To do the search, enter the details about the fallen soldier and select the type of search you want. You can provide as much detail as you have, but the system will search even if less information is provided. The more information you provide, the better, providing the added detail is correct. The best strategy is to enter very little detail if you are getting no matches and a lot of detail if you are getting too many matches.
If there is a nickname, try using it as an alternative for "first name".
You can enter partial names (the first few letters) and the system will search for all the names that begin with those letters.
Only the last two digits are required for the year of death.
If there is more than one match in a search, then all the possible matches will appear and a selection can be made.
Names of parents can be added to narrow the search when there are numerous matches with the same name of the fallen soldier.
If you don't get any matches, you might not be spelling the name correctly. In that case use the "approximate match" option (similar to soundex). If you get too many matches, then use the "exact match" option.
Starts-with: Will give all choices that begin with the letters entered
Approximate Match: Will search more broadly and is designed to overcome the problems in Hebrew with adding or leaving off certain letters - such as a "yud" or "vav"
Exact Match: Will bring up names that appear in the data base EXACTLY as they were entered in the search.
A good strategy is to first use starts-with or approximate match, and only if that gives too many matches should you use exact match. Also if you don't get any matches and there are alternate transliterations shown, try some of the other transliterations, one at a time.