NY-Military-L Archives

Archiver > NY-Military > 2004-09 > 1095957395


From: "Gary Welch" <>
Subject: RE: Military Records
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 12:36:35 -0400
In-Reply-To: <88.1505de23.2e817ce5@aol.com>


Here is the NARA page describing the procedure for requesting records if you
aren't the next-of-kin:

http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/st
andard_form_180.html

You should be aware, however, that most of the original service records for
WWI and WWII personnel were destroyed in a 1973 fire. They might be able to
reconstruct some portions from other records.

-----Original Message-----
From: [mailto:]
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 2004 8:48 AM
To:
Subject: Military Records


My mother has tried to obtain the WWI military records for her maternal
uncle
from the St. Louis Records Center. She is his closest living next of kin
because her uncle never had children and his widow remarried a few years
after
his death. (She has since passed away.) Her uncle's siblings and parents
have
been dead for years. However, the records center, citing the Privacy Act of

1974 and the DOD's definition of "next of kin" as being a parent, sibling,
unremarried spouse, or child of the veteran, will only send her the barest
of
information.

She called the records center after her first request elicited a scant
amount
of information from the file to let them know of her uncle's "next of kin"
situation. She was told to send a second request, explaining how she was
the
next of kin. However, she got the exact same information the second time
around
and was told she wasn't the next of kin because she didn't fall within the
DOD's definition.

Is there another route she can take in order to obtain the complete file?
Has anyone else on this list encountered this problem? If none of the
veteran's
next of kin (as defined by the DOD) are living, does that mean his records
are inaccessible forever?

Shannon



This thread: