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'''Start here''' is a short path ~~for teachers, students, and first-time visitors who want the story of~~ the Ritchie Boys ~~before diving into~~ the 21,~~000-person roster~~.

'''Start here''' is the short path into this wiki — whether you are learning the Ritchie Boys story for the first time, looking for a relative, or ready to help improve a page.

== ~~1. What was a Ritchie Boy?~~ ==

== Learn the story ==

At [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, the Army’s Military Intelligence Training Center trained soldiers — many of them immigrants and refugees who spoke the enemy’s languages — for interrogation, document work, photo interpretation, and related intelligence duties in World War II. ~~Read the overview:~~

At [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, the Army’s Military Intelligence Training Center trained soldiers — many of them immigrants and refugees who spoke the enemy’s languages — for interrogation, document work, photo interpretation, and related intelligence duties in World War II.

* [[Introduction|Secret Heroes: Camp Ritchie and the Making of The Ritchie Boys]]

* [[Introduction|Secret Heroes: Camp Ritchie and the Making of The Ritchie Boys]] — the overview

* [[Camp Ritchie]] — the camp, curriculum, and who trained there

* [[By The Numbers]] — class sizes, specialties, and awards at a glance

* [[The Stories]] — curated biographies (try [[The Stories/Guy Stern|Guy Stern]], [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith|Karl Goldsmith]], or [[The Stories/The Patricia Crane Story|Patricia Crane]])

* [[Ritchie Boy Interviews]] · [[Documentaries/Movies]] — hear and see the history

== ~~2. One human story~~ ==

== Looking for a relative ==

~~Pick one essay~~, then ~~open the linked soldier profile:~~

Three steps: find the page, understand what you are seeing, then add a photo or obituary if you have one.

* [[The Stories]] — curated biographies

You do '''not''' need an account to search or to edit biography text. An account is only required to [[Special:Upload|upload a photograph]].

* Or start with [[The Stories/Guy Stern|Guy Stern]], [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith|Karl Goldsmith]], or [[~~The Stories/The Patricia Crane Story~~|~~Patricia Crane~~]] ~~(WAC)~~

== ~~3. Hear a voice~~ ==

=== Find the name ===

* [[~~Ritchie Boy Interviews~~]] ~~— watch on the wiki~~, ~~then~~ '''~~Watch next~~'''

# On the [[Main Page]], use '''Find a soldier''' — type a surname or Army serial number (ASN), for example <code>Lubran</code> or <code>33668332</code>.

* [[~~Documentaries~~/~~Movies~~]] ~~— film trailers and free-watch links~~

# Or open [[Special:Search]] and search the same way.

# Article titles look like <code>Surname, First (ASN)</code> so people with the same name stay distinct.

# You can also browse by class or letter on [[Contents]], or by [[By birth country|birth country]].

~~== 4. Find someone in~~ the ~~roster ==~~

Open the soldier page when you find a match.

* [[Main Page|Find a soldier~~]] by name or Army serial number (ASN)~~

* [[For families]] — three steps if you ~~are looking for~~ a ~~relative~~

* [[By birth country]] · [[:Category:Classes|Classes]] · [[Themes]] — other ways in

== 5. Help the record ==

=== If the name is not found ===

Try these before assuming the person is absent from Camp Ritchie:

* Alternate spellings, anglicized names, or maiden vs married surnames

* ASN with or without leading zeros (for example <code>306244</code> and <code>0306244</code>)

* Browse [[Contents]], [[:Category:Soldiers by letter|Soldiers A–Z]], or [[By birth country]]

The person may still be missing from the Classes 1–31 roster import, listed under a different spelling, or not yet matched. Use [[Contact Us]] to ask, or add what you know via [[Contribute]].

=== Understand the roster fields ===

The right-hand '''infobox''' holds structured facts. The left column holds the opening summary and '''Biography'''. Treat the biography as a draft until you check sources.

