National Archives at St. Louis

Auxiliary and Organizational Records, Holdings

What are Auxiliary and Organizational Records?   Learn more
 

Organizational and Auxiliary Holdings:

Series Description Dates
 
ARMY  
Morning Reports, Army
(includes Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces)

November 1, 1912 to 1968*

1969 - 1974

Unit Rosters, Army
(includes Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces)

November 1, 1912 to 1968*

1969 - 1974

(please note: rosters for the years 1944, 1945 and 1946 were disposed of in the 1970's)

Officer Pay Cards, Army (WWI) 1917 to 1921
Officer Pay Cards, Army (WWII) 1940 to 1951
   
AIR FORCE  
Morning Reports, Air Force September 1947 to June 30, 1966
   
NAVY  
Muster Rolls, Navy (Ships Only) 1939 to 1946 Check back later for more information
   
OTHER  
U.S. Army Surgeon General's Office 1942 to 1945 (Army and Army Air Corps);
1950 and 1954 (Army) Check back later for more information
VA Index Cards (WWI) 1917 to September 19, 1940 Check back later for more information
VA Index Cards (WWII) September 20, 1940 to January 1972 Check back later for more information

Auxiliary and Organizational Records, An Overview:

On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The records affected:

Branch Personnel and Period Affected Estimated Loss
Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960 80%
Air Force Personnel discharged September 25, 1947 to January 1, 1964
(with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.)
75%

No duplicate copies of these records were maintained, nor were microfilm copies produced. Neither were any indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available.

Auxiliary Records:

The 1973 Fire destroyed millions of Army and Air Force records that documented the service history of former military personnel. While the information in many of these primary source records was either damaged or completely destroyed, it is possible to obtain some of the military source data that was documented in these lost files from alternate record sources. In the years since the fire, the NPRC has collected many series of records used for this purpose, but these records contain only limited military service information. However, utilized together, they can aid in reconstructing basic service data.

Some of these records have been part of the NPRC's collection since before the 1973 Fire; others were brought in to help reconstruct basic service information. A primary source of alternate data is a collection of 19 million Final Pay Vouchers. These records provide name, service number and dates and character of service - the most critical service data elements needed for the reconstruction process. Another primary source of data is a collection of 7.8 million records of individual hospital/treatment facility admissions created by the U.S. Army Surgeon General's Office. These records are a major supplement for other, smaller sources of medical data. Using these and other auxiliary records series, various parts of an individual's military service and medical history can be recovered.

Organizational Records:

The organizational records maintained at NPRC contain a variety of personnel-related information recorded by military units during the first half of the 20th Century. The data in these records give genealogists, researchers and other members of the public the opportunity to document further the service histories of former members of the armed forces. So too, these records provide invaluable insight into the administrative functions of the Military Services during this period. Most importantly, organizational records play a vital role in reconstructing service data from files lost in the 1973 Fire.

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