Diana Elder and Nicole Dyer explore the value of writing an ancestor’s military story by correlating multiple sources. Diana uses her father Bob Shults’s World War II Navy records as a case study. She demonstrates how to use AI to cross-reference personal oral histories with official documents like muster rolls and discharge papers. Listeners learn how to build a comprehensive timeline that bridges the gap between limited personal recollections and formal military service records.
The discussion highlights the use of the FamilySearch Simple Search tool to locate unindexed muster rolls that reveal specific locations and dates of service. Diana shows how she organizes this research in Airtable to track her father’s path through training in Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Florida, and his eventual deployment on the USS Antietam in the Western Pacific. By integrating this specific documentation with historical context about training bases and ship operations, researchers can effectively flesh out an ancestor’s service experience and uncover new avenues for future investigation.
This summary was generated by Google Gemini.
Links
A Navy Life: The World War II Service of Bobby Gene Shults – https://familylocket.com/a-navy-life-the-world-war-ii-service-of-bobby-gene-shults/
“Formal Naval Air Station Memphis,” NAVFAC – https://www.bracpmo.navy.mil/BRAC-Bases/Southeast/Former-Naval-Air-Station-Memphis/
Technical Training, Naval Aviation News, November 15, 1944; imaged, Oklahoma Naval Air History – https://www.oklahomanavalairhistory.com/techarticle01.php
Lelan Kent, “Yellow Water N.A.G.S. & Weapons Storage,” Abandoned Southeast – https://abandonedsoutheast.com/2023/10/11/yellow-water-n-a-g-s-weapons-storage/
Andrew Bucholtz, “San Diego in WWII, Part IV: Home Base of the Pacific,” posted 11 October 2023, SDHist – https://sdhist.com/home-base-pacific-san-diego-wwii-iv/
CV 36/CVA 36 / CVS 36 – USS Antietam, Seaforces-online – https://www.seaforces.org/usnships/cv/CV-36-USS-Antietam.htm
Sponsor – Newspapers.com
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Research Like a Pro Resources
Airtable Universe – Nicole’s Airtable Templates – https://www.airtable.com/universe/creator/usrsBSDhwHyLNnP4O/nicole-dyer
Airtable Research Logs Quick Reference – by Nicole Dyer – https://familylocket.com/product-tag/airtable/
Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide book by Diana Elder with Nicole Dyer on Amazon.com – https://amzn.to/2x0ku3d
Research Like a Pro with AI Workbook – Second Edition (eBook) – https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-ai-workbook-second-edition-ebook/
14-Day Research Like a Pro Challenge Workbook – digital – https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-digital-only/ and spiral bound – https://familylocket.com/product/14-day-research-like-a-pro-challenge-workbook-spiral-bound/
Research Like a Pro Webinar Series – monthly case study webinars including documentary evidence and many with DNA evidence – https://familylocket.com/product-category/webinars/
Research Like a Pro eCourse – independent study course – https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-e-course/
RLP Study Group – upcoming group and email notification list – https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-study-group/
Research Like a Pro Institute Courses – https://familylocket.com/product-category/institute-course/
Research Like a Pro with DNA Resources
Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence book by Diana Elder, Nicole Dyer, and Robin Wirthlin – https://amzn.to/3gn0hKx
Research Like a Pro with DNA eCourse – independent study course – https://familylocket.com/product/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-ecourse/
RLP with DNA Study Group – upcoming group and email notification list – https://familylocket.com/services/research-like-a-pro-with-dna-study-group/
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