Series 1731: Miss. World War One Statement of Service Cards. 1917-1919.
Veterans' Affairs Board (RG 44)

Series 1731: Miss. World War One Statement of Service Cards. 1917-1919.
Veterans' Affairs Board (RG 44)

      Statement of service cards for all Mississippians who served in the U.S. Army, Navy, or Marine Corps during World War One. The Army cards are in straight alphabetical order irregardless of county while the Navy/Marine cards are in alphabetical order by county.

      Instructions for On-Line Use: Click on "Link to Electronic Resource" on the OPAC web page. Choose "Series 1731: Mississippi World War I Statement of Service Cards, 1917-1919" and then choose service and appropriate alphabetic or county range you wish to browse. You may change the page number at the bottom of each page to get closer to your choice of name and/or county. In order to print a page, click on the "print friendly" button in the bottom right corder and then use your browser's File and Print Preview commands.

      Instructions for In-Archives Use: Using the appropriate index from Series 1730, look up the service person's name. In order to obtain a photocopy of the individual statement of service card(s), you must write down the individual's name, race, service number (if available), service (i.e., Army or Navy/Marine), and county. Pass that information to the librarian who will retrieve the card(s), check with you to ensure the card(s) is/are the one(s) you want, and then photocopy the card(s) for you.

      Historical Note: At the urging of various state Adjutants General, Congress passed a law in 1919 that authorized the Secretary of War (for the Army) and the Secretary of the Navy (for the Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard) to provide statement of service cards on all service members mustered into service during World War One to the several states. These cards were prepared by the two departments over the next seven years, being finally completed in 1926. The Army developed five series of cards, four for commissioned service and one for enlisted service. The four commissioned series were designed to show whether the officer entered service through the Regular Army (Form 84a), the National Guard (Form 84b), the Officer Reserve Corps (Form 84c), or the National Army (Form 84d). The enlisted series (Form 724) was designed to indicate whether a soldier had enlisted or was inducted into service. In addition, there were nine causes for separation that were given individual numbers (see table below) and were applicable to both the commissioned series and the enlisted series. The Navy and Coast Guard cards were divided into two series, one for commissioned officers and one for enlisted personnel and were of a different format than the Army cards. The Marine cards were also divided into two series, but followed the informational format of the Army cards. For additional information see, History of Furnishing Statement of Service Cards to the States, 1792-1948 (Box 9992, Series 1881, National Selective Service System Publications, RG 58, U.S. Military Records).

      The cards were originally provided to the several states to enable them to determine eligibility for state provided veterans benefits. The information provided on the cards was also to be used for historical purposes, primarily by veterans groups and historical societies. In Mississippi's case, the cards were originally provided to the Office of the State Adjutant General (the Military Department). In 1954, the cards were transferred to the State Veterans Affairs Board, who oversaw the state veterans benefits programs and provided assistance to Mississippi veterans in dealing with the varius Federal agencies. In 1997, the cards were transferred to the Department of Archives and History since only a very few WWI veterans were still alive and there was no further requirement for the Veterans Affairs Board to have daily access to the cards information.

      Types of Army Enlisted Cards. Officer cards used same number scheme, just appending the card number to the officer form number.