World War II Military & Casualty Records Research
Professional WW2 Researcher and Historian Bill Beigel provides military records research services to veterans’ families, genealogists, historians, authors, community members, veterans themselves, and others who are looking for information found in WW2 military records. A highly skilled researcher and qualified historian, Bill’s interpretive skills are invaluable to his clients in understanding complex and often emotionally-gripping military files. To date, Bill has researched nearly two thousand individual military files from World War II, for well over a thousand clients.
Bill Beigel researches American veterans who served and survived the war, as well as those who became WW2 casualties. You do not need to be a relative of a veteran to request a search of military records from World War II.
All research requests submitted through this site will receive a direct response, usually the day they are submitted. Bill tries to respond to all requests within 24 hours.
World War II Casualties
Currently, there is no single database containing a list of all Americans killed or missing and unrecovered from World War II. To complicate matters, millions of US military service records were destroyed by fire at the National Personnel Records Center in 1973.
Bill Beigel has created a searchable online database that eventually will hold the names and other vital information for all 407,000 American WW2 casualties. The database is live and free for anyone to access. Search results can be sorted on a number of fields, such as City, County, State, Rank, or Branch of Service, providing rich insights on Americans who served and gave their lives for freedom. Bill Beigel’s WW2 Casualties Database is a work in progress; more names will be added each month until the database is complete. Please click the button below to start your search.
Request a Research Quote: To request a research quote from Bill Beigel of all military records on an individual veteran (or group) who served in World War II and returned from the war, please complete this form.
Search by Unit: Click the buttons below to access Bill Beigel’s unit and vessel listings for each branch of service. Through these links, you may submit a research inquiry for an individual’s military service history. If you do not find the unit or vessel you are looking for, please click on any name within your desired branch of service and type the appropriate unit name.
There is no cost to submit a research request or discuss your project with Bill Beigel; you do not need to be a relative to initiate a research request for WW2 military records or casualty files. For more information on Bill’s research services, please visit his Services & Rates page.
Search Bill Beigel’s WW2 Casualties Database or Unit Listings
To search an alphabetical list of WW2 casualties by name, you may click this link. For a richer user experience and more information, please visit Bill Beigel’s WW2 Casualties Database.
Five From the 464th Bomb Group
The 15th Army Air Force, based in...Wee Willie and the photo that started it all
Above is B-17 “Wee Willie”...Debut for Debach
It was the very first combat mission...From Panatella to Ploesti
The 15th Army Air Force, based in...Six B-24s From Baker Box Downed
The men – the boys, really...The World War II Dead of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
More than 260 UCLA students, faculty ...
Talk Radio One’s Steven Spierer Interviews WW2 Researcher Bill Beigel
Steven Spierer Talk Radio One Interview...Captain Norman L. Aigner: An Ordinary Guy
If you’ve been reading my blog with...Tomas Garza’s Daughter – “Now I Don’t Feel Empty”
Like most children of World War II...“Fresno Marine Dies in Action in Pacific War” – Fresno Bee, Oct 21, 1944
Private First Class Huston R. Fannon,...“Fresno Officer Dies in Action on German Front,” Fresno Bee, April 3, 1945
This article is part of a series...The Pheley Brothers of Fresno, California
This article is part of a series...
Wee Willie and the photo that started it all
My father was Paul D Jessop, he spoke of your Grandfather a lot. My father passed away in 2011 .The World War II Dead of University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)
Hi Bill, Thanks for putting this together. My grand uncle, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Woolfolk attended UCLA and I believe he graduated in 1936. He was on the waterpolo team. He was a bombardier in the 571st Bomb Squadron, 390th Bomb Group and his aircraft "Decatur Deb" was shot down on May 28, 1944. He and six others perished while three were able bail out and became POWs. This is written up the in the book "Bloody Skies: U.S. Eighth Air Force Battle Damage in World War II." There is a B-17G tail gunner's compartment on display at the 390th Bomb Group Memorial Museum, which is dedicated to this crew. Regards, Nick VeronicoBill’s WW2 Almanac for January 21: Featuring Col. Randy’s Flying Circus
Hi! Randall Col Randy is actually my great grandfather and I was wandering if you ever new him? I am curious to know more about him.Women in WWII: Cornelia Clark Fort
Interesting....very hard to know the 'who hit who'.....Fort had enough flying time to be a instructor, I know nothing about the other pilot. If Pastor Jeff had information on her being talked into a situation, I would love to know if reliable. Regardless, so many losses in so many ways.... My take is the WAFS/WASPS deserve a bit more of history's 'time in the books'. Many thanks for the commentary, StarrRemembering the Fallen: WWII Veterans of UCLA, Major Robert C. Maze
Bill, Are you still working on this blog? Rosemarie is my mother in law. She passed away 10 years ago. Her (and Roberts') son Robert Maze Jr is alive and well. I was googling Admiral Radford and ended up googling links... Thank you for your efforts here. Kim WoodsFrom Panatella to Ploesti
I’m looking for information on My Great great GRANDFATHER WAS ON A B-24 LIBERATOR CALLED: Diamond li
Bill’s WWII Almanac
