World War II Selective Service Records, 1942-1947

Most records from World War II are not accessible to genealogists, due to privacy restrictions. Further complicating access is the disastrous fire that damaged or destroyed thousands of military records at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in the 1970s.

One record set that has recently been released to the public is the fourth WWII registration of older men, sometimes called the “Old Man’s Draft.” These were men who were born between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897, many of whom were too old to be in combat but might conceivably hold a desk job if needed. To see samples of these cards, you may want to read “World War II Draft Cards.”

These WWII draft registration cards have been digitized and placed online at Ancestry.com as part of their military collection. This is a fee-based service. The National Archives–Kansas City facility has draft registration cards for men who resided in Missouri. The alphabetically arranged cards are available by sending an e-mail or letter to the Kansas City National Archives.

Another World War II record set that is now available is National Archives Group 64, the Army Enlistment Records from 1938–1946. These have been compiled by the National Archives and are on their website, along with some smaller WWII era lists, as part of their digital databases.

Last modified: 21-Jun-2016 15:58