Researchers should adopt a thorough, "hunter-gatherer" approach by photographing all relevant material in a box rather than attempting to read through it on-site.

“I'm in total hunter gatherer mode. I mean, it's like I mean, you It's not the kind of place where you you sit there and just kind of read through everything and just take it. >> Although, there are people that do that though. >> I can't fathom how and why they do that.”

Conducting research at the National Archives is a "voyage of discovery" that requires patience and the discipline to eventually stop and focus on writing.

“this really is sort of a, you know, I hate to use the term, but it's a voyage of discovery. you know that >> it's a living beast because it it takes on it, you know, you don't know where the where the research is going to take you and if there's something you really want to hunt for, you got to go d”

When utilizing personal service records from the National Personnel and Records Center, one must also consult unit histories at locations like the National Archives to understand the soldier's daily c

“it's not just a one-stop shop. You you go to St. Louis to get dad's personnel records, but then if you want to understand what dad was facing on a day-to-day basis, you're going to have to go to NAR or some place like that and get the unit histories as well to understand >> uh yeah, what was what wa”