Order Code RS21282
Updated August 12, 2005
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Military Service Records and Unit Histories:
A Guide to Locating Sources
Barbara Salazar Torreon and Julissa Gomez-Granger
Information Research Specialists
Knowledge Services Group
Summary
This report is a guide to locating individual service records and military unit
histories from the American Revolution to the present. This guide provides referral
information for locating individual service records of discharged and deceased veterans.
It includes information regarding locating and obtaining active service records. Also
included are relevant addresses and websites of government agencies, historical
associations, and a select bibliography. This report will be updated as needed.
Active Duty Personnel
Air Force
U.S. Air Force Worldwide Locator
Tel: (210) 565-2660
HQ AFPC/DPDXIDL
550 C Street, West, Suite 50
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4752
[http://www.afpc.randolph.af.mil/IM/AFLocator&FOIA/afwwloc.htm]
Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard
U.S. Air Force Worldwide Locator
Tel: (210) 652-5775
Use the address given above.
Army
Army World Wide Locator
As a result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, other suspected terrorists’
events, and ongoing and potential military action, the Department of the Army deemed
it necessary to temporarily suspend its World Wide Locator service, except from users
of Army Knowledge Online (AKO), until further notice.
[http://www.erec.army.mil/wwl]
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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Army National Guard
Members may be located through the appropriate state adjutant general’s office.
Coast Guard
Commander
Tel: (202) 493-1697
Coast Guard Personnel Command
Email: Glocator@Ballston.uscg.mil
(CGPC-adm-3)
4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22203-1804
[http://www.uscg.mil/locator.html]
Coast Guard Reserve
Use the address and telephone number above.
Marine Corps
Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
Tel: (703) 784-3941
Personnel Management Support Branch (MMSB-17)
2008 Elliot Road
Quantico, VA 22314-5030
[http://www.usmc.mil/marinelink/ind.nsf/locator]
Marine Corps Reserve
Use the telephone number given but substitute (MMSB-10) in the address.
Marine Corps: Individual Ready Reserve, Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, or
Inactive Reserve
Marine Corps Mobilization Command
Tel: (800) 255-5082
15303 Andrews Road
Kansas City, MO 64147-1207
Navy
Naval Personnel Command (PERS-313C1)
Tel: (901) 874-4885
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-3130
[http://www.navy.mil/navydata/questions/records.html]
Navy Active Reserve
Use the address and telephone number given above.

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Navy Individual Ready Reserve and Inactive Reserve
Naval Reserve Personnel Command
Tel: (866) 250-4778
4400 Dauphine Street
New Orleans, LA 70149-7800
Discharged Personnel
Military Service and Pension Records
For military and pension records prior to the 20th century, contact:
National Archives and Records Administration
Tel: (301) 501-5385
(NARA)
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408
[http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain
_copies/veterans_service_records.html]
For military records from 20th century conflicts, contact:
National Personnel Records Center
Tel: (314) 801-0800
Military Personnel Records
or (800) 318-5298
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
[http://www.archives.gov/research_room/obtain
_copies/veterans_service_records.html]
Military History Centers
Air Force
United States Air Force
Tel: (202) 404-2264
Air Force Historical Studies Office
Fax: (202) 404-2232
AF/HOH
E-mail:
Research and Analysis Division
afhso.research@pentagon.af.mil
3 Brookley Avenue, Box 94
[http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil]
Bolling AFB, DC 20032-5000
U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency
Tel: (334) 953-2395
600 Chennault Circle
Fax: (334) 953-7428
Building 1405
[http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra]
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424
U.S. Air Force Museum
Tel: (937) 255-3286
1100 Spaatz Street
[http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum]
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433

