Get your veteran’s WWII service records

A fire at the St. Louis records center on July 12, 1973 destroyed about 80% of Army and Army Air Forces files for men discharged 1912 to 1960. Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard files were barely touched.

• Still send the request. Staff try to rebuild a record from pay, hospital, and unit records. Give them where the veteran enlisted, the last unit, and the place of discharge.
• Look for the discharge paper at home, at the county courthouse (veterans were urged to record a copy there), or at the funeral home.
• Search the free enlistment database. Army enlistment cards for 1938 to 1946 survived separately: Access to Archival Databases, choose World War II, then “Army Serial Number Enlistment Records”.
• Research the unit instead. See the section below.

The Archives’ own page on the fire

• Who: veteran or next-of-kin only. Others buy from a commercial dealer.
• Cost: usually free for WWII veterans.
• How: request through vetrecs.archives.gov or write to the NPRC, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138. The NPRC forwards it to the branch, which ships the medals.
• Army Air Forces veterans apply to the Air Force, not the Army. The Air Force and Coast Guard do not take next-of-kin requests for veterans separated before 1954.
• Coast Guard: write to Coast Guard Personnel Service Center, 4200 Wilson Blvd, Suite 900 (PSC-PSD-MA), Stop 7200, Arlington, VA 20598-7200.

Medal replacement rules by branch

Army and Army Air Forces: outpatient, dental, and some hospital records are often inside the OMPF. Path B covers it.

Navy and Marine Corps: medical records are filed separately by the hospital. You need the hospital’s name and the month and year of treatment, plus either the veteran’s signed permission or, if the veteran has died, proof of death from next-of-kin. Send a letter or an SF-180 with “Medical Records” checked to fax 314-801-9195 or the St. Louis mailing address. Free to ask; copy fees quoted before you pay.

• Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF): the casualty file, with details of the death, burial or return of remains, and letters to the family. Email STL.Archives@nara.gov or write to National Archives at St. Louis, PO Box 37587, St. Louis, MO 63138. Say “IDPF” and give the name, branch, date of death, and unit or ship. Army IDPFs are still being transferred; you will be told if it is available.
• Missing Air Crew Reports (MACR): filed when an Army Air Forces plane was lost; names the crew. Search and order MACRs. Many are also on Fold3.
• Merchant mariners who died: Record Group 26, Deceased and War Casualty Seaman’s Records, at the Archives in Washington. Email Archives1reference@nara.gov.

Unit records rarely name individuals, but they tell you where your veteran went and what happened day by day.

How to get one: search the National Archives Catalog (for example “47th Infantry Regiment after action”), note the Record Group, National Archives Identifier, and box number on the item’s page, then email the location shown there. A technician quotes the copy cost.

Shortcut: Fold3 has scanned war diaries, action reports, and MACRs; Ancestry has muster rolls and enlistment records. Both are subscription sites, often free inside a public library.

Free official history sites: Museum digital collections · Navy · Army · Marine Corps · Air Force · Coast Guard · Veterans History Project

Also try local newspapers on library microfilm, county courthouses, local VA offices, and unit reunion association websites.

• Prisoners of war: free database at Access to Archival Databases, choose World War II, then “Records of World War II Prisoners of War” (a second file covers prisoners of the Japanese). Paper files: email Archives2reference@nara.gov with name, rank, service number, and where and when captured.
• Japanese American internees: same database, “Records About Japanese Americans Relocated During World War II”. Also the Justice Department internee cards, the Archives’ overview, and oral histories at Densho.
• Federal civilian war workers: an Official Personnel File may exist in St. Louis (public if they left federal service before 1952). Mail a letter with name, birth date, SSN, dates, and agency to National Archives & Records Administration, ATTN: Archival Programs, PO Box 38757, St. Louis, MO 63138. Whole file only, $25 or $70. Private companies are not in the Archives.
• Merchant mariners: little survives. If you know the ship, request its logbook from the regional Archives branch nearest the port where it returned to the US.
• Navy and Marine pilots: Naval Aviation Training Jackets (1914 to 1946), often with photos. Email stl.archives@nara.gov or fax 314-801-9187. 80 cents a page, $20 minimum.
• Red Cross and Cadet Nurse Corps: Red Cross nurse files by email to Archives2reference@nara.gov; Cadet Nurse cards need the nursing school’s name and city, and are on Ancestry.
• Famous people: handled separately, many digitized. Call 314-801-0847 or email pep.records@nara.gov. List of names.