Series 84236

Duchesne County (Utah). County Recorder Military discharges, 1945-1994.

2 microfilm reels

These records are housed in the Utah State Archives' permanent storage room.

Historical Note

See history of the records' creator.

Summary of Records

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).

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, naval, or marine 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 discharges contain a wide range of personal information, military service and discharge information. Since the county recorder recorded discharges as they were presented, a significant time often elapsed between the actual date of discharge and the date of recording. Documents in this series represent discharges from World War I to the Vietnam War and after.
The United States military used a wide variety of forms to document separation from various branches of service. between the actual date of discharge and the date of recording. Documents inthis series represent discharges from World War I to the Vietnam War and after. While the forms are different, they contain similar information. They include personal information, such as 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. They contain military information, such 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. Discharge data include such things as 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 county recorder entered discharges as they were presented, a significant time couldelapse between the actual date of discharge and the date o recording. This is particularly true of the few World War I discharges included in this series.

Research Note

Volume 1, in which army discharges comprise pages 1-844, frequently contains repeated page numbers, as well as gaps in page sequences. The following page sequences have been skipped in the section of Army discharges: 3-20, 43-284, 287-380, 397-410, 413-424. Navy discharges follow army, and comprise pages numbered 421-561, then 471-476. Marine corps discharges have been recorded on pages 521-546, and are followed by coast guard discharges on pages 571-576, 547. Volume 2, in which branches of service have not been separated, comprises pages 1-270. It continues with pages 270-298, which are on a separate reel and were microfilmed at a later date.

Arrangement

For records created from 1944 to 1952, arrangement is according to branch of service, including army, navy, marine corps, and coast guard. Thereunder, they are arranged roughly by date recorded..

From 1944 to 1952, the Duchesne County recorder separated military discharges according to branch of service, including army, navy, marine corps, and coast guard. Thereunder, she arranged them in roughly sequential order according to the date recorded. With the beginning of a new volume in October 1952, she began filing all discharges in recording date order without regard to branch of service.

Additional Forms

This series is available on microfilm.

Access Restrictions

This series is primarily classified as Private: This series may contain suchpersonal identifying information, such as birth dates, Social Security numbers, and military ID numbers. (Utah Code 63G-2-302). The secondary classification is Public: Records in this series are considered public after 75 years. (Utah Code 63G-2-310).

Use Restrictions

These records are available for reproduction and use.

Preferred Citation

Cite the Utah State Archives and Records Service, the creating agency name, the series title, and the series number.

Acquisition Information

These records were acquired from the creating agency through established retention schedules.

Processing Information

Duchesne County military discharges were microfilmed by the Utah State Archives in March 1986 and November 1995, and were processed by Rosemary Cundiff in July 2000.

Other Finding Aids

Indexes: The Duchesne County recorder created indexes which appear at the beginning of each volume. She listed names in alphabetical order, and included date of recording and branch of service in addition to page number. That portion of volume 2, which is on microfilm reel 2, is not included in the index.

Related Material

Military separation forms and benefit records from the Division of Archives and Records Service, Series 2794, contains military discharges compiled from a variety of sources including county recorders' copies.
Military discharge records from the Department of Veterans and Military Affairs, Series 19958, contains DD-214 and other discharge records collected by the Utah Office of Veterans Affairs. Most of these discharges were issued from 1980 to 1991.
Official records from Duchesne County (Utah). County Recorder, Series 81769, contains miscellaneous records recorded by the county recorder and may contain additional military discharges, particularly discharges recorded before 1945.

Container List

ReelDescription
1volume 1
1volume 2
2volume 2