I have and the experience changed my life. It brought people, places, and experiences into my life from the start of the trip almost four years ago through to today.

Did you know there is a process to research and planning for such a trip? Would you like to learn strategies and tools to help you save time and money? Join me for this two-part workshop in April where I will explain what’s required before you travel. Then we will talk with several panelists about their experiences and tips they have to help future travelers.

Workshop Description

Traveling to Europe to walk in your WWII service member’s footsteps is a life changing experience. Did you know there is a correct way to prepare for this journey? In this workshop you will learn:

Part 1: Preparing for the Journey (April 1, 2019 at 7:00 pm CST)

  1. Learn the steps required to research prior to your trip. Explore how this saves your time & money.
  2. Explore research possibilities.
  3. Learn how to put context to your research.
  4. Learn tips and tricks to planning your travel.
  5. Explore how to document your journey.
  6. Explore next steps when you return home.

Part 2: Panelist Discussion (April 6, 2019, at 12:00 pm CST)

We will have several panelists discussing with Jennifer tips for planning travel, how to connect with European researchers, and make the most of your experience.

Panelists:

  • Terri O’Connell of Cruise Planners.
  • Phil Rosenkrantz. Researcher, Writer & Traveler.
  • A couple more to be named….

After you purchase the live webinar, you will be given access to the product “Walking In Their Footsteps April 2019 Webinar” in your Library on the WWII Education website. The replays will be placed there when they are ready. There is no time limit to watch the replays.

There is a $29.95 fee for this two-part webinar series. You can watch the invitation video and register here.

© 2019 World War II Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Courses, Travel, Webinars, WWII Commemoration, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, D-Day 75th, European travel, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher, WWII Travel

February 11, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Navigating Military Records on Fold3

Are you ready to dive into military research on Fold3 or have you explored it and come up almost empty with good results? Did you know there is a strategy to find the gold within those databases?

Join me for the second WWII Online program this winter, with my webinar, Navigating Military Records on Fold3.

Program Description

One place many people begin research for their World War II service member is online.

While most of the records you need to reconstruct service history are not available online, you can find clues and unit or contextual information to add to your soldier’s story.

In this workshop I will show you different tools and strategies to help you dive deeper into Fold3 to discover military records for your service members. Some examples will be given through screen shots and others will be live using Fold3.

While this workshop is WWII focused, everything taught will apply to WWI, Korea, and Vietnam.

Register for this workshop.

© 2019 World War II Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Appearances, Courses, Research, Travel, Webinars, WWI, WWII Commemoration, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, fold3, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, online research, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWI researcher, WWII, WWII Researcher

January 30, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Webinar – Stories of the Lost

Register today!

Check out all our WWII webinars and online courses on our WWII Education Website. Looking for writing resources, caregiving resources, webinars and classes to help you move deeper into your family or military research? Visit us at Finding the Answers Journey to learn more!

© 2019 World War II Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Travel, Webinars, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

January 28, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Webinar – Researching WWII Online 9 February 2019

Register today! Space is limited.

Check out all our WWII webinars and online courses on our WWII Education Website. Looking for writing resources, caregiving resources, webinars and classes to help you move deeper into your family or military research? Visit us at Finding the Answers Journey to learn more!

© 2019 World War II Research & Writing Center

 

Filed Under: Webinars, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, ancestry, cemetery, fold3, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Kajabi, Korean War, military research online, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII online, WWII Researcher

January 21, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Webinar: Finding the Answers: WWII Research Online

Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 10:00 a.m. CST (17:00 Amsterdam time)

Webinar: Finding the Answers: WWII Research Online

Registration fee $19.95 fee for this webinar. Click to register for the webinar. A replay will be available for three days after the webinar.

One place many people begin research for their World War II service member is online. While most of the records you need to reconstruct service history are not available online, you can find clues and unit or contextual information to add to your soldier’s story. Tools and strategies taught in this course will apply to WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam military research.

