What Burned in 1973—and What Did Not
First, the 1973 fire affected only specific branches: US Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel files from WWII were NOT destroyed. The fire struck US Army and Army Air Forces personnel discharged between November 1, 1912 and January 1, 1960 (destroying roughly 80% of those individual jackets).
Even when an Army soldier’s individual jacket burned, the unit-level and financial records kept in separate buildings survived:
- 1. Company Morning Reports (1912–1976): Every Army and Air Corps company filed a daily report recording every soldier who joined, transferred, was promoted, fell ill, was wounded, or went MIA/KIA—complete with serial number and exact geographic location.
- 2. WWII Troop Transport Passenger Lists (1942–1946): Preserved at NARA College Park, these lists record every soldier boarding a troopship leaving New York, Boston, Hampton Roads, or San Francisco (and returning home in 1945–1946), naming his exact company, regiment, rank, serial number, and the name and street address of his next of kin.
- 3. Final Payment Vouchers: The last pay slip issued upon discharge survived for almost every WWII soldier, proving exact dates of entry and discharge, serial number, and discharge base.
- 4. County Courthouse Discharge Recordings: Upon returning home in 1945–1946, millions of veterans were advised to walk into their local county clerk’s office and record a certified copy of their WD AGO Form 53-55 (Enlisted Record and Report of Separation)—where it sits untouched by the 1973 St. Louis fire!
Turning Unit Numbers Into a Day-by-Day Campaign Narrative
Once we recover a grandfather’s regiment, battalion, or bombardment group from a troopship manifest, morning report, or discharge paper, we pull the unit’s After-Action Reports and War Diaries at the National Archives—allowing us to narrate where he stood week by week across North Africa, Italy, Normandy, the Ardennes, or the Pacific.
Want Our Historians to Trace This Record for Your Family?
If you would rather have an archival historian pull the original manifests, naturalization files, military records, and European parish registers—and compose them into a custom hardcover book for your family—request a complimentary 48-hour feasibility study below. We will check what survives in the archives and reply with a chapter plan and a firm quote for either an Ancestor Portrait ($590) or a Lineage Edition ($1,690).
Frequently Asked Questions
01We only have a photograph of our grandfather in uniform and his name. Is that enough?
Yes. Between the WWII Enlistment Database (NARA AAD), his 1940/1950 Census entry, shoulder sleeve insignia and collar brass visible in the photograph, and troopship/morning report indexes, we can almost always identify his serial number and unit.