National Archives at College Park Maryland - Army File Reconstruction

During 2025, I took three trips to the National Archives in College Park, Maryland. My first trip was in March of 2025. I finished my research at the National Archives in Washington, D.C., and I decided to pivot to College Park when I saw on the National Archives Catalog that many of the Special Orders from the 1920's & 1930's were housed there. I found Special Orders for my ancestor, David Nemetzky, in Corps Areas II, VIII, & IX, as well as for the American Forces in China (The Special Orders that I found for David Nemetzky for Corps Areas VIII & IX are now on Google Books). 

After my March trip, I found the following Records Series on the National Archives Catalog (actually, I think these Records Series found me), and I decided to return to College Park for additional research. In September, I researched the following Records Series, which are part of Record Group 112: Office of the Surgeon General:

- Historical Reports of General Hospitals, May 1, 1917–May 31, 1920 (NAID: 651567). This Record Series included records and special orders from the following General Hospitals: General Hospital #2 (1919) & General Hospital #41 (1919-1920)

- Historical Reports of Hospitals and Infirmaries, May 1, 1917–May 31, 1920 (NAID: 653140). This Record Series included records and correspondence from the following Hospitals & Infirmaries: Army Supply Base, Brooklyn (1919) & USA Embarkation Hospital #4 (1919)

- Correspondence, March 1, 1917–September 30, 1927 (NAID: 719020). This Record Series contains correspondence with the Surgeon General's Office regarding assignments & promotions of soldiers. I found correspondence for David Nemetzky from the following: Letterman General Hospital (1918); Army Supply Base, Brooklyn (1919); General Hospital #41 (1920); Attending Surgeon's Office, NYC (1920); & William Beaumont General Hospital (1923).

- Geographic Correspondence, March 1, 1928–September 30, 1937 (NAID: 963451). I found correspondence for David Nemetzky from Letterman General Hospital from 1929.

These Records Series did not disappoint, as I found several records for David Nemetzky in each Record Series.

In December, I returned and finished my research for these Records Series, as well as searching through the Record Series 'Records of the Station Hospital, 1916-1938', which is a Record Series that contains records for the U.S. Army's Medical Department in Tientsin, China.

Here is a brief overview of what I found in each of the Records Series:

Special Orders, 1920-1939 (II Corps Area; RG 394; NAID 6920796): I found Special Orders for David Nemetzky in 1920, 1921 and 1927. The Special Orders for the II Corps Area begin in September of 1920, as the Army had realigned their geographic divisions during 1920. Prior to September 1920, the II Corps Area would have been covered by the Eastern Department. The Special Orders for the Eastern Department for 1920 (January - August) are not housed at the National Archives. Rather, they are housed at the New York Public Library. Below are the Special Orders for David Nemetzky I found for the II Corps Area:

As a note, these (and other) records that are housed at the National Archives at College Park had been classified. To indicate that these records are now declassified, a declassified tag had to be included in the copies that I had made. Not all the records I made copies of had been classified, but those that were classified have the declassified tag in them.

As I mentioned earlier, the Special Orders I found for David Nemetzky for Corps Areas VIII & IX are now on Google Books. In fact, the Special Orders I found for him in Corps Area IX were published on Google Books only a couple of weeks after my March visit (These are also housed at the New York Public Library, and they have made efforts to publish their Special Orders holdings on Google Books). Here are the Special Orders that I found for him from Corps Areas VIII & IX (as found in Google Books)

There are also Special Orders for David Nemetzky I found while he was in China during 1924 & 1925. However, these Special Orders were not classified. These are part of the Record Series: Special Orders; 1914-1937 (NAID 7280771; RG 395). Here are two of the Special Orders I found:

Historical Reports of General Hospitals, May 1, 1917–May 31, 1920

The Record Series 'Historical Reports of General Hospitals, May 1, 1917 - May 31, 1920' provided some surprise finds. I found records for David Nemetzky from General Hospital #2 (September-November 1919) and General Hospital #41 (November 1919 - October 1920). I'll start with General Hospital #2 (These records were not classified, hence no declassified tag).

