Military archive dive: secrets of how to research your veteran’s history

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to truly meet a veteran relative or ancestor as they were in the past, walk in their footsteps through the documents, photos and records that hold a

piece of who they were?  Fortunately, there are many tools to help us discover untold stories. How to use them in your research, however, can be tricky. I researched the history of Sgt.

Silvio Pedri, my husband’s grandfather, who had served in the 95th Infantry Division and been a POW in World War II. That led to a trove of remarkable material about his life, culminating in

us making the documentary film Dear Sirs. Here are some tips I learned as a professional researcher. START WITH WHAT’S UNDER YOUR NOSE Who was this person to you and to everyone else they

knew? Did the person have a journal, or maybe an old photo album in the attic with names and dates on the back of photos? Ask friends and family for details that will expand your research.

Be careful, though. Memories can be flawed, and sometimes basic information about ranks, units and places can be wrong. Treat facts passed down orally as clues. SEARCH DATABASES Online

genealogy databases such as Ancestry.com (AARP members get a 30 percent discount) and FamilySearch.org contain records of censuses, immigration, birth, death and marriage records. 

FindAGrave.com can yield details of relatives and key dates.  If the person was an immigrant, fascinating details can be found in the Ellis Island Passenger Search. A searchable database of

online military records has been built by Fold3, the military partner platform of Ancestry.com.  Newspapers.com is a great place to get accounts that help paint a human picture of the person

you’re researching. Many local papers covered veterans’ deployments and when they returned home. There are obituaries and birth and marriage announcements too.