Remembering our ancestors who died in the service of our nation

When Gen. John Logan gave orders for the decoration of soldiers' graves on that first Decoration Day in 1868, he said:

"We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic."  

To help ensure we don't forget, take time this Memorial Day to learn more about your ancestors who served in the military. FamilySearch.org has more than 100 collections of military records. Also try the National Archives' Access to Archival Databases (AAD).

Fold3, Ancestry.com and MyHeritage, all h ave military collections, as well.  Many "premium content" web sites offer free access to military records over the Memorial Day weekend.  

Free access to Ancestry.com, findmypast, and MyHeritge

In February, FamilySearch announced major new agreements with Ancestry.com, findmypast, and MyHeritage. In addition to accelerating the publication of new indexed collections on FamilySearch.org, the agreements give free home access to all three of these great sites for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! Log-in access will be rolled out in phases over the coming months, so watch for updates.

The Family History Center will continue to offer all patrons free access to Ancestry.com and findmypast from FHC computers. 

For more information about this announcement, see the FamilySearch Blog post for 8 February 2014, "Details on Free Account Access to FamilySearch Partner Websites".