Series 2794

STATE ARCHIVES AND RECORDS SERVICE [11]

MILITARY SEPARATION FORMS AND BENEFIT RECORDS, 1917-
7.5 cu. ft. of aperature cards

DESCRIPTION: In the effort to document the military service of Utah residents from settlement of the territory until the present day, the Utah State Archives collected military service records from all branches of the the U.S. military, the selective service system, and from local veterans education and training programs. Occassionally, copies of documents from other sources were added to the series from local government records, newspapers, and published sources.

Most of the records document military service during World War II, but there are also some records from World War I and post World War II. Most frequent are various forms verifying separation from all the branches of military service. There are numerous records of veterans' educational benefits. Occurring less frequently are applications submitted by disabled veterans requesting exemption from paying property taxes and other miscellaneous documents.

Separation Forms

From 1949, several versions of Form DD 214 came into use to verify separation. These forms include the following: Report of Separation from the Armed Forces of the United States; Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge; and Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Earlier, a variety of forms were used to document separation from the various branches of military service, including the following: Enlistment Record and Report of Separation-Honorable Discharge; Military Record and Report of Separation-Certificate of Service; Enlistment Record and Report of Separation-Certificate of Service; U.S. Marine Corps Report of Separation; Report of Service in the U.S. Navy; Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service; Report of Separation; Statement of Service in World War II; Report of Separation from Active Service; Report of Medical Examination; and Statement of Service.

Although the forms vary in title and number, much of the information recorded on each type is identical. The following information is typical:

1. Personal data, including date and place of birth; sex; race; physical characteristics; civilian occupation; marital status; education

2. Transfer or discharge data

3. Selective Service data including serial number; local board number; date of induction; service number; rank; branch of service; military occupation; date, type, reason, and location of discharge

4. Service data including means of entry; rank at entry; date and place of entry; home address; length of service; bonuses paid; foreign service locations; decorations awarded; service schools; and wounds received

5. Veterans Administration insurance and pay data

6. Authentication and signatures

Education

The following forms were issued by the Veterans Administration to manage the G.I. Bill program which provided veterans with financial assistance to pursue their educational goals after World War II: Certificate for Education and Training, Certificate of Eligibility and Entitlement, Notice of Training Status, and Notice of Expiration of Entitlement. Common to these forms is the following information: name and address of veteran, claim number, service serial number, conditions and period of entitlement, name of school or training establishment, date signed (approved, authorized), registration officer, issuing (originating) office.

The University of Utah issued several forms for their veteran's training programs: Servicemen's Readjustment Training Program; Trainee Record Card; Servicemen's Readjustment Training Program Trainee Record, which also required an account of the veteran's job skills and his employment record while receiving training; and the Veteran Trainee Record, which was issued for veterans eligible for benefits under the Korean "G.I. Bill". The following information is typical of these forms: name, date, and claim number; serial number; addresses; telephone numbers; date of birth; marital status; number of children; previous education; military data including date of entrance, date of discharge, branch of service, and rank; class standing; and educational goals.

Application for Exemption of Property Tax

These applications were submitted to the Board of County Commissioners of Salt Lake County to provide exemption from paying all or a portion of taxes on property owned or purchased by disabled veterans or blind persons, their unmarried widows, or their minor orphans. The applications include residence, a description of the veteran's military service, verification of the per cent of the veteran's disability, and a description of personal property and/or real estate. Most of the applications date from the 1930s.

Several miscellaneous documents have been filed with these records. Included are newspaper clippings; muster rolls from the Mormon Battalion; and various lists of military personnel from World War II such as soldiers killed and soldiers taken as prisoners of war.

Records continued to be converted to aperature cards until 1984. Documentation of the military service of Utahns inducted after World War II is not comprehensive. Separation forms collected came chiefly from copies sent to the Archives from several different state and federal government agencies.

ARRANGEMENT: The cards are organized alphabetically by veterans' surnames.

RELATED RECORDS: The Military Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri, maintains a copy of the original discharge papers of all personnel who have served in the U.S. armed forces since 1956. Records of most Army service between 1912 and 1956 (1917-1956 for officers) were destroyed in a fire in 1972. Discharge records of the other services from this period are at the center. (National Archives Trust Fund Board, Military Service Records: a select catalog of National Archives Publications, 1985, p.1.) U.S. military service prior to that time is often recorded in records maintained by the National Archives.

Series 2789, VETERANS EDUCATIONAL BENEFITS, contains detailed student records for many of these veterans. Military service data, abstracted by the War History and Archives program, for many of the world war veterans whose discharge papers are in this series can be found in series 85268, MILITARY SERVICE CARDS. Discharge papers on some veterans who sought benefits for military service in the 1970s can be found in series 2255, VETERANS CASE FILES, of the Veterans' Affairs Office. Series 19958, MILITARY DISCHARGE FORMS, of the Veterans' Affairs Office holds copies of later discharges. The Salt Lake County Archives holds records of veterans' applications for exemption from property tax.