From the Morning Reports that are available on fold3.com, I know that he was hospitalized while he was stationed at General Hospital #2 in October of 1919. I found the medical record for him while he was there. He had a tonsillectomy in October of 1919.

Family Search published the Record Series 'Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls: 1916-1939', which include the monthly Muster Rolls for General Hospital #2 from September and October 1919. However, November 1919 is not included in the Record Series published on Family Search. However, this Record Series at College Park contained the November 1919 Muster Roll. Here is the November 1919 Muster Roll entry for David Nemetzky:

This Record Series also contains the Special Order authorizing his transfer from General Hospital #2 to General Hospital #41 (the Special Order is dated October 30, 1919):

For General Hospital #41, I was able to answer a couple of questions that I had for his service while he was there. The Morning Reports indicate that he was detached service in April and July-August of 1920, but they did not indicate where he was on detached service at. I found Special Orders that indicate where he was on detached service at. In April of 1920, he was to escort the remains of a soldier to his family in Baltimore, Maryland. In July, he was to escrow two soldiers to Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco. The Special Orders are below:

Historical Reports of Hospitals and Infirmaries, May 1, 1917–May 31, 1920

The Record Series 'Historical Reports of Hospitals and Infirmaries, May 1, 1917–May 31, 1920' contains records for David Nemetzky from his time at the Army Supply Base, Brooklyn (February-May 1919) and USA Embarkation Hospital #4 in New York City (May-June 1919). The records include Special Orders, Correspondence, and Bi-Monthly Rosters of the personnel serving at each station. The Bi-Monthly Rosters were a surprise because I had found the monthly muster rolls on Family Search several years earlier. (These records were also not classified, hence no declassified tag).

The Bi-Monthly Rosters are titled 'Return of the Enlisted Force of the Medical Department'. I not only found these Bi-Monthly Rosters for the Army Supply Base in Brooklyn and USA Embarkation Hospital #4 in New York City, I also found them for General Hospital #2 and General Hospital #41 (they became monthly rosters during 1920 while he was at General Hospital #41). During my 2024 research trip, I also found this specific record for Camp Fort Bliss, Texas in 1916 & 1917. I don't know if these records exist for the other places where he served (such as the Presidio of San Francisco during the 1910's, or Letterman General Hospital during the 1920's).

These Bi-Monthly Rosters were put together on the odd-numbered months. They list the soldier's name, rank, service number, and any notes about their service. As a side note, there are no monthly muster rolls for General Hospital #41 for November & December 1919, so I have been able to reconstruct this portion of David Nemetzky's service record between these Returns and the Morning Reports). Here are a few of the Returns of the Enlisted Force of the Medical Department that I found for David Nemetzky:

Army Supply Base; Brooklyn, New York: Feb-Mar 1919 & Apr-May 1919

USA Embarkation Hospital #4, New York City: Apr-May 1919 & Jun-Jul 1919

General Hospital #2; Ft. McHenry, Maryland: Aug-Sep 1919 & Oct-Nov 1919

General Hospital #41; Fox Hills, Staten Island, New York: Oct-Nov 1919

General Hospital #41; Fox Hills, Staten Island, New York: July & August 1920

This record series also contains correspondence between the General Hospitals and the Surgeon General's Office. The correspondence I found was primarily from General Hospital #41, and dealt with rank realignment that took place in 1920. When the United Stated entered World War I, the regular requirements for promotion to non-commissioned ranks were suspended; primarily, the examinations for promotion. Time in rank became the only requirement for promotion. David Nemetzky was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1916. Between July of 1917 and December of 1918, he was promoted three grades to the rank of Master Hospital Sergeant. However, this was only a temporary rank. In March of 1920, he had the opportunity to be promoted to the permanent rank of Master Hospital Sergeant. However, the correspondence that I found in my December trip shows that even though he had applied for the examination, he (and a few others) voluntarily withdrew from the examination (the reason for withdrawing from the examination isn't given). Here is the correspondence that I found regarding the examination for promotion:

Following rank realignment on July 1, 1920, David Nemetzky was erroneously reduced to the rank of Sergeant 1st Class (also known as Staff Sergeant). Here is the correspondence that bears out this error.

