1973 National Archives Fire
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The 1973 National Archives Fire, a severe blow to the National Archives and Records Administration of the United States, was a disastrous fire that occurred at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 12, 1973. NPRC, the custodian of military service records, lost approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files as a result of the fire.
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Affected Records
The affected record collections are described below.
- U.S. Army personnel discharged November 1, 1912, to January 1, 1960
- U.S. Air Force personnel discharged September 25, 1947, to January 1, 1964, with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.
- Some U.S. Army Reserve personnel who received final discharge as late as 1964
- Various U.S. Navy, United States Coast Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps records which were out of file and were caught in the section of the building which experienced the most damage in the fire.
Cause of Fire
The exact cause of the 1973 National Archives Fire was never fully determined. An investigation in 1975 revealed that the affected floor, where the fire had started, had been under extreme temperature with little or no ventilation. It was speculated that air pressure on the floor had reached such a level that, combined with the very high temperatures in the enclosed space, the brittle and dry records began to catch fire. The investigation also did not rule out that the fire had been contributed to, if not directly started by, cigarette embers which were present in several trashcans.
Damage and Reconstruction
The 1973 fire destroyed the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center. Damage from the fire can still be seen today. In 1974, a massive reconstruction effort was begun to restore the service records which were destroyed in the 1973 fire. In most cases where a military record has been presumed destroyed, NPRC is able to reconstruct basic service information, such as military date of entry, date of discharge, character of service, and final rank.
Conspiracy Theories
In recent years, some conspiracy theories have emerged to explain the 1973 National Archives Fire. No such claims are taken very seriously by the United States government. Such conspiracy accusations include:
- The Federal Government intentionally started the 1973 National Archives Fire as a cover to destroy unwanted military files, erase certain records from the Second World War, and to reduce budget costs by destroying a floor of an under budgeted federal building.
- Agents of anti-government organizations broke into NPRC and started the 1973 fire as a terrorist attack.
- The 1973 Fire did not happen at all, and that the explanation of a fire destroying millions of military records is a lie conceived by the Federal Government to cut costs and avoid public requests for the older military files.
- The Church of Scientology started the fire in an attempt to destroy embarrassing records relating to L. Ron Hubbard's World War Two service. The basis of this conspiracy theory seems to stem from the later incidents that occurred during Operation Snow White, and from the coincidence that certain records were only destroyed alphabetically from "Hubbard, James E" (although Hubbard had served in the Navy, not the Air Force).
External links
- National Archives 1973 NPRC Fire Information Page (http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/fire_1973.html)