I am a unit historian for 1st Battalion in 7th Special Forces Group. I've been asked to find out more information on our Unit's History, specifically around the Vietnam era but after that as well. I've found connections to Project HOTFOOT and Operation WHITE STAR in Laos and other articles claiming involvement in ARVN training but can't find any pictures, official records, or names of personnel involved. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Dear Ross McDonald,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
In order to learn the names of personnel from the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, you may wish to request morning reports and rosters. Morning reports for Army units dated 1960 - September 1974 are in the custody of the National Archives’ (NARA’s) National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. The semi-annual rosters (i.e., April and October) for 1960 - 74 for Army units are attached to the morning reports of the respective units. All rosters for the period are not available and usually list only enlisted personnel. Paper copies may be obtained from microfilm by writing to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. Research and reproduction fees are charged for this service. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 to request this information.
Please be aware that the NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. The NPRC expects to eliminate this portion of the backlog by fall 2022, and restore their pre-pandemic response times of under ten days for these requests later this fall. It will take considerably longer to eliminate the backlog on other types of requests, such as genealogical requests for complete copies of records. For more information, please refer to Onsite Operations at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.
Next, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Copies of Cross Reference Sheets to General Correspondence, 1947-1964 (Microfilm Publication M1101) in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Army (Record Group 335) that includes 13 references to the 7th Special Forces Group. These records have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. The Cross Reference Sheets related to the series General Correspondence, 7/1947 - 12/1964 in Record Group 335. The Correspondence itself has not been digitized. For access to these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We also located the series Records of "A" Detachments, 1962-1970 in the Records of the U.S. Forces in Southeast Asia (Record Group 472) that includes 61 files related to the 7th Special Forces Group, and we located the series Inspection Files, 1964-1981 in the Records of the Office of the Inspector General (Army) (Record Group 159) that contains 1 file related to the 7th Special Forces Group. You may also be interested in the series General Orders and Other Records, 1/1963 - 12/1970 and the series General Orders and Other Records, 1968-1972 in the Records of the U.S. Continental Army Command (Record Group 546) that each contain records related to the 7th Special Forces Group. The series Organizational History Files, 1962 - 4/19/1975 in the Records of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (Record Group 553) may also contain some relevant information. We also located 40 series related to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) AND training and 11 series related to the ARVN AND "special forces" in Record Group 472 that might be of interest to you. These records have not been digitized. Please contact RDT2 at archives2reference@nara.gov for more information about these and similar records.
In addition, we located the series Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1982-2007 in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Record Group 330) that contains 35 images related to the 7th Special Forces Group that have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. The National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures (RDSS) has custody of various U.S. Army activities from 1940 to 2007. We suggest that you contact them via email at stillpix@nara.gov for assistance with these records. Please include as much information as possible, such as names, dates, and locations of interest, as well as unit designation.
Plus, we located 2 moving image files related to the 7th Special Forces Group and 2 moving image files related to the "7th SFG" in various Record Groups that might be of interest to you. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RDSM) at mopix@nara.gov for access to these records.
You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2, RDSS, and RDSM. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.
We also searched NARA’s Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the series Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, documenting 6/28/1950 - 12/31/2006 in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense that includes 16 files related to the 7th Special Forces Group that may be viewed online via AAD.
Finally, we suggest that you review the resources available on the websites for the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. You may wish to contact them directly for additional assistance.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
Dear Ross McDonald,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
In order to learn the names of personnel from the 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, you may wish to request morning reports and rosters. Morning reports for Army units dated 1960 - September 1974 are in the custody of the National Archives’ (NARA’s) National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. The semi-annual rosters (i.e., April and October) for 1960 - 74 for Army units are attached to the morning reports of the respective units. All rosters for the period are not available and usually list only enlisted personnel. Paper copies may be obtained from microfilm by writing to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002. Research and reproduction fees are charged for this service. Please complete a GSA Standard Form 180 to request this information.
Please be aware that the NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. The NPRC expects to eliminate this portion of the backlog by fall 2022, and restore their pre-pandemic response times of under ten days for these requests later this fall. It will take considerably longer to eliminate the backlog on other types of requests, such as genealogical requests for complete copies of records. For more information, please refer to Onsite Operations at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.
Next, we searched the National Archives Catalog and located the series Copies of Cross Reference Sheets to General Correspondence, 1947-1964 (Microfilm Publication M1101) in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of the Army (Record Group 335) that includes 13 references to the 7th Special Forces Group. These records have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. The Cross Reference Sheets related to the series General Correspondence, 7/1947 - 12/1964 in Record Group 335. The Correspondence itself has not been digitized. For access to these records, please contact the National Archives at College Park - Textual Reference at archives2reference@nara.gov.
We also located the series Records of "A" Detachments, 1962-1970 in the Records of the U.S. Forces in Southeast Asia (Record Group 472) that includes 61 files related to the 7th Special Forces Group, and we located the series Inspection Files, 1964-1981 in the Records of the Office of the Inspector General (Army) (Record Group 159) that contains 1 file related to the 7th Special Forces Group. You may also be interested in the series General Orders and Other Records, 1/1963 - 12/1970 and the series General Orders and Other Records, 1968-1972 in the Records of the U.S. Continental Army Command (Record Group 546) that each contain records related to the 7th Special Forces Group. The series Organizational History Files, 1962 - 4/19/1975 in the Records of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (Record Group 553) may also contain some relevant information. We also located 40 series related to the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) AND training and 11 series related to the ARVN AND "special forces" in Record Group 472 that might be of interest to you. These records have not been digitized. Please contact RDT2 at archives2reference@nara.gov for more information about these and similar records.
In addition, we located the series Combined Military Service Digital Photographic Files, 1982-2007 in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense (Record Group 330) that contains 35 images related to the 7th Special Forces Group that have been digitized and may be viewed online using the Catalog. The National Archives at College Park - Still Pictures (RDSS) has custody of various U.S. Army activities from 1940 to 2007. We suggest that you contact them via email at stillpix@nara.gov for assistance with these records. Please include as much information as possible, such as names, dates, and locations of interest, as well as unit designation.
Plus, we located 2 moving image files related to the 7th Special Forces Group and 2 moving image files related to the "7th SFG" in various Record Groups that might be of interest to you. These records have not been digitized. Please contact the National Archives at College Park - Motion Pictures (RDSM) at mopix@nara.gov for access to these records.
You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDT2, RDSS, and RDSM. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience as we balance mission-critical work and the safety of our staff during the pandemic. Please check NARA’s web page about COVID-19 updates for the latest information.
We also searched NARA’s Access to Archival Databases (AAD) and located the series Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Files, documenting 6/28/1950 - 12/31/2006 in the Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense that includes 16 files related to the 7th Special Forces Group that may be viewed online via AAD.
Finally, we suggest that you review the resources available on the websites for the U.S. Army Center of Military History and the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center. You may wish to contact them directly for additional assistance.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
