Thomas Richardson
Reconstructing World War II and Korean War Service Records
As the World War II and Korean War generation passes away, accessing and researching the military records of those veterans assumes great significance. Information from their service records are vital in order to access VA benefits and rights to burials at national cemeteries like Arlington. However, the infamous 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire decimated over eighty percent of Army and Air Force records from those conflicts. This presentation will discuss how to navigate the complicated world of researching burned records, how the NPRC reconstructs a veteran’s military service record from auxiliary sources, and how veterans are entitled to benefits from a damaged record. The presentation will also include a personal journey of a World War II veteran demonstrating how to construct a military chronology from a destroyed record.
Session Handouts
Questionnaire about Military Service (NA 13075)
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Request for Military Records (Standard Form 180)
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Reconstructing World War II and Korean War Service Records Slides
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Thomas Richardson (historyhereandnowhhn.com | LinkedIn | Twitter) is an Expert Archives Technician at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis Missouri (archives.gov/veterans). He specializes in researching WWII, Korea, and Vietnam War service records, military awards, and decorations. Since he began working for NARA in 2015, he has participated in multiple digitization projects with various federal agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service, General Services Administration, U.S. Marshal Service, Federal Railroad Administration, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Thomas is also a regular contributor to the National Archives and Records Administration’s Pieces of History blog and their public research forum, the History Hub. His articles highlight the importance of researching military records and how the general public can fully access such information.