Explore the people, places, and equipment behind our military history.

Purpose

This site is to recognize and further honor the people who have served in America’s wars and other military conflicts, and to illustrate some of the things and organizations they used and the places and events that they experienced. My purpose is not to glorify war but to be a reminder of its cost, especially in lives lost and lives ruined, but also in the many other sacrifices, great and small, of so many of the millions of people who have served in America’s conflicts.

What is here

The site is a series of searchable database tables about war veterans, aircraft, ships, military units, civilians (mainly Merchant Marines of World War II), and other subjects.

By far the largest and most useful table is Veterans, which contains about 2.8 million records identifying American military personnel who have served in our wars. Sources include muster rolls from over 1,000 Navy ships in World War II, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Nationwide Gravesite Locator, regimental rosters from the Civil War, the wall of those who died in the Vietnam War, and many other documents.

The Veterans table can be searched in several ways. For example, a search can find people who served in the War of 1812, with or without a name, or people from a particular state. A search for the name Smith alone returns over 25,000 records.

The next largest table is Aircraft, which contains about 490,000 American aircraft identified by serial number. The main source is the late Joe Baugher’s extensive web site, supplemented here and there with additional information. For example, a search can find the Enola Gay or list all B-52s.

The Ships table contains about 49,000 records, primarily covering U.S. Navy vessels throughout history as well as the Liberty and Victory ships of World War II. The main source for named Navy ships and LSTs is the Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, originally published in eight volumes and now available online and kept up to date. Smaller vessels, such as the LCS(L)s, come from other sources.

The site is intended primarily for historical reference, and no special attempt is made to keep it up to the minute.

Links

The tables included in this website, as well as links to related web sites, can be accessed using the menu above. The names of the military war veterans may be searched using the Veterans link above.