In this program, Jennifer will:

  • Explain some myths and common questions about online research.
  • Explain how to research using the collections on Ancestry.com and Fold3.com.
  • Discuss other places you can find information online and how that can lead to offline resources.
  • Explain where and how to connect with other researchers or European grave adopters.
  • Discuss using social media to locate information.

The tips you learn in this program will help you with any digitized record set.

© 2019 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Courses, Genealogy, Research, Webinars, WWI, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII research online, WWII Researcher

January 8, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Webinar Saturday January 12, 2019 – Finishing the Story

Webinar: Finishing the Story. Combining Genealogy and Military Research to Write the Story

Saturday, January 12, 2019

11:00 a.m. CST/12:00 p.m. EST

Registration fee $19.95. Click to register for the webinar.

Tracing the life of a World War I or II soldier can be challenging. Researchers have been conditioned to believe “All the Records Burned!” Some did, but an abundance of other resources exist to reconstruct service history. Many researchers are unaware of the numerous military records and resources available.

In this program, explore the lives, service, and deaths of Michael Kokoska, Frank Winkler, and Robert Brouk. Genealogical, historical, and military records will be shown and discussed. Jennifer will demonstrate how to write the stories of your soldier through a brief reading from her books Stories of the Lost and The Tiger’s Widow.

In this engaging and informative presentation, Jennifer shares:

A trip through time, exploring the lives of three men.

  • Moving stories about each man’s life and death.
  • Numerous resources search for military records to reconstruct service history.
  • Tips on weaving military, genealogical, and historical records together.
  • Examples of how a military story can be written.

© 2019 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Courses, Genealogy, Webinars, WWI, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, Finishing the Story, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

January 7, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

War Stories – An Educational Project in Vietnam

Last year I was approached by a teacher in Vietnam named Ngoc Diệu Nguyễn who was creating a program to share on Microsoft Education called War Stories.   Nguyễn was planning to bring healing to students, veterans of both sides of the Vietnam war, and the world through her program. I was happy to participate because helping the world heal from war is one of my missions.

Program Description from the website:

This collaborative project aims at sparking understanding, empathy, compassion and spreading peace by giving students the chance to talk to veterans, their family members and then share the untold frontline and home front stories with the world.

It is widely accepted that ‘History is written by the victors’ (Winston Churchill). So how much do we really know about history? This collaboration will open students’ eyes and hearts to the connections historically and emotionally shared between the Vietnamese and Americans or among people directly and indirectly involved in any wars in the history. These connections can be felt regardless of war or time or place.

At the completion of the project, students will be able to develop their interviewing, writing, editing skills, their emotional skills and other 21st century skills including Collaboration, Communication, Creativity & Innovation, Self-Direction, Making Global Connections, Making Local Connections, Using Technology as a Tool for Learning. For those learning English as a foreign language or a second language, their four language skills are expected to be improved as well.

If you watch the video, you will see me and a little about my participation and meet many others who contributed to the project. I also gave permission for some of the writing prompts out of my book, Stories from the WWII Battlefield: Volume 3 Writing the Stories of War. This allowed students who do not have access or funds to purchase books, to have additional resources to use when interviewing family members or veterans. Be sure to scroll down the entire page she has set up to meet many other contributors and learn more about the project.

Ngoc asked for my expertise in military research and writing after having been referred to me by David Estes a Vietnam veteran, who runs the Livingston Country War Museum, in Pontiac, IL. David participates in Skype in the Classroom and connected with Ngoc that way. The war museum is an amazing place and worth a several hour visit if you are near Pontiac. You never know who will walk in the door (think veterans with beautiful smiles, lots of energy, laughter, and so many stories!) You can view interviews I conducted with some of the veterans at the museum and a tour of the museum, on my YouTube Channel.

To learn more about War Stories, you can explore the following links.

  1. An overview and progress report.
  2. Where some interactions between students and veterans take place https://flipgrid.com/du79l3w  Use password: warstories2018
  3. Facebook page

Would you like to contribute to the project or contact Ngoc to ask questions or participate in an interview? You can email Ngọc.

