Articles Tagged with 1973 NPRC Fire

The National Archives tells the story.  On July 12, 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).

To its credit, the National Archives views the 1973 fire as an “unparalleled disaster” and a “loss to the cultural heritage of our nation.”   Acknowledging the tragedy, the National Archives has gone to extensive lengths to reconstruct the destroyed service files.  In the years since the fire, the NPRC has collected numerous series of records (referred to as Auxiliary Records) that are used to reconstruct basic service information in lieu of an OMPF.   Continue reading