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Press kit

Veteran Records Finder is a free website that helps families find the story of a veteran's service. Built by a retired U.S. Army officer and veteran in the Texas Panhandle. Type a name and what you know. We search public archives and email a private, illustrated report where every fact is cited.

Media contact: [email protected]. We usually reply within one business day. Written answers from the Veteran Records Finder team.

The one-paragraph version

Millions of American families have a veteran whose service they know little about: a grandfather who "never talked about the war," a great-aunt who was a WAC, a father whose Navy years are a shoebox of photos. Veteran Records Finder takes a name and whatever the family remembers, searches free public records such as National Archives databases, WWII Navy muster rolls, Army enlistment records, VA burial records and historic newspapers, and emails back a private report: a service story, a timeline, a map, what was happening at each place and time, and plain steps for requesting the official file. It is free, covers all eras and branches, and is not affiliated with the VA, the National Archives or the Department of Defense.

Quick facts
What Free online tool; emailed research report
Cost to families $0. No account.
Covers All branches and eras; strongest for WWII, Korea and Vietnam
Sources National Archives catalog and Access to Archival Databases, WWII Navy muster rolls (1939-1949), WWII Army enlistment records, Korea and Vietnam casualty files, VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator, Library of Congress newspapers, Navy ship histories (DANFS), public-domain photos
Privacy Reports are private by default (unguessable link, not indexed). We never ask for Social Security numbers. Living veterans require their own permission. Inputs and reports are deleted automatically 12 months after delivery.
Accuracy Each fact is cited. Matches are labeled Confirmed, Probable or Possible. Educated guesses are marked "Likely."
Independence Not affiliated with VA, NARA or DoD. Reports are research summaries, not official records. Official copies come from NPRC: free to veterans and next of kin, with a copy fee for files over 62 years old.
Who Built by a retired U.S. Army officer and veteran in the Texas Panhandle
Website https://veteranrecordsfinder.com

Story ideas for reporters

  1. Veterans Day: "Find the story of the veteran in your family." A free tool readers can use this week, with a local example (we can run a report on a deceased local veteran of your choosing whose family consents, or on a public figure such as a Medal of Honor recipient from your area).
  2. The 1973 fire, 53 years later. A fire in St. Louis destroyed an estimated 16 to 18 million Army and Air Force files. What families can still find, and how.
  3. The last WWII generation. The National WWII Museum estimates about 30,600 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in WWII were still living in 2026. Grandchildren are now the ones asking the questions.
  4. Pearl Harbor at 85 (December 7, 2026). Navy muster rolls show who was aboard each ship. Families can trace a sailor's path before and after the attack.
  5. Your county's veterans. We can help a newsroom find public, cited service details for a county's WWII honor roll (deceased veterans only).

What a report looks like

See 10 public examples in the gallery, everyday service members and well-known cases, all built only from public records: https://veteranrecordsfinder.com/gallery/

Images: screenshots of any public gallery report may be used with credit "Veteran Records Finder". Ask for high-resolution copies at [email protected].

How it works (for a sidebar)

  1. Enter a name and anything you know (branch, war, hometown, ship, unit). Guesses are fine.
  2. Confirm your email.
  3. Get a private report by email, usually within 20 minutes. During busy periods, requests are queued and the report is emailed when it's ready, at the latest the next day.

Quotable lines (attribute to "the Veteran Records Finder team")

  • "Most families have a box of photos and a few stories. The records to fill in the rest are often public. They're just scattered."
  • "We label everything. If a fact is confirmed, we say so and show the source. If it's a guess, we say that too."
  • "We'll never charge a family anything. The official file comes from the National Archives, free to next of kin for most recent veterans, and we tell them exactly how to ask."

Things we ask reporters to get right

  • It is not a government site and not an official record.
  • It is free; there is no paid tier today.
  • Reports are private unless the family shares them.
  • We do not use people-search or data-broker sites.

Fact sources for reporters