Correspondence, March 1, 1917–September 30, 1927

This Record Series is correspondence between the Hospitals, Stations and Posts and the Surgeon General's Office. This correspondence is organized by Hospitals, Stations and Posts, and then by the War Department Decimal File Classification System. This System was implemented beginning in 1914, and continued for several decades. The 200 Series dealt with personnel, including promotions and assignments. 201 was designated for correspondence and records regarding specific individual personnel, which is where the term '201 File' comes from. It is these '201 Files' that were destroyed in the National Personnel Records Center fire in 1973.

The Correspondence I found is from the 220 subseries, which deals with promotions and transfers of enlisted personnel (among other subjects). I found letters that mention David Nemetzky from Letterman General Hospital (1918); General Hospital #41 (1920); Second Corps Area (1920) Attending Surgeon's Office, New York City (1920); and Beaumont General Hospital (1923). This Record Series was classified, so declassification tags are in each record that I copied. I found correspondence for David Nemetzky during my trips to College Park in September and December. Here are a few of the letters that I found (this Record Series was also classified, hence the declassification tags):

Letter from Letterman General Hospital to the Surgeon General's Office dated October 5, 1918

re: Transfers of Non-Commissioned Personnel.

Letter from Hoff General Hospital (aka General Hospital #41) to Surgeon general's Office dated August 13, 1920. re: Corrected Rank Adjustment of Non-Commissioned Personnel

Letter from Surgeon General's Office to Commanding Officer of Hoff General Hospital (aka General Hospital #41) dated September 28, 1920. re: Examinations for Promotion to Staff Sergeant

Letter from William Beaumont General Hospital to Surgeon general's Office dated July 2, 1923.

re: Personnel for Assignment to William Beaumont General Hospital

Geographic Correspondence

March 1, 1928–September 30, 1937

This Record Series is a continuation of the Record Series described above. I only found one letter when I was at College Park in September, but it was a very important one. It is a letter regarding the Examination for Promotions within the Medical Department, including promotion to Master Sergeant. David Nemetzky had passed the Examination for Promotion to Technical Sergeant in 1924 (I was unable to find this correspondence), but was still a Staff Sergeant when he took the Examination for Promotion to Master Sergeant in 1929. Here is the letter that I found (this Record Series was also classified, hence the declassification tags):

Letter from Letterman General Hospital to Surgeon Generals' Office dated July 9, 1929.

re: Examinations for Promotion

In case you're wondering, he passed the Examination for Promotion to Master Sergeant. However, because he was so far down the promotion lists for Technical Sergeant as well as Master Sergeant, his final rank when he was discharged from the Army was Staff Sergeant.

Records of the Station Hospital, 1916-1938 (U.S. Army Troops in China)

I searched through this Record Series (NAID 7282449; RG 395) when I went back to College Park in December. I was very surprised to find more of the 'Return of the Enlisted Force of the Medical Department' records for the Station Hospital at Tientsin, China. These were completed monthly (along with the Monthly Muster Rolls which are on Family Search). As I have mentioned, I don't know if the 'Return of the Enlisted Force of the Medical Department' exist in their entirety anywhere for all the Hospitals, Stations and Posts where he served, but what I have found is a great addition to David Nemetzky's reconstructed military file that I have put together over the years. Here are a few of the monthly Returns of the Enlisted Force of the Medical Department that I found:

