Online Military Records in AAD
Using the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) System, you can access and search some of the National Archives' holdings of databases and other electronic or computerized records. These include many military records, such as Enlistment Records, Casualty Reports, Prisoner of War Data, and other records that may be of interest to anyone doing veterans or military research.
For example, if you are looking for information about someone (U.S. military or civilian), who may have been a prisoner of the Axis Powers during World War II, you now have the ability to search online for his or her record.
The best known of the electronic records, the Combat Area Casualties File from the Vietnamese Conflict, was one of the primary sources used to determine the names of casualties for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Electronic Military Records in AAD
New records are added to AAD on an ongoing basis. Listed below is just a sample of some of the records that may be of interest to veterans, their families, or researchers. A complete list is available within the AAD system.
World War II
(To locate these records within AAD, search on Subject: World War, 1939-1945
)
- World
War II Army Enlistment Records (description)
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records of World War II Prisoners of War (description)
[Search AAD for these Records ]
Korean War
(To locate these records within AAD, search on Subject: Korean War, 1950-1953)
- Records of Military Personnel Who Died as a Result of Hostilities During the Korean War (description)
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records on Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties
(description)
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records of Repatriated Korean War Prisoners of War (description)
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records of American Prisoners of War During the Korean War (description)
[Search AAD for these Records ]
Vietnam Conflict
(To locate these records within AAD, search on Subject: Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975)
- Records on Military Personnel Who Died, Were Missing in Action or Prisoners of War as a Result of the Vietnam Conflict
(description)
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records of Awards and Decorations of Honor During the Vietnam Conflict, 5/1969 - 3/1973
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records About the Ground Combat Operations by the Army During the Vietnam Conflict, 7/31/1966 - 3/12/1973
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records About Air Sorties Flown in Southeast Asia, 1/1970 - 6/1975
[Search AAD for these Records ] - Records About Hostile Fire Against U.S. and Australian Warships During the Vietnam Conflict, 10/25/1966 - 4/5/1970
[Search AAD for these Records ]
Note that most of the electronic records in AAD were created by Federal agencies to meet their own program or business needs. These records were not created with history or general public access in mind. As electronic data files, there may be limited textual or readable information, and some information may be stored in an abbreviated or coded format (although a code list is generally provided for these records).