The online databases compiled by Ancestry.com have become indispensable for
those doing historical/genealogical research on the occupants of historical
sites. Although there is a monthly fee (around $30), this is a mere pittance
when compared to the costs (travel, phoning, writing letters, paying remote
researchers' fees, copying, waiting, assorted other grief ... such as never
knowing if what you're paying exhorbitant fees to copy is really what you
need) of compiling comparable data from the official records and archives
where they are housed.

Ancestry.com has recently added the complete U.S. war service records,
from Jamestown through Vietnam, to its online search engine ... truly a
remarkable accomplishment!

Bob Skiles
~~~~~~

WASHINGTON - For every generation in this country there has been a war. And
with wars come millions of records that can shed light on family history,
detailing everything from the color of soldiers' eyes to what their
neighbors may have said about them.

On Thursday, Ancestry.com unveils more than 90 million U.S. war records from
the first English settlement at Jamestown in 1607 through the Vietnam War's
end in 1975. The site also has the names of 3.5 million U.S. soldiers killed
in action, including 2,000 who died in Iraq.

"The history of our families is intertwined with the history of our
country," Tim Sullivan, chief executive of Ancestry.com, said in a telephone
interview. "Almost every family has a family member or a loved one that has
served their country in the military."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com:80/id/18839361/