Substitutes to Fill in for a Military File that Burned

On 12 July 1973, a fire broke out at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, destroying 80 percent of Army personnel files and 75 percent of Air Force files.[1] I submitted an order for my great-uncle, Jack C. Sullivan’s file in 2017, and received the dreaded letter that there was no record for him. I have, since that time, worked at discovering substitute records to tell the story of his military service during World War I.[2]

What You Can Get from the NPRC
Although there was no personnel file for Jack, I did receive the final pay voucher for ten men who were discharged at Fort D. A. Russell in Wyoming on 6 August 1919, and he was included. He was listed as:

Jack C. Sullivan, Sergeant, 568973, enlisted 4 June 1917, from Anaconda, Montana. He was part of Detachment 4th Engineers. He received $153.41. The net pay was $112.76 plus a $7.00 insurance premium allotment, plus $40.65 for travel pay. It included his signature.[3]

Later, I visited the NPRC and viewed the Morning Reports of the 4th Engineers, Company E, with whom Jack served. These were on microfilm, white letter on black, and very difficult to read.[4] The morning reports detailed daily the changes in the unit. The reports also help you track the unit as it moved through France. However, if the soldier was not involved in any changes, they might not be named at all. Some mentions are reassignments to other units, being sent to or returning from the hospital, promotions, demotions, and being AWOL.

taken from the microfilm machine with my camera

Luckily, these morning reports can now be found on Fold3 with much better images. They are browse only, and it took a bit of fumbling around before I found the 4th Engineers, Company E, here.

Same image from Fold3

Collections at Ancestry
Before I could order Jack’s records from the NPRC, I needed his serial number. “The U.S., Army Transport Service Arriving and Departing Passenger Lists, 1910-1939,” gave me that information. It took some searching because I knew him as John Cyril Sullivan and didn’t realize he had enlisted as Jack C. Sullivan. I found both the departing vessel, Martha Washington, and the returning vessel Von Steuben.[5]

Another database is the “U.S., Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940.” This index was created by the Veterans Bureau for veterans who had insurance or filed claims. Not all WWI veterans will have a card. This collection is only an index. The card images can be found at FamilySearch, which I’ll cover in the next section.

Because he was from Montana, the “Montana, U.S., Military Records, 1904-1918,” has a card for him. This was information he supplied, perhaps also from his discharge papers. He enlisted on 4 June 1917 at Ft Geo Wright in Washington. He was only in Co. E of the 4th Engineers. He was promoted to Corporal on 20 Sep 1917 and to Sergeant on 21 Feb 1918. He was gassed on 5 Aug 1918 and engaged in the Aisne-Marne offensive. He was discharged on 6 Aug 1919.[6] Other states may have similar records, so check Ancestry, FamilySearch, or the state archive of that state. Check out the site with a collection of links for various states: https://www.militaryindexes.com/worldwarone/index.html

FamilySearch Databases
FamilySearch has the collection “United States, Enlisted and Officer Muster Rolls and Rosters, 1916-1939.” This database is searchable. Since I know he was referred to as Jack C Sullivan, that is what I searched. I got many returns. What I want to find is the first muster roll he was listed on. I know he enlisted on 4 June 1917, so I found one with that date. Caution: it will bring up the sheet with the soldier’s name. However, you want to go back to the first page of that date to see the information about the unit. Use the thumbnails at the bottom to navigate to the beginning. One card will say “New Orgn Begins” which is the beginning of the documents for that unit. Another clue is a card that reads “spacer.” That card indicates a new date.

Muster Rolls usually covered two months and are listed in date order, so when you locate the first instance of your soldier, you can just browse through looking for him in each muster roll. If you switch to the thumbnail view, you’ll see the spacers better.

Muster rolls list the soldiers by rank with the officers first, then sergeants, corporals, and privates, as well as cooks, buglers, etc. Besides their name and serial number, there might be a remark about them, such as a promotion or transfer into or out of the unit.

In July 1918, they switched from muster rolls to rosters, which only gave the soldier’s name, rank, and serial number. There are pages at the end listing which soldiers were assigned to the unit and which left. If you discover that your solder was transferred out, then return to the database search and locate the search return with that date. Be sure to check the correct serial number against the name, especially if the name is common.

FamilySearch also has the “United States, Veterans Administration Master Index, 1917-1940.” I did not find Jack in Ancestry’s collection, but did find him in FamilySearch’s. I learned from this card that he was a sergeant with the 4th Engineers Co. E., that he enlisted on 4 June 1917, and was discharged on 6 Aug 1919. It also has his serial number. He has a claim file number, so he may have had a claim with the Veterans Administration.

What’s Next
There are many more resources to learn about the soldier’s experience. The men of the 4th Engineers wrote a book, Columbia to the Rhine, during their service and had it printed while they were in Germany after the war. It’s available on the Internet Archive here. Other units or soldiers wrote histories or memoirs, so search for them in libraries and archives.

Also, when looking at these records, you’ll find acronyms you don’t understand, so seek out resources to help. This list of abbreviations will be helpful: https://files.nc.gov/ncdcr/blog/files/ncwwiservicecards_abbrvlist.pdf.

I hope this gives you a taste of what you can find if your ancestor’s Army or Air Force file was destroyed in the fire.

#52Ancestors: Week 42: Fire

This is my eighth year working on this year-long prompt, hosted by Amy Johnson Crow (https://www.amyjohnsoncrow.com/) at Generations Cafe. I write each week in one of my two blogs, either Mam-ma’s Southern Family or My Trails into the Past. I have enjoyed writing about my children’s ancestors in new and exciting ways.

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[1] “The 1973 Fire, National Personnel Records Center,” National Archives (https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973). The Navy and Marine Corps files were not affected.

[2] I have written about researching Jack C. Sullivan a few times before. Search for “4th Engineers” to locate the posts.

[3] “Final Payment Roll,” voucher 202, 6 Aug 1919, Fort D.A. Russell, Wyoming, images from National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, sent 11 June 2018. Copies are very poor and difficult to read.

[4] Department of the Army, Office of the Adjutant General, 4th Engineers, Company E, morning reports, box 1413, reel 6.16, May 1918 to Aug 1919.

[5] "U.S. Army Transport Service, Passenger List," database & images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61174/), 30 Apr 1918, Martha Washington, Hoboken, NJ, no. 13, Jack C Sullivan, 568973. Also, ibid, 21 Jul 1919, USS Von Steuben, Brest, France, no. 16, Jack C. Sullivan, 568973.

[6] “Montana, U.S., Military Records, 1904-1918,” Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62068/records/39364), Jack C. Sullivan, 568.973.

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