March 1924

November 1924

October 1925

General Correspondence: 1894-1917

This is a Record Series (NAID: 656347; RG 112) that is housed at the National Archives at Washington, D.C. I asked about this series in November to see if there would be anything for David Nemetzky, and i received a response while I was out there on my December trip. I was surprised to receive correspondence for David Nemetzky from this Record Series between 1907 and 1916. When he first re-enlisted in the Army following his discharge in 1907, he requested re-enlistment in the Hospital Corps. He was told that he was: 'not desired for the Hospital Corps.' He then requested permission to re-enlist in the Infantry, which request was granted. When he re-enlisted in 1911, he again requested the Hospital Corps. This time, his request was granted. Following his discharge in 1914, he again requested re-enlistment in the Hospital Corps, as well as an assignment near New York City. His request was denied, but he was advised that if he re-enlisted for the Hospital Corps, he would be assigned somewhere in the western United States. This is why when he re-enlisted in 1914, he was initially assigned to Recruit Duty in San Francisco before being approved for transfer back to the Hospital Corps with assignment at the Presidio of San Francisco. Finally, he (along with his family) requested that he be transferred back to a post near New York City due to his aging parents and their infirmity. This request was ultimately denied. Below are the correspondence that I received from the National Archives in Washington, D.C., from this Record Series:

My three trips to College Park (as well as my request to Washington, D.C.), have been very productive. Each trip has yielded more information to add to David Nemetzky's military record that I have reconstructed. I'm still not sure if I will go back again in 2026. We will have to see what this new year will yield.

Wyoming School Census Records

Ancestry just released a new record series for the State of Wyoming: Wyoming School Census: 1884-1974. According to Ancestry: 'Annual censuses were conducted for all school districts in Wyoming to determine where funding was needed…Wyoming statutes required that all children between the ages of six and 21 were required to be enumerated in April’ of each year. The School Census records list the names of each child/youth, their age, where they lived, and who their parent/guardian was. The School Census records from the 1930's & 1940's also indicate whether each child/youth listed was attending school.

I found School Census records for my great-grandma, Alice Laura Lemoine. She was born in Hanna, Carbon County, Wyoming in 1897, and grew up in the towns of Hanna and Saratoga. The first School Census for my great-grandma that is available is from the year of 1909. There were actually three School Census taken for my great-grandma and her siblings. They were enumerated in School Districts 9, 10, & 17 (although I don't know why). Here is the School Census for School District 17 from 1909.

This specific School Census was taken by her father, Emile Lemoine. I have the family's birth record that was also written by Emile Lemoine, so to have another document with his handwriting is quite the find.

My great-grandma is listed in additional School Census records from 1911 through 1916. The last School Census record for my great-grandma is from 1918. She was 20 years old in April of that year (she would be 21 in August of 1918). By this time, she was  no longer attending school.

Here is the link to all of the School Census records I found for my great-grandma:

Alice Lemoine School Census Records

I also found the School Census records for my grandpa, Robert Earl Dodge, and his brother, Alfred Lee Dodge. The first School Census record I found for my grandpa is from 1936, when they were living on the Windmill Ranch west of Laramie. He would be six years old in 1936. The School Census record is below. 

However, his name is crossed out on the School Census record. My great-grandparents moved to Rawlins in 1936, so this is where my grandpa and his brother attended school. They are both listed in the School Census records in Rawlins until they were both 20 years old. One thing I noticed with the School Census records is that although my great-uncle, Alfred Dodge, was drafted into the Army in February of 1953, he is still listed in the School Census record for that year. Alfred was born in July of 1953, which means that because of the rules of enumeration, he would have been listed in the 1953 School Census, even though he was already gone and in the Army. Additionally, although my grandpa no longer attended high school and was working for the Union Pacific Railroad, he was still listed in the School Census records until he was 20 years old as well.

