How I found my Father's Naval Records
Updated July 2012
Are you interested in seeing your father’s Naval Records? You have to be the son, daughter or spouse of a person who served in the Navy. I found this great website that takes you through the process of requesting his (or her) records.
My Father’s request came some 4 to 6 weeks later and it had about a ½ inch of information that I never knew. It had his enlistment paperwork, including addresses and information about his parents, the records had his promotion records, his leave dates, and a VERY interesting summary of his service on the USS Boston. The records list every conflict the ship was involved in while he was on board. Other nuggets of information include when the ‘crossing the equator’ ceremony was held, of course presided over by Neptunus Rex!
The website is part of the National Archives, here is the link: Service Record Link
Before you start this online process, you’ll need some information:
- His Social Security Number – You’ll need some of his old records for this
- His Date of Birth
- His Service number – I have my records on this website organized by service number, so if you search for the sailor, in your browser window you’ll see ?id=7618027 for Eugene Kelly for example. This is your sailors Navy ID number in World War II
- his approximate departure date from the service (guess 1-2 months after he left the ship)
- You may need a copy of the death certificate
You may be charged for this request, in the past people were charged up to $40.
-Bill
