Forums - Thread Details
  • State Suggested Answer
  • Replies 1 reply
  • Answers 1 answer
  • Subscribers 9 subscribers
  • Views 147 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Thread Options
Options
Related

My Dad’s naval records his name was Earnest Walter Benefield

Jackieminger

My dad was in the navy in the mid 1950’s. He was on a ship that cleaned the fallout from nuclear bomb testing. I remember he had his appendix removed in Hawaii when that stop for R&R.

  • 0

    Thank you for posting your question to History Hub!

    To get started with your research, we would recommend that you request his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs for Navy enlisted personnel who were separated from the service after January 1, 1886 (January 1, 1903 for officers) are serviced by NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis. 

    Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. Please note that next of kin of a deceased veteran must provide proof of death of the veteran such as a copy of death certificate, letter from funeral home, or published obituary. For more information see Request Military Service Records.

    You may instead complete a GSA Standard Form 180 and mail it to NARA's National Personnel Records Center, (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138-1002.  If there is any information requested by the form that you do not know, you may omit it or provide estimates (such as for dates), but the more information you provide, the easier it will be to locate the correct file. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).

    Military personnel records are opened to the public 62 years after the veteran leaves the service. If fewer than 62 years have passed since the veteran’s discharge date (to include any reserve time), certain information in the records is not available to the general public without the written consent of the veteran or the next of kin the deceased veteran. For more information see Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF), Non-Archival Holdings.

    Archival OMPFs, those that are 62 years and older, may also be requested by visiting the Archival Research Room at the National Archives at St. Louis. Please email stlarr.archives@nara.gov for further assistance prior to making an appointment.

    We hope this is helpful with your research!