Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit
Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources
Updated August 17, 2021
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
RS21282

Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Summary
This guide provides information on locating military unit histories and individual service records
of discharged, retired, and deceased military personnel. It also provides information on locating
and replacing military awards and medals. Included is contact information for military history
centers, websites for additional sources of research, and a bibliography of other publications,
including related CRS reports.
Congressional Research Service

Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Personnel Files: Military Service and Pension
Records at the National Archives
The Military Personnel Records division of the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC), a
component of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) located in St. Louis,
Missouri, holds most existing U.S. military personnel, health, and medical records of discharged
and deceased veterans of all services from World War I to the present. Neither the NPRC nor the
Department of Defense (DOD) intends to destroy the physical records of U.S. servicemembers.
Some older records have been electronically scanned to reduce the handling of fragile records.
See NARA’s site “Access to Military Service and Pension Records” at
https://www.archives.gov/research/order/order-vets-records.html.
Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) records may be requested online at
https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, by using the Standard Form 180 and
submitting by mail (the appropriate address listed on the back of the form), or fax (314-801-
9195).
Veterans, their next-of-kin (NOK), or authorized representatives (e.g., lawyers, doctors) may
request these records. According to the NPRC, the NOK is the un-remarried widow or widower,
son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister.1
If an individual does not meet the definition of a NOK, he or she is considered a member of the
general public and may request military personnel records via the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA). See “Access to OMPFs for the General Public” at https://www.archives.gov/st-
louis/military-personnel/public/general-public.html.
In 1973, a fire at NPRC destroyed approximately 16 million to 18 million Army and Air Force
official military personnel files.2 In such cases where files were lost, NPRC uses alternate sources
of information to respond to requests.
More information about obtaining military personnel files can be found on the NPRC website,
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/, or by contacting the center at
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138
Tel: (314) 801-0816 congressional line
Tel: (314) 801-0800 public customer service line
Status Update Request Form: https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/forms
Older military personnel records (generally prior to 1917) are located at
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)
Textual Archives Division

1 National Personnel Records Center, “Access to Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) - Veterans and Next-of-
Kin,” site at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/ompf-access.
2 Kerri Lawrence, “Archives Recalls Fire That Claimed Millions of Military Personnel Files,” National Archives News,
July 23, 2018, at https://www.archives.gov/news/articles/archives-recalls-fire. This article provides additional reference
to a 1974 white paper, The National Personnel Records Center Fire: A Study in Disaster, which provides an extensive
account. In addition, Prologue magazine published an article, “Burnt in Memory: Looking back, looking forward at the
1973 St. Louis Fire,” Spring 2013, at https://www.archives.gov/files/publications/prologue/2013/spring/stl-fire.pdf.
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Washington, DC 20408
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/pre-ww-1-records.html
Correcting Military Service Records
For guidance on the review of discharges and military corrections boards, see NARA’s “Veterans'
Service Records: Correcting Military Service Records”.3 For information on the military service
review boards (Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Navy and Marine Corps), see “Boards for
Correction of Military Records (BCMR)/ Discharge Upgrades” site.4 NARA’s site also provides
the following BCMR guidance:
“Prior to submitting a request to a Board for Correction of Military Records, ALL
administrative avenues must be used. Generally, that means a request to NPRC for a
correction (minor corrections can be made by NPRC), then a request to the military service
department (service departments can make more corrections than NPRC), and finally if
both these fail, then submit DD Form 149, with supporting evidence as instructed on the
form.”5
Military Awards and Decorations
The NPRC also provides information and guidance on issuance of military awards; how to
request replacing certain military awards and decorations for veterans and their NOK; and
obtaining a Cold War Recognition Certificate.6 This information is available for the records of a
servicemember who separated before 1959. For records of individuals with a discharge date of
1960 or after are non-archival and are maintained under the Federal Records Center program and
can be requested through FOIA. The general public may also purchase a copy of the veteran’s
OMPF to determine the awards due and obtain the medals from a commercial source. Individuals
can request information on military service medals, decorations and awards online:
https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/awards-and-decorations.
By military service (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force including Army Air Corps &
Army Air Forces) via mail:
National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138

For Coast Guard:
Coast Guard Personnel Service Center
4200 Wilson Blvd., Suite 900 (PSC-PSD-MA)
Stop 7200
Arlington, VA 20598-7200