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Army
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Tel: (202) 685-2733
Building 35
[http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/default.htm]
Collins Hall
103 Third Avenue
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Washington, DC 20319-5058
U.S. Army Military History Institute/
Tel: (717) 245-3611
U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center
[http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi]
950 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle, PA 17013-5021
Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office
Tel: (202) 267-2596
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Room B-717
2100 Second Street, SW
Washington, DC 20593-0001
[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/collect.html]
Coast Guard Museum
Tel: (860) 444-8511
U.S. Coast Guard Academy
15 Mohegan Avenue
New London, CT 06320-8511
[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/museum/MuseumInfo.html]
Marine Corps
Marine Corps Historical Center
Tel: (202) 433-3483
Washington Navy Yard, Building 58
1254 Charles Morris Street, SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5040
[http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Home_Page.htm]
Marine Corps Air-Ground Museum
Tel: (703) 784-2607
Marine Corps Combat Development Command
2014 Anderson Avenue
Quantico, VA 22134-5002
[http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Home_Page.htm]
Merchant Marine
American Merchant Marine Museum
Tel: (516) 773-5515
300 Steamboat Road
[http://www.usmma.edu/museum]
Barstow House
Kings Point, NY 11024

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Navy
Naval Historical Center
Tel: (202) 433-4882
Washington Navy Yard
[http://www.history.navy.mil]
805 Kidder Breese Street, SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5060
Additional Sources for Research
Alternate Record Sources for Military Service Data, Personnel-Related Records, and
Medical-Related Records at NARA
[http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/alternate_r
ecord_sources.html]
Repositories of Primary Sources; website from the University of Idaho
[http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html]
Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration
Nationwide Gravesite Locator
[http://www.cem.va.gov]
Veterans History Project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress
[http://www.loc.gov/folklife/vets]
CRS Reports
CRS Report RS20900, D-Day and the French Jubilee of Liberty Medal.
CRS Report RS21474, Military Awards: Sources of Information.
CRS Report RS21545, Military Funeral Honors: Frequently Asked Questions.
CRS Report 95-519, Medal of Honor: History and Issues.
CRS Report RL30011, Medal of Honor Recipients: 1979-2005.
Select Bibliography
Beers, Henry Putney. The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of
the Confederate States of America. Washington: National Archives and Records
Administration, 1998.
Center of Military History. Order of Battle of the United States Land Force in the
World War. Washington: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1988. 3 v.
v. 1: World War I.
Controvich, James T. United States Army Unit Histories: A Reference and
Bibliography. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace, 1983.

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——. United States Army Unit Histories. 1987 Supplement: A Reference and
Bibliography. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace, n.d.
——. United States Army Unit Histories. 1992 Supplement “B”: A Reference and
Bibliography. Suppl. 2. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace, n.d.
——. United States Army Unit Histories. 1996 Supplement “C”: A Reference and
Bibliography. Suppl. 3. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace, n.d.
——. United States Army Unit Histories. 1999 Supplement “D”: A Reference and
Bibliography. Suppl. 4. Manhattan, KS: Military Affairs/Aerospace, n.d.
Dinackus, Thomas D. Order of Battle: Allied Ground Forces of Operation Desert
Storm. Central Point, OR: Hellgate Press, 2000.
Dornbusch, C. E. Military Bibliography of the Civil War. New York: New York
Public Library, 1971.
——. Unit Histories of the United States Air Forces. New York: Arno Press, 1980.
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. New York: T.
Yoseloff, 1959.
Stanton, Shelby L. Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II. Novato, CA: Presidio
Press, 1984.
——. Vietnam Order of Battle. New York: Galahad Books, 1986.
U.S. Department of the Army. Office of Military History. Order of Battle of the
United States Army Ground Forces in World War II, Pacific Theater of
Operations: Administrative and Logistical Commands, Armies, Corps, and
Divisions. Washington: Department of the Army, 1959.
U.S. Naval War Records Office. Official Records of the Union and Confederate
Navies in the War of the Rebellion. Harrisburg, PA: National Historical Society,
1987. 30 v.
U.S. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official
Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington: GPO, 1880-1901.
70 v.

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