Should I request my veteran’s military records from the National Archives?

If you have done a records request from the National Archives, they will usually only send a couple of documents to you (discharge papers, medical records, etc).  These documents are still a great start, but usually leave families with little to no new information on their loved one.

This first research step is still a huge help for us to get started as it allows us to jump right into the more advanced researching, without needing to spend any time tracking down the basic information on your loved one.