Posted on Dec 10, 2015
Were there any other instances of military records in the archives being destroyed other that the 1973 St Louis fire?
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When dealing with or talking to Veterans some (who to be honest sound like they are FOS) will say that there is no record of their service because there was an accident (Fire, Flood, Zombie Apocolypse) or the Government destroyed them, It is my understanding that "The Fire" that most people refer to was in the St Louis Archives in 1973 and affected about 80% of Army personnel who where discharged between 1912 and 1960 and Air Force from 1947-1964. A large portion of these records have been reconstructed from other sources.
What I can surmise is that anyone who is not at least 70 years old could not possibly had records affected by this.
So has there been to anyone's knowledge any time of recent catastrophy that affected the transfer of service member records to the archives? Any large data dumps of personnel files? ANYTHING at al that would result in a recent service member's records not showing up in the archives?
What I can surmise is that anyone who is not at least 70 years old could not possibly had records affected by this.
So has there been to anyone's knowledge any time of recent catastrophy that affected the transfer of service member records to the archives? Any large data dumps of personnel files? ANYTHING at al that would result in a recent service member's records not showing up in the archives?
Posted 9 y ago
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"The Fire" has been a mythological reason to explain why a Soldier doesn't have his/her records for as long as I have been in the Army, despite the fact that I have yet to have a Soldier (I go back to 1993) that has actually been affected by this.
Part of me wonders if it is a myth perpetuated by the lifers at AR-PERSOM to avoid doing work. Finding something in a paper file or microfiche (the rooms look like the warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is stored) is a real pain.
Part of me wonders if it is a myth perpetuated by the lifers at AR-PERSOM to avoid doing work. Finding something in a paper file or microfiche (the rooms look like the warehouse where the Ark of the Covenant is stored) is a real pain.
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I have been hearing that BS for decades. Usually from frauds claiming to have been Vietnam super heroes. Naturally they had no proof because their records had been destroyed. Finally a few years ago I spent the time to do a little research and found just what the linked article says. The real reason for there being no record of those people being a hero was because they were not one.
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1stSgt Eugene Harless My grandfather fought in Gallipoli, Turkey and in the trench warfare of France and Belgium where he was wounded in WWI.
My paternal grandfather's and his brother's records were destroyed in September 1940, when a German bombing raid struck the War Office repository in Arnside Street, London
My paternal grandfather's and his brother's records were destroyed in September 1940, when a German bombing raid struck the War Office repository in Arnside Street, London
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PO2 Wesley Wilson
LTC Stephen F. That is correct, England lost all ww1 records due to German bombing
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