Next of Kin

Individual Deceased Personnel Files

Individual Deceased Personnel Files are held by the U.S. National Archives & Records Administrator for every service man or women who lost their life during WWII.

This is true for combat and all other losses - such as training accidents and plane crashes. This is also true for all branches .... the Army coordinated this material for Navy, Marines, etc.

The IDPFs are at the National Archives but can only be accessed by U.S. Army personnel. Civilians are barred from viewing any of these files until they are screened under the FOIA.

Whereas the 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis destroyed millions of "201" files, the IDPFs were not affected and now provide the most detail on a person who lost his/her life.

Please note that IDPFs take anywhere from 6-12 months to arrive after you place the order. Sometimes they charge a fee but normally they don't.

If you order more than two files, the chances of being billed goes up dramatically. A typical file is 30-50 pages. Some are far longer and some are only 5-10 pages.

The files contain all known information about the death of a service man or women.

It also provides (in graphic detail) what happened to the remains, where they were found, how they were identified, etc. etc. etc. These document the extreme care that was given to each set of remains and detail exactly how they established a positive ID.

For MIAs in WWII, IDPFs were created and hold details about the person's disappearance but will mostly cover what happened to his/her possessions.

A few days after you place an order, you will get a form acknowledging your request.

The contact info is:

US ARMY TOTAL PERSONNEL COMMAND
200 STOVALL ST RM 7N50
ALEXANDRIA VA 22332-0404

Phone: 703-325-5300
Fax: 703-325-5315

These websites may be helpful:

www.interment.net Lists military grave sites.

American Battle Monuments Commission. Lists all U.S. graves in foreign cemeteries

World War II Orphans Network

Sources and Reference Links