I am seeking information about Max Viteland, a Lt. Commander in the Royal Dutch Navy who was a submarine officer in WW2 was in California at the end of the war. Seeking war records, immigration info, or any photographs.

Max Viteland, Dutch national who was an officer in the Royal Dutch Navy, who was in California after WWII.  I am seeking any military, immigration or personnel records.

  • Hello  

    Thank you for posting your question to History Hub!

    We suggest that you contact the National Archives of the Netherlands, PO Box 90520, 2509 LM The Hague, The Netherlands, to inquire about World War 2 era Dutch military records. 

    To search US military records, you would need to identify the specific military organization with which he interacted.  Please be aware that not all records of all US military organizations were retained permanently after World War II, and none of them will be indexed by name. For more information, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference (RR2R) at archives2reference@nara.gov.

    For more information about World War II era US military photographs, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures (RRSS) at stillpix@nara.gov. Please keep in mind that there will not be photographs of every person that ever interacted with the US military and that in many cases photographs do not identify everyone in a given photograph.  Therefore, adjust your expectations accordingly.

    In regards to US immigration records, if he was only in the United States as a visiting foreign military officer on official duty rather than as an immigrant, the only relevant record may be the record of his arrival in the United States. The web page Browse Available Records by Port of Entry provides a list of ports of entry from this time period for which there are records. In addition, we suggest that you review the information and resources available on the National Archives website, including Immigrant Records at the National Archives, Immigration Records, and Passenger Arrival Records. We also suggest that you review the History Hub blogs Passenger Arrival Records at the National Archives, and Passenger Arrival List Research Tips.

    Some of the arrival records have been digitized and are available online using the National Archives Catalog. Please note that these records are usually NOT name searchable using the National Archives Catalog. Many arrival records are available from sites like Ancestry and FamilySearch, which often provide an option for searching by name. The “Browse by Port of Entry” page provides links to Catalog descriptions and digitized records. Please note that there may be a fee for using Ancestry. We suggest that you check for access at your local library, since many library systems subscribe to genealogical sites and make them free for their patrons to access. You may also view Ancestry for free at one of NARA's facilities. For the nearest NARA location, please consult our Visit Us webpage. FamilySearch may be used with a free account.

     We hope this is helpful with your research!