Order Code RS21282
Updated September 1, 2006
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Military Service Records and Unit Histories:
A Guide to Locating Sources
Julissa Gomez-Granger and Kim Walker Klarman
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 and Air National Guard
U.S. Air Force Personnel Center
Tel: (800) 616-3775
HQ AFPC/DPSRP
(210) 565-5000
550 C Street, West, Suite 19
Randolph AFB, TX 78150-4721
[http://ask.afpc.randolph.af.mil/main_content.asp?prods2=2750&prods1=79]
Air Force Reserve
Air Reserve Personnel Center/DSMR
Tel: (800) 525-0102
HQ ARPC/DPSSA/B
6760 E. Irvington Place, Suite 4600
Denver, CO 80280-4600
[http://arpc.afrc.af.mil/customerassistance/records.asp]
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress
CRS-2
Army and Army National Guard
U.S. Army Human Resources Command
Tel: (703) 325-0928
ATTN: AHRC-MSR
200 Stovall Street
Alexandria, VA 22332-0444
Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve
Commander, (CGPC-adm-3)
Tel:(202) 493-1713
Coast Guard Personnel Command
(866) 634-0574
4200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1100
Arlington, VA 22203-1804
[http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cgpc/adm/adm3.htm]
Marine Corps and Selected Marine Corps Reserve
Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps
Tel:(800) 268-3710
Personnel Management Support Branch (MMSB-10)
(703) 784-3930
2008 Elliot Road
Quantico, VA 22134-5030
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, Navy Active Reserve, Navy Individual Ready Reserve and Inactive Reserve
Naval Personnel Command (PERS-312E)
Tel: (901) 874-4885
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38055-3120
[http://www.navy.mil/navydata/questions/records.html]
Navy Individual Ready Reserve and Inactive Reserve
Naval Reserve Personnel Command
Tel: (866) 250-4778
4400 Dauphine Street
New Orleans, LA 70149-7800
Discharged, Deceased, or Retired Personnel
Military Service and Pension Records
For military and pension records prior to the 20th century, contact:
CRS-3
National Archives and Records Administration
Tel: (800) 272-6272
Old Military and Civil Records (NWCTB-Military)
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408
[http://www.archives.gov/veterans/index.html]
For military records from 20th century conflicts, contact:
National Personnel Records Center
Tel: (314) 801-0800
Military Personnel Records
Fax: (314) 801-9195
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
[http://www.archives.gov/st-louis]
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: afhso.research@pentagon.af.mil
Research and Analysis Division
[http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil]
3 Brookley Avenue, Box 94
Bolling AFB, DC 20032-5000
U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency
Tel: (334) 953-2395
600 Chennault Circle
[http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra]
Building 1405
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Tel: (937) 255-3286
1100 Spaatz Street
[http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/]
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
Army
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Tel: (202) 685-4042
Building 35
[http://www.army.mil/cmh]
Collins Hall
103 Third Avenue
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Washington, DC 20319-5058
U.S. Army Military History Institute/
Tel: (717) 245-3700
U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center
[http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usamhi]
950 Soldiers Drive
Carlisle, PA 17013-5021
CRS-4
Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office (G-IPA-4)
Tel: (202) 372-4651
U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
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 History Division
Tel: (703) 432-4874
3079 Moreell Avenue
Quantico, Virginia 22134
[http://hqinet001.hqmc.usmc.mil/HD/Home_Page.htm]
Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
Tel: (800) 397-7585
307 5th Avenue
(703) 640-7965
Quantico, VA 22134-0998
[http://www.usmcmuseum.org]
Merchant Marine
American Merchant Marine Museum
Tel: (516) 773-5515
300 Steamboat Road
[http://www.usmma.edu/museum]
Barstow House
Kings Point, NY 11024
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/st-louis/military-personnel/alternate-record-sources.html]
Repositories of Primary Sources; website from the University of Idaho
[http://www.uidaho.edu/special-collections/Other.Repositories.html]
CRS-5
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: 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.
——. 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.
CRS-6
——. 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.