Seeking official military photo of soldier

Dear Ms. Jemmott,

Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!

The "official" photograph of an individual is not considered to be permanent federal records by the respective military services and is not retained in a separate collection by the service. If the photograph you are seeking still exists, it will most likely be found in the individual's Official Military Personnel File. However, there is no guarantee the photograph will be present.

Official Military Personnel Files (OMPFs) and individual medical reports for those who served in the U.S. Army after 1958 and prior to October 16, 1992 are in the custody of NARA's National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Please 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. You also may fax the form to 314-801-9195 OR view the record by visiting the NPRC Archival Research Room in St. Louis, MO. Veterans and their next of kin 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 his next of kin. For more information see Request Military Service Records.

Also, due to the coronavirus public health emergency, National Archives research rooms and museums are closed to the public until further notice and the National Personnel Records Center is servicing only urgent requests related to homeless veterans, medical emergencies, and funerals which may be faxed to 314-801-0764.  We thank you for your patience and look forward to resuming normal operations when the public health emergency has ended.

Photographs of various U.S. Army activities dating from 1940 to 2007 are in the custody of the National Archives at College Park - Still Picture (RDSS). To request a search of photographs of specific persons, units or installations, please contact RDSS via email at stillpix@nara.gov. Please keep in mind that these records do not include photographs of all soldiers or all units, and that many photographs do not have captions identifying each individual in the photograph.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and pursuant to guidance received from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), NARA has adjusted its normal operations to balance the need of completing its mission-critical work while also adhering to the recommended social distancing for the safety of NARA staff. As a result of this re-prioritization of activities, you may experience a delay in receiving an initial acknowledgement as well as a substantive response to your reference request from RDSS. We apologize for this inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and patience.

We hope this is helpful.