Who Hunter Must Reads: Generations by Jennifer Holik

Do you have veterans of World War I or World War II in your family tree? If Generations by Jennifer Holik is not in your feed reader of choice you are missing an invaluable resource!

I’ve been contemplating this type of research for two ancestors. Hugh Cathcart, my father-in-law, was a doctor with the 133rd Evac Hospital during World War II. Col. Paul J McDonnell, my maternal grandfather-in-law, was career Army. McDonnell was also a member of General Pershing’s First Composite Regiment during World War I. I’ve requested the Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) for both these gentlemen. Col. McDonnell’s file was over two inches thick and now takes up three binders. On the other hand, Hugh Cathcart’s records were among those burned. His file consisted of:

• Final pay voucher
• General Orders extract including his discharge
• Form SG-23 full of abbreviations and number codes

I’ve yet to decipher all the abbreviations and number codes.  Much work remains to reconstruct Cathcart’s service. In both cases though, the OMPF just begins to scratch the surface of their careers. Enter “Military Monday.”

Military Monday

The “Military Monday” series is a focused look at both research and resources related to veterans. I’ve been quietly reading for awhile. The last two posts, though, prompted me to share Jennifer Holik’s incredible work with you beyond a retweet.

“Where ARE the WWII Military Records?”
http://blog.generationsbiz.com/2014/01/27/military-monday-where-are-the-wwii-military-records/
An effort to undo the damage wrought by the misinformed proliferating bad information in the military forums. This post is a comprehensive list of resources available for World War II research.

“WWII Military Research Is NOT The Same As Genealogy Research”
http://blog.generationsbiz.com/2014/02/03/military-monday-wwii-military-research-is-not-the-same-as-genealogy-research/

As the title implies, we cannot fully understand our military ancestor’s lives if we only search as genealogist. It’s true. This sentiment holds for many aspects of family history. Our ancestor’s ethnicity, politics, socio-economic status or religion should be examined historically to get a fuller picture of their lives. But the military is a subculture all its own.

If you have any interest in pursuing your military ancestors beyond the dates they served, I hope you’ll give Generation by Jennifer Holik a read. You won’t be disappointed.
http://blog.generationsbiz.com/

Look here for books by Jennifer Holik as well as her Legacy QuickGuide(tm) “World War I and World War II Military Records”
http://generationsbiz.com/index.html

Happy Hunting

By Rorey Cathcart
The Who Hunter LLC

Copyright (c) 3 February 2014

URL for this post is: http://www.whohunter.com/genealogy-events-calendar-feb-3-9/‎

Citation for this post:

Rorey Cathcart, “Who Hunter Must Reads: Generations by Jennifer Holik” posted 3 February 2014, The Who Hunter (http://www.whohunter.com/who-hunter-must-reads-generations-jennifer-holik/ : accessed [DD Month YYYY])