Want to know the service record of yesteryear’s people of note? Want to look up the military performance of an ancestor? Well, here’s your chance.
Psychedelic-guitar man Jimi Hendrix, soul singer Marvin Gaye, Desi “Ricky Ricardo” Arnaz and actor Steve McQueen, newsman Edward R. Murrow, “Dragnet” detective Jack Webb — military veterans all.
Who knew?
The nation now will be afforded some unique insight into these former servicemen and 144 other “persons of exceptional prominence” who served in the military.
For the first time, their official service records will be opened to the public, the National Archives & Records Administration announced yesterday. The records of 1.2 million enlisted men and women who served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from 1885 to 1935 also will be made public.
The roster includes Elvis Presley and folk singer Barry Sadler, actors Clark Gable and Vic Morrow, pilots Eddie Rickenbacker and Charles Lindbergh, boxers Rocky Marciano and Joe Louis, plus baseball heroes Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente and Hank Greenberg.
“These records are full of history, but they’re also very personal. They contain biographies, performance reports, duty assignments, nominations for medals,” said Barry McGraw, director of archival programs at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
Thankfully, some precautions for privacy are being maintained.
“Public figures must have been deceased at least 10 years before we can release their records,” Mr. McGraw [, said. “For the general public, they must have been released from the service for at least 62 years.”
Records of celebrated military and sports heroes and famous political names are up for grabs.
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The center has a few sensitivity protocols in place.
“Sometimes there are personnel actions, records of inappropriate behavior, medical files and so forth which could embarrass a family,” Mr. McGraw said.
“For an individual who would be less than 100 years of age, we can screen out those items,” he said. “If that person would have been over 100 years, then it’s all open to the public.”
This could prove to be quite a boon to biographers, historians and geneologists.