The Minnesota Historical Society library and archives has a lot of military and verterans records. For a good list go to Family History Resources: Military. The page is arranged by type of record—bonus records, enlistment records, draft records, etc.—by war, and by veterans records. These records are mostly Minnesota-specific. A few, such as the Veterans Graves Registration reports, include veterans who served from another state but eventually moved to Minnesota.

Each item has a link into the MHS catalog on MnPALS. Some of these records can be a little difficult to find because you have to wade through so many “hits” in the catalog, so we have made it easy for you to find these.

Records from other states and from the federal government are available in the library on Ancestry.com Library Edition.

Some sites you might want to check out that can be accessed from home for free include:

• Civil War Soldiers & Sailors System
• Nationwide Gravesite Locator
• World War II Army Enlistment Records
• World War II Prisoners of War
• World War II Prisoners of the Japanese
• Korean War Casualty File
• Records of Deceased, Wounded, Ill, or Injured Army Personnel, Including Dependents and Civilian Employees, 1/1/1961 - 12/1981

The first item listed is on the National Park Service website. The second is from the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs. The rest are just a few of the many military-related databases on the National Archives website.