Using primary and secondary sources this case study examines the military service of Private Gandolfo Scarnici who served in the 55th United States Infantry enlisting in 1917 then serving overseas in France with the American Expeditionary Forces from 1918-1919 during World War I.
This webinar follows the life and service of Private Gandolfo Scarnici, an Italian-born American soldier of World War I, to demonstrate how military and genealogical records can be woven into a rich family narrative. Using one man’s story—from a Sicilian village to New Jersey mills, through training camps, the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and home again—the presenter shows how to locate, interpret, and correlate diverse sources, even when key files were destroyed in the 1973 personnel records fire. The case study highlights strategies that any genealogist can adapt to uncover an ancestor’s military path, social context, and postwar life.
Turning a “burned” file into a full story
The webinar explains how to work around destroyed Official Military Personnel Files by combining auxiliary pay records, state adjutant general files, draft registrations, unit muster rolls, and transport lists. Viewers learn how each fragment adds a different layer—enlistment details, unit assignments, promotions, overseas dates, and combat participation—until a surprisingly complete service history emerges.
Placing ancestors in their historical and social landscape
Beyond documents, the presentation emphasizes context: Italian immigration, prejudice and loyalty pressures, changing neutrality policies, the Selective Service Act, enemy alien regulations, and the Zimmerman Telegram. Understanding this backdrop helps genealogists interpret why an ancestor enlisted, how draft classifications worked, and what daily life may have felt like for ethnic communities during wartime.
Decoding uniforms, numbers, and unit structure
The case shows how service numbers, shoulder patches, collar discs, and campaign ribbons reveal whether a soldier was drafted or regular army, the division and brigade they belonged to, where they trained, and which battles they likely saw. Morning reports and published orders of battle then refine the picture to specific locations, dates, and actions on the Western Front.
Genealogists who want to see how all these sources work together—in real time, with document images, artifacts, and step-by-step reasoning—are encouraged to watch the full webinar. Viewing the complete presentation will provide a deeper understanding of both the records and the research logic behind them, and will help apply the same methods to other World War I ancestors. After watching, explore the additional resources listed in the syllabus, where curated links, archives, and suggested readings offer further guidance for advancing military and family history research.
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Syllabus
That was probably one of the best webinars that I have attended. It provided the most and best information about America and Americans joining the First World War ( WW1). So clearly presented and explained. A really amazing history lesson as well as showing so many useful documents to help us in our own research. Thank you so much Michael
This was a very helpful webinar regarding WWI research. I have 2 Great Uncles who died in WWI and have been trying to gather military information on them. Checking pay vouchers, state records and muster rolls are great suggestions of places to check for information. Thank you!
Excellent webinar. Michael did a great job interweaving Gandolfo’s story with the military and social history and with information about available records. I thought I knew a lot about WWI records, but l learned about some that are new to me. I’m looking forward to watching the recording to catch some things I missed.
Very knowledgeable! Thank you.
Both of my grandfathers served in WW I so this information providing alternatives to the burnt records is super helpful. Thank you!
Michael presented an AMAZING presentation discussing the WW1 and other related information. A must see webinar for anyone seeking more information on the WW1 and future researching of your family.
Interesting presentation. It ran long so there was no time for questions which is regrettable.
Great information, I learned a lot