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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
805 KIDDER BREESE SE -- WASHINGTON NAVY YARD
WASHINGTON DC 20374-5060
Official Service And Medical Records
The Naval Historical Center does not have custody of any personnel or medical records.
The Civil and Old Military Branch,
National Archives, 700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20408 (phone 202-501-5671; extension 277) has custody of records relating to naval officers from 1798 to 1902 and enlisted men from 1798 to 1885. Naval service records of the Revolutionary War period are fragmentary, including only such information as the serviceman's name and rank, the name of the vessel on which he served, and the dates of his service or the dates on which he was paid. Abstracts of service performed by most commissioned Regular Navy officers, volunteer naval officers of the Civil War period, some noncommissioned officers, and a few professors and teachers at the U.S. Naval Academy were compiled by the Navy Department. These abstracts, covering the period 1798 to 1924, usually
provide the date of the officer's appointment, the date and nature
of changes in rank, as well as the date and nature of the termination
of his service. Prior to 1885, the Navy Department did not assemble
any compilations of service for enlisted men. Records pertaining
to such service are scattered among many files, registers, returns,
reports, and other related records held by the National Archives.
The National
Personnel Records Center, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100 has custody of the official individual personnel records of Navy commissioned officers separated after 1902 and Navy enlisted personnel separated after 1885. These records include the full name of the serviceman, next of kin, date of enlistment, date retired, units with which he served, and any medals and awards to which the veteran was entitled, as well as other details. Information from these records is available to the veteran, or if deceased, to the next of kin. Contrary to rumors, the 1973 fire did not destroy Navy or Marine Corps records.
Through the Freedom
of Information Act, the public has access to certain military
service information without the authorization of the veteran,
or the next-of-kin of deceased veterans. Examples of information
which may be available from official military personnel files
without an unwarranted invasion of privacy include: name, service
number, rank, dates of service, awards and decorations and place
of entrance and separation. If the veteran is deceased the following
may also be available: place of birth, date and geographical location
of death and place of burial. A separate request should be sent
for each veteran. If signed by the next of kin, the relationship
to the veteran must be specified and proof of death presented.
In order to get information on an individual's naval career, please
fill out the Standard
Form (SF) 180 available in pdf format and follow the instructions. If the individual's service number is unknown, it can usually be located by specifying the individual's name, his command, and when he served in a letter to the Modern Military Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi Road College Park, MD 20740. That office can usually discern the service number from the command's muster rolls or the list of officers in the deck log of a ship, if the individual served between 1941 and the 1970.
Veterans or next of kin of deceased veterans can order copies of their military records directly on line from the National Personnel Records Center. Veterans are entitled to one set of their medals
and awards. To request his medals, a veteran should send in a separate completed Standard
Form (SF) 180 to the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Naval Liaison Office, Room 5409, 9700 Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100. Please write "Do not open in mailroom" on the outer envelope.
Information is also available on obtaining official medical records of retired service personnel and dependents as well as hospital and some ship sick call logs, which are held by the National
Personnel Records Center. Information from these records is
available to the veteran, or if deceased, to the next of kin.
A separate request should be sent for each veteran. If signed
by the next of kin, the relationship to the veteran must be specified
and proof of death presented. In order to get information from
medical records and/or sick call logs, please fill out Standard
Form 180 mentioning you want medical records, and send it
to the National Personnel Records Center, ATTN: NCPMA-O, 9700
Page Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63132-5100.
For recently retired personnel for the first fifteen months
after discharge, transfer to the fleet reserve, or retirement,
any personnel questions should be sent to Commander, Naval
Military Personnel Command, Washington, DC 20370, while medical
questions should be directed to Commanding Officer, Naval Reserve
Personnel Center, New Orleans, Louisiana 70149.
Generally after 15 months, all questions should be referred
to National Personnel Records Center as described previously.
However, there are two exceptions, questions about identification
cards, qualifications status, mobilization, changes of address
and changes in the status of dependents should go to Commanding
Officer, Naval Reserve Personnel Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
70149. Any questions on retirement pay should be sent to Commanding
Officer, Navy Finance Center, Retired Pay Department, Anthony
J. Celebrezze Federal Building, Cleveland, Ohio 44199.
02 June 2004