{| class="wikitable"

|-

! What you see !! What it usually means

|-

| '''ASN''' || Army serial number — the ID in the page title

|-

| '''Class''' || Camp Ritchie training class (Classes 1–31 from the museum-digitized roster)

|-

| '''Team''' / IPW || Interrogation or related team assignment when known (for example IPW 141)

|-

| '''Nativity''' / religion / occupation || Roster or enlistment fields; may be incomplete or coded oddly

|-

| '''Research notes''' || Working leads — '''not''' a verified biography. May be wrong or out of date

|-

| Yellow '''Record status: unconfirmed''' || The class-roster match is not high confidence — check before treating class fields as settled

|}

Two different source streams feed many pages: the Classes 1–31 roster (digitized by Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. / The Ritchie History Museum from NARA records) and research compiled by [[Dan Gross Memorial|Dan Gross]] and others. Full explanation: [[About the data]].

=== Add a photo or obituary ===

'''Photograph:''' [[Special:CreateAccount|Create an account]] or [[Special:UserLogin|log in]], open the soldier’s page → '''Gallery''' → '''Contribute files''' (or [[Special:Upload]]). More detail: [[Contribute#Photographs_and_documents]].

'''Obituary, clipping, or family recollection:''' you can edit without an account — open the soldier page → '''Edit''' (or '''Edit biography'''). Add a short third-person paragraph under '''Biography''', with the source under '''Sources'''. Prefer facts about the soldier over event announcements or first-person Facebook framing.

Full editor guide: [[Contribute]]. Questions: [[Contact Us]] · [[FAQ]].

== Help the record ==

* [[Contribute]] — edit text without an account; upload photos when logged in

* [[Contribute documents]] — OCR a roster scan for review

* [[About the data]] — what is verified vs still a lead

* [[Themes]] · [[By specialty]] · [[:Category:Classes|Classes]] — other ways into the roster