Here are the links to both my grandpa's and his brother's School Census Records:

Robert Dodge School Census Records

Alfred Dodge School Census Records

Frances (Dodge) Nemetzky and the Tanforan Assembly Center - 1942

December 7, 1941, "a date that will live in infamy," saw Japanese Imperial Forces carry out their surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into World War II. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, authorizing "the forced removal of all persons deemed a threat to national security from the West Coast to "relocation centers" further inland – resulting in the incarceration of Japanese Americans." Following the issuing of this Executive Order, "approximately 122,000 men, women, and children were forcibly moved to "assembly centers." They were then evacuated to and confined in isolated, fenced, and guarded "relocation centers," also known as "internment camps...Nearly 70,000 of the evacuees were American citizens." 

(from https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-9066) 

One of these assembly centers was the Tanforan Assembly Center, located at San Bruno, California (approximately 12 miles south of San Francisco), operated between April and October of 1942. Between September and October of 1942, those who were detained at the Tanforan Assembly Center were relocated to the Internment Camp at Topaz, Utah, where they remained for the duration of World War II.

The detainees included 58-year-old Shigetaro Inouye and his wife, 53-year-old Komaye (they did not have any children); and 53-year-old Mitsuru Nakai, his wife, 43-year-old Michie, and their sons, 21-year-old  Michikazu, and 14-year-old Hirokazu. Shigetaro and Komaye Inouye had resided in the United States for many years, as had Mitsuru and Michie Nakai. The Nakai's two sons, Michikazu and Hirokazu, were born in the United States. Both families lived in San Francisco when Executive Order 9066 was issued.

Between June and August of 1942, both families were visited by Frances Nemetzky. On June 21, 1942, Frances visited the Nakai family, and brought with her two packages of food. It is probable Frances brought them some of the pru-nut creams that she sold at her store. She visited them again on August 12, 1942. She visited the Inouye family twice; first on July 19, 1942 (with her husband, David Nemetzky), and again on July 29, 1942 (this time by herself). Prior to their removal, both families lived about one mile or so from Fogalsang's Pru-Nut Creams, the candy store that was owned and operated by Frances. It is likely that each family had frequented her store, and that they had known each other over the years.

The Inouye and Nakai families were relocated to Topaz, Utah, until the end of World War II. The Nakai family experienced bittersweet times during their forced incarceration. Mitsuru Nakai passed away at Topaz in April of 1943. His death was reported in The Topaz Times. Their son, Michikazu Nakai, married his wife at Topaz in August of 1943. 

Following the end of World War II, both the Inouye and Nakai families returned to San Francisco. Shigetaro Inouye and his wife, Komaye, became citizens of the United States in 1954. Michie Nakai remarried in 1947, and also became a US citizen in 1954.

The National Archives Catalog has published records of the Tanforan Assembly Center, which is how I found that Frances had visited the Inoyue and Nakai families there in 1942. The records I found include visitors passes, visitors lists, and records of the families that were detained there. This was definitely something I did not expect to come across. I have found over the years that records sometimes find me, and this is definitely the case here. Below are the records I found on each of Frances' visits, as well as records of the families that she visited. 

Visitor Pass for Frances Nemetzky - June 21, 1942.

Visitor Pass for Frances Nemetzky - August 12, 1942.

Visitor list dated July 19, 1942. Frances Nemetzky, and her husband, David, are on Lines 96 & 97.

Visitor list dated July 29, 1942. Frances is on line 169.

Information sheet for the Nakai family.

Information sheet for the Inouye family.

Frances Cleveland Dodge - A Nurse in California

For many years, I have wondered about the nursing career of my great-great aunt, Frances Cleveland Dodge. When I first started this family history search 20 years ago, I found Frances in the 1910 Census in Longmont, Colorado, where she was a nursing student at the Longmont Hospital Training School for Nurses. When she married her first husband, Thomas Fogalsang, in California in 1916, their marriage license stated that Frances was a Nurse and that she was residing in San Francisco.

