Looking for Marine Corps pictures of myself from 1969 to 1989

My kids would like to get some pictures of me in the Marine Corps. I lost the ones I had when my basement got flooded.

Parents
  • Dear Doris Boddie,

     

    Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

     

    The "official" photographs of individuals are not considered to be permanent federal records by the respective military services and are not retained in a separate collection by the service. If the photograph still exists, it will most likely be found in your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). However, there is no guarantee the photograph will be present.

     

    If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request a copy of your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs and medical records of officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. Marine Corps who were separated from service after 1959 and before May 1994 are located at NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NRPC), (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO  63138-1002.  To request these records, please mail a completed GSA Standard Form 180 to NPRC. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. 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 Request Military Service Records.

     

    Please be aware that NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. 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.

     

    In addition, group photographs taken at basic training or boot camp were not considered permanent records unless the photographs were taken by official military photographers usually for publicity. Photographs of various U.S. Marine Corps activities from the time period you are interested in that are considered permanent records are in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RDSS). Please contact RDSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov for assistance with these records, and be sure to include as much information as possible in your inquiry, such as full name, dates of service, dates and locations of interest, and unit designation.

     

    You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDSS. 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.

     

    According to the U.S. Marine Corps History Division web page for recruit platoon photos and yearbooks, recruit series book, platoon and individual photos are available at the Yearbook Office. Yearbooks and photos are kept for two years. They can be reached at (619) 296-3840. Yearbooks and photos older than two years can be purchased at the Museum Historical Society. The Museum Historical Society has an archive of old recruit platoon graduation photos dating back to the 1930’s and also offers some recruit yearbooks for sale. Yearbooks from the 1980's and 1990's are available in limited quantities. Platoon graduation photos and yearbooks may be purchased through the Society at (619) 524-4426. For more information, please contact the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.

     

    Plus, platoon photos are available at Parris Island back to 1939. Photos from between 1939 and 1950 are limited, however. Individual photos of Marines also are available but only go back for four years. Recruit training series books are not available. To determine how to request photos, call Recruit Photo at (843) 228-1555. For more information, please contact the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island.

     

    We hope this is helpful.

Reply
  • Dear Doris Boddie,

     

    Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

     

    The "official" photographs of individuals are not considered to be permanent federal records by the respective military services and are not retained in a separate collection by the service. If the photograph still exists, it will most likely be found in your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). However, there is no guarantee the photograph will be present.

     

    If you have not done so already, we suggest that you request a copy of your Official Military Personnel File (OMPF). OMPFs and medical records of officers and enlisted personnel of the U.S. Marine Corps who were separated from service after 1959 and before May 1994 are located at NARA's National Personnel Records Center (NRPC), (Military Personnel Records), 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO  63138-1002.  To request these records, please mail a completed GSA Standard Form 180 to NPRC. Veterans and next of kin of deceased veterans also may use eVetRecs to request records. See eVetRecs Help for instructions. 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 Request Military Service Records.

     

    Please be aware that NPRC is prioritizing the requests for separation documents needed by veterans and their dependents to prove eligibility for a variety of benefits. 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.

     

    In addition, group photographs taken at basic training or boot camp were not considered permanent records unless the photographs were taken by official military photographers usually for publicity. Photographs of various U.S. Marine Corps activities from the time period you are interested in that are considered permanent records are in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RDSS). Please contact RDSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov for assistance with these records, and be sure to include as much information as possible in your inquiry, such as full name, dates of service, dates and locations of interest, and unit designation.

     

    You may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgment as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDSS. 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.

     

    According to the U.S. Marine Corps History Division web page for recruit platoon photos and yearbooks, recruit series book, platoon and individual photos are available at the Yearbook Office. Yearbooks and photos are kept for two years. They can be reached at (619) 296-3840. Yearbooks and photos older than two years can be purchased at the Museum Historical Society. The Museum Historical Society has an archive of old recruit platoon graduation photos dating back to the 1930’s and also offers some recruit yearbooks for sale. Yearbooks from the 1980's and 1990's are available in limited quantities. Platoon graduation photos and yearbooks may be purchased through the Society at (619) 524-4426. For more information, please contact the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.

     

    Plus, platoon photos are available at Parris Island back to 1939. Photos from between 1939 and 1950 are limited, however. Individual photos of Marines also are available but only go back for four years. Recruit training series books are not available. To determine how to request photos, call Recruit Photo at (843) 228-1555. For more information, please contact the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island.

     

    We hope this is helpful.

Children
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