How to find military records of individuals from WWI? My grandfather, Anthony Arlotta, and his brothers joined the US Army while in Italy. (they were all born in Italy and were not American when they joined the Army). His brothers names: Frank Arlotta and we believe Angelo Arlotta. How do I find records on him?
Dear Darcy Smouse,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request copies of their Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs). OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and before 1960 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. Veterans and their next of kin also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.
According to the US Army Center of Military History, the U.S. only participated on a limited scale in Italian campaigns late in the war. The 332nd Infantry Regiment and attached hospital troops took part in the Vittorio Veneto Campaign in 1918, so it is possible that this is the unit your family members joined.
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Records of the 1st Through 338th and the 559th Infantry Regiment, 1916-1921 in the Records of U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units (Record Group 391) that include the records of the 332nd Infantry Regiment during WWI. Please note that these records generally do not include information about individual soldiers; rather, they contain information about the actions and engagements of the unit as a whole. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
Plus, we located the Muster Rolls and Rosters, 11/1/1912 - 12/31/1943 in the Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 64) that include 4 files related to the 332nd Infantry Regiment during World War I. These records have been digitized and are available using the Catalog. For more information about any non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) via email at stl.archives@nara.gov.
You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2 and RL-SL. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.
In addition, we located this article about Italian-Americans & 332nd Infantry on the website for the World War I Centennial Commission that might be of interest to you.
Finally, we suggest that you contact the US Army Center of Military History for additional assistance.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
Dear Darcy Smouse,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request copies of their Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs). OMPFs and individual medical reports for enlisted men of the U.S. Army who were separated from the service after October 1912 and before 1960 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. In many cases where personnel records were destroyed in the 1973 fire, proof of service can be provided from other records such as morning reports, payrolls, and military orders, and a certificate of military service will be issued. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. Veterans and their next of kin also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Archival Records Requests.
According to the US Army Center of Military History, the U.S. only participated on a limited scale in Italian campaigns late in the war. The 332nd Infantry Regiment and attached hospital troops took part in the Vittorio Veneto Campaign in 1918, so it is possible that this is the unit your family members joined.
We searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Records of the 1st Through 338th and the 559th Infantry Regiment, 1916-1921 in the Records of U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units (Record Group 391) that include the records of the 332nd Infantry Regiment during WWI. Please note that these records generally do not include information about individual soldiers; rather, they contain information about the actions and engagements of the unit as a whole. For more information about these non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RDT2) via email at archives2reference@nara.gov.
Plus, we located the Muster Rolls and Rosters, 11/1/1912 - 12/31/1943 in the Records of the National Archives and Records Administration (Record Group 64) that include 4 files related to the 332nd Infantry Regiment during World War I. These records have been digitized and are available using the Catalog. For more information about any non-digitized records, please contact the National Archives at St. Louis (RL-SL) via email at stl.archives@nara.gov.
You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2 and RL-SL. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.
In addition, we located this article about Italian-Americans & 332nd Infantry on the website for the World War I Centennial Commission that might be of interest to you.
Finally, we suggest that you contact the US Army Center of Military History for additional assistance.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your family research!
