2 million Korean War documents now available to view

LEHI — This week marks 75 years since the beginning of the Korean War, a conflict often nicknamed "The Forgotten War" by historians. Ancestry is inviting people to remember with brand-new access to Korean-era draft registration cards now available to Utahns.

More than 10 million young men registered for the draft in the late 1940s; today, archivists at Ancestry and the National Archives and Records Administration are scanning those cards one by one to preserve them for history and make them available to the public.

Crista Cowan, Corporate Genealogist at Ancestry, walked KSL through the process of finding an ancestor in the collection using the name of a famous Utahn: LaVell Edwards.

"Here we've got LaVell Reuben Edwards; his home address in Orem, Utah. He was living actually at the Sigma Nu house up in Logan, and there you can see his signature," explained Cowan, reading off Edwards' draft registration card. LaVell Edwards studied and played football at Utah State on an ROTC scholarship and registered for the draft in 1948.

Cowan said that, because of his service in the ROTC, Edwards ended up serving two years in Japan during the Korean conflict.

Other familiar names, such as Yogi Berra and Marvin Gaye, also appear on these draft cards; the documents have been waiting patiently in the national archives. Now, Ancestry is working to digitize all 10 million.

"It's literally like, take a picture, turn a page, take a picture, turn a page. So it's a little bit more labor-intensive of a process," said Cowan.

These cards show a slice of life for the person registering, where they were living and working or going to school, a couple of identifying characteristics and a personal signature. Cowan called them "a treasure trove of information."

So far, about 2 million of the cards have been completed, including the names registered in Utah.

Ancestry conducted a survey related to this data, which found that 70% of Americans don't know enough about the Korean War to explain it to someone, although 80% said they'd be more interested if they had a personal family connection.

"This is a really great opportunity for people just to peek through the window and see, 'Did I have anybody in my family that may have served in that war?'" Cowan said.

In order to search the collection, use the search bar on Ancestry.com; a subscription to the service is required to gain full access to the documents. Cowan said if you already have an account and a family tree set up, you may need to check your notifications. If your ancestor was found in the collection, the document will be linked to their name and you will be notified.

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