[[Category:Ritchie Boys Wiki]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{DISPLAYTITLE:Start here}}
-'''Start here''' is a short path for teachers, students, and first-time visitors who want the story of the Ritchie Boys before diving into the 21,000-person roster.
+'''Start here''' is the short path into this wiki — whether you are learning the Ritchie Boys story for the first time, looking for a relative, or ready to help improve a page.
-== 1. What was a Ritchie Boy? ==
+== Learn the story ==
-At [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, the Army’s Military Intelligence Training Center trained soldiers — many of them immigrants and refugees who spoke the enemy’s languages — for interrogation, document work, photo interpretation, and related intelligence duties in World War II. Read the overview:
+At [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, the Army’s Military Intelligence Training Center trained soldiers — many of them immigrants and refugees who spoke the enemy’s languages — for interrogation, document work, photo interpretation, and related intelligence duties in World War II.
-* [[Introduction|Secret Heroes: Camp Ritchie and the Making of The Ritchie Boys]]
+* [[Introduction|Secret Heroes: Camp Ritchie and the Making of The Ritchie Boys]] — the overview
 * [[Camp Ritchie]] — the camp, curriculum, and who trained there
 * [[By The Numbers]] — class sizes, specialties, and awards at a glance
+* [[The Stories]] — curated biographies (try [[The Stories/Guy Stern|Guy Stern]], [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith|Karl Goldsmith]], or [[The Stories/The Patricia Crane Story|Patricia Crane]])
+* [[Ritchie Boy Interviews]] · [[Documentaries/Movies]] — hear and see the history
-== 2. One human story ==
+== Looking for a relative ==
-Pick one essay, then open the linked soldier profile:
+<span id="Looking for a relative"></span>
+Three steps: find the page, understand what you are seeing, then add a photo or obituary if you have one.
-* [[The Stories]] — curated biographies
+You do '''not''' need an account to search or to edit biography text. An account is only required to [[Special:Upload|upload a photograph]].
-* Or start with [[The Stories/Guy Stern|Guy Stern]], [[The Stories/The Enemy I Knew/Karl Goldsmith|Karl Goldsmith]], or [[The Stories/The Patricia Crane Story|Patricia Crane]] (WAC)
-== 3. Hear a voice ==
+=== Find the name ===
-* [[Ritchie Boy Interviews]] — watch on the wiki, then '''Watch next'''
+# On the [[Main Page]], use '''Find a soldier''' — type a surname or Army serial number (ASN), for example <code>Lubran</code> or <code>33668332</code>.
-* [[Documentaries/Movies]] — film trailers and free-watch links
+# Or open [[Special:Search]] and search the same way.
+# Article titles look like <code>Surname, First (ASN)</code> so people with the same name stay distinct.
+# You can also browse by class or letter on [[Contents]], or by [[By birth country|birth country]].
-== 4. Find someone in the roster ==
+Open the soldier page when you find a match.
-* [[Main Page|Find a soldier]] by name or Army serial number (ASN)
-* [[For families]] — three steps if you are looking for a relative
-* [[By birth country]] · [[:Category:Classes|Classes]] · [[Themes]] — other ways in
-== 5. Help the record ==
+=== If the name is not found ===
+Try these before assuming the person is absent from Camp Ritchie:
+* Alternate spellings, anglicized names, or maiden vs married surnames
+* ASN with or without leading zeros (for example <code>306244</code> and <code>0306244</code>)
+* Browse [[Contents]], [[:Category:Soldiers by letter|Soldiers A–Z]], or [[By birth country]]
+The person may still be missing from the Classes 1–31 roster import, listed under a different spelling, or not yet matched. Use [[Contact Us]] to ask, or add what you know via [[Contribute]].
+=== Understand the roster fields ===
+The right-hand '''infobox''' holds structured facts. The left column holds the opening summary and '''Biography'''. Treat the biography as a draft until you check sources.
+{| class="wikitable"
+|-
+! What you see !! What it usually means
+|-
+| '''ASN''' || Army serial number — the ID in the page title
+|-
+| '''Class''' || Camp Ritchie training class (Classes 1–31 from the museum-digitized roster)
+|-
+| '''Team''' / IPW || Interrogation or related team assignment when known (for example IPW 141)
+|-
+| '''Nativity''' / religion / occupation || Roster or enlistment fields; may be incomplete or coded oddly
+|-
+| '''Research notes''' || Working leads — '''not''' a verified biography. May be wrong or out of date
+|-
+| Yellow '''Record status: unconfirmed''' || The class-roster match is not high confidence — check before treating class fields as settled
+|}
+Two different source streams feed many pages: the Classes 1–31 roster (digitized by Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. / The Ritchie History Museum from NARA records) and research compiled by [[Dan Gross Memorial|Dan Gross]] and others. Full explanation: [[About the data]].
+=== Add a photo or obituary ===
+'''Photograph:''' [[Special:CreateAccount|Create an account]] or [[Special:UserLogin|log in]], open the soldier’s page → '''Gallery''' → '''Contribute files''' (or [[Special:Upload]]). More detail: [[Contribute#Photographs_and_documents]].
+'''Obituary, clipping, or family recollection:''' you can edit without an account — open the soldier page → '''Edit''' (or '''Edit biography'''). Add a short third-person paragraph under '''Biography''', with the source under '''Sources'''. Prefer facts about the soldier over event announcements or first-person Facebook framing.
+Full editor guide: [[Contribute]]. Questions: [[Contact Us]] · [[FAQ]].
+== Help the record ==
 * [[Contribute]] — edit text without an account; upload photos when logged in
 * [[Contribute documents]] — OCR a roster scan for review
 * [[About the data]] — what is verified vs still a lead
+* [[Themes]] · [[By specialty]] · [[:Category:Classes|Classes]] — other ways into the roster
 [[Category:Ritchie Boys Wiki]]