Korean War Draft Registration Cards, 1948-1959 on Fold3

DMZ Tour Korea, Seoul Photo by Alicja Podstolska on Unsplash

Recently Fold3 released Korean Draft Records on their site. Helpful if your ancestor was the right age during this time. Let’s look.

According to Fold3, US, Korean War Era Draft Registration Cards, 1948-1959: “This collection contains military draft cards submitted to the Selective Service System between 1948 and 1959. Young men were required to submit a draft card when they became eligible for military service between ages 18 to 26, but the existence of a draft card doesn't necessarily mean that your ancestor was drafted into military service.”
​
This is a work in progress with about half the states and territories available now with more coming online. While most of us delve into the 1800s as we research, this is an interesting database for researching people we might have known personally. I decided to look up a close relative and his brothers as they would fit into the age requirement. Surprisingly I found all five of the brothers. It is surprising because despite the fact that two of the brothers served in WWII, they still had to register for the Korean War Era Draft.

What kind of things can you learn from these draft cards? Their address, occupation, relative, physical description (eye color, hair color, complexion, height and weight). And something we overlook is their actual signature. I knew all of these brothers so it was interesting to think of them as young men, some high school age,  when they registered. Imagine how they must have felt to register for draft when it wasn’t that long ago that our country had ended fighting in World War II. In the case of these gentlemen, they registered between 1948 and 1951 so less than ten years from the end of WWII.

Take some time to explore these records as your state becomes available, you will learn clues to your ancestor’s life. These little details help us tell a better family story. Happy Researching!