3 NARA. Correcting Military Service Records” at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/correct-
service-records.html.
4 Boards for Correction of Military Records (BCMR)/Discharge Upgrades at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-
records-center/vso/boards-for-correction-of-military-records.
5 Ibid. For more information on the BCMR, see also CRS Report R46107, FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act:
Selected Military Personnel Issues, coordinated by Bryce H. P. Mendez in the section “Separation, Discharge, and
Discharge Review.”
6 Military Awards and Decorations at https://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/public/awards-and-
decorations.html.
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link to page 7 Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Cold War Recognition Certificate
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 1998 (P.L. 105-85) in Section
1084 required the Secretary of Defense to prepare a certificate recognizing the Cold War service
of qualifying members of the Armed Forces and civilian personnel of DOD and other government
agencies contributing to national security. This certificate, known as the “Cold War Recognition
Certificate,” may be awarded upon individual request to all members of the Armed Forces and
qualified federal government civilian personnel who served the United States during the Cold
War era from September 2, 1945, to December 26, 1991.7
Finding Unit Histories
The Modern Military Records office of NARA has custody of records relating to World War I,
World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. The records vary by conflict and branch of service; for
example, the records for Army units active during the interwar periods (1920-1939 and 1945-
1950) are incomplete. For more information, contact the Textual Records office at
Textual Records Office
National Archives and Records Administration at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Tel: (301) 837-3510
Email: archives2reference@nara.gov
If a military unit record is not publicly available, a FOIA request may be submitted to the agency
where the record is held. For example, for special access records held at the National Archives at
College Park, contact the Archives FOIA office at the following:
Special Access and FOIA Division
National Archives at College Park
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Tel: (301) 387-3190
Email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov

For more information on how to submit a FOIA request, visit https://www.foia.gov/how-to.html.
Other types of auxiliary and organizational records, including Army morning reports, Army unit
rosters, Army officer pay cards, Navy muster rolls, U.S. Army Surgeon General’s office records
and Veterans Administration index cards are maintained at the National Archives in St. Louis,
Missouri. Further information regarding these records, as well as the timespan of available
records for each category, are available at http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/archival-
programs/other-records/index.html. Certain published unit histories can also be found in the
collections of the military departments (see Table 1).

7 Cold War Recognition Certificate at https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/awards-and-
decorations#cwc. Additional information regarding requesting a Cold War Recognition Certificate is also available at
that site.
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Table 1. Military History Centers and Museums
Center or Museum
Telephone Number
Air Force
U.S. Air Force Historical Research Agency
(334) 953-5697 or (334) 953-5342
600 Chennault Circle
Maxwell AFB, AL 36112-6424
Email: AFHRA.NEWS@us.af.mil or use form
https://www.afhra.af.mil/Contact-Us/
https://www.afhra.af.mil/
Air Force Historical Support Division
(202) 404-2264
HQ USAF/HOH
2822 Doherty DR. SW, Suite 404
Joint Base Anacostia Bol ing
Washington, DC 20373-5899
Email: usaf.pentagon.af-ho.mbx.afhso-research@mail.mil (preferred
method)
https://www.afhistory.af.mil/
National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
(937) 255-3286
1100 Spaatz Street
Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433
Email: nationalmuseum.mup@us.af.mil
https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/
Army
U.S. Army Center of Military History
Congressional Inquiries Division*
102 4th Avenue Bldg. 35
(202) 685-2676 for House offices
Fort McNair
(202) 224-2881 for Senate offices
Washington, DC 20319-5060
*For those inquiring from the office of a
Email: usarmy.mcnair.cmh.mbx.answers@mail.mil
Member of Congress.
https://history.army.mil/
All others should use email.
U.S. Army Heritage & Education Center (USAHEC)
(717) 245-3949/3660 research assistance
950 Soldiers Drive
(717) 245-3972 information desk
Carlisle, PA 17013-5021
Email: usarmy.carlisle.awc.mbx.ahec-ves@mail.mil
https://ahec.armywarcol ege.edu/
Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard Historian’s Office
(202) 372-4653
Commandant (CG-09231)
(757) 398-6643 Atlantic Area Historian
ATTN: Coast Guard Historian’s Office
U.S. Coast Guard Stop 7031
2703 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE
Washington, DC 20593-7031
Email: history@uscg.mil
https://www.history.uscg.mil/

