Understanding NARA's AAD files

(Mods, I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right forum with this - if not, please move it)

The small historical society of which I'm a member wants to do a "WWII Veterans" addendum to an already existing project concerning "families of residence from 1930 - 1945" in our home town.

We can find the names of all/most of the enlistees by doing a search on the home county & state in NARA's AAD to obtain the initial database. Then narrow it down to those from the individual town who actually served during WWII. Problem is, we do not understand the implications of some of the columns in the AAD files, particularly as it pertains to enlistments dated "46". I'm assuming (dangerous territory, that) the names would not be included in NARA's WWII database if they hadn't served during the time the U.S. was actually at war, but I would like to be certain of that, so I'm asking. Is my assumption correct?

Also:

Source of Army Personnel - What does "within 3 months of discharge" and "after 3 months of discharge" indicate? Were these people who were in the Army or had just been discharged and re-enlisted?

Is there a similar source of WWII enlistment records for other branches of the service besides the Army?

I would appreciate your guidance and input!

Regards,
Penny

 

Hi, Pen.

Enlistment in 1946 means just that. It does not necessarily

mean the individual served during the war.

ftp://216.54.96.55/aad_docs/rg64_army_serial_faq.pdf

Unfortunately, there is no comparable online database for the U.S. Navy/
Marines.


Dave

 

Well, rats!! Thanks for the input, though, Dave. Guess now I'm going to have to run some risk of leaving out somebody who should be included, by simply not including any enlistees from 1946.

Thanks for the help. That's what I get with that assumption stuff, huh.

Regards,
Penny