These days it is far easier to access the rich store of U.S. military records. Here are some links to resources:
• U.S. military service records, how to get copies (U.S. National Archives)
• Fold3 (for the third fold of the flag) and the Fold3 blog. Original historical and military records from the National Archives, “most never before available on the Internet," from the Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, and WWII. Formerly Footnote).
• Military Indexes and Records, Online (rosters, databases of soldiers, and listings of military and war casualties, for Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican War, U.S. Civil War, Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, Korean War, Vietnam War)
• Ancestry.com links to many U.S. public records, including census and military records.
• Veterans’ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) (U.S. National Archives)
• Resources for Genealogists (National Archives). Most requested: Military service records, immigration records, naturalization records, passport applications, land records, bankruptcy records.
• Pritzker Military Library (research library focused on the citizen soldier)
• African American history records (Ancestry.com). Slave narratives, troop records for U.S. colored troops in the Civil War, Freedman's Bank and Bureau records, World War I draft cards, etc.
• Researching Your Civil War Ancestry Online (Kathleen Brandt, AARP 4-11-11)
• Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS)
• Virtual Wall, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• Iraq Veterans Memorial
• U.S. Army Heritage Collections Online
• U.S. Army Military Institute, a branch of the Army Heritage and Education Center (located in Ridgway Hall near the U.S. Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania)
• Experiencing War, Stories from the Veterans History Project (by theme: Forever a Soldier, companion to the PBS series, The War; Voices of War, the first VHP collection; and other themes: courage, buddies, patriotism, sweethearts, family ties, on a mission, life-altering moments, hurry up and wait, military intel, woman at war, the art of war, Hispanic Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Disabled Veterans, Buffalo Soldiers, American Indians, military medicine, D-Day, POWs, VJ-Day, VE-Day, China-Burma-India, Helicopters: the multimission aircraft, submarines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine. A Library of Congress project.
• Oral history collections online (links on Pat McNees website), ranging from Personal histories of Holocaust survivors
to West Point Center for Oral Histories.
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Helen Medakovich Sarchielli and Pat McNees in Loro Ciuffenna, Italy, 1999

Pat McNees
"This is a special gem of a resource for those contending with dying,death, and bereavement. Through its expertly chosen material, Dying, A Book of Comfort informs, guides, and gently enables healthy grief and mourning. I recommend it heartily.
“The subject of death is so rife with terror that it takes a calm and sure hand like Pat McNees’s to soothe, help us understand, and finally, rejoice in life. This is an important and very dear book.”
“A remarkable collection (331 pages) of quotations of comfort.”
“Seldom have I read a book that exudes such comfort, such an embrace of genuine insight, care and support....The book’s gift, and it is a rich treasure for the reader, is that it embraces who we are.... The book can be read cover to cover, or just pick out a page. Something will leap off the page, a story, a quote, a reading, narrative couplings of diverse themes colorfully worded by the author/scribe, to give you the needed word or embrace....This book needs wide circulation. The bereaved deserve this, and the book will help all of us.”
"For those who face the lonely reality of death, this book provides understanding and much-needed solace."
“McNees has provided a remarkable anthology of insights, comforting words, stories, reassurance, and guidance for the journey of dying and grieving. Fourteen chapters delve artfully and compassionately into a full range of dying, death, and bereavement topics. An index by author ‘Names’ and another by ‘Titles and Selected First Lines’ make it possible to return and savor the many rich offerings she has gathered.”
"Dying, A Book of Comfort is THE book to press into the hands of those you love, read out loud in the company of others, and reflect on after they have all gone home. Pat McNees gently guides us as we reluctantly explore the far side of forever."
Buy Now - Dying: A Book of Comfort
~ Therese A. Rando, author of
How to Go On Living
When Someone You Love Dies
How to Go On Living
When Someone You Love Dies
“The subject of death is so rife with terror that it takes a calm and sure hand like Pat McNees’s to soothe, help us understand, and finally, rejoice in life. This is an important and very dear book.”
~ Sherry Suib Cohen, author of
Secrets of a Very Happy Marriage
Secrets of a Very Happy Marriage
“A remarkable collection (331 pages) of quotations of comfort.”
~ Ernest Morgan, Dealing Creatively with Death
“Seldom have I read a book that exudes such comfort, such an embrace of genuine insight, care and support....The book’s gift, and it is a rich treasure for the reader, is that it embraces who we are.... The book can be read cover to cover, or just pick out a page. Something will leap off the page, a story, a quote, a reading, narrative couplings of diverse themes colorfully worded by the author/scribe, to give you the needed word or embrace....This book needs wide circulation. The bereaved deserve this, and the book will help all of us.”
~ Rev. Richard B. Gilbert, director, World Pastoral Care Center, in Resources Hotline
"For those who face the lonely reality of death, this book provides understanding and much-needed solace."
~ Claire Berman, author of Caring for Yourself While Caring for Your Aging Parents
“McNees has provided a remarkable anthology of insights, comforting words, stories, reassurance, and guidance for the journey of dying and grieving. Fourteen chapters delve artfully and compassionately into a full range of dying, death, and bereavement topics. An index by author ‘Names’ and another by ‘Titles and Selected First Lines’ make it possible to return and savor the many rich offerings she has gathered.”
~ Rev. Paul A. Metzler, The Center for Living with Loss, in newsletter, Association for Death Education and Counseling
"Dying, A Book of Comfort is THE book to press into the hands of those you love, read out loud in the company of others, and reflect on after they have all gone home. Pat McNees gently guides us as we reluctantly explore the far side of forever."
~ Lynne Lamberg, author of The Body Clock Guide to Better Health