© 2019 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Genealogy, Healing, Research, The Soul of War, Trauma of War, Vietnam, Writing Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, Microsoft, Microsoft Education, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, War Stories, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

January 2, 2019 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Free Webinar 7 January 2019! Let’s Research, Write, and Connect.

Let’s Research, Write, and Connect.

Tips and Tools to Start Your 2019 Military and Family History Writing Projects

On January 7, 2019, Lisa Alzo and I will conduct a free webinar to help you start your new year off on the right foot! We have tips to help you start your military research or family history writing and special offers to help you continue learning as you move through your year.

To register just click this link!

Lisa Alzo:

No More Excuses: Ten Tips to Finally Write that Family History

Have you wanted to turn your years of genealogy research into shareable stories, but don’t know where to begin?  Do you stare at the blank page and blinking cursor and give up before you even write one word? In this webinar, learn the tips and tricks to beat writer’s block and finally write that family history!

Jennifer Holik & Megan Heyl:

Tips to Start your Military Research

Are you ready to start WWI, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam military research but are not sure where to begin or what to do? We have the answers and resources to help you!

To register just click this link!

© 2019 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Appearances, Courses, Webinar, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, Lisa Alzo, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

December 31, 2018 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Professional Researchers and Empathy

Happy almost New Year!

The end of 2018 has arrived, although I am not quite sure where this year went. While there were moments it felt as if it dragged on and I would never see the light at the end of the tunnel, most days seemed to fly by. As I sit here in these final hours of the year, I have been journaling a lot about my targets for the early part of 2019. I have been evaluating my business, what it has been, what it can no longer be, and what it must become. Who I must become to create in a new way.

I am writing my memoir and a couple of other books at the same time because the world requires hope and inspiration. I require an outlet for some of what I have experienced and felt. I was also put on this earth to help others discover new possibilities to cope with the unknown and difficult. This is requiring me to be very vulnerable and open. Something that is sometimes difficult.

The research we, as professionals, do for people can have serious repercussions in their lives and family. However, in general in the genealogy and military research communities, I don’t see people talking about this. Why is that?

Scrolling through Facebook today, a friend and genealogy colleague we will call “S” posted a meme shared by another colleague that LOL’d the pain a family was going to experience because DNA tests were purchased. There was a family secret the mom had not shared because of her intense grief. “S” stated as professionals or humans, we should not be LOLing or sharing hurtful things, or commenting in ways that cause people pain. We do not know the whole story. Some comments on the original poster’s thread were basically that ‘people need to get over the past and move on.’ Or other more hurtful comments I will not repeat here.

Really? It is THAT easy to forget what happened in the past that caused someone intense pain and grief and was passed down through the family, often unknowingly? Further, how would you feel if someone made comments like this to you about your family? Have we become so uncaring as a society or is it that social media allows people to behave like asses with no consequences to their words or behavior?

What I am seeing many professionals – in any business – lack these days is empathy and the ability to connect on a deeper level with clients to help them navigate the information discovered through genealogical or military research or even DNA.

Empathy is defined as: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Isn’t this what we should be striving for? Not an attitude of ‘let me take your money, toss you some papers, and let you sort yourself out.’

What would it take for the people of the world to start showing more empathy? How could our world change if we did?

I am different……

The primary reason new clients have chosen to work with me is the fact I provide empathy and answers. I go deeper that anyone else in my field and help them sort out the past. I cannot stand by and let someone else suffer with the questions or uncertainty, when I can provide answers, hope, and often a message from their loved one. One client recently sent a testimonial,

“Incredible!  Whether your looking for the smallest of detail, the answer to a question, or the entire story…Mrs. Holik is the researcher, the expert to work with.  I was amazed as to the details, the actual written records, and pictures that she was able to find surrounding my father’s time overseas during WWII…so very much information/detail, even though I wasn’t able to give her much to go on, just my father’s name and that he was in the Army.  Another unexpected, but very special characteristic of Mrs. Holik’s work was her sensitivity, her compassion, her love for the work she’s doing, and for the actual individuals (both alive and having passed) she was working on and for.  She conveyed her sincere interest and care every time, whether on the phone, or in her written communications with me.  Her work is very special, the product that she produces is very special, and she is one very special person.” ~~ Rich Williams

If you are interested in working with a researcher who digs deep, provides empathy, helps you sort out the family stories, secrets, shame, guilt, all in a confidential manner, and help you process the information we discover, I am taking new clients at this time. Feel free to contact me for a free phone consultation to discuss research options, costs, and timelines.

