Turn the Internet Into Your Military Research Toolbox

This program is offered as a Live Small Group Coaching program and an on-demand program. See purchasing options below.

You have a veteran’s name. Maybe a service number, a photograph, a discharge paper, a unit designation—or perhaps just a family story. Now what? Part of the 2-part military research strategy I created 16 years ago asks that you research online as well as offline. The problems many genealogists and family researchers face today are:

• They have no idea where to start.
• They believe everything is online (it is not!)
• They don't know how to navigate wonky websites like Fold3 and NARA Catalog.

Some of the puzzle pieces and answers you seek, may be online, but finding them requires more than typing a name into a search box. Military records are scattered across dozens of websites, databases, catalogs, digitized collections, and archives. Knowing where to look—and how to search—can make the difference between finding a few basic records and uncovering an entire military story. The WWII Digital Detective will teach you how to begin your search for WWI and WWII military records online and become a more effective digital military researcher.

Learn Where the Records Are Hiding

We’ll explore major genealogy and military research websites, including: Ancestry, Fold3, FamilySearch, NARA Catalog, Library of Congress, Internet Archive, Branch-Specific Museums and Archives, other military databases, archives, and lesser-known online resources. You’ll learn how to locate these websites, what types of military records you may find, and how to move from one resource to another as new puzzle pieces emerge.

In This Class, You'll Learn How To:

• Get a brief overview of the 2-part research strategy and a basic understanding of what's online and offline.
• Get started with an online WWI or WWII military research project.
• Identify the websites most useful for military research.
• Search Ancestry, Fold3, FamilySearch, and the NARA Catalog.
• Use different search strategies when a basic name search doesn't work and learn why the name search doesn't always fill research needs.
• Search for records using names, service numbers, units, locations, dates, and other clues.

Whether you're researching your father, grandfather, great-grandfather, another relative, or a military ancestor whose story has been waiting to be uncovered, this class will give you a practical starting point for navigating the enormous world of online military records.

Students Receive

• Video of the program or live event.
• Workbooks - Course workbook. Civilian Conservation Corps Toolkit. Library of Congress Toolkit. Fold3 Toolkit. Search Techniques for Fold3 and NARA Catalog Workbook.

Open your browser. Follow the clues. Start uncovering the story.

Become the Digital Detective Your Military Research Needs.

Jennifer's courses and Zoom chats have removed so much mystery from the process of researching a military veteran. I appreciate the straightforward approach that avoids going down endless trails of research that does not yield any results. She has designed a method to work through the labyrinth of military records which makes it possible for any level of researcher to understand.

I am an experienced researcher and Jennifer opened research doors for me I was unaware of. If you're serious about your research invest the time with Jennifer, her knowledge is the kind only gained from decades of experience in this field.

~Monique