> NOTE from DearMYRTLE: The following was just released by the NARA Public > Affairs office. Please address all inquiries to > <mailto:[email protected]> [email protected] or contact Bryan > McGraw, Director of Archival Programs at NPRC, at 314-801-9132. > > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE > October 22, 2007 > National Personnel Records Center Opens more than Six Million New Military > Personnel Files > St. Louis, MO > > * The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) will open for the first > time all of the individual Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) of > Army, Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard > military personnel who served and were discharged, retired or died while > in the service, prior to 1946. > > Collectively, these files comprise more than six million records. This is > the second step in the progressive opening ofthe entire paper and > microfiche OMPF collection of over 57 million individual files. Additional > military personnel records will be made available to the public each year > through 2067 until the entire collection is opened. > > These archived files are treasured by family members, historians, > researchers, and genealogists. Contained in a typical OMPF are documents > outlining all elements of military service, including assignments, > evaluations, awards and decorations, education and training, demographic > information, some medical information and documented disciplinary actions. > Some records also contain photographs of the individual and official > correspondence concerning military service. > > To view an original record, individuals may visit the NPRC Archival > Research Room in St. Louis, MO. Telephone is 314-801-0850. Research room > hours are10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central Time Tuesday through Friday. Visitors > are strongly encouraged to call ahead to make reservations. > > * To obtain copies of records, customers may write to NPRC at 9700Page > Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63132, fax a request to 314-801-9195, or submit a > request through http://vetrecs.archives.gov <http://vetrecs.archives.gov/> > or on a Standard Form 180. > > Information about records available at NPRC is also posted on the National > Personnel Records Center Homepage at > http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html. > > Archived, public records are subject to the National Archives and Records > Administration's published fee schedule. Copy fees for archived OMPFs are > waived for veterans or primary next-of-kin (surviving spouse or children > of the veteran) if the records are needed to validate a benefit or > entitlement. The fee schedule for OMPFs is as follows: > > 1. OMPFs 5 pages or less: $15 > 2. OMPFs 6 pages or more: $50 (most OMPFs fall in this category) > 3. OMPFs of Persons of Exceptional Prominence (PEP): $.75 per page > *(PEP records include the OMPFs of famous individuals such as former > Presidents, famous military leaders, decorated military heroes, > celebrities,entertainers, and professional athletes who left military > service and havebeen deceased for at least 10 years). > > Archived records are subject to a limited privacy exemption under the > provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. As such, all records are > reviewed prior to release and social security numbers are redacted. > > For more information, contact Bryan McGraw, Director of Archival Programs > at NPRC, at 314-801-9132. > > This and previous blog entries are fully searchable by going to: > http://blog.DearMYRTLE.com. Myrt welcomes queries and research challenges, > but regrets she is unable to answer each personally. > > > View > <http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/2007/10/national-personnel-records-center-opens.html> > article...