© 2018 World War II Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Genealogy, Healing, Spirituality, The Soul of War, Trauma of War, WWI, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, empathy, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

December 18, 2018 by Jennifer Holik 1 Comment

Starting WWII Research Webinar Available!

Webinar recorded 15 December 2018 as part of the Holland Genealogy Group meeting.

World War II research is surrounded by stories and myths which often give people the perception they cannot obtain any information about military service.

  • Have you heard, ‘All the records burned!’
  • Have you read on a website that you must be the next-of-kin to receive information?
  • Do you think sending in one form to request records gives you everything available?
  • Do you know there are additional records at NPRC, that staff will not search for you, that are required for Army and Army Air Forces research?
  • Do you think starting your search in unit records will provide all the answers?

In this introductory course, you will learn everything you need to know to locate and document as much information as possible before you start requesting military records. This is especially important if your service member was in the Army or the Army Air Forces. Using WWII as a foundation, we will bust myths, tell stories that explain what is available and how you can get started on your own at home.

Purchase the webinar on our WWII Education site.

© 2018 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Webinar Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, education, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, online course, travel, Vietnam War, webinar, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

November 30, 2018 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Czech Military Historian Seeks Assistance

Guest post written by Jiri Frybert, Czech Republic

I am looking for one American soldier who was in Czechoslovakia at the end of WWII. His name was Dan C. Thomas, he was Lieutenant, he was African American. His photo is attached. According to the badges wearing he was member of some Artillery unit and he was a liaison pilot. A liaison aircraft (also called an army cooperation aircraft) is a small, usually unarmed aircraft primarily used by military forces for artillery observation or transporting commanders and messages. Type of aircraft was Piper. (Scroll down below this text to see additional photos).

The photos were taken in small town Hradek (it is close to town Susice), Czechoslovakia in May 1945 (after May 10). There is also another African American liason pilot but I do not know his name. Do you know these soldiers?

I would like to know in which unit these soldiers served. Do you recognize it according to aircraft marking? Do you which liaison squadron was composed from African American pilots?

I will be grateful for any information. Plese, contact me at email: jirkafrybert@hotmail.com

Thank you very much.

Jiri Frybert, Czech Republic

 

© 2018 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Travel, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, cemetery, Czechoslovakia, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NPRC, travel, Vietnam War, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

November 23, 2018 by Jennifer Holik Leave a Comment

Our Biggest Black Friday – Cyber Monday Online Course Sale!

The WWII Research & Writing Center is offering our biggest discount ever on our online courses. Take advantage of our Black Friday – Cyber Monday special and take

50% off all our courses!

If you have been considering the IDPF class which is regularly $295.00 – NOW is the time to register for the class with your 50% discount.

All of our courses teach you the research strategies and show you how to research WWII but the same records and strategies apply to WWI, Korean War and the Vietnam War. No other site gives you access to research all four wars.

Click the links below to take advantage of this sale before it ends Monday evening, November 26, 2018.

Finding the Answers in the IDPF
Starting WWII Research 3 Course Bundle
Finding the Answers Through WWII Writing
Finding the Answers: Starting WWII Research
Finding the Answers: WWII Online

© 2018 WWII Research & Writing Center

Filed Under: Courses, Genealogy, WWII Education Tagged With: 75th anniversary D-Day, ABMC, black friday, cemetery, coupon, cyber monday, genealogy, hire a WWII researcher, IDPF, Individual Deceased Personnel File, Jennifer Holik, Korean War, NARA, NPRC, online courses, sale, travel, Vietnam War, writing, WWI, WWII, WWII Researcher

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