draft registration records

Deciphering Draft Registration Cards for Genealogy: World War II

by Lacey Cooke | Feb 13, 2019 | 01 What's New, Military | 2 comments

Our Military Minutes Man Michael Strauss revisits the first subject he covered with us on the Genealogy Gems Podcast: Draft Registrations for both World War I and World War II. This is Part 2, covering WWII. Click here to read Part 1 for background about the numbering on the cards, draft classifications, and the Selective Service System. Then read on to learn all about WWII draft registration records.

Michael has the answers for us. Attention, March!

The World War II Draft:

On the eve of World War II, our country witnessed the passage of another national conscription act. It was called the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 (54 Stat. 885). It turned out to be the first peacetime act in United States history. With a growing population for the United States, this meant that the draft process would be greatly expanded with more registrants.

All men regardless of citizenship status between the ages of 18 and 65 were registered in seven separate classification groups. Like the previous Selective Service Act of 1917 and the draft cards, these draft cards also recorded similar information on the upper left corner, which included the serial number, and the order number in the upper right corner, with nearly the same process being followed.

On October 29, 1940 Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson drew numbers from a bowl representing the first registration for men between 21-36.

World War II-Henry Stimson Drawing Draft Numbers

Image courtesy of Library of Congress in Washington, DC showing Secretary of War Henry Stimson drawing the first number for Draft in 1940 for World War II

The first number drawn of the 7,836 serial numbers that were printed on paper and placed in individual capsules was No. 158. This number belonged to Harry Robert Bell, a 21-year-old from Washington D.C. (see image below). The hundreds of men across the United States pulled in this first drawing were all given an order number of 1.

Harry Robert Bell-WWII Draft Card-First Person Drafted

World War II Draft Registration Cards

Edgar L. Strauss (photo courtesy of Michael Strauss)

Genealogists can determine which of the seven draft registrations cards their ancestors filled out by noting the letters that were placed in front of the serial numbers for five of the seven registrations:

2nd registration is preceded by an “S”
3rd registration is preceded by a “T”
4th registration (or Old Man’s Draft) is preceded by a “U”
5th registration is preceded by an “N”
6th registration is preceded by a “W”

Only the 1st and 7th were not lettered before the numbering system.

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card (image courtesy of Michael Strauss)

On the back of the card is stamped the local draft board number and location where the registrant went to fill out the form. These were cataloged nearly the same way as the previous war with the State, District Number, and local Board. The National Archives in College Park, MD has a master list of all the draft board numbers and locations alphabetically by state and territory.

Edgar L. Strauss-WWII Draft Card-Back (Image courtesy of Michael Strauss)

Contact the National Personnel Record Center in St. Louis, MO to obtain copies of the Draft Classifications for World War II and subsequent periods, and dockets to determine the status. During World War II, draft classifications were listed using first a “Roman Numeral and then a Letter” giving the status of each registrant.

Some of the more common Classifications included:

I-A Fit for military service (could be inducted into service)
II-B Deferred necessary to National Defense
III-A Service deferred to hardship/Dependents
III-B Occupation vital to War Effort
IV-D Minister of religion
IV-E Conscientious Objector
IV-F Rejected For Military Service

Image above: WWII Draft Classification List including Edgar L Strauss – Order #1495. (Courtesy of Michael Strauss)

For a complete listing of all of the classifications for World War I through World War II and including post-war service for the Vietnam and Korean warm, contact the college at Swarthmore University in Pennsylvania. They have recorded each of the listings along with explanations. Once this is done, contact the Archives in College Park, MD to obtain other Selective Service records. All records are part of Records Group 147.

Resources for Learning More About World War I and Military History

Move backward in time from World War II to the Great War with Michael’s article Deciphering Draft Registration Cards for Genealogy: World War I.

Then, click the image on the right to head to our comprehensive collection of articles on military history.

Author: Michael Strauss, AG

Michael Strauss, AG is the principal owner of Genealogy Research Network and an Accredited Genealogist since 1995. He is a native of Pennsylvania and a resident of Utah and has been an avid genealogist for more than 30 years. Strauss holds a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran.

How to Find Draft Registration Records and What They May Tell You about Your Ancestors

by Lisa Cooke | Sep 30, 2017 | 01 What's New, Military, Records & databases, United States | 3 comments

Do you have ALL your ancestors’ U.S. draft registration records–from the Civil War until after World War II? These documents may be filled with genealogy clues, whether your ancestor served in a war or not. Military expert Michael Strauss presents this roll call of U.S. draft registration records you’ll want to check!

Thanks to Michael L. Strauss of Genealogy Research Network for providing this guest post.

Military records can lead genealogists to many new sources of information. One of the first records that you may come across (for our United States ancestors) that could provide unknown information are found in draft registrations. The records are civilian in scope, but can provide clues of prior military service or proof of current war conditions.

The National Archives holds custody overall for the bulk of the draft registrations from the Civil War to post-war World War II. The Archives organizes their records by grouping numbers. The Civil War draft registrations are found in two record groups, RG59 and RG110. Later draft registrations are found in RG147. In all cases, finding aids are available to locate and obtain copies.

Civil War Draft Registration Records

Recruiting poster, New York printed by Baker & Godwin, June 23, 1863. Public domain image hosted at Wikipedia.org (click to view).

Civil War draft records date back to the first national draft which was signed by Abraham Lincoln on March 3, 1863. This draft only applied to men residing in states under Union control. The draft includes several lists detailing information about men eligible to be drafted to fight for the Federal Army. This included consolidated lists for men between the ages of 20-45, which are grouped and divided into two classes of records. This list contains the name, residence, age, race, marital status, place of birth, any former military service, occupation, and remarks for each registrant. (Remarks might include ineligibility based on religious reasons or former service in the Confederate Army.)

