Email from the National Archives building in St. Louis, Missouri
You have reached the Archival Research Room (ARR) at the National Archives in St. Louis, Mo. We provide on-site review of 20th century archival military personnel records that are more than 62 years old. Unfortunately, your great uncle's Army service record was lost in the 1973 fire that occurred at our old facility.
The upsetting words every genealogist dreads hearing about their ancestor. Their file is no more. Destroyed... Click the link above to read about what happened and what was destroyed. I had contacted the National Archives in regards to my 2nd Great Uncle, William Christian Ilg's Service Record. The 100th Anniversary of the end of World War I was last year so I was curious about William's service. He sadly died three days before the end of the War. If you would like to read his story, click on the link here:
William Ilg, the gone but not forgotten Uncle.
As you can see from his story, I didn't let this stop me from acquiring information about his service in the military. Just because you receive this message, it doesn't mean all hope is lost. There are other places you check for information and then begin to recreate your ancestor's record. The following information is based on my own personal research. This is by no means an all inclusive answer to every avenue for you to check. Hopefully though, it will be helpful to you.
A copy of your ancestor's service record can contain a wealth of information about their life. If you have a veteran in your family, you should definitely try to track down their record. Before you contact the National Archives, there is some basic information you need to know first. Besides the basic Name, date of birth & location, you will need to know what branch of the military he served in, the approximate dates, the conflict, social security number and/or service number. This will help the archivist locate their service file and/or other information. So there are some places you need to check first.
Where To Check For Records
First of all, ask direct descendants and family members for any information they have. They can have some of the details (or even paperwork) about their service. Next check the three main sites:
Ancestry, Family Search & Fold 3. Ancestry & Fold 3 are subscription sites, but you can access them through your local library most of the time. Obviously the more recent the service, the least likely you will find records on these sites. That's why it's important to talk to relatives. If their service is more recent, you will have more of a chance of acquiring info from them. So glean as much information as you can from these site first.
For William, at first the only thing I found that was military related was the World War I Draft Registration Card. There was nothing on Fold 3 about his service. I collected the census records so I would have documentation about his life that may be helpful. Because I had his birth information in my personal files from a family date book, I also found his birth register to back up that date. That will be helpful when contacting the National Archives. At this point, I don't have anything information about his service, so I can't check any other records yet on these sites.
The next place to check is your State Archives. This was where I got William's actual Military information. State Archives can be so help. Check their website first to see what they have available online. Many have records & databases you can access from home. Every State has different collections & different ways to access them, so can't really guide you on how or where to look for them. If you get tripped up, shoot them an email asking where you can look for this information.
The Missouri State Archives has a wonderful website for genealogy research. It's called
Missouri Digital Heritage. "More than 9 million records can be accessed through Missouri Digital Heritage, including the collections of the Missouri State Archives, the Missouri State Library and other institutions from across the state." - Taken directly from their site. They have a
Soldier's Database containing names of Soldiers that served from the War of 1812-WWI. This contained a wealth of information. It is a compiled card of his Military information that included his name, serial number, birth, death, and his service. YES!! His service! It listed the dates he served in World War I and what Companies and Battalions he served in. Like I said, this was just a card. This information was gathered from other documents to create this index.
Contacting the National Archives
If you were able to obtain the necessary information at this point, you could go ahead and contact the National Archives requesting for their service record. Depending on what information you are looking for and what conflict they served in will determine where and how you contact the archives. Since William served in World War I, I contacted the
National Military Personnel Records Center (NPRC), in St. Louis, Missouri.
There are a few different ways to contact them, depending on who you are to the veteran (or if you are the veteran):
- Online through eVetRecs (only if you are one of the following listed below in the image)
- Print and Fill out Standard Form 180 (click link to download) or write a Request Letter, then either:
- Mail to National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Dr, St. Louis, Missouri, 63138, or
- Fax to 314-801-9195
- Send an email to: stlarr.archives@nara.gov
You can only use eVetRecs if you are the following:
If you are not using the Standard Form 180, then when you send your letter, fax or email, please include the following:
- Veteran's Complete Name used in Service
- Service Number or Social Security Number (Date & Place of birth may be helpful if service number is unknown)
- Branch of Service
- Dates of Service
If Request pertains to a record that may have been involved in the 1973 Fire, include the following as well.
- Place of Discharge
- Last Unit of Assignment
- Place of Entry into Service, If known
What to do if their service record was destroyed
After I sent in my information, I got that dreaded email that stated William's Military Service File had been destroyed in the fire. My heart just sank. But not all hope was lost. The archivist also include some other types of records they may have available for William. She was going to look into them for me. Long story short, they had his Burial Case File at the Archives. The actual file. We are talking original documents here. That was probably the most exciting moment of all this. Of course, I had to make an appointment with the Archivist to be able to come in and view this file. They are extremely helpful at the Archives, so don't be afraid to ask questions. Here is some information on what is available at the archives that might pertain to your research:
Research in Military Records
Fair Warning: if you are planning on making a trip to the Archives, heed ALL instructions they give you and be prepared to have everything checked thoroughly by security and then everything put into a locker. No folders, no books, no pens, etc. Here is a list of
what's allowed and what's not allowed. I warn you now because I was not prepared. And it wouldn't have been so bad except I had my daughter with me (she is 14), and she has horrible anxiety. She wasn't allowed to take any of her things for coping with her into the research room. So it made for a stressful day for her. So next time, I will be more prepared and leave her at home as well.
