WW II Draft Card from NARA for Wm Cyril Hork

Everything is not online and I recently received from the National Archives the World War II Draft Registrations for my two grandfathers and for my husband’s father.

During World War II, there were six draft registrations. The registrations are in two different groups at the National Archives. One group is the 4th registration, known as the “Old Man’s Draft” which registered all the men who were born between April 28, 1877 to February 16, 1897.[1] Images of this draft can be found on FamilySearch.org and Ancestry.com as “United States World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942.”

The other group are the rest, those men who were born between February 17, 1897 to July 31, 1927. These records are not available online and I had to order the records from the National Archives in St. Louis. Information about it is here. There is a special form you fill out for the registrant you’re seeking and when the archives personnel find the record, you’ll receive a letter with an invoice to order the copies. The Registration Card is $7.00 and the Classification Record (including the Registration Card) is $27.[2]

I ordered three different records: my paternal grandfather, William Cyril Hork; my maternal grandfather, Tom J Johnston; and my husband’s father, George J. Gorrell. The time frame for receiving the records were:

• Filled out the online form: ??[3]
• NARA sent the invoice: December 7, 2016
• I returned the invoice: December 22, 2016
• NARA sent the records: January 24, 2017

Did I learn anything new from these records? I did learn some new things, mostly about their occupation. Today I’ll write about my paternal grandfather, William Cyril Hork.

WWII Draft - William Cyril Hork

Front side of the card. The handwriting is different from the back side, which would be filled out by the registrar, so perhaps my grandfather filled out the form himself. He was living at 215 North Euclid Ave, Ontario, San Bernardino Co, California.[4] This was the same address as listed in the 1940 census and the 1942 California Voter Registration.[5]

He put down Lorene Hork as the person who would know his address, and her address was 1259 Eggleston, California. He left out the city of Napa. My grandparents were separated by now and my grandmother lived in Napa at 1259 Eggleston with her children.[6]

His employer was the W.P.A. Project #12322, working on the Ontario Municipal Airport in Ontario, California. On his 1942 Voter Registration, he recorded his occupation as a pipefitter.[7] With this project detail about the airport project with the Works Project Administration, I should try to see if the WPA has records about my grandfather. I can start here.

WWII Draft Card - William Cyril Hork

Back Side of Card

As with all draft forms, his description was included: white, 5’8”, 150 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair, ruddy complexion, and what I didn’t know, numerous scars on the left side of his face. These will filled out by the registrar, Bertha C. Henning. I have few photos of my grandfather. I do have two photos taken before his service in World War I and there are no scars on his face. Another photo taken of him in the mid-sixties does show scars on his face. I wonder what happened.

Left side of Classification Record

Classification Record

The other form, Classification Record, gives information about the registration process. There are many columns and the first few had this information: order no. 11387, Wm Cyril Hork, serial no. 849, age: 41, white.

Then there were many columns with dates:

• date record transferred by or to local board: Aug 27 1942
• date record returned: Nov 5, 1942
• date questionnaire mailed: Jul 20 1942
• date questionnaire returned: Jul 28, 1942
• classification: AH
• date to appear for physical: Oct 22, 1942
• date appeared for physical: Oct 27, 1942
• date classification by local board mailed: Nov 5 1942, Jan 27, 1943
• date request to appear before board received: Apr 26, 1943

Then there was an inserted page with this information:

• classification: 1AH [crossed out], 4A
• column 29: Jul 8 1944 (which might refer to the date the 4A was written)

What were these classification codes? I found an answer on the Selective Service System website. These codes were for registrations between 1948 and 1976. So, I can't be sure that the code "AH" means "Registrant not currently subject to processing for induction or alternative service."

I don't think he ever served. I have received his military record from WWI, where he had Naval service. That story can be found here.

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[1] “Selective Service Records,” National Archives at St. Louis, https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/archival-programs/other-records/selective-service.html#wwii : accessed 16 April 2017)

[2] ibid.

[3] If I kept a better research log, I would know when I filled out the form.

[4] World War II Draft Registration Records, Selective Service Records, National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri, D.S.S. Form 1, William Cyril Hork, ser. no. 849, dated 16 Feb 1942.

[5] 1940 U.S. census, San Bernardino County, California, pop. sched,  Ontario, ED 36-63, sht 64A, p 903, William C. Hork, digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 2 Apr 2012), NARA T627, roll 290. See also “California, California Voter Registration 1900-1968,” database with images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 25 Nov 2012), 1942, San Bernardino Co, Ontario Precinct No. 18, roll 12, William C. Hork.

[6] Napa City Directory, Polk-Husted Directory Co, Sutro Library, film 1221., 1942: 73, Anne Hork, Lorene E Hork, and Virginia A Hork.

[7] “California, California Voter Registration 1900-1968,” 1942, William C. Hork.

Copyright © 2017 by Lisa Suzanne Gorrell, My Trails into the Past. All Rights Reserved.