United States World War II Service Records
Official Military Personnel Files[edit | edit source]
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis maintains World War II Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
- BIRLS - Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem at US Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA): National Personnel Records Center – index to veterans with files at the VA; includes vital status, service, and beneficiary status
Access to Non-Archival Military Service Records is limited. Non-Archival records are those of service members who separated from the military less than 62 years ago. See Access to Non-Archival Records for more information. Records of individuals who left service more than 62 years ago are considered Archival Records and become records of the National Archives open to the general public.
Order records from the National Personnel Records Center, in St. Louis at the Start your Military Service Record Request page at the National Archives website.
Records Loss[edit | edit source]
On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the NPRC destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The affected record collections are described below.
| Branch | Personnel and Period Affected | Estimated Loss |
|---|---|---|
| Army | Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 | 80% |
| Air Force | Personnel discharged, September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.) |
75% |
No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available. Nevertheless, NPRC uses many alternate sources in its efforts to reconstruct basic service information to respond to requests.
See also United States Army Morning Reports Morning Reports, 1940–1946
Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files[edit | edit source]
The "Cadet Nurse Corps Files, compiled 1943 - 1948, documenting the period 1942 - 1948" ARC ID: 5605027 contains membership cards of women who joined the Cadet Nurse Corps that were created during WWII.
Online
- U.S., World War II Cadet Nursing Corps Card Files, 1942-1948 (Ancestry) ($)
Related Records[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- Benjamin L. DeWhitt, comp. Records relating to personal participation in World War II : military awards and decorations, Washington, D.C.:National Archives and Records Administration,2007 FamilySearch Digital Library
- Craig Roberts Scott. Medical Records Prior to World War II. National Genealogical Society Quarterly 82 (June, 1994): 114-130. FS Library 973 B2ng
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