Over the last several years I have worked with, and collaborated with, many Europeans who research American WWI and WWII service. I’ve also observed that most genealogists do pre-WWI research only, because so many records are accessible online or in books for those wars.
Sadly, genealogists are missing out on a huge opportunity to learn more about members of their communities or families by not exploring the records available offline, working with overseas researchers, and speaking with veterans about their experiences. As part of the Honoring World War II Service Together program I launched in August, I’d like to share 10 things genealogists should know about these incredible researchers. It is my hope through these articles that more people will begin connecting and collaborating. You might be surprised at what you learn about your WWI or WWII family member that you didn’t know!
- Language. One reason I believe many Americans do not pursue overseas research is the language barrier. However, many researchers speak English, or speak it well enough to communicate (with some patience on both parties). Sometimes the researcher has friends who can translate messages. When all else fails, there is Google Translate.
- Researchers who have adopted a grave to honor at an ABMC cemetery, or do WWI or WWII re-enactment, or research what took place in the town or city where they live, have often done a lot of research on their own to learn the soldier’s story. They might have information and American records you do not. This includes photographs.
- Photographs are an important part of the research grave adopters and others do. Each person I’ve met or spoken with, strives to find a face to put with the name(s) of those they research.
- Do you know about The Faces of Margraten Project? The foundation, Stichting Verenigde Adoptanten Amerikaanse Oorlogsgraven (Foundation United Adopters American War Graves) who is selling my book “Faces of War: Researching Your Adopted Soldier” handles this amazing project. I attended the first Faces of Margraten in 2015. In 2016, the foundation added hundreds more photographs. The next Faces of Margraten will be in 2018, when the foundation hopes to have thousands more photos. Other ABMC cemeteries, like Cambridge, are following this great program and implementing it at their cemeteries.
- This group also runs the Fields of Honor Database, which currently contains three ABMC cemeteries, soon to be six. The goal is to tell the story of each soldier buried in these cemeteries or listed on the Wall of the Missing. They are always looking for more information and photographs.
- Living History is active and available in Europe. There are many WWI and WWII re-enactment groups. You can read more about that in my articles: 10 Things Americans Should Know About European WWII Re-Enactors and Honoring Service – Living History in the Netherlands.
- Many researchers have “boots on the ground” experience with the battlefields. They have walked where their adopted soldier fought and sometimes died. They know where the Memorials and Monuments are located, often off the beaten path and difficult for a tourist to locate. With this comes research, maps, photographs, and often testimony from veterans. I can say the best times I’ve had seeing WWII sites in Europe were with researchers who took me to see things I wouldn’t have otherwise seen. They also often sent me home with materials, pictures, and history, after filling my head with history all along the route we took during the day!
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Jennifer meets Jim “Pee Wee” Martin at the camp. Veterans are often in Europe and many researchers interview them. And on the flip side of the coin, many European researchers come to America to meet veterans or attend WWII reunions and talk to family members. There is much knowledge to be gained by speaking with veterans and family members.
- Europeans have easy access to libraries, museums, and archives that Americans do not. There are other records, sometimes in other languages, in Europe. Working with overseas researchers, allows us to gain access with their help to other records that might tell the story of our soldier. The museums also have items our soldiers used, wore, drove, or shot, which also add to their stories.
- Researchers are often seeking Next-Of-Kin for their soldiers. Perhaps you will connect with someone!
- Researchers use American and European newspapers to spread the word about visits overseas, new research, upcoming commemorations and memorial unveilings. When you search for your soldier online, you might be surprised to find an article in Dutch about him!
- Our American men and women helped to liberate their countries. Sometimes more than once. Many researchers feel they owe our soldiers, especially the ones who died for their freedom, a debt. There is deep love and commitment in most countries to preserve the memories of our soldiers. They honor the memories by participating in Memorial Day and Veterans Day services, commemorations for specific battles or units, Liberation Day ceremonies, and often the birthday and death day of soldiers.
Laying the U.S. Paratrooper Society wreath at Margraten. Photo courtesy Andre Jans. Photographs are usually taken at these events which can be shared with family members. At some of these ceremonies, Americans are invited to lay wreaths or flowers as part of the commemoration. I had the honor of doing this at Margraten for Memorial Day 2016.
There truly is a deep love and respect for our American soldiers in Europe. I encourage you to connect with these amazing researchers, tour guides, grave adopters, re-enactors, museum owners, and others who research in Europe.
Have you worked with European researchers? What was your experience? What other tips do you have for genealogists?