CUSTODY HISTORY: In an executive order issued by Governor Maw in 1942, citizens were requested to send information to the state for persons serving in the military at that time. The Utah State Historical Society established the Department of War History and Archives to collect the data and assume responsibility for the program. The department was later resurrected by the Society as the Military Records section with an expanded function: to act as a separate repository for information about Utah veterans from any source. The series was created during this period and was continued by the Utah State Archives after a separate military section was eliminated.

PROCESSING NOTE: These records were microfilmed and jacketed during the 1970s; the original forms were destroyed. Now on aperature cards, the forms were integrated into the MILITARY SERVICE CARDS series. In 1989 they were removed from that series and organized separately. Archival processing was completed during 1990.

CONTAINER LIST

Aperture Card Drawers	Description
1	Aadnesen, G. - Allen, P.
2	Allen, R. - Anderson, J.
3	Anderson, K. - Asal, P.
4	Asay, A. - Balkwill, U.
5	Ball, A. - Bartlett, W.
6	Bartley, L. - Behrs, W.
7	Behunin, A. - Bhessler, C.
8	Bianchi, E. - Blamires, V.
9	Blanc, A. - Bowers, W.
10	Bowes, F. - Brimhall, W.
11	Brimley, B. - Brunners, S.
12	Bruno, A. - Burt, J.
13	Burt, K. - Campbell, R.
14	Campbell, R. - Castles, T.
15	Castleton, F. - Christensen, D.
16	Christensen, D. - Clark, S.
17	Clark, S. - Conder, N.
18	Conder, N. - Cox, A.
19	Cox, A. - Cummings, W.
20	Cumminis, J. - Davis, C.
21	Davis, C. - Denison, F.
22	Dennison, H. - Dowley, J.
23	Dowley, C. - Earl, W.
24	Earl, W. - Endsley, J.
25	Enevoldsen, R. - Farmer, W.
26	Farmer, W. - Fitzgerald, W.
27	Fitzinger, E. - Frandsen, F.
28	Frandsen, G. - Gardiner, H.
29	Gardiner, H. - Gill, G.
30	Gill, Glen - Graham, L.
31	Gran, L. - Grunder, C.
32	Grundfer, W. - Halling, R.
33	Halling, R. - Hansen, R.
34	Hansen, R. - Harward, R.
35	Harward, R. - Hellstrom, T.
36	Hellstrom, T. - Hill, C.
37	Hill, C. - Holmes, W.
38	Holmes, W. - Huges, G.
39	Huges, G. - Irvine, T.
40	Irvine, T. - James, J.
41	James, K. - Jensen, R.
42	Jensen, R. - Johnson, J.
43	Johnson, J. - Jones, H.
44	Jones, I. - Kaze, E.
45	Keane, E. - King, W.
46	Kingdom, J. - Kuhre, U.
47	Kuida, H. - Larson, E.
48	Larson, G. - Leon, R.
49	Leonard, A. - Lambardi, J.
50	Lombardi, R. - Lyvan, E.
51	McAfee, G. - McKenny, M.
52	McKenzie, B. - Malin, L.
53	Malin, L. - Masse, R.
54	Massey, B. - Merrill, J.
55	Merrill, J. - Mitani, K.
56	Mitchel, L. - Morris, P.
57	Morris, P. - Nalouf, H.
58	Namba, A. - Neves, C.
59	Neves, C. - Noorda, B.
60	Noorda, D. - Olsen, N.
61	Olsen, N. - Palleses, D.
62	Palmer, A. - Pearce, J.
63	Pearce, J. - Peterson, E.
64	Peterson, F. - Platis, J.
65	Platt, B. - Prims, J.
66	Prince, C. - Rawle, R.
67	Rawlings, B. - Richan, W.
68	Richards, A. - Robin, W.
69	Robinson, A. - Rothwell, W.
70	Rott, A. - Sharff, D.
71	Sargent, A. - Seely, C.
72	Seghini, R. - Shurtliff, L.
73	Shurtliff, L. - Smith, E.
74	Smith, E. - Somerville, W.
75	Somerville, W. - Starley, W.
76	Starr, A. - Stone, J.
77	Stone, J. - Syme, G.
78	Syme, R. - Tew, G.
79	Tew, G. - Thurston, K.
80	Thurston, L. - Turnbull, L.
81	Turner, A. - Vetterli, O.
82	Vialpando, K. - Walter, C.
83	Walters, E. - Wayrynen, R.
84	Weagle, H. - Whitaker, R.
85	Whitaker, R. - Williams, D.
86	Williams, E. - Wilson, W.
87	Wise, A. - Wozniak, T.
88	Wright, A. - Zwillman, S.