Many of us have heard something about a “records fire” that destroyed many military Official Military Personnel Files (OPMFs) years ago. And we’ve also heard some people claim that “my records were destroyed in ‘the records fire’ – and that’s why there’s no record of my <insert award for valor/Special Operations qualification/service here>”.
But many people don’t know much more than the fact that a fire once happened where many military records were stored. The reality is that liars using the excuse of a “records fire” to justify false claims about their military service are regrettably common. Such claims are very often if not almost always false.
This article will give the facts concerning that fabled “records fire”. In it, I’ll give some background about the storage activity, its history, and its design – which contributed to the severity of the fire. I’ll also briefly discuss the fire and its impact.
And, finally, I’ll discuss what records were – and what records weren’t – affected by the fire. I’ll also provide some references that provide much more detail.
BLUF: if someone was an Army retiree alive in July 1973; served in the Army after 1959; served in the USAF after 1963; or served in the Navy or USMC – it’s a virtual certainty that their records of service were not affected by the fire. Any claims to the contrary are pure, unadulterated organic fertilizer of the type produced by male bovines capable of reproduction.