Collection includes the most comprehensive set of WWII Navy Muster Rolls ever released online and
exclusive Pearl Harbor veteran records
PROVO, UTAH – (December 2, 2011) – In remembrance of the 70th anniversary of the attack
on Pearl Harbor, which marked the United States’ entrance into World War II,
Ancestry.com
(Nasdaq: ACOM), the world’s largest online
family history resource,
today announced it is offering six days (December 2-7) of free access
to its entire World War II Collection. One in five Americans is a
direct descendant of
a WWII veteran, with four out of five having a WWII veteran in their
families, according to research done by Ancestry.com[1].
The Pearl Harbor attack spurred millions of Americans into military
action. By the end of the war, nearly 16 million Americans had served in
the U.S. Armed Forces - more than a quarter in the U.S. Navy.
Highlighting the World War II Collection is the release of the
World War II Navy Muster Rolls (1939-1949), which includes more
than 33 million records detailing nearly all enlisted personnel who
served aboard a U.S. Navy ship between January 1939 and January 1949,
including more than 2,400 Americans who were killed
in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Muster Rolls provided quarterly reports
of personnel assigned to a ship, duty station or other activity. These
reports noted sailors who experienced significant changes in status,
such as promotions, transfers, leave or time
in the infirmary. In addition to all enlisted men, the Navy Muster
Rolls also include selected officers, female officers of the Army and
Navy Nurse Corps, wives and daughters of Navy personnel and civilians.
Nearly anyone searching for a family member who
was enlisted in the Navy during this time period should be able to find
their records in this collection. These new U.S. Navy Muster Rolls and
the entire World War II collections can be found at
ancestry.com/pearlharbor
Carol
Horner-Iacona of San Marcos, Texas has utilized the U.S. Navy Muster
Rolls to create a book
of memory honoring her father who served as a Seaman First Class V-6
aboard the U.S.S. Helena, which was torpedoed on the morning of December
7th in Pearl Harbor. Charles Horner, now 91, was unable to speak of his
experience in the war until recently. The
records Carol has uncovered have helped fill in the gaps to a family
story she hopes is never forgotten, including more than a dozen records
of his service during WWII, including the Muster Rolls detailing his
post on that fateful day at Pearl Harbor.
“The attack on Pearl Harbor pulled the United States into the deadliest conflict in world history,"
said Donald L. Miller, critically acclaimed author of The Story
of World War II and host and associate-producer of the new HBO
documentary, He Has Seen War. “Only 11 percent of World War II veterans
are still alive today, and as many of these veterans
continue to pass on, our connection to these historic events is being
lost. By making these records available, Ancestry.com is helping to keep
the stories of these brave men and women alive.”
Ancestry.com is further expanding the World War II collection by making these new records available
as part of the free access promotion:
- National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl Cemetery) Database- This collection contains more than 120,000 records from 1949 to 1976, including headstone images and photos of names on war memorials. Seven hundred veterans who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor are buried at the Cemetery. This is the second largest final resting place for crewmen who lost their lives on December 7, 1941, the primary resting place being the USS Arizona Memorial.Together these two locations comprise the majority of the 2,402 Americans who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. Also buried at Punchbowl Cemetery are veterans of the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. This unique collection is available only on Ancestry.com and offers families the opportunity to pay their respects and discover information about their ancestor’s final resting place.
- U.S. WWII Young Men’s Draft Cards -This collection includes draft cards from theseven draft registrations held between November 1940 and December 1942. Because of privacy laws, information on most of these registrations was not previously available to the public. The first installment of these cards includes almost two million filled out by men living in North Carolina who were born between 1897 and 1929.
“World
War II impacted millions of American families and we felt this was an
appropriate time to
make our collection available at no cost to provide the public an
opportunity to explore through records, how the War may have touched
their families,”
said Josh Hanna, Executive Vice President,
Ancestry.com. “Ancestry.com hosts the largest online
collection of historical military records and these new additions to our
World War II catalog add further depth to this important collection.”
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