The Ancestor Hunt regularly adds and updates new collection links, as well as searches for and fixes broken links.
(This page's most recent update is January 2025)
Military records are another useful set that will help you find out more about your ancestors. There are a ton of records that are available for free online, and there are some very robust collections (such as Fold3 and Ancestry) that have sizable online military collections as well.
Typically, military records online fall into 5 different categories:
- Military Service Records:
Includes enlistment information, such as location and date enlisted. Also includes demographic information, such as full name, birth date and location, residence, and occupation, plus contact information of next of kin, medical and military information, and unit assignations while in the military. - Selective Service Records:
Includes full name, residence, age, occupation, marital status, birthplace, contact information, physical description, and other information. - Bounty Land Warrant Applications:
It includes information similar to that in service records as well as other information. Only used between 1775 and 1855. - Pension Records:
Will include birth, marriage, and death records, demographic information, plus information about the spouse, and possibly children. - Special Records:
May include information if the person was a prisoner of war, was wounded or killed in action. 1910-1940 Census Records include questions about military service. Includes those buried in Veteran’s cemeteries.
A good primer on Military Records is found on FamilySearch’s Military Records page, available on their wiki.
Note: Some links listed take you to a FamilySearch Collection of digital images. Near the bottom of the page under Film/Digital Notes is the name of each sub-collection. If there is a camera icon at the right of the name (in the Format column) then the collections’ images are browsable. If there is a camera with a key icon, it is only available at a Family History Center or affiliated library. If there is a film reel icon, then it is only available in microfilm format, not digital. To take full advantage make sure that you are logged in to FamilySearch. The results may be different if you are signed in, rather than not.
Below, listed by state are links to military records that are available for free online. Included on each state’s page are links to free nationwide collections since there are a sizable number of collections available for the entire country.
Washington Military Records
National
- American Battle Monuments Commission – Korean War Honor Roll
- American Battle Monuments Commission Burials Database
- American Prisoners of War During the Korean War, 1950-1953
- Burial Registers for Military Posts, Camps, and Stations,1768-1921
- Card Register of Burials of Deceased American Soldiers, 1917 – 1922
- Casualties of Army Personnel, Dependents and Civilian Employees, 1961-1981
- Casualties of the Vietnam War, 1956-1998
- Census of Union Veterans and Widows of the Civil War, 1890
- Civil War and Later Pension Index, 1861-1917
- Civil War Confederate Applications for Pardons, 1865-1867
- Civil War Confederate Papers of Citizens or Businesses, 1861-1865
- Civil War Records of Confederate Nonregiment Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Union Colored Troops, 1863-1865
- Civil War Service Records of Union Soldiers, 1864-1866
- Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- Civil War Soldiers Index, 1861-1865
- Civil War Unfiled Papers of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865
- Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files, 1861-1934
- Compiled Military Service Records Of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served With The Colored Troops, 1861-1866
- Confederate Navy and Marine Service Records, 1861-1865 Images only.
- Confederate Officers Card Index, 1861-1865
- Doughboy MIA Database 1917-1918
- Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939
- General Index to Pension Files, 1861-1934 Index Only.
- Headstone Applications for Military Veterans, 1925-1949
- Index to General Correspondence of the Pension Office, 1889-1904 Index only.
- Index to Indian Wars Pension Files, 1892-1926
- Index to Naturalizations of World War I Soldiers, 1918
- Index to Service Records, War with Spain, 1898
- Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II, 1942-1946
- Japanese Registers of POWs WWII, Index.
- Korean War Battle Deaths, 1950-1957
- Korean War Dead and Army Wounded, 1950-1953
- Korean War POW/MIA List
- Korean War Repatriated Prisoners of War, 1950-1954
- Lists of Fatal Casualties of the Korean War (6/28/1950 – 3/10/1954) and the Vietnam War (6/8/1956 – 5/28/2006)
- Mexican War Index and Service Records, 1846-1848
- Mexican War Pension Index, 1887-1926
- Mexican War Soldiers & Sailors Database
- Military Personnel Who Died During the Vietnam War, 1956-2003
- Mormon Battalion Pension Applications, 1846-1923, Index
- Muster Rolls of the Marine Corps, 1798-1937, Index and Images
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Civil War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Korean War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, Vietnam War
- National Archives, Archival Databases, World War II
- National Cemetery Administration – Nationwide Gravesite Locator
- National Graves Registration Database
- National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938 Partial Index and Images.
