THE 1973 ST. LOUIS FIRE AND LOST RECORDS

A fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis on July 12, 1973, destroyed about 80 percent of the records for Army personnel discharged between November 1, 1912, and January 1, 1960. About 75 percent of the records for Air Force personnel with surnames from "Hubbard" through "Z" discharged between September 25, 1947, and January 1, 1964, were also destroyed.

It’s hard to determine exactly what was lost in the fire because there were no indexes to hold the blocks of records involved. The records were merely filed in alphabetical order for the following groups:

World War I: Army September 7, 1939 to November 1, 1912.

World War II: Army December 31, 1946 to September 8, 1939.

Post World War II: Army December 31, 1959 to Jan 1, 1947.

Air Force December 31, 1963 to September 25, 1947.

If a veteran is advised that his/her records may have been lost in the fire, he/she may send photocopies of any documents possessed to the NPRC, particularly separation documents. The address is: National Personnel Records Center, Military Personnel Records, 9700 Page Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63132-5100. This enables the NPRC to re-establish files by adding those documents to the computerized index and filing them permanently.

In the event a veteran does not have any records in his/her possession, the essential military service data may be available from a number of alternate sources.

The VA maintains records on veterans whose military records were affected by the fire if the veteran or a beneficiary filed a claim prior to June 1973.

Service information may also be found in various kinds of "organizational" records such as unit morning reports, payrolls and military orders on file at the NPRC or other National Archives and Records Administration facilities.

There also is a great deal of information available in records of the State Adjutants General and other state "veterans services" offices.

By using these sources, NPRC may be able to reconstruct a veteran’s beginning and ending dates of active service, the character of service, rank while in service, time lost while on active duty, and periods of hospitalization. NPRC is usually able to issue "Certification of Military Service" for the purpose of establishing eligibility for veterans benefits.

The key to reconstructing military data is to give the NPRC enough specific information so they can properly search the various sources The following information is normally required:

Full name used during military service.

Place of entry into service.

Branch of service.

Last unit of assignment.

Approximate dates of service.

Place of discharge.

Service number.