NARA burial files

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is the keeper of burial files for all World War I deaths. I requested the file for each of the WWI heroes at a cost to me, but in keeping with the theme of the web page, I felt their stories were incomplete without this file. To date, I have received nearly half of their files and took the time today to finally upload those that I had received.

In these files it is obvious that documentation of remains was an often difficult and chaotic process. To offset this agony for families, a program was offered to the mothers of those buried in overseas cemeteries, to visit the country and region where their son was killed. This program is referred to as the “Gold Star Mother’s Pilgrimage.” Many mothers took the opportunity to visit Europe and get some closure on their son’s death. Those trips are documented in individual pages and the burial files themselves.