- National Park Service – US Mexican War Soldiers and Sailors Database
- National Society Daughters of 1812 – Ancestor Database
- Naval Enlistment Rendezvous, 1855-1891, Index and Images
- Navy Widows’ Certificates, 1861-1910, Index
- Never Forgotten, Taiwan POW List
- Old War Pension Index, 1815-1926
- Original Mormon Battalion Roster – Mormon Battalion Association
- Pearl Harbor Casualty List
- Prisoners of the First World War
- Records of Confederate Prisoners of War, 1861-1865
- Records of Headstones of Deceased Union Veterans, 1879-1903
- Register of Confederates and Civilians Who Died in the North,1861-1865
- Registers of Enlistments in the Army, 1798-1914
- Remarried Widows Index to Pension Applications, 1887-1942
- Revolutionary War Compiled Service Records, 1775-1783
- Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Applications, 1800-1900
- Revolutionary War Pension Payment Ledgers, 1818-1872
- Revolutionary War Records – Daughters of the American Revolution
- Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783
- Revolutionary War, Virginia Pension Application Files, 1830-1875
- Roster of All Regimental Surgeons and Assistant Surgeons in the Late War, with the Service, and last-known Post-office Address (1882)” Compiled by N. A. Strait. The Text is Searchable.
- Rosters of Revolutionary War Soldiers and Sailors, 1775-1783
- Service Personnel Not Recovered Following WWII
- The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Military Servicemen in World War I Records
- United States French Combatants in the Revolutionary War, 1778-1783
- Veteran’s Administration Master Index, 1917-1940
- Veterans Administration Pension Payment Cards, 1907-1933
- Vietnam Veterans Memorial
- Vietnam War POW/MIA List
- War of 1812 Index to Pension Application Files, 1812-1910
- War of 1812 Index to Service Records, 1812-1815
- War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies
- War Relocation Authority Centers, Final Accountability Rosters, 1942-1946
- World War I American Expeditionary Forces Deaths, 1917-1919
- World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946
- World War II Casualties for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard
- World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- World War II Prisoners of War of the Japanese, 1941-1945
- World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1945
- WWII Army and Army Air Force Casualties
- YMCA World War I Service Cards, 1917-1919
Washington
- Adams County Military Records
- Adams County,1890 Veterans Census
- Asotin County Military Records
- Asotin County, 1890 Veterans Census
- Asotin County, Militia Records, 1888-189
- Asotin County, World War II Enlistments
- Benton County Military Records
- Chelan County Military Records
- Clallam County Military Records
- Clallam County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Clallam County, 1890 Veterans Census
- Clallam County, Military Records, 1888-1894
- Clark County Military Records
- Clark County, 1883 Pensioners
- Columbia County Military Records
- Columbia County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Cowlitz County Military Records
- Cowlitz County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Ferry County Military Records
- Ferry County, World War I Draft Registrations
- Franklin County Military Records
- Garfield County Military Records
- Garfield County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Grant County Military Records
- Grant County, World War 2 Army Enlistments
- Grays Harbor County Military Records
- Grays Harbor County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Island County Military Records
- Island County, Military Records – Pensioners on the Roll and World War I Draft Registrations
- Jefferson County Military Records
- Jefferson County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- King County Military Records
- King County, Military Records – Pensioners on the Roll, World War II Casualties
- Kitsap County Military Records
- Kitsap County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Kitsap County, Miscellaneous Records: Citizenship Certificates, Military Enlistments and Discharges, 1853-1967
- Kittitas County Military Records
- Kittitas County, An Honor Roll containing a Pictorial Record of the gallant and courageous Men from Kittitas County, Washington, U.S.A., Who Served in the Great War 1917-1918-1919