Coast Guard Museum

U.S. Coast Guard Academy
15 Mohegan Avenue
(860) 444-8511
New London, CT 06320-4195

https://www.history.uscg.mil/Museum/

Marine Corps

(703) 784-4685 general inquiries
Edwin H. Simmons Marine Corps History Center
Archives Branch, Marine Corps History Division

2044 Broadway Street
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Center or Museum
Telephone Number
Quantico, VA 22134

https://grc-usmcu.libguides.com/marine-corps-archives/main

Archives Branch reference requests and general inquiries:
history.division@usmcu.edu

Marine Corps Heritage Foundation
(800) 397-7585 tol free
18900 Jefferson Davis Highway
(703) 640-7965 local
Triangle, VA 22172
Email: info@marineheritage.org
https://www.marineheritage.org/
Merchant Marine
American Merchant Marine Museum
(516) 726-6047
300 Steamboat Road
Kings Point, NY 11024
Email: museum@usmma.edu
https://www.usmma.edu/museum
Navy
Naval History & Heritage Command
(202) 433-3224 archives
805 Kidder Breese Street, SE
(202) 433-4132 library
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374-5060
(202) 433-7880 public inquiries
Email: archives@navy.mil (archives branch)
Email: nhhcpublicaffairs@navy.mil (public inquiries)
https://www.history.navy.mil/
Source: Table compiled by the Congressional Research Service.
Military Records for Veterans Compensation
To support disability claims of exposure to hazardous materials (Agent Orange, asbestos,
radiation, etc.), numerous veterans are culling through Army morning reports, unit rosters, pay
cards, Navy muster rolls, Captain logs/Navy Deck logs, etc. during their military service.
For more information on military exposures, see the VA’s Military Exposure site:
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/index.asp.
For Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans see VA’s Blue Water Navy Veterans and Agent Orange
Exposure site at https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/locations/blue-water-
veterans.asp. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-23) extended the
presumption of herbicide exposure, such as Agent Orange, to veterans who served in the offshore
waters of the Republic of Vietnam between Jan. 9, 1962 and May 7, 1975. See CRS In Focus
IF11368, Expansion of Benefits to Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans, by Heather M. Salazar.
For Airborne Hazards and Burn Pit Exposures see the VA’s Public Health site at
https://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/burnpits/. VA continues to study the long-term health
issues of deployed veterans and their exposure to burn pits used at military waste sites in Iraq,
Afghanistan and other areas of the Southwest Asia Theater of military operations. For more
information, see also CRS In Focus IF11813, Presumptive Service Connection: Former
Servicemembers of Camp Stronghold Freedom at Karshi-Khanabad (K2) Airbase, by Bryce H. P.
Mendez and Heather M. Salazar, and related CRS products on VA health care and disability in the
sources listed in the next section.
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

Selected Additional Sources for Research
Selected CRS Reports
CRS Report R42324, Who Is a “Veteran”?—Basic Eligibility for Veterans’ Benefits, by Heather
M. Salazar
CRS Report R42747, Health Care for Veterans: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, by
Sidath Viranga Panangala and Jared S. Sussman
CRS Report R44162, Veterans’ Benefits: Eligibility of Merchant Mariners, by Heather M. Salazar
(See section “Active Duty Status Determinations of Merchant Mariners”)
CRS Report R44837, Benefits for Service-Disabled Veterans, coordinated by Heather M. Salazar
CRS Report R46813, Department of Veterans Affairs: Burial Benefits and the National Cemetery
Administration, by Heather M. Salazar and Tamar B. Breslauer
CRS Report 95-519, Medal of Honor: History and Issues, by Barbara Salazar Torreon
CRS Report R42704, The Purple Heart: Background and Issues for Congress, by Barbara Salazar
Torreon
CRS Report RS21405, U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts, by Barbara Salazar
Torreon
Selected Federal Government Web Resources
American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) at http://www.abmc.gov
The website contains databases of veterans interred or memorialized at overseas American
military cemeteries and memorials.
Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service
https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm
This website contains a database of the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies
during the Civil War, as well as information on regiment histories, significant battles, and some
prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records.

