Series 10340
Sanpete County (Utah). County Recorder Military discharges
Dates: 1944-1964.
2 microfilm reels
These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.
Historical Note
An agency history is available.
Scope and Content
Since 1923, Utah Code has provided that upon presentation, the county recorder shall record honorable discharges from the military, naval or marine service of the United States, and any orders, citations, and decorations of honor relating to a person while in the military service of the United States. County recorders' copies are considered evidence with the same effect as the original (Utah Code, 17-21-14, 2000). Military discharge records include extensive personal information, as well as military service and discharge information. Documents in this series represent discharges for veterans of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.
Discharge records kept by the Sanpete County recorder include a variety of forms, but their content is similar. Personal information usually includes name, date and place of birth, race, marital status, occupation, education, character notes, physical description, immunization records, notes on personal marks or identifications, and notes on general physical condition at the time of discharge. Military and discharge information includes such things as date and place of induction, military serial number, grade, rank, branch of service, evaluation of military skills, military decorations, citations and awards, military campaigns participated in, and wounds received in battle, date, reason, and location of discharge, home address or other destination, travel allowance, pay and insurance data, and the signature of a discharging officer. Since the recorder entered discharges as they were presented, a significant time often elapsed between the actual date of discharge and the date of recording. This is particularly true for World War I discharges, which were still being recorded in Sanpete County as late as 1962.
Arrangement
The Sanpete County recorder separated discharges into the following categories: 1) army 2) navy 3) all other branches of service together with any discharges recorded well after the date of discharge. Within these categories, the records are generally arranged in recording date order.
Research Note
Sanpete County military discharges are on two microfilm reels, which include four volumes, each separated into sections as follows: Volume 1, recorded Apr 1944-Feb 1946 (bulk Jan 1946) contains army discharges (with a few navy and marine corps) on pages 1-420; navy discharges on pages 421-520; marine corps discharges on pages 521-530; and typed transcripts of mixed army, navy, marine corps and coast guard discharges, in which World War II discharges are mixed with discharges from World War I on pages 591-675. Volume 2, recorded in 1946, contains army discharges on pages 1-320, navy discharges on pages 501-600, and mixed army, navy, coast guard and marine discharges on pages 601-710, again including discharges from World War I period. Additional navy discharges, recorded in Nov 1947, are included on pages 711-719. Volume 3, recorded Oct 1946-Jun 1955, contains navy discharges on pages 1-204 (a few marine and army also included and pages 54-199 have been skipped), army discharges on pages 205-344, and mixed discharges covering a broad time period on pages 600-735. Volume 4, recorded Aug 1952-Mar 1964, contains discharges from all branches of military service and from both World Wars. All are in recording date order.
Related Records
Military separation forms and benefit records from the Department of Administrative Services. Division Archives and Records Service, Series 2794, contains military discharges compiled from multiple sources, including county recorders' copies.
Official records from Sanpete County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 7068, contains miscellaneous documents recorded by the county recorder, and probably includes additional military discharges.
Access Restrictions
This series is classified as Public.
Preferred Citation
Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.
Processing Note
This series was microfilmed under the authority of Sanpete County in July 1972 and processed by Rosemary Cundiff in July 2000.
Finding Aids
Indexes: Index by surname is included,.
Indexing Terms
- World War, 1914-1918—Sanpete County (Utah)—Veterans.
- World War, 1939-1945—Sanpete County (Utah)—Veterans.
- Military discharge—Utah—Sanpete County.
- Soldiers—Utah—Sanpete County.
Page Last Updated October 18, 2012.