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Access
to Military Service and Pension Records
The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is
the official repository for records of military personnel who
have been discharged from the U.S. Air Force, Army, Marine
Corps, Navy and Coast Guard.
Paper copies of military service and pension records can
be ordered by mail from the facility which holds the records:
Military Service Records in the National
Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
To order military service records, use NATF
Form 86. To order military pension records, use NATF
Form 85.
| Branch of Service |
Dates |
| Volunteers |
Military service performed by persons
serving during an emergency and whose service was
considered to be in the Federal interest, 1775 - 1902
|
| Regular Army |
Enlisted personnel, 1789 - October 31,
1912
Officers, 1789 - June 30, 1917
|
| Navy |
Enlisted personnel, 1798 - 1885
Officers, 1798 - 1902
|
| Marine Corps |
Enlisted personnel, 1789 - 1904
Some officers, 1789 - 1895 |
| Coast Guard |
Persons who served in predecessor
agencies to the U.S. Coast Guard: the Revenue Cutter
Service (Revenue Marine), the Life-Saving Service, and
the Lighthouse Service, 1791 - 1919
|
| Confederate States |
Persons who rendered military service
for the Confederate States government in its armed
forces, 1861 - 1865 |
| Veterans Records |
Claims files for pensions based on
Federal military service, 1775 - 1916 and
Bounty land warrant application files relating to claims
based on wartime service, 1775 - 1855
|
For more information about these records, see the
information about military records on NARA's Genealogy
page.
Later Military Service Records are in the National
Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Missouri.
Access to Military Service Records is limited. See Services
for Veterans, Next-of-Kin, or the Veteran's Representative
for more information.
To order records, use Standard
Form 180.
Note: Many records were destroyed by fire
in the St. Louis Center in 1973.
U. S. National Archives & Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20408
1-86-NARA-NARA
1-866-272-6272 |