Confederate States of America (CSA) Records at the Library of Congress
https://www.loc.gov/collections/confederate-states-of-america-records/about-this-collection/
The records of the CSA span the years 1854-1889, with the bulk of the material concentrated in
the period 1861-1865, during the Civil War. Provides links to Official Records of the Union and
Confederate Armies External; Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies External;
and War Department Collection of Confederate Records.

Military Awards for Valor – Top 3
https://valor.defense.gov/
Official DOD site for the top 3 military awards for valor (the Medal of Honor, Distinguished
Service Crosses and the Silver Star) that lists the names of recipients alphabetically by each
military department.

Military Resources: Veterans at the National Archives Library Information Center (ALIC)
https://www.archives.gov/research/alic/reference/military/veterans-related.html
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

This site provides links to veterans’ information, military casualties, Prisoners of War/Missing in
Action (POW/MIAs), and medals & honors.

Philippine Army and Guerilla Records at the National Archives
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/philippine-army-records.html
The collection includes records of the Philippine Commonwealth Army of the United States
Armed Forces Far East (USAFFE), including recognized Philippine Guerrilla forces (not the
Army of the United States or Philippine Scouts) during World War II.

Veterans Affairs (VA) Reconstruct military records destroyed in NPRC fire site at
https://www.va.gov/records/get-military-service-records/reconstruct-records/
This site provide guidance on military records needed to submit disability compensation claims
and explains how the VA reconstructs service records lost in the 1973 NPRC Fire.

VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator at http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/
The database contains burial locations of veterans and their family members.

Veterans History Project (VHP) at the Library of Congress at http://www.loc.gov/vets/
VHP collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American veterans.
Selected Bibliography
Absher, Jim. “Rebuilding Service Records,” June 10, 2021, Military.com at
https://www.military.com/benefits/records-and-forms/rebuilding-service-records.html.
Beers, Henry Putney. The Confederacy: A Guide to the Archives of the Government of the
Confederate States of America. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records
Administration, 1998.
Borch, Fred L. For Military Merit: Recipients of the Purple Heart. Annapolis, MD: Naval
Institute Press, 2010.
Center of Military History. Order of Battle of the United States Land Forces in the World War.
Washington, DC: Center of Military History, U.S. Army, 1988. 3 volumes.
Controvich, James T. United States Army Unit and Organizational Histories: A Bibliography.
Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2003.
——United States Air Force and Its Antecedents: Published and Printed Unit Histories, a
Bibliography. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2004.
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.
Dyer, Frederick H. A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion. New York: T. Yoseloff, 1959.
Johnson, Lt. Col. Richard S., and Debra Johnson Knox. How to Locate Anyone Who Is or Has
Been in the Military: Armed Forces Locator Guide. Spartanburg, SC: MIE Publishing, 1999.
Mears, Dwight S. The Medal of Honor: The Evolution of America’s Highest Military Decoration.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2018.
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Military Service Records, Awards, and Unit Histories: A Guide to Locating Sources

National World War II Museum. “St. Louis, July 12, 1973: A Disaster with Long-Last
Repercussions,” June 2020, at https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/st-louis-
national-records-fire-july-12-1973.
Olsen, Wyatt. “The Painstaking Effort to Recover Millions of Burned Military Service Record,”
Stars and Stripes, August 5, 2013, at https://www.stripes.com/news/the-painstaking-effort-to-
recover-millions-of-burned-military-service-records-1.233869.
Owens, Ron. Medal of Honor: Historical Facts and Figures. Paducah, KY: Turner Publishing
Company, 2004.
Plante, Trevor K. Military Service Records at the National Archives. Washington, DC: National
Archives and Records Administration, 2009.
Stanton, Shelby L. World War II Order of Battle, U.S. Army (Ground Force Units).
Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2006.
——Vietnam Order of Battle. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.
Stender, Walter and Evans Walker. “The National Personnel Records Center Fire: A Study in
Disaster,” The American Archivist, Vol. 37, No. 4. (October 1974), pp. 521-529.
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, DC: 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, DC: GPO, 1880-1901. 70 v.

Author Information

Barbara Salazar Torreon

Senior Research Librarian

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