WWI Draft Registration

During World War I there were three registrations for the draft.:

• June 5, 1917 - for all men between the ages of 21 and 31.
• June 5, 1918 - for those who attained the age of 21 after June 5, 1917.  Also included in this second registration was a supplemental registration held August 24, 1918 for those becoming 21 years old after June 5, 1918.
• September 12, 1918 - for men age 18 through 45.

We have obtained the two rolls of microfilm containing Acadia Parish draft registration cards for WW I, transcribed the data elements from microfilm to a database, and published the date in two volumes.  The focus of these two volumes is to make available in book form the information collected from individuals of Acadia Parish registering as part of the World War I Draft Registration process.  These two volumes are arranged alphabetically by surname.

• Vol. 1 includes A - J
• Vol. 2  includes K - Z

A recently published companion project provides information from military discharge records on approximately 1,000 WW I veterans from Acadia Parish who actually served during the WW I era.

Nationwide, approximately 24 million draft registration cards were filed - about 23% of the population in 1918.  The cards were microfilmed alphabetically by name within each state and parish/county.  Not all who registered for the draft served in the military.  The registration card layout and content changed somewhat over time, but typically attempted to capture information, such as:  Name, Age, Date of Birth, race, citizenship, employment information, dependency information, color of hair and eyes, body build.