Military Records

Office of Strategic Services Personnel Files from World War II

Private First Class Edeleanu prints news bulletin on bulletin board outside Intelligence tent of Kyaukpyu Camp the day before Office of Strategic Services (OSS), AFU, departure via convoy for Rangoon. Detachment 101, Ramree Island, Burma, May 6, 1945. (National Archives Identifier 540055)

View in National Archives Catalog

Descriptions of 23,973 personnel files from the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) between 1941 and 1945 are available in the National Archives Catalog.

Search Hint
- Ordering Copies
Digital Copies of Selected OSS Personnel Files
Additional Resources

Search Hint

To search for an individual's name in the OSS personnel files:

Go directly to the series description (National Archives Identifier 1593270)
Scroll down to the "Includes" field and click on the link for "Search within this Series." A A search window with a filter for searching only within the personnel files will appear.
Enter your keywords (such as the last name Donovan or the full name Mary Donovan) and press the "Search" button. If your search returns results, click on a title link to view the full details of any hit.

Ordering Copies

For information about ordering a copy of an OSS personnel file, please contact the Research Room staff. It would be good to mention that you would like a copy of the OSS personnel file for [the name of the person], the National Archives Identifier for the file unit, the file unit title, and the Container ID (which can be found under the Archived Copies tab).

Digital Copies of Selected OSS Personnel Files

The digital copies of the selected OSS personnel files include extracts or selected highlights and do not represent the complete files. The only complete file is for Julia Child (under her maiden name McWilliams).

Note: The PDF files may open in the same browser window. If you would prefer to download a PDF to your computer or disk, right click on the linked image and select “Save Target As...” (or “Save Link As...”). When you click on a link to the file unit description in the National Archives Catalog, a new browser window with your Search session will open.

Link to Digital Copy (PDF)	Name of OSS Employee	National Archives Identifier
74.61 MB	Bunche, Ralph Bunche was an African affairs specialist for the OSS who later served in the United Nations and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950.	2168596
132.03 MB	Casey, William Casey received a Bronze Star Medal for his OSS service and later became Director of Central Intelligence.	2169187
278.82 MB	Child, Julia [McWilliams, Julia] Child served as a research assistant with the OSS and later became a cookbook author and TV personality.	2180661
24.18 MB	Dulles, Allen Dulles received a Distinguished Service Medal for his OSS service in Switzerland and later served as Director of Central Intelligence.	2171692
44.75 MB	Goldberg, Arthur Goldberg was a labor specialist for the OSS who later served as U.S. Secretary of Labor and as a Supreme Court Justice.	2174048
143.15 MB	Hayden, Sterling [Hamilton, John] Hayden was a film actor who left the Marine Corps to anonymously join the OSS and received a Silver Star.	2175283

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