Locating the elusive service/serial number with a common named ancestor.
I recently helped someone, we’ll call him Joe, with locating information on their family member, William A. Campbell Jr. from Brooklyn, NY, who served in the Navy during World War II. He said William was born 1925 died 1977 and served on ships that were sunk. No other initial details were given.
If you have conducted genealogical research, the first red flag is that William Campbell in New York is a very common name. Without more clarifying information, how could you possibly find a service number for him so you could request his OMPF? I’ll show you.
Search the Go-To’s for Service Numbers – Navy Example
In this article I’m strictly showing the go-to’s to attempt to find a Navy service number. If you are researching other branches, some of these resources will apply and then there would be others to consult.
With such little biographical information to start with (while waiting for more details from Joe) I start with the BIRLS database on Ancestry to see if I can find any possible William A. Campbell Jrs that fit the birth/death dates. I found a potential match – birth 18 Sept 1925, death 14 Aug 1944. Enlisted 18 Oct 1943, discharge 25 April 1946. The name listed was William Campbell. Ok so Joe confirmed those dates and we see there is no ‘A’ or Jr listed with this entry. Could be the person who indexed it didn’t add it or the BIRLS entry didn’t have it.
With this confirmed I took a quick search in Navy Muster Rolls only to confirm there were multiple William Campbell’s of various varieties – with and without middle initials, some with Jr.
Next I searched U.S. Headstone Applications on Ancestry in case he had a military stone issued. This will provide a serial or service number. I had checked FindAGrave but there was no helpful information or a photo of his gravestone. This Applications provided me with a potential who matched the birth/death dates. This William was married to a Katherine. I confirmed with Joe the wife’s name and where he was buried. BINGO – I have the service number.
Reconstructing Naval Service History without the OMPF
Most people mistakenly think if the service file burned in the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), that you don’t have to reconstruct service. However, this is incorrect thinking. Let me explain.
Whether the OMPF burned or arrives fully intact, it doesn’t appear in exact chronological order. It doesn’t provide context about the experience of war. It provides puzzle pieces you can use to create a timeline and reconstruct the footsteps of this veteran.
Need to understand this concept more – read my articles:
WWII Research Tip! The OMPF Contains Gold
Exploring the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF)
The Difference Between the OMPF & IDPF
While you wait to order or receive the OMPF from the NPRC, there are, in the case of Navy research, many records you can attempt to locate. You want to start first by searching the service number – in this case 815 72 75. When you search – try it first WITH the spaces. Then try it without. Then try by name.
As you do this it is vital you put together a timeline of service to track the movements, ships, stations, and locations of your Naval veteran. These include:
- Navy Muster Rolls (NARA Catalog, Ancestry, Fold3) – to establish some of the ships/stations. You may not find all this through Muster Rolls due to poor quality of the pages or incorrect indexing or OCR results. The OMPF will have all ships/stations.
- WWII War Diaries (Fold3, NARA Catalog) – once you have identified the vessels on which your veteran served
- Movement Cards (NARA College Park not digitized) – for Merchant Vessels to track Armed Guard movement
- Deck Logs/Port Director Logs (NARA College Park not digitized) – for daily logs of the vessel – both Liberty Ships and Naval Vessels
- Armed Guard Reports (NARA College Park not digitized) – for a set of records, some narrative potentially, about the Naval Armed Guard’s service aboard a merchant vessel.
WARNING! Pay attention to how the veteran appears in the reports. It may be confusion as this William was.
The Ancestry Naval Muster Rolls results show me for this service number: William N Campbell Jr. You may scratch your head and say wait – his middle initial was A. Why are you telling me this is the same guy? Because the service numbers match and the N isn’t actually a middle initial. It indicates NO middle initial. In Army Records it appears as NMI. When you look at most of his muster rolls you will see whomever typed these listed him twice. Listed several people twice. This is likely to distinguish the orders/movements rather than try to type all on one small space. Pay attention to how the information shows up. Confirm the service number.
Using the available Muster Rolls on Ancestry and NARA Catalog I was able to a quick reconstruction of service history. This told me:
- He was Naval Armed Guard which meant he was going to be transferred to different ships and therefore, different records would be required to find context.
- I learned he was on at least three different vessels. They did not sink according to MARAD docs. Further research should be done to confirm this and ensure the correct vessel identifications.
- He was taken off the SS ASA GRAY for medical reasons and appears to have spent a lot of time then on land at the Naval Armed Guard Center before returning to any vessel. Again – this has to be confirmed through the OMPF and additional records.
Basically once I confirmed the service number, I was able to do a quick timeline of his service. Easy.
If you would like to learn more about Navy research and reconstructing service history, whether the OMPF was impacted by the first or not, click the link to my online store below and register for one of my upcoming small group coaching sessions or book a 1-1 private session today.
If you are ready to start a research or writing project, or would like to brush up on your WWI, WWII, Korea, or Vietnam research skills, visit my online store and sign up for one of the upcoming Small Group Coaching sessions – specific to your military branch. You can also reach out for a free research or book writing consult to jennifer@ancestralsouls.com
© 2026 WWII Research & Writing Center
Leave a Reply