- Kittitas County, Korean War Casualties
- Klickitat County Military Records
- Klickitat County, Military Records – Pensioners on the Roll, World War II Casualties
- Lewis County Military Records
- Lewis County, Military Records – 1883 Pensioners on the Roll, World War I Casualties
- Lewis County, Military Records, 1889
- Lincoln County Military Records
- Mason County Military Records
- Mason County, 1883 Census of Pensioners on the Roll
- Okanogan County Military Records
- Okanogan County, 1890 Veterans Census
- Pacific County Military Records
- Pacific County, Military Records – Pensioners on the Roll, 1890 Veterans Census
- Pend Oreille County Military Records
- Pierce County Military Records
- Pierce County, Military Records, 1889-1946
- Pierce County, Miscellaneous Records: Citizenship Certificates, Military Enlistments and Discharges, 1886-1968
- Pierce County, Pensioners on the Roll as of January 1, 1883
- San Juan County Military Records
- San Juan County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Skagit County Military Records
- Skagit County, Military Records, 1892-1896
- Skamania County Military Records
- Skamania County, 1883 Pensioners
- Snohomish County in the War: the Part played in the Great War by the Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Patriotic Civilians of Snohomish County, Washington, U.S.A.
- Snohomish County Military Records
- Snohomish County, 1883 Census of Pensioners on the Roll
Pensioners on the Roll
Pensioners on the Roll - Snohomish County, Civil War Veterans Project
- Spokane County Military Records
- Spokane County, Pensioners on the Roll
- Spokane County, Register of Veterans’ Graves, Spokane County, WA [Washington] 1884-1954
- Stevens County Military Records
- Stevens County, Military Records, 1892-1893
- Thurston County Military Records
- Thurston County, Pensioners on the Roll
- Wahkiakum County Military Records
- Wahkiakum County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Walla Walla County Military Records
- Walla Walla County, 1883 Pensioners on the Roll
- Washington World War I: Soldiers Remembered Service Records
- Washington, 1840 Pensioners Census
- Washington, Army National Guard Enlistment Records, 1947-1955
- Washington, Civil War Veterans Buried in Eastern Washington
- Washington, Civil War Veterans Buried in Washington State
- Washington, Digital Archives Military Records
- Washington, Index to Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the Territory of Washington
- Washington, Member Files at the Washington Soldiers Homes, 1891-1945
- Washington, Military Enlistment Records, 1890-1946
- Washington, Military Enlistment Records, 1890-1946
- Washington, Military Records including Casualties, Census and Burial Records
- Washington, Military Records: World War II 4th Draft Registration Cards, 1942
- Washington, Muster Rolls, Indian War 1855-1856
- Washington, Soldier Home Records 1891-1945
- Washington, U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Korean War
- Washington, U.S. Military Fatal Casualties of the Vietnam War
- Washington, United States Military Records, 1824-1956
- Washington, World War 1 Veteran’s Compensation fund Application Records, 1921-1925
- Washington, World War I American Expeditionary Forces, Deaths, 1917-1919
- Washington, World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918
- Washington, World War I Veteran’s Compensation Fund Application Records, 1921-1925
- Washington, World War II Casualty List, Army Air Force
- Washington, World War II Casualty List, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard
- Washington, WWI Casualties and Washington Veterans on Vietnam Memorial
- Whatcom County Military Records
- Whatcom County, Military Records
- Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan Counties: an Honor Roll containing a Pictorial Record of the gallant and courageous Men from Northwestern Washington, U.S.A., Who Served in the World War, 1917-1918-1919
- Whitman County Military Records
- Whitman County, Military Records – Pensioners on the Roll, 1890 Veterans Census
- Yakima County Military Records
- Yakima County, An Honor Roll containing a Pictorial Record of the gallant and courageous Men from Yakima County, Washington, U.S.A.: Who Served in the Great War, 1917-1918-1[9]19
- Yakima County, Military Records
Good Luck and Happy Hunting!