Tell us about the
soldier in your family.
A name on a discharge paper. A photograph in uniform. A story you heard growing up. Let’s begin with what you know—and discover where it may lead.
If your parent, grandparent or another relative served in Europe, we can help plan a personal battlefield journey around their wartime service. Their unit and Army serial number are valuable starting points, but you don’t need every detail to begin a conversation.
Share what you know
Start with their full name, branch of service, unit and approximate dates. A regiment, battalion or company is especially helpful. Tell us what you hope to discover.
Review the surviving evidence
Research may draw on service records, discharge documents, unit histories, morning reports, after-action reports, maps, letters and photographs, depending on what survives and is accessible.
Build a documented route
We aim to identify places connected to their service and distinguish confirmed personal locations from the movements of their unit. Transfers, wounds and periods away from the unit matter.
Turn the story into a journey
The findings help shape a proposed route through relevant landing areas, towns, battlefields, memorials and cemeteries. The scope of research and travel arrangements will be agreed before work begins.
We follow the evidence.
And make room for the unknown.
No researcher can promise every place an individual soldier stood. Some records were lost, including in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire. Where personal evidence is missing, a unit’s route provides context—not proof that your relative was present at every stop.
Our goal is a meaningful journey grounded in what can be established, with uncertainties explained clearly.
Helpful details for your first inquiry
Service information
Full name used during service; branch; division, regiment, battalion and company if known; approximate service dates; and campaigns or countries mentioned.
Family clues
Discharge papers, letters, photographs, medals, diary entries and remembered place names can all provide leads. If you have a service serial number, mention that it is available.
Please keep Social Security numbers, original documents and sensitive personal details out of your first request. We can discuss an appropriate way to share research materials.
Tell us their story →The button takes you to our request form. Use the “Anything we should know?” box for the soldier’s name, unit and dates.