Service records may include reference to service medals. You can also ask us a question about accessing records. This can take up to 90 business days, so please submit your request well in advance of your visit. Many records are 'not yet examined' and need clearance before they can be publicly viewed. If the record is 'open', your request can be processed in five business days. Please advise us if the service person is living or deceased. If you wish to view a service record, please submit a request to view records form before visiting the Research Centre. You can view a WW2 service record in the National Archives Canberra Research Centre. Copying charges apply.įind out more about how we supply digital copies of records. On the 'item details' screen select 'request copy' and follow the instructions. If the record you're after is not already digitised on RecordSearch, you can pay to have a digital copy made.įind the record using NameSearch. Use the NameSearch tab to find an individual member. These are free to view and download on RecordSearch. Many digital copies of WW2 service records already exist. However, any medical records of former active duty personnel filed with the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) are considered part of that record and are maintained with it.Find and view a Second World War service record online However, in certain cases, it can provide sufficient proof to support a claim.Īs currently scheduled, all medical treatment records are temporary (non-permanent) records. This source does not cover all admissions during the related timeframes and has limited medical information. Most of the records in this supplementary file pertain to active duty Army and Army Air Corps personnel in service from 1942 to 1945 and active duty Army personnel who served between 19, although a small percentage pertains to veterans of the other services. Nevertheless, the NPRC does utilize approximately 7.8 million hospital admission abstracts to obtain supplementary information. Documents that provide information about diagnosis and prognosis, however, are limited and the sources are not comprehensive. Medical Related Alternate Records: The NPRC has identified some medical-related alternate records that have proved useful in reconstructing information lost in the 1973 fire. There are also small, scattered collections of records from years earlier than those listed above, and some alternate medical records sources for the fire-related period as defined below. Click on Clinical Record Libraries for a list of these Army and Air Force facilities. Records for Army and Air Force hospitals that fall within that time frame may still be available, even if the service member's OMPF was destroyed in the NPRC 1973 fire. Patients treated at military hospitals with such libraries (as early as 1951 for Air Force hospitals and 1957 for Army hospitals) may have clinical records that were not filed in the OMPF. However, hospitals with Clinical Record Libraries typically maintained records longer than hospitals without such libraries.

Teaching hospitals that maintain Clinical Record Libraries may retain records up to 5 years before retirement.Īs the clinical records for Army and Air Force personnel, prior to 1960, were filed with the OMPFs at the NPRC, many of the documents recording inpatient care for Army and Air Force veterans from this period were destroyed in the 1973 Fire. As such, the NPRC needs the name of the hospital, month (if known) and year of treatment, as well as the veteran's name and Social Security or service number to locate these clinical records.Īrmy and Air Force Hospitals retain their records for one calendar year and Navy Hospitals retain their records for two calendar years before retirement to the NPRC. Therefore, clinical records, with the exception of Army and Air Force records received prior to 1960, are filed by the name of the hospital in which the service member was treated. Navy clinical records have always been retired and maintained in this manner. Since 1960, the NPRC has maintained these records in bulk accessions retired annually by the creating hospital, rather than with the individual personnel file.

Prior to 1960, clinical records of Army and Air Force personnel were filed with the Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC). Information concerning 'outpatient' Health Records An overnight stay or admission generally makes a patient an inpatient. *Next-of-kin is defined as the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister of the deceased veteranĬlinical (hospital inpatient) records are compiled when active duty members are actually hospitalized while in the service. If you are NOT the veteran, next-of-kin, or person of record If you ARE the veteran, next-of-kin*, or person of record REQUEST CLINICAL (HOSPITAL INPATIENT) RECORDS

National archives medical records