Special Announcement on Veterans Records
The National Personnel Records Center sent the information below concerning its new mailing address, tips on safeguarding personal documents and recommend ways to request documents from the National Personnel Records Center. Please distribute the information to as many veterans as possible.
The new address for the National Personnel Records Center is:
National Personnel Records Center
1 Archives Drive
St Louis, MO 63138-1002
USA
The majority of personnel have moved to the new location and the military personnel records are in the process of moving. The entire move should be completed by the end of the Summer of 2012.
As a reminder, ALL retirees and Honorably Discharged veterans should ensure that their family knows the location of their military Separation Document (DD Form 214 from 1950 to present and WD (War Department) Form 53-55 and other variations prior to 1950). Note that registering a copy at the county court house may make that document a public record. Separation Documents issued after 1969 may contain a Social Security Number which could be used for identity theft. Storing the Separation Document in a safe deposit box may make it difficult to retrieve immediately upon the death of the retiree or honorably discharged veteran. The better storage locations are:
1-Fire safe in a secure location of the house (not in the bedroom, as this is where most thieves search first). Be sure spouse/NOK knows the location and has key/combination.
2-In a watertight food container (Glad, Tupperware. etc.) in the refrigerator. Most refrigerators are fire resistant. Additionally, a refrigerator is heavy enough to fall through the floor of a building into the cooler part of the fire in the basement and better survive. Finally, a refrigerator is large enough to be easily located in the ash and ruble of a fire or other serious incident. (As a bonus, everyone has a refrigerator, not everyone has a fire resistant storage box). Be sure to inform your spouse and relatives where to locate your Separation Document - and any other important papers.
As a reminder, the preferred method of submitting a request to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is via the Internet. Please note that in some cases using a browser other than Internet Explorer may create problems with data entry. As you know, the NPRC provides copies of documents from military personnel records to authorized requesters. Our web-based application will provide better service on these requests by eliminating our mailroom processing time. Also, since the requester will be prompted to supply all information essential for us to process the request, delays that occur when we must go back for more information will be minimized. You may access this application at:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/
This improved on-line request process should be used INSTEAD OF Standard Form 180 for requests from the veteran or the veteran’s next of kin, if possible. Your assistance with this initiative will allow us, and you, to better serve the needs of our veterans. If you do not wish to use the Internet, you should use Standard Form 180. You should print Standard Form 180 as you need it, not in advance because the form is periodically revised and updated. It should not be available on your web site. You can have a link to the NPRC web page.
The link is:
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/standard-form-180.html
Since the Standard Form 180 is updated periodically, it is NOT recommended that large quantities be printed/photocopied and stocked. The form will be updated with the new address within six months. The US Postal Service will forward mail if requests are mailed to the old location until February 2012.