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Collection Vietnam-Era Prisoner-of-War/Missing-in-Action Database

Search Steps

  1. Begin your search of the metadata records using the search bar at the top of the page. Be sure that you are always searching “This Collection” in the box to the left of the search bar.
  2. Search a word, date, or number that is relevant to your inquiry in the same fashion you would conduct a Google search. There is no need to indicate the metadata field you are searching.

  3. The search will return results that have your keyword(s) in the metadata. You can refine and sort your initial search results before viewing the original documents. Use the filters on the left-hand side to refine your search results by: Location (by country); Date (down to the month and year); Name (including ALL names that are tagged in the documents returned by your search), and Service Branch.

    At the top right-hand side of the search results, you can choose how you want to view your results (as a list, gallery, grid, or slideshow) and how you want to sort them. The results can be sorted by relevance, title, date, and shelf order.

  4. Click on the item you are interested in viewing. Once you open the document, the “Subject” will appear at the top of the page, followed by a pdf of the original file. Under “About This Item,” all relevant metadata fields are shown. All searches performed search across all metadata fields.
  5. To the right of the metadata under “About This Item,” you will see a list of select hyperlinked metadata fields. You can click on these links for a full list of all the items in the Library of Congress collections that contain that metadata field.
  6. Beneath the metadata, you will find a bar highlighting “More Manuscripts/Mixed Material Like This,” which provides similar records based on the “Subject” you searched within the POW/MIA collection
  7. Below that, you will find a “You Might Also Like” section, which includes similar records within other Library of Congress collections.

    8. Viewing Original Documents and Metadata

    Click on a collection item to view the original document and its associated metadata. From this page, you can click on the image of the item to view a pdf of the entire file. You can also view the metadata under “About This Item.” While not every metadata field is relevant to every item, the fields you may see correspond to those listed above.