I still need to go back and do some more research. I had gone through duty rosters, but need to check the morning reports. I know you are probably asking, "Well if you have the basic information, why do you need to collect more?" Honestly, it's the genealogist in me. We are to do a reasonably exhaustive search when it comes to an ancestor. And while I know for certain there are more records I can check to add to his file, I am going to do what I can. If you read the story of William's life from the link I shared above, the only way I could have come to the conclusions I did was to research more and more to add to his story. Sometimes you need to think outside the box in order to get an in-depth look at their lives. Don't limit yourself.
What do I mean by that? Well, the archivist told me about a couple things I could look up, but not everything. Through a friend on Twitter, I learned about the List Of Men Ordered To Report database. It was all the men who reported for service after they were drafted. It lists the men's draft number, date they were sworn in, where they were sworn in along with other details. I wondered why this didn't show up for William in my search. I checked Ancestry and they had only some of the lists. Not all. This is where source information came in handy. At the bottom of the search page on Ancestry, I learned the originals were supposed to be held at the National Archives. Lightbulb! So I contacted the Archivist and asked her about these lists. And would you believe, they had them there! The originals! So they copied the pages that were pertinent for my research and sent them to me. If I wouldn't have been looking outside the box, I would have never have known about these nor would I have found them. So don't limit yourself. If you are not sure if the Archives has a particular database, just ask.
By the time you are done with all of this, you should have yourself quite a file built up for your veteran. Now most of this was about my personal research for my Veteran that found in World War I, but they can be adapted for Veterans who fought in other conflicts.
Qualify for a Medal?
When I started this research, I never thought I would find everything I did. I was overflowing with information. While visiting a World War I Memorials in Jefferson Barracks, I saw the Purple Heart Memorial nearby. My hubby told me William should have qualified for one. I told him, I only thought it was for those who were wounded; not died. So I did the research and contacted the archivist, and she informed me, it did reach to those who died as a result of the war. This is the email she sent me:
"You will need to apply to the Army Review Boards Agency to have the Purple Heart issue addressed. I will attach the form, DD 149, Application for Correction of Military Record. World War 1 veterans or their next of kin, needed to apply for the Purple Heart for WW1 wounds, KIA, or exposure to Mustard Gas. During WW1 the Purple Heart was not awarded for wounds inflicted by the enemy; it was awarded for military merit. During WW2 it was designated for wounded veterans; the following is an excerpt from our instructions:
'This award, the modern form of the original Purple Heart established by General George Washington in 1782, is conferred on any person wounded in action while serving with the Armed Forces of the United States. It is awarded for wounds or death as result of an act of any opposing Armed Force, as a result of an international terrorist attack or as a result of military operations while serving as part of a peacekeeping force, while serving with the Armed Forces of the United States. It is also awarded posthumously to the next of kin of personnel killed or having died of wounds received in action after April 5, 1917.
The original Purple Heart Medal was awarded for "Military Merit", and before World War II was only awarded to three men. During the early period of World War II (7 Dec 41 to 22 Sep 43), the Purple Heart was awarded both for wounds received in action against the enemy and for meritorious performance of duty. Executive Order 9277, dated 12/3/42 authorized the award only for wounds received.'
For WW1 the Purple Heart was also awarded for exposure to Mustard Gas.'
So a WW1 veteran couldn't request the Purple Heart medal until after 12/3/42. " Email sent from Susan at St. Louis National Archives on Nov 29, 2018
Well as you can see, William should qualify, and I understand now why he wasn't awarded. By the time he would have been eligible, no one would have thought (or may have even known) to try to have it added to his file. So now that I have done all this research, I can use it to apply for him to receive this medal posthumously. It does state it has to be a "Next of Kin" in order to receive the medal. But I'm not concerned about that. I just want it added to his record. He deserved to be honored for his sacrifice. He never married, nor did he have any kids, so the only ones who remember his sacrifice are those I tell.
Here is the link to the page that talks about
Correcting Military Service Records. This also has the link to the form DD 149 mentioned in the email above. If you feel that your Veteran should have been awarded a specific medal, this is the form you will need to send along with your proof. This is also why it is important to do as much research as you can for proof of service. The address will be listed on the form where you send in your paperwork. I sent mine in at the beginning of January sometime, and I am still waiting on whether or not they will accept this change or not. Their website states that it could take up to 12 months to hear something back. So be patient. After you send them your application, if you don't hear from them about receiving it, you can email them here:
army.arbainquiry@mail.mil. Here is their website:
Army Review Boards Agency.
I hope I have made this easy to understand and maybe less daunting. I know I was overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do. So I wish you much luck. If you have any other tips, or would like to share your success story, please comment below. I would love to hear about it!
