The National Archives’ Online Public Access (OPA) system will be down for maintenance from May 10 to May 25, 2013. We are in the process of rolling out a new version of OPA that will bring the catalog up to date. After the updated system is rolled out, the catalog will be updated on a [...]

We are just finishing up performance appraisals at NARA – that annual event where employees and supervisors get together and discuss how the employee has done in the past year to meet his or her “critical elements.”   Critical elements are the duties and responsibilities each one of us has to support NARA’s goals and objectives. [...]

Continuing the theme of my last post, which introduced alternate ways to research 20th century military service (to compensate for the personnel files lost in the 1973 file at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis), this time we’ll look at two essential series of unit records relating to World War II. By far [...]

Ever wonder what exciting new projects the many employees at NARA are working on? The “What are You Working On?” blog feature aims to introduce a variety of NARA employees and highlight some of the exciting projects we are working on around the agency. Check for this blog series on Wednesdays! This week we introduce [...]

In my last post, I talked about the Sea Fencibles, a unique fighting unit from the War of 1812.  I thought it would be interesting to continue that trend, moving on this time to introduce the Regiment of U.S. Voltigeurs and Foot Riflemen from the Mexican War.  Voltigeurs, you may ask?!?  What in the world [...]

Today, guest blogger Theresa Fitzgerald from the National Archives at St. Louis has written a special NARA Coast-to-Coast post sharing some recent discoveries in World War I era military records. On July 12, 1973 a fire engulfed the sixth floor of the Military Personnel Records Center. This event destroyed 80% of all Army personnel records with discharge dates between November [...]

Ever wonder what exciting new projects the many employees at NARA are working on? The “What are You Working On?” blog feature aims to introduce a variety of NARA employees and highlight some of the exciting projects we are working on around the agency. Check for this blog series on Wednesdays! This week, we introduce [...]

In the NARA Coast-to Coast post last week, we discussed the general process for naturalization. This week we will focus on some of the exceptions to the normal process for minors, women, and aliens serving in the U.S. military. Naturalization and Minors (Children) Minor children were granted derivative citizenship when their father, or after 1922 [...]

Here at the National Archives we have been celebrating the anniversary of the signing of our most famous record all day. We invite you to join in the celebration, too, by exploring the many ways to learn about the Constitution online: See digital copies in the Archival Research Catalog and on Our Archives (NARA’s wiki) . [...]

On December 12, 1942, 2nd Lt. Jack E. Williams and his crew were flying over the coast of France when, according to his report, “We hit the ground; that is, made a crash landing, at 12:40, after having been violently attacked by fighters.” The actions of Williams and his crewmates following the crash are documented [...]