I found a draft registration card for my father Johnie Waymon Wells born 2/22/01 He served in WW2 but I'm unsure what branch. Please help. I've searched Ancestry.
John Jr.
I found a draft registration card for my father Johnie Waymon Wells born 2/22/01 He served in WW2 but I'm unsure what branch. Please help. I've searched Ancestry.
John Jr.
Thank you for posting your question to History Hub!
We were not able to locate any additional evidence of military service for Johnie Waymon Wells, born on February 22, 1901, using databases made available to NARA or on Ancestry.com or Fold3.com. Since it appears he was 40 years old when he filled out the WWII draft card, it is possible he did not serve in WWII. Additionally, his birth year of 1901 may have made him slightly too young to have been drafted for WWI. While a draft card does not always mean an individual served in the military, we still recommend that you submit a request to NARA’s National Personnel Record Center (NPRC) in St. Louis for his Official Military Personnel Folder (OMPF). It is very possible he did serve even though we cannot locate any specific information about military service.
It is perfectly acceptable to be unsure of the branch, as long as you can provide your father’s full name, as well as his date and place of birth. The staff at the NPRC will search all available databases and possible locations for a record, and if none are found, they will inform you of the search results via letter. Here is more information on how to submit a request to the NPRC:
In general, OMPFs for military personnel who were separated from the service between 1912 and 1999 are serviced by 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.
For the location of all service records organized by branch and year, please see the following link: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/locations
You'll want to 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. If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.
Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer than 62 years have passed since the veteran’s discharge date (to include any reserve time), certain information in the records is not available to the general public without the written consent of the veteran or the next of kin the deceased veteran. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings.
Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.
We hope this helps with your research!
Thank you for posting your question to History Hub!
We were not able to locate any additional evidence of military service for Johnie Waymon Wells, born on February 22, 1901, using databases made available to NARA or on Ancestry.com or Fold3.com. Since it appears he was 40 years old when he filled out the WWII draft card, it is possible he did not serve in WWII. Additionally, his birth year of 1901 may have made him slightly too young to have been drafted for WWI. While a draft card does not always mean an individual served in the military, we still recommend that you submit a request to NARA’s National Personnel Record Center (NPRC) in St. Louis for his Official Military Personnel Folder (OMPF). It is very possible he did serve even though we cannot locate any specific information about military service.
It is perfectly acceptable to be unsure of the branch, as long as you can provide your father’s full name, as well as his date and place of birth. The staff at the NPRC will search all available databases and possible locations for a record, and if none are found, they will inform you of the search results via letter. Here is more information on how to submit a request to the NPRC:
In general, OMPFs for military personnel who were separated from the service between 1912 and 1999 are serviced by 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.
For the location of all service records organized by branch and year, please see the following link: https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/locations
You'll want to 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. If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.
Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer than 62 years have passed since the veteran’s discharge date (to include any reserve time), certain information in the records is not available to the general public without the written consent of the veteran or the next of kin the deceased veteran. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings.
Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.
We hope this helps with your research!