Several years ago, I found the Colorado Historic Newspapers Collection website. This website has digitized and transcribed numerous newspapers from Colorado, including The Longmont Call and the Longmont Ledger. Both newspapers recount the graduation ceremony for Frances, which took place on July 12, 1911. The Longmont Ledger from July 14, 1911 indicates: 'The training school for nurses is a very important part of the work, and for two years has turned out graduating classes of young ladies fully prepared for the profession of nursing.' Frances was one of three nurses to graduate.

Shortly after I began my family history research, I found a newsletter that contained a history of the Longmont Hospital, including the Longmont Nursing School. Here is a link to the newsletter that I saved:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzsieQx5uaIqdzNkOElhN0lOeGc/view?usp=drive_link&resourcekey=0-ZpSU4NVYsgio0mP7GroReQ

More recently, I found an advertisement that was published in the magazine Colorado Medicine: The Journal of the Colorado State Medical Society from October of 1909 for Nurses' Training at the Longmont Hospital. Below is that advertisement:

Both The Longmont Call and the Longmont Ledger from December 8, 1911 explain that Frances had completed her work and that she had taken a nursing position at a hospital in Raton, New Mexico. The Salida Record from January 2, 1914 wrote: 'Mrs. James Newitt, of Buena Vista, was operated on at the Red Cross Hospital Monday. Her sister, Miss Frances Dodge, of Buena Vista, is attending her.' This was the only indication of Frances' nursing career that I had found.

Recently, however, I have found a handful of newspaper articles from California that shed light to Frances' nursing career. I found these newspaper articles on newspapers.com and newspaperarchive.com. They are from November 1912 to September 1915 and indicate that Frances worked as a nurse in San Francisco, Placerville, Sacramento & Yreka.

Siskiyou Daily News: November 7, 1912: Miss Dodge and Miss Cohn arrived from San Francisco the last of the week to accept positions as nurses in Mt. Shasta hospital.

Ferndale Enterprise: July 11, 1913: Miss Rebecca Hindley, a graduate nurse, and Miss Lena Schortgen, who is training at the Sequoia hospital, are enjoying a vacation with relatives in Upper Mattole. A Miss Dodge, also a nurse, arrived at the same time, and all were visitors for a day or two at the Kirll home, where Miss. Schortgen is visiting her mother and other relatives.

Ferndale Enterprise: July 22, 1913: Miss Dodge, a nurse, whose home is at Arcata, returned there the first of the week after a very happy vacation spent with Miss Lena Schortgen, also a nurse, at the home of the latter’s mother, Mrs. C. Krill.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: December 12, 1914: Mrs. Harry Wenzel, wife of the assistant district passenger agent of the S.P. Co., came up from Sacramento last Tuesday for a brief visit with her friend Mrs. Frances Dodge, head nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: April 24, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium, returned from Sacramento Sunday evening.

Placerville Mountain Democrat: May 8, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, head nurse at the Wrenn Sanatorium, left Thursday for Nevada to spend her vacation. Her place will be filled by Miss Hazel Hoak, who returned from Redding the first of the week.

Record Searchlight: May 8, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge, after spending one day in this city visiting Mrs. Volney Fox, departed Saturday morning for Gazelle, where she will spend a week with relatives before returning to her home at Placerville.

Siskiyou Daily News: September 2, 1915: Miss Frances Dodge arrived in Yreka Monday evening from Sacramento to accept the position of head nurse at Mount Shasta hospital. Miss Dodge was one of the nurses at this hospital when the late Dr. Carlson was in charge, and her Yreka friends are glad to welcome her back. Since leaving Yreka she has nursed in Placerville and Sacramento.

Siskiyou Daily News: September 23, 1915: Little Billie Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. Julius Miller, was very sick Wednesday night. The little fellow had spasms and Dr Hall and nurse, Miss Dodge, worked with him some time before he recovered. He was much better this morning.

I haven't found anything to indicate when Frances went to San Francisco prior to her marriage to Thomas Fogalsang, but to have these newspaper articles shed light on her days as a nurse is such an amazing find.