In 1989, "War
Babes" a British based organisation,
established in the 1980s to assist adults
born to American servicemen during World War
II, took out a class action against the
American Defence Department who were refusing
to release information about GI fathers.
On November 16, 1990,
the War Babes organisation settled its
lawsuit against the U.S. government. This
summarises the results of the settlement and
provides an outline of how it can be used to
search for your father if he is an American
veteran or serviceman.
1. Summary of the
court settlement
The lawsuit was filed
against the U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration ("NARA") and
Department of Defence ("DoD"). The
National Personnel Records Centre
("NPRC"), a division of NARA,
possesses all inactive records on former
federal and military personnel. The DoD has
legal authority over military personnel
records, sets the policy for the NPRC, and
decides appeals of decisions by the NPRC not
to release information.
The Settlement contains
essentially three provisions:
- The National
Personnel Records Centre (NPRC) will
follow specified search procedures to
look for records when a request for
information about a veteran from a
member of War Babes or
‘similarly situated
individual’ is received;
- The NPRC and DoD
agree to disclose the city and state
and date of whatever addresses are
contained in the records of the GI
being sought (if he is deceased, they
will release the entire address); and
- For members of
War Babes or WW2 children, the NPRC
will forward a letter on your behalf
to your father by certified mail,
return receipt requested (meaning it
only will be delivered if your father
signs for it).
To make use of these
procedures you should:
Send a letter addressed
to:
National Personnel
Record Center
ATTN: NRPS (Dr.
Zussblatt), Room 2076
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri
63132-5100
USA
Your letter should
ideally start with reference to the War Babes
case and that you are a child of an U.S. GI
from WW2 (or whatever war or time period is
relevant) and are seeking your father. State
his full name, including any alternative
spellings and his service number of social
security number if you know it, his branch of
service (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine
Corps), and approximate dates of service. You
may include other information if you think it
is helpful (e.g. he was a lieutenant; he was
at D-Day, etc.). You should request all
information the NPRC possesses concerning him
which is releasable under the Freedom of
Information Act and/or the Court Settlement
with War Babes.
The NPRC will search for
records of your father and the following
information (if available) will be released
under a War Babes Request:
NAME:
SERIAL/SERVICE
NUMBER(S):
DATE OF BIRTH:
DATES OF SERVICE:
CITY/STATE OF RESIDENCE,
DATE OF ADDRESS:
MARITAL STATUS:
DEPENDENTS:
RANK/GRADE:
SALARY:
ASSIGNMENTS &
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATIONS:
SOURCE OF COMMISSION:
MILITARY AND CIVILIAN
EDUCATION LEVEL:
PROMOTION SEQUENCE
NUMBER:
DECORATIONS &
AWARDS:
DUTY STATUS:
PHOTOGRAPH:
RECORD(S) OF
COURTS-MARTIAL TRIAL:
PLACE OF ENTRY AND
SEPARATION:
IF DECEASED:
PLACE OF BIRTH: LAST KNOWN
ADDRESS: DATE & LOCATION OF DEATH:
PLACE OF BURIAL:
The following
information will be released under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA):
NAME:
SERIAL/SERVICE
NUMBERS:
DATES OF SERVICE:
RANK:
SALARY:
ASSIGNMENTS AND THEIR
GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION:
SOURCE OF
COMMISSION:
MILITARY EDUCATIONAL
LEVEL:
PROMOTION SEQUENCE
NUMBERS:
DECORATIONS AND
AWARDS:
DUTY STATUS:
PHOTOGRAPH:
RECORDS OF
COURTS-MARTIAL TRIALS:
PLACE OF INDUCTION AND
SEPARATION:
IF VETERAN IS DECEASED:
PLACE OF BIRTH:
DATE AND GEOGRAPHICAL
LOCATION OF DEATH:
PLACE OF BURIAL:
There are, however,
several instances where they may be unable to
locate records: e.g. if you lack a first or
last name; or if you lack a service or social
security number. In addition, if his name is
too common and too many records are listed on
the computer, they will not look through the
records by hand. The Settlement requires them
to search by hand when there are five or
fewer responsive records. Also, many records
were lost in a fire in 1973. However, we are
hopeful that, because of the lawsuit and the
successful Settlement, greater efforts to
search will be made, and many more records
will be found than in the past. Be aware that
the NPRC receives thousands of similar
requests, and a search for records normally
takes about six to eight weeks, including
mailing time.
If the NPRC locates
records that contain an address, and you wish
to have a letter forwarded to your father,
you may send the NPRC the sealed letter for
forwarding. It will be forwarded within one
week, and you will be notified of the date it
was forwarded, and the response received
(i.e. whether the man signed for it). You
will also receive a copy of the returned
envelope (with the address deleted) if the
letter is returned as undeliverable. In such
a case, the NPRC will retain your sealed
letter in its files, in the event that the
veteran or his family seeks his records in
the future.
If you cannot get
information from the NPRC, you may wish to
contact the following:
1
Department of Veterans
Affairs
(Formerly named
Veterans Administration)
Records Processing
Centre
P.O. Box 5020
St. Louis
Missouri 63115
2 Department of
Veterans Affairs (National H.Q.)
Office of Public
Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue
N.W.
Washington D.C. 20420
Or, write to the
particular V.A. regional office where you
believe your father might reside. Send the
V.A. a letter similar to the one to the NPRC.
The V.A. is likely to
have records if your father or his family has
been receiving any veteran’s benefits.
However, you should be aware that the V.A. is
not the same agency as either the NPRC or
DoD, and the Court Settlement with the latter
two agencies does not cover it. Nonetheless,
the V.A. may have non-related information,
which is releasable, and it may be more
inclined to release it in the light of the
NPRC’s and DoD’s new policies.
An invaluable resource
for anyone searching for a GI father is:
"How to Locate
Anyone Who is or Has Been in the
Military" by Lt.
Col. Richard Johnson. The book can be ordered
through the web at http://www.militaryusa.com.
The web site also
contains details of a service for searchers
provided by Lt. Col. Johnson daughter, Ms
Debra Knox a publisher and private
investigator who also assists those looking
for GI fathers.
If you wish to contact
any of the resources listed above I would
encourage you to type your letters whenever
possible and if you cannot, be sure to USE
BLOCK LETTERS for important data regarding
you research. Because of the different
systems used for dates in the US always write
dates in full; do not use numbers only.
Searching for a GI
father can be a frustrating, lengthy and at
times painful task. It may help to pace
yourself, if necessary take a break and go
back to it when you are ready. Linking in
with others who are searching can be helpful.