Indiana WW 1 Military Veterans - online database of Hoosier Veterans
Welcome to the information site for WWI veterans.
The database consists primarily of World War 1 veterans from the State of Indiana, but men born in other states are also listed.
This is an ongoing, five year project, initiated by the Indiana War Memorial, with over 135,000 veterans listed, but completed records on only 32,000 to date. As much information as possible has been scanned directly from the fragile, archival records at the Indiana State Library. The original Indiana military records of the Federal government were destroyed in a fire in St. Louis.
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The Indiana Historic Commission requested each county conduct interviews with each veteran after WW1. Veterans offered inciteful, entertaining and heartbreaking stories of their experiences and they have been included in this web site. As much as possible has been captured in the veterans own words. The names, experiences and deeds of our veterans are a vital part of our legacy that we must not lose.
WWI Draft
The Army Act, approved May 18th, authorized raising the number of enlisted in the Regular Army to the maximum strength sanctioned by law. The National Guard and Reserves were activated and a draft was issued for 1,000,000 men.
Between 1917 and 1918, 98% of all men born between 1873 and 1900 received a draft registration notice. Approximately 24,000,000 men were registered but only a small portion actually served.
The first registration covered men born between the ages of 21 to 31 as of June 5, 1917.
There was an additional registration the following year that covered the men who had turned 21 during that year. Congressional opposition led to excluded from the draft of men between the ages of eighteen to twenty on the initial drafts. Resident aliens were required to register but were not drafted. The final draft was in September of 1918 and was expanded to cover men between the ages of 32 to 46 and 21 to 18.
A special edition of the Indianapolis Star dated July 23, 1917 in the Indiana War Memorial archives, consists of the complete listing of all registrants from Marion County, Indiana. The total population figures for the city of Indianapolis listed were 339,784. The total registration figure was 34,154 with a double quota of 4,954. The double quota figure is used due to the many exemptions expected. The exact quota figure is listed at 2,477; this figure is low due to the credit issued for the men who have voluntarily enlisted.
Any corrections or additional information are greatly appreciated. WWVets@Gmail.com
