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• 20th-Century Veterans' Service Records - Safe, Secure & Available

  Information on the maintenance of modern US military & civil service employee records. Also includes who may order and how. From Prologue - the quarterly magazine of the National Archives and Records Administration.

  • The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration - Start Your Military Service Record Request (DD Form 214 & SF-180)

    Most veterans and their next-of-kin can obtain free copies of veterans' service records from WWI through the present using this online service. Records from 62 years after the service member's separation from the military are open to the public.

• Access to Military Service and Pension Records

• Civil War and Later Navy Personnel Records at the National Archives, 1861-1924

  Article by Lee D. Bacon.

• Civil War Records

• Civil War Records - An Introduction and Invitation

  Article by Michael P. Musick from the National Archives web site.

• Confederate Pension Records

• Do We Have Any Records Relating to French Spoliation Claims?

  Article by Angie Spicer Vandereedt.

• Early Navy Personnel Records at the National Archives, 1776

  Article by Lee D. Bacon.

• History Hub - Genealogists

  A support community managed by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration for genealogy researchers.

• Military Service Records - A Select Catalog of NARA Microfilm Publications

• My Military Service Records

  A resource for using military service records held at the US National Archives for genealogical research. This focus is historical records of US Veterans from all branches of the military from the Civil War through Vietnam.

• NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC)

  St. Louis, Missouri. One of the National Archives and Records Administration's largest operations. A central repository of personnel-related records, both military and civil service.

  • Civilian Personnel Records

    Houses the official personnel folders, employee medical folders & personnel documents back to the mid-nineteenth century.

  • Military Personnel Records NPRC (MPR)

    Military personnel & medical records of discharged and deceased veterans of all services during the 20th century.

    • Military Personnel and Medical Record Collections at NPRC (MPR)

      The Official Military Personnel Files including active duty health records, clinical records and medical treatment records are the primary collections at NPRC (MPR.)

    • Military Personnel Records - Alternate Record Sources

    • Military Personnel Records - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

    • Military Personnel Records - Other Helpful Sites

    • Overview of Military Personnel Records

      • Clinical (Hospital Inpatient) Records

      • Morning Reports and Unit Rosters

      • Official Military Personnel Files

      • Philippine Army and Guerrilla Records

    • The 1973 Fire at NPRC (MPR)

      • Facts About the 1973 St. Louis Fire and Lost Records

• Records About Impressed Seamen, 1793-1814

• Researching Service in the U.S. Army during the Philippine Insurrection

  Article by Trevor K. Plante.

• Sailors, Soldiers, and Marines of the Spanish-American War: The Legacy of USS Maine

  Article by Rebecca Livingston for Prologue Magazine from the National Archives.

  • National Archives Microfilm Publications Relating to Service in the Spanish-American War

  • National Archives Records Relating to Service in the Spanish-American War

• The Shady Side of the Family Tree

• The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration - Requesting Copies of Older Military Service Records

  Information on how to request copies of older (pre-WWI) military service records from the series held at NARA in Washington, D.C. Those include the following. Volunteers: Military service performed by persons serving during an emergency and whose service was considered to be in the Federal interest, 1775 - 1902. Regular Army: Enlisted personnel, 1789 - October 31, 1912; Officers, 1789 - June 30, 1917. Navy: Enlisted personnel, 1798 - 1885; Officers, 1798 - 1902. Marine Corps: Enlisted personnel, 1798 - 1904; Some officers, 1798 - 1895. Coast Guard: Persons who served in predecessor agencies to the U.S. Coast Guard: the Revenue Cutter Service (Revenue Marine), the Life-Saving Service, and the Lighthouse Service, 1791 - 1919. Confederate States: Persons who rendered military service for the Confederate States government in its armed forces, 1861 - 1865. Veterans Records: Claims files for pensions based on Federal military service, 1775 - 1916 and bounty land warrant application files relating to claims based on wartime service, 1775 - 1855.

• The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration - Vietnam War Records

  • State-Level Lists of Fatal Casualties of the Korean War (6/28/1950 - 3/10/1954) and the Vietnam War (6/8/1956 - 5/28/2006)

    From the NARA Center for Electronic Records

    • State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists for the Korean War

    • State-Level Fatal Casualty Lists for the Vietnam War

• The United States Armed Forces and the Mexican Punitive Expedition

  Article by Mitchell Yockelson for Prologue, the quarterly of the National Archives and Records Administration.

• They Answered the Call