The end of World War II in Europe came on May 7, 1945, with VE Day celebrated on May 8.
While the war raged on in the Far East, the end of the European conflict brought changes to many lives, including those of American servicemen and women and their families back home.
While stationed in England in 1971 I was given an original carbon of the teletype of the surrender announcement. Its succinct wording still resonates to this day, with spelling adjustments: “From SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force) … A representation of the German high command signed the unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe to the Allied Expeditionary Force and simultaneously to the Soviet High command at 0141 hrs. Central European Time 7 May under which all forces will cease … troops will remain in present positions … no repeat no release will be made to the press pending an announcement by the heads of the three governments. Signed EISENHOWER.”
World War II personnel records are found on several sites. At ancestry.com you can find enlistment records with great details, as well as some "old man registrations" for several states where those survived.
The National Archives has begun a database to reconstruct from other sources some of the military records lost due to the fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis in 1973.
To see what you can find there, check www.archives.gov/aad. Under genealogy, search military and the largest database is the Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File. You have to play around with its quirks, but you can alphabetize by state the results and locate someone.
Morehouse medical records
The May 8 Georgia Archives Lunch and Learn will have Roland Welmaker, archivist at the Morehouse School of Medicine, speaking on the school’s collections and holdings.
It's at noon and free; bring your own lunch. For further information check georgiaarchives.org or call 678-364-3710.
Mexican genealogy
An article about discovering your Mexican roots can be found in the May-June issue of Family Tree Magazine. It should be worth checking for anyone with that heritage.
The magazine is found at bookstores and newsstands as well as at familytreemagazine.com. You can find the current issue and older articles by searching on the site for anything related to the topic.
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