The United States of America was the only country which repatriated their Valiant Deceased Service Personnel (Soldier Dead) after WWII, as well as foreign wars before and after.

When the U.S. entered WWII, the Government made the determination that we would not return our Soldier Dead from overseas until after the cessation of hostilities. Following victories in both Europe and the Pacific, the global initiative "The Return of the World War II Dead Program" was launched by the USA to locate aircraft crash sites, comb former battlefields for isolated graves, and disinter temporary military cemeteries around the globe. This program was intended to be completed within 5 years.

The sacred responsibilities for locating, identifying, moving, notification and, based on the wishes of the Next Of Kin (NOