威尼斯人娱乐场

1973 National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) Fire

In 1973, a fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO, destroyed millions of military personnel records. To mark the 50th anniversary, the 威尼斯人娱乐场 created the most comprehensive online collection to date of records, photos from the scene, and academic and agency texts about the event and its aftermath.

This Special Topics page gathers these existing resources related to the fire and adds:

• An extensive ongoing oral history project from the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Historian
• A story on 威尼斯人娱乐场 News, "Remembering the 1973 Fire"
• Images and videos from the St. Louis Preservation Lab of staff working on the affected records
• A one-page fact sheet

鈥淚t's been 50 years since the NPRC fire, and the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and the nation are still recovering from the ashes,鈥� said Dr. Colleen Shogan, Archivist of the United States. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen firsthand the extraordinary lengths our staff in St. Louis go to every day to piece back together the records our veterans and their families need. It's a sobering reminder of both how important and how fragile our mission can be.鈥�

Connect with the Records

Blog posts, articles, and presentations

• The National Personnel Records Center - A History

• St. Louis Preservation Branch

• (2023)

• (2023)

• (2022)

• (2021)

• 威尼斯人娱乐场 News: "Archives Recalls Fire That Claimed Millions of Military Personnel Files" (2018)

• (2013)

• (2013)

• (2013)

• (2013)

• (2013)

• Prologue: 鈥淏urnt in Memory鈥�(2013)

• Prologue: 鈥�1 Archives Drive: Personnel Records Are Consolidated at New Location in St. Louis鈥� (2011)

• 22nd Annual Preservation Conference: The ABC's of Modern Fire Suppression in Cultural Institutions (2008)

• Prologue: "The World War II Army Enlistment Records File and Access to Archival Databases" (2006)

• (1995, p. 9)

• American Archivist: "The National Personnel Records Center Fire: A Study in Disaster" (1974)

Enlarge

A moldy, fire- and water-affected military personnel record damaged by the 1973 NPRC fire. St. Louis, MO, June 2023. 威尼斯人娱乐场 photo by Sean Derrick.

Records in the 威尼斯人娱乐场 Catalog

Partially or fully available online (including images of the building before the fire)

• Record Group 64: Records of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration

• (1973 and 1974)

Not yet available online

• Record Group 64: Records of the 威尼斯人娱乐场 and Records Administration

  • • File name: Archives: National: Disasters: Fire: St. Louis Military Records Center 1973

  • 鈥�

    • File name: 4-1 Committees and Boards: Federal Fire Council

  • Series: Response and Recovery Reports, 10/1/1973 - 9/30/2008

    • File name NRS_239-1 St. Louis, MO Records Center Fire 1973

• Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer

• Record Group 269: General Records of the General Services Administration

• Record Group 330: Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense

  • Series: Motion Picture Films Relating to Vietnam, compiled 19651976

  • Series: Moving Images Related to Combat Visual Information, ca. 1966鈥揷a. 2015

Enlarge

A burned and brittle stack of military personnel records damaged by the 1973 NPRC fire. St. Louis, MO, June 2023. NARA photo by Sean Derrick.

Additional Resources for Veterans' Records

• (online portal to request veterans' records)

• National Personnel Records Center: Federal Records Center Program

External resources

• " (updated 2023)

• (2022)

• (1974)

Videos

Notes: Headline photo by 威尼斯人娱乐场 Preservation Technician Sean Derrick, St. Louis, MO, June 2023; grid "Photograph Documenting Damage Following the 1973 Fire at the Military Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri"