Enlistment Records

You may want to know more about the background of the airman you are researching, other members of his crew, or other airmen he encounters during his evasion.   The U.S. Army Enlistment Records, all 8,706,394, can be searched with a few clicks of your fingers, as follows:

1. Go to Access to Archival Databases (AAD) at the National Archives: http://aad.archives.gov/aad/

2. Click on “Military Personnel” under “Genealogy/Personal History.”

3. On the next page that comes up, go to “World War II Enlistment Records, created, 6/1/2002-9/30/2002, documenting the period ca. 1938-1946, Group 64.”  Now click on the binoculars icon to the right of “Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938-1946,” (the one with the 8,706,394 records).

4. Enter the airman’s name in the box to the right of NAME and click on the Search button in the lower left corner of the screen.  If the name you are searching is a common one, narrow the search by filling in some of the other fields.

5. A one-line summary appears about the airman.  Click on the icon under “View Record” to get the complete two-page listing.

I did the above  search for Thelma “Jockey” Wiggins, who traveled with Tom Applewhite from Brussels to Gibraltar,  and learned the following:

Thelma B.  “Jockey” Wiggins, Jr.

• Army Serial No. 34357189
• Residence: De Kalb County, Georgia
• Date and Place of Enlistment: Aug. 13, 1942, Ft. McPherson, Atlanta, Ga.
• Year and State of Birth: 1921, Georgia
• Race and Citizenship: White, citizen
• Education: Three years of high school
• Civilian occupation: Sales clerk
• Marital status: Single, with dependents