A good source of information on the various types of military records, what they contain, and what records survive [a fire destroyed approx 80% of the personnel records for Army officers seperated 1917-1956 and enlisted seperated 1912-1956] is the following book: Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, various editions Hardcover ISBN 0-91333-00-2 Softcover ISBN 0-911333-01-0 [note that these are from my copy, which happens to be the 1985 edition] This book also gives the location of the records which are not in the possession of the National Archives (as mentioned in the earlier posts). Regards, Mike Hobart