Expanded Collection of Korean War Era Draft Cards

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ANCESTRY^® BLOG

Ancestry Team

20 May 2025

Ancestry announces the first major update to its collection of U.S. Korean War Era draft cards—the Selective Service registrations from 1948-1959. November 2024 saw the initial release of these important military records. Now, more than 2.7 million additional Korean War Era Draft Cards are available, bringing the total number to more than 2.8 million. This May update includes draft registrations from 15 U.S. states and territories.

The expanded collection also marks the first update and ongoing commitment by Ancestry to digitize, index, and publish tens of millions of National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) records over the next 5 years. “We’re looking forward to bringing the fruits of our partnership with NARA to life for our customers,” says Ancestry Sr. Director of Global Content Acquisition Quinton Atkinson." These records offer crucial details, whether you’re learning more about the veterans in your family tree or researching primary resources from this period in history.”

U.S. Korean War Era draft cards—digitized and indexed online for the first time ever—will eventually number over 10 million records and 20 million images on Ancestry—more than triple the number currently available.

Selective Service Registration Details

Each draft registrant was required to provide details about himself that would be noted on his draft card. Family history researchers can benefit by seeing what was included on each card, such as:

The registrant’s full name
Birthdates
Next-of-kin details
Physical descriptions of men aged 18-25 who were eligible to be drafted for 21-24 months of military service

These double-sided documents also include each registrant’s signature, as seen on Major League Baseball player Willie Howard Mays Jr.’s registration card, below:

The Significance of the Korean War Era Draft Cards

The Selective Service Act of 1948, reinstated by President Harry S. Truman, required all eligible men to register for the draft, though their inclusion in this collection does not necessarily mean they served in the military.

Still, by combining the detail-rich information in this collection with Selective Service Classification Records, family history researchers can begin to reconstruct military service stories in lieu of the Official Military Personnel Files that were destroyed by the NPRC fire of 1973. This collection will also bolster the 404 million U.S. military records already available on Ancestry, and can be used alongside companion collections such as:

The indexed data in this collection is available online on Ancestry with a U.S. Discovery subscription. The double-sided images—as seen above—will be published exclusively on Fold3, accessible with either an Ancestry^® All-Access or a Fold3 subscription, or from a National Archives research room.

Learn more about the resources available on Ancestry for Korean War research. Sign up today for a free trial and start unlocking meaningful discoveries about your family history.