Other registrations included medical exams, statements of substitutes, and case files of persons who were draft aliens. (Aliens were ineligible for military service and therefore contain files that document their nativity.) All of these are at the National Archives.

The last group of records includes the descriptive rolls that contain the name, age, physical descriptions, where born, occupation, when and where drafted, and remarks. The descriptive books are located at the regional branches of the National Archives and can be accessed by researchers, as these have not been filmed or scanned. Records are divided into two separate record groups: RG59 (Department of State) covered those men who were aliens and RG110 (Provost Marshal) has all the other lists of men being drafted.

The only Civil War draft registration records available online are the consolidated lists; click here to search them at Ancestry.com (subscription required). On the Confederate side, there are a limited number of draft records available, some at the National Archive and some in the custody of individual state archives.

World War I Draft Registration Records

For a number of years, there was no draft or draft registration. However, when the United States entered the war in Europe on April 6, 1917, the country was totally unprepared for overseas campaigning. This conflict forced our government to consider other means to recruit the tens of thousands of men it would take to wage this war. The Selective Service Act of 1917 authorized the President of the United States to increase the military establishment being passed by Congress on May 18, 1917. The Act directed the Provost Marshal General Office (P.M.G.O.) to select men eligible for military service.

All men were required to register, native-born or aliens. The draft is separated into three registrations:

The 1st draft registration was dated June 5, 1917 for men aged 21 to 31 and consisted of 12 questions.
The 2nd draft registration was dated June 5, 1918 for men who had turned 21 since the previous registration and included a supplemental registration on August 24, 1918 for men turning 21 after June 5, 1918. Each consisted of 10 questions.
The 3rd draft registration was dated September 12, 1918 and was intended for all men aged 18 to 45 years. It consisted of 20 questions.

Each registrant was required to provide their name, age, birth date, and birthplace (in 2 of the 3 registrations), occupation or employer, nearest family, and a summarized physical description.

WWI draft registration of Henry Fox. Image from Ancestry.com.

By the end of World War I, nearly 24 million men had registered for the draft (this number excluded registered enemy aliens and those already in the military). The original draft cards are at the National Archives branch in Morrow, Georgia. World War I draft registrations are available online at Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org, Findmypast.com and fold3. FamilySearch is the only one with free access (a personal subscription or library access is required for the others).

World War II Draft Registration Records

The eve of World War II saw the passage of another conscription act. This act was the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, and was the first peace time conscription in United States History. This act officially established the Selective Service System. The draft during World War II consisted of seven registrations. The “Old Man’s Draft,” or 4th registration, was for men born between 1877 and 1897, with the other six registrations intended for the younger adult men born after 1897:

1^st: October 16, 1940, included all men 21-31.
2^nd: July 1, 1941, for those men who reached age 21 since the first registration.
3^rd: February 16, 1942, for men ages 20-21 and ages 35-44.
4^th: April 27, 1942, for all men between the ages of 45 and 64. The registrants were not eligible for military service (this is the “Old Man’s Draft”).
5^th: June 30, 1942, for all men between the ages of 18 and 20.
6^th: December 10 – 31, 1942, for all men who had reached the age of 18 since the previous registration.
7^th: November 16 – December 31, 1943, for American men living abroad between the ages of 18 and 44.

Registrants were required to provide their name, address, birth date, birthplace, and employer’s information, along with a contact individual who would always know the registrant’s information or address. The form also asked for the telephone number of the registrant in addition to a more complete physical description.

WWII draft registration of Henry Fox. Image from Ancestry.com.

Several of the states that recorded the “Old Man’s Draft” were lost. The National Archives no longer has these records available. These states include: AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, and TN.

Not all of the World War II Draft registrations are available online. Less the states above, view 4th registrations online at Ancestry.com, Familysearch.org (index and browse-only images) and fold3. The fold3 database includes 25 states and territories: AL, AK, AR, AR, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, HA, ID, LA, MD, NV, NM, NC, OK, PA, UT, VA, WV, WY, and the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. (On Ancestry.com, the number of states is limited to AR, GA, LA, and NC.) Other states are in the process of being added. However, the remaining states are only available directly from the National Archives in St. Louis, MO.

Some of the other registrations are also available online for a selected grouping of states.

Expert tip: It is not uncommon to find men registered for both World War I and World War II draft registrations, which would depend on their ages.

Post-World War II Draft Registration Records

The draft and registrations didn’t cease with the conclusion of World War II. It was active from 1948 until 1973, when President Richard M. Nixon officially signed legislation that ended the draft. This was suspended in 1975, and five years later, in 1980, President James E. Carter again brought back into activity the Selective Service System. This came in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. To date, the Selective Service System still remains active, requiring all men to register within 30 days of their reaching the age of 18 years.

To gain access those records not online from World War II, and for the later registration cards for men for the Korean and Vietnam conflicts and for other years, researchers will need to contact the National Archives in St. Louis, MO. This office handles the original cards for all men born between April 28, 1877 and March 28, 1957. The National Archives fee schedule is in place to request the records by mail. A copy of the Draft Registration Card (SSS Form 1) alone costs $7.00, or order a copy of it along with the Draft Classification History (SSS Form 102) for $27.00. Click here to go to the National Archives’ webpage for ordering Selective Service records.

Draft Registration Records for Men Born after 1960

The law never required men to register who were born between March 29, 1957 and December 31, 1959. The National Archives doesn’t hold copies of records for men born after January 1, 1960. To gain access to draft registration for all other years, contact the Selective Service System directly. Click here for all the details.

Michael L. Strauss contributes the new Military Minutes segment on the Genealogy Gems Podcast. Listen to this segment in the free Genealogy Gems Podcast episode 207.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links and Genealogy Gems will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Genealogy Gems!