My grandfather was killed while working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1942. I am trying to learn more information about that incident. Any ideas?

Question

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

Redman293 
 Thank you for posting your question on History Hub in regards to your grandfather's death. 
 
 Individual Deceased Personnel Files (IDPFs) for the Navy and Marine Corps dated 1939-1975 are located at the National Archives in St. Louis, Missouri. Also known as Mortuary Files or Casualty Files, documents will vary based on branch of service and time period but may include correspondence, memorandums, teletype messages, and other documentation relating to the death of individual personnel during service. These records include the service member's rank, serial number, date of birth, and a brief description of the circumstances surrounding the death. To request these records email the National Archives in St. Louis at stl.archives@nara.gov and provide as much of the following information as possible: 
 
 Military Service Member Data 
 Full name of service member 
 Service number 
 Dates of service 
 Date and place of death 
 
 Once you have the IDPF, you can use the information to determine if there was a Court of Inquiry investigation into the incident. A Court of Inquiry is an administrative, fact finding body consisting of three or more officers. It is convened by a general court-martial convening authority or any other person so designated by the Secretary of the Navy. A Court of Inquiry is not a court as the term is commonly used today. Instead it is a board of investigation charged with examining and inquiring into an incident at the direction of a convening authority. For example, investigations relating to matters such as a failure of equipment or failure of procedure are conducted by these courts. Courts of inquiry have special and limited jurisdiction that is convened to investigate specific matters. However, such courts are not judicial tribunals. A Court of Inquiry is instituted solely for the purpose of investigation in order to assist the Commanding Officer, or higher authorities, in determining if further executive or judicial proceedings should be taken in relation to the subject matter of the inquiry. Proceedings and findings of a Court of Inquiry may be used for judicial matters such as Courts-Martial. 
 
 Researching a Court of Inquiry/Board of Investigation or Board of Inquiry may require challenging and time consuming research. Researchers should familiarize themselves with the various Navy Filing Manuals to determine specific Filing Codes used at the time of filing. In the 1941 Navy Filing Manual and the 1950 Navy Filing Manual the primary codes relating to legal matters are A17 and the various subcodes thereunder. 
 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 
 Sincerely, 
 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 RR2RR 24-60984-SH

Textual Reference Branch, Archives II · Answer

Thank you for posting on the History Hub! 
 This is in response to your inquiry to the National Archives related to Naval personnel records of your grandfather who died while working at the Brooklyn Navy Yard in 1942. 
 
 If your grandfather was a civilian working at the naval base, you should contact the NPRC Annex for his personnel records. 
 National Personnel Records Center, Annex 
 1411 Boulder Boulevard 
 Valmeyer, IL 62295 
 Email: cpr.center@nara.gov 
 Website: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/civilian-personnel/federal-agencies 
 If your grandfather was enlisted in the Navy, his Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), which includes your DD-214 that lists his dates and ships or units of assignment, can be obtained from the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis, MO.You may apply online at http://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records/ or send in your request via postal mail. 
 Our holdings at Archives 2 contain ship or unit records, such as Deck Logs and Muster Rolls. When you find out if your grandfather was civilian or enlisted and the unit he was attached to, email that information to archives2reference@nara.gov as we may have additional records related to this incident. 
 
 We invite you to continue the conversation with community members on History Hub, but should you have follow up questions for the staff at Archives II, please email us at archives2reference@nara.gov so that we can assist you further. 
 
 We hope this assists you with your research! 
 
 Sincerely, 
 Textual Reference Archives II Branch (RR2RR) 
 RR2RR 24-64680-PC