American WWI Burial Cards

The data is being hosted by Fold3: https://www.fold3.com/title/1115/u-s-wwi-burial-cards (Free, Fold3account registration required)

Interim access to the data can also be found at http://wjh.us/AEF/index.asp. Geographical representation of some of the data may be viewed at https://arcg.is/Xm1SO

If you have questions about any part of the data and are unable to find the answer, let us know and we will try to assist.

---

Upon completion of the first phase, early results indicate nearly 100% success rate on reconciling the transcriptions. More specifically, four fields were collected from each card. Each card was presented to at least 3 volunteers. Entries for each field were compared and 94% of the time all 3 entries matched. 5.99% of the time 2 of 3 entries matched. Only 0.01% will require a closer inspection to determine the final entry for each of the fields.

Phase 2 collected Cablegram No., Cause of Death, Date of Death and cemetery numbers for initial and intermediary burial locations.

Phase 3 collected the presence and type of grave markers on the temporary burials and whether Identification Tags were buried and/or on the marker.

Phase 4 collected which rubber stamps are present on each card.

Phase 5 collected the Rank and Organization, which will give us the unit of service at the time of death.

Phase 6 identified those cards having map coordinates for the initial burial location. This will help us streamline the data entry phases that capture the information in these two areas of the card.

Phase 7 collected the information in the Emergency Address and Notification areas, plus the R. B. Sketch No. and Photograph No.

In total there were 15 or more phases and all were completed in a little more than six months time. Thank you to all the volunteers who participated and helped complete the project in a relatively short amount of time.