I am taking new clients at this time if you are interested in working with a researcher to pull records for any military branch. I’m also scheduling speaking appearances in Europe for 2017. Please contact me if your group is interested in a program. I have seven to choose from on my website.
© 2016 World War II Research and Writing Center
I speak to many people on a daily basis about Army and Air Force research in the U.S. and Europe. Everyone is asking the same question. How can I find out where my soldier or Airman was every day? His OMPF (service file) burned in 1973.
The records access for the Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) is changing. Here’s what you need to know.
Life in Europe is really different from life in the U.S. Every time I am there, I get to experience new things, visit new places, and become more immersed in how the European people (especially the Dutch!) honor our World War II soldiers. The things I see and take part in never cease to amaze me. Often because we do nothing like those things in the U.S. We don’t have commemorations like they do in Europe. We don’t have old guilds and people dressed in medieval clothing performing ceremonies to open Congress. It is a whole different world there and one I deeply love.
I did publish a book about my dad’s unit, the
There are more sides of this story you have to tell. There is never just one version. You must tell ours and what happened to us.
We walk the camps day and night. You know we are there. We rise from the gas chambers, ovens, execution pits, beds, fields, and woods. Our souls yearn for peace. We did nothing to deserve this, and yet we are stuck here too.
Where is there peace in this camp? Some who survived eventually forgave their captors. Did they forgive themselves for living when others died? Did they make something of their spared lives? Or did they too rot away and turn to dust as we did?
The same can be said for World War II research. We have a starting point which could be a story, a soldier, a photograph, an artifact, or an event. When we choose to take the journey of that research, we travel a bumpy, twisty, often obstacle ridden road. Along that road we meet many people who enrich our experience and help us continue to move forward. We gather clues as we travel and uncover secrets buried deep in the recesses of the past. Exploring these secrets and revealing them can cause a turning point for many.
We stood at the crossroads in a sacred place full of love, strength and power. Two hearts joined again in this life which had been separated. In that moment they joined the past with the present. The fear with the love. The desire with hope. The impossible with the possible. Laughter, harmony, peace, joy, and love all mingled together at those crossroads. It was time to make a choice – return to the past or live in the present. Heal the pain and create a new future or remain stuck standing between two worlds across time and space. And all of this was orchestrated by someone long gone but never forgotten. Someone who knew her heart and how to heal her as she had healed him. There was still much to be done and this was only the first step.
It would not be an easy journey and the two may part ways at another crossroads, as often happens when we travel long roads. People greet us for only part of our travels while others stay. Those who stay often have different roles along the route. They provide laughter, a release. Love, acceptance, support, strength. They teach and provide clues for us to follow to piece together the vast puzzle of our journey.
The dark door was closed which was a sign to her that this path was not an option. She was being protected from going so deeply into the darkness. Her choice must be to forgive and move into the light and release the past. What took place in that doorway in the past was closed and sealed. He could no longer hurt her. She was stepping into more of her power and was protected and loved by so many. Taking the man’s hand in front of the open door, they stepped through together into a room that went on forever and was full of light.
What is the next step on her journey? To write the stories that people will remember. To write so people will learn how to capture and share their stories to heal the world. We are all connected in this giant web of life. My story is your story and through sharing, we all grow and heal in love.
There are those we meet on our journey into the mists from the crossroads. Those who give us tremendous healing. Traveling to the place where a loved one was lost forever is a solemn moment. Walking in the woods where James was killed was a moment in time I will never forget. It will stay with me forever. Walking across the spongy ground among the tall, silent trees swaying gently in the breeze under a sad, cloudy sky. Hearing whispers on the wind of thanks for coming to these woods. Whispers which reminded me I have a job to do. A job for which I was chosen. Whispers of appreciation because those who walk among the early morning mists know I will help tell their stories so they will not be forgotten. They have done their job and now it is time for me to continue mine. The writing will not be easy. The stories will be sad but through them we all heal. Letting go of the past does not mean we release all the parts of us that make us special. Letting go does not mean we give up gifts we are given in this lifetime. Letting go allows us to step more fully into our magic and power to create a better world tomorrow.
I spent time last November with the 104th Division Friends of the Timberwolves group. They dedicated an entire day to showing me their museum, taking me for a ride in a WWII jeep around the countryside in the Netherlands where the 104th liberated villages, and provided me with a lot of printed history to take home to read.
6. Many adopt American graves at one of the European ABMC cemeteries for WWI or WWII.
