Copyright 2001, Mark W. Swarthout
World War II
Once again, Germany decided to conquer the world. This time they had the help of Italy. And in the Pacific, Japan decided to expand their empire. The United States was a late comer to the war, but the industrial capacity was key to swinging the momentum of the war around. Many veterans of this conflict, including many of your relatives, are still available to ask about these times. Take advantage of this time to visit with them and ask questions.
Even if your parent were too young to have participated in the fighting, they may well remember events, victory gardens and scrapdrives. Ration books with their names on it are probably stored away somewhere safe. The entire country was mobilized for this war, and everyone participated in some way or another.
The Institute on World War II and the Human Experience is located at Florida State University. Here are many records at http://www.fsu.edu/~ww2/ They also provide links to many oral history projects and other related web sites.
As mentioned in the previous article, the availability of information may be restricted due to the privacy policies of the government. This is the same fact that restricts many census records, veterans of World War II are still living.
It is this same fact that can make your search much more rewarding! Living persons can still be interviewed and the likelihood of records actually being in the family and even in the house are greatly increased. Talking with veterans is one of the most interesting ways of filling in the blanks.
If the service member has passed away, their records can be retrieved by family members and next of kin.
These same problems will be even more difficult for conflicts that have happened since World War II. The Korean Conflict, Vietnam, Lebanon (1958 and 1983!), Grenada, Middle East, Somalia, United Nations Peacekeeping forces are all more recent military events that may provide information on your more recent, or even still living, relatives.
The house may have souvenirs from the war, such as flags, unit patches and other items. These interesting pieces may have a story behind them that you can hear first hand to record and preserve. Your best bet is to get it live from the individuals involved. If they are hesitant about talking about the events and experiences, perhaps you can get them to write about it. Letters written home may also be a source of information.
Good luck on this more recent search! The sources are more readily available, and many of the veterans organizations can help. The next series of articles will introduce the fraternal organizations of North America and the wealth of information that can be found there.