Electronic Records Related to World War II
Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division Reference Report
IntroductionRecord Group 38: Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration
Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority
Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
Record Group 389: Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General
Collection ADBC: Records of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor
Related Information
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Introduction
This reference report provides an overview of selected electronic data records in the custody of the Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division directly relating to World War II. Series and file units accessible online through the Access to Archival Databases (AAD) resource (http://aad.archives.gov/aad/) have an AAD logo 
next to them. Full descriptions of the series are in NARA's Archival Research Catalog (ARC), which can be searched by title, ARC identification number (ARC ID), type of archival material, dates, or keyword.
Researchers may order copies of these computerized data files on removable media for a cost-recovery fee. For more information see: Ordering Information for Electronic Records.
In addition to the series and files listed in this reference report, the Division has custody of other electronic series containing World War II-era records. Descriptions of them are in NARA's Archival Research Catalog (ARC). Some are described in Theodore J. Hull's article, "Electronic Records in the National Archives for World War II Research," that appeared in the Fall 1994 issue of Prologue.
Record Group 38: Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
- Records of Duty Locations for Naval Intelligence Personnel, 1942-1945
ARC ID: 603333
Technical Documentation: 21 pages and through
This series has information about military intelligence personnel attached to Naval Group China during World War II.
Record Group 64: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration
- World War II Army Enlistment Records
ARC ID: 604357
Technical Documentation: 74 pages of main documentation; layouts and code tables available through or by request.
This series contains records of approximately 9 million men and women who enlisted in the United States Army between 1938 and 1946, including the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and the Enlisted Reserve Corps. The series does not include records for Army officers, members of other military services, or enlistments from other time periods.
Record Group 210: Records of the War Relocation Authority
- Records About Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II
ARC ID: 574045
Technical Documentation: 91 pages and through
This series contains personal descriptive data about Japanese Americans evacuated from the states of Washington, Oregon, and California to ten relocation centers operated by the War Relocation Authority during World War II in the states of California (Tule Lake and Manzanar Centers), Idaho (Minidoka Center), Utah (Central Utah Center), Colorado (Granada Center), Arizona (Colorado River and Gila River Centers), Wyoming (Heart Mountain Center), and Arkansas (Rohwer and Jerome Centers).
Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense
- American Soldier in World War II Surveys, 1942-1945
ARC ID: 620483
Technical Documentation: varies per surveyThis series contains information on soldiers' attitudes toward job assignments, medical care, food quality, leisure time activities, opportunities to advance in the Army, women in the military, and race relations, among other subjects. Most surveys contain information on the respondent's age, education, marital status, home town, religious affiliation, pre-military occupation, rank, branch of service, time in the service, and job assignment.
Record Group 389: Records of the Office of the Provost Marshal General
- Records of World War II Prisoners of War
ARC ID: 583428
Technical Documentation: 67 pages of main documentation; 100 pages supplemental documentation; layouts and code tables available through
This series has information about U.S. military officers and soldiers and U.S. and some Allied civilians who were prisoners of war and internees held by Japanese or German powers.
Collection ADBC: Records of the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor
- World War II Prisoners of the Japanese Data Files, ca. 1941 - ca. 1945
ARC ID: 731002
Technical Documentation: 30-49 pages and through
This series contains information on military personnel and a few civilians who were prisoners of the Japanese during World War II. The American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor compiled these records from the series "Records of World War II Prisoners of War, 1942-1947," the American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor registration cards, unit rosters, and other sources.
Related Information
Theodore J. Hull, "Electronic Records in the National Archives for World War II Research," Prologue 26 (Fall 1994): 166-169.
Theodore J. Hull, "The World War II Army Enlistment Records File and Access to Archival Databases," Prologue 38 (Spring 2006): 54-60.
Lee A. Gladwin, "Top Secret: Recovering and Breaking the U.S. Army and Army Air Force Order of Battle Codes, 1941-1945," Prologue 32 (Fall 2000): 174-182.
Lee A. Gladwin, "American POWs on Japanese Ships Take a Voyage into Hell," Prologue 35 (Winter 2003): 30-39.
NARA brochure, Finding Information on Personal Participation in World War II
NARA Reference Information Paper 78, Records Relating to Personal Participation in World War II "The American Soldier" Surveys
NARA Reference Information Paper 80, Records Relating to Personal Participation in World War II: American Prisoners of War and Civilian Internees
NARA Reference Information Paper 82, A Finding Aid to Records Relating to Personal Participation in World War II: American Military Casualties and Burials
World War II Japanese American Internment and Relocation Records in the National Archives
Other finding aids and guides are listed on Selected Finding Aids Related to NARA's World War II Holdings
Contact Us
Reference Services
Electronic and Special Media Records Services Division (NWME)
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
(301) 837-0470
e-mail: cer@nara.gov
October 2008
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