Information on WW1 Individual US Soldiers?

[airboy]

I'm going on a WW1 trip in Fall, 2020. 

My grandfather was in the 105th Engineering Regiment attached to the 30th Infantry Division which was in turn attached to the British 2nd Army.  They fought in the final battles of the Somme.

Is it possible to find any details or photos of individual soldiers from WW1 in US service on the internet?  If so, how do I go about doing this?  It has been more than a 100 years so if it ever gets made publicly available it should be out there now (like Census records from 100 years ago).

[steve58]

Maybe start here:  https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/wwi  and https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/research-center/state-military-records.  As noted in that 2nd link, the 1973 fire may hamper your search.

[airboy]

Maybe start here:  https://www.archives.gov/research/genealogy/wwi  and https://www.theworldwar.org/learn/research-center/state-military-records.  As noted in that 2nd link, the 1973 fire may hamper your search.

Thanks!  That was very helpful.

[ArizonaTank]

I'm going on a WW1 trip in Fall, 2020. 

My grandfather was in the 105th Engineering Regiment attached to the 30th Infantry Division which was in turn attached to the British 2nd Army.  They fought in the final battles of the Somme.

Is it possible to find any details or photos of individual soldiers from WW1 in US service on the internet?  If so, how do I go about doing this?  It has been more than a 100 years so if it ever gets made publicly available it should be out there now (like Census records from 100 years ago).

My grandfather's records were lost in the fire. However, a copy of much of the information was made by the State of Ohio. I was able to find that Ohio record through ancestry.com. Details such as company, technical schools, dates of assignment, locations etc. You might be able to find some info there.

Some other thoughts....

Do a name search for him on Google Books and the Internet Archive.  Sometimes states or municipalities produced books like "Ohio in the Great War", with all the troops listed and sometimes portrait photos.  You might also get really lucky and find a memoir or company level history with pics and names.

There is a Facebook Group called the WWI AEF Collectors. Many of these guys specialize in collecting groups of artifacts from individual soldiers and telling their stories. One of them may have a 105th Engineers portfolio already. Or they may just be able to help you with basic information.

For a real "hail mary" that worked for me, search on ebay for 105th Engineers. In my case, I turned up a group photo of my grandfather's unit, and there he was in the group.

The WWI Museum has an online archive, sometimes with personal items. You might get lucky. I have also heard that they have physical records not available on-line.

Find out where the 105th trained (see official unit history below), then do local News Paper searches for the closest town. I was able to get some nice articles about the type of training, and if you are lucky a name or two.

In the meantime, for background information on the 105th Engineers take a look at these if you haven't already found them.

Here is a US Army Publication that discusses US support to the British offensives, plenty of mention of the 105th regiment
https://history.army.mil/html/books/077/77-6/cmhPub_077-6.pdf

Here is the official history of the 105th Engineers in WWI
https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_History_of_the_105th_Regiment_of_Eng/W5vvAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=the+history+of+the+105th+Regiment+of+Engineers&pg=PR10-IA2&printsec=frontcover

[airboy]

Arizona Tank - You are just amazing!

On page 362 is the name of my grandfather and his job (Horseshoer) and when he was assigned.

I'm thankful and impressed!
Avery

[ArizonaTank]

Arizona Tank - You are just amazing!

On page 362 is the name of my grandfather and his job (Horseshoer) and when he was assigned.

I'm thankful and impressed!
Avery

Buy a lottery ticket quick!!! Definitely your lucky day. Info like that is often sparse and a real lucky find. I noticed between page 364 and 365 there is a fold out photo of the Engineer Train. Google didn't reproduce the whole photo. He might be one of the eight or so guys you can see. But it is his unit. So if you can get a physical copy of the book, you might be able to actually find your grandfather in the photo...that would be something indeed. If you want to go down that route, the FB WWI AEF Collectors Group is definitely the place to start. If somebody has it, maybe they will give you a pic of the full picture.

Good Luck! Glad I could help.

[Tripoli]

Also, try Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/choose-a-plan).  THey have a 1 week try before you subscribe deal.  I've used them for historical research.  Found my grandfather's WWII draft card there.