Basic Information
The main set of records for a military service man or woman is the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). This file can be found at the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis, Missouri. NPRC also holds Morning Reports, Payroll Records, Army Air Corps IDPFs, and more.
If your soldier died or was discharged by 1952, the records are available to anyone. If your soldier died or was discharged after 1952, only the next-of-kin, or authorized representative can obtain the records. Veterans can obtain copies for free, while others must pay NPRC copy fees.
Explanation of Service Numbers on Wikipedia
Resources
Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
Fold3.com has a lot of WWII resources for the Navy and intermingled you will also find USMC records
- WWII Naval Press Clippings
- WWII Navy Muster Rolls
- WWII Submarine Reports
- WWII War Diaries (Operational Records)
Historic Naval Ships Association This website contains training manuals
U.S. Navy in World War II Bibliography of resources
U.S. Navy General References and Manuals
Mariners’ Museum This may have some resources for Coast Guard and Merchant Marines
Dartmouth Naval Indoctrination Training School and V-12 Naval Training Program
Naval History and Heritage Command
- Guide to United States Naval Administrative Histories of World War II
- General Research Guides
- Bibliographies
National Museum of the U.S. Navy
NavSource Naval History in photos
NavSource Submarine Photos
- ShipScribe key to abbreviations. Very helpful when you find Naval abbreviations in other branch records too!
War Sailors – this site has Convoy links
Article – Line Crossing Ceremony from WWII Database
Wings Over Glenview video about NAS Glenview
Naval Museums
Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA
National Museum of the U.S. Navy
National Museum of the American Sailor
National Naval Aviation Museum
Seabees
Naval History and Heritage Command
Navy Seabee Veterans of America, Inc.
Navy – Together We Served – Duty Station Index
A Brief Seabee History by NMCB 62 “Minutemen”
U.S. Naval Construction Force – Official Site of the Seabees
U.S. Navy Library – U.S. Navy Construction Battalion in France and Germany During WWII
If you would like more in-depth information, please check out my books, Stories from the World War II Battlefield Volumes 1 and 2. These volumes help researchers locate information across all branches of the military during World War II.
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