If you need to access information from the military service record of a veteran whose service records are not open to the public (and you are not the veteran’s next of kin) your best bet may be to request basic information from the military service record under the Freedom of Information Act. Requesting basic information under the F.O.I.A. will allow you to access legally releasable information within the military service record. I recommend this as a last resort because getting basic information from your veteran’s military service record is not going to be quite as satisfying as getting the complete military service record.
If you are not sure whether you are legally eligible to access the complete record of your veteran, go ahead and read my article here first: How to Obtain a Military Service Record. You should have a pretty clear understanding after reading this short guide as to whether you will be legally able to access your veteran’s complete military service record. Just to recap: Most of the military service records of veterans who served during WWII (or before) are open to the public and it is probable that you will NOT need to submit a F.O.I.A. request to access a complete military service record from this period. Likewise, if you are related to the veteran (even if he served after WWII and beyond) your goal should be to get the complete service record as outlined in the previously referenced post. The military service records of veterans who served in the mid-1950’s through present day are still subject to privacy restrictions. These service records, which are not yet open to the public, are considered non-archival, and unless you have the permission of the veteran or the veteran’s next of kin you will only be able to access limited information from these military service records by placing a F.O.I.A. request.
How to Obtain Information from a Non-archival Military Service Record Under the F.O.I.A.
The first step is to determine the location of the military service record you are seeking information from. I have posted a chart from archives.gov which shows the location of military service records depending on the approximate date your veteran was discharged from the service. You can access the chart to determine where your veteran’s military service record is held by clicking here: How to Obtain a Military Service Record.
Once you have determined the location of your veteran’s military service record, you will need to submit a written request citing the Freedom of Information Act to the facility which holds the military service record that you are requesting information from. Below is a sample request letter for the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act.
Be sure to sign and date your F.O.I.A. request. Without your signature the request is void and you will potentially wait for months before receiving a letter telling you to re-submit a signed F.O.I.A. request. If you have already figured out which facility holds your veteran’s military service record, all you have to do now is to mail your completed and signed F.O.I.A. request to that facility. The vast majority of you will be sending your request to the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis which holds most of the military service records of veterans who served in the Twentieth Century. Here is the address for sending your F.O.I.A. request to the National Personnel Records Center:
National Personnel Records Center 1 Archives Drive St. Louis Missouri 63138OK, so you have mailed your F.O.I.A. request to the appropriate office. Now what?
Below is an example of a response to a recent F.O.I.A. request that I placed recently at the National Archives. Notice how the cover sheet lists the kinds of information which can be accessed through a F.O.I.A. request. Use this as a guide, but don’t be afraid to make requests for specific information even if you do not see it listed as an option here. While the technicians at the National Archives are going to err on the side of caution when responding to your F.O.I.A request, it never hurts to ask!
Freedom of Information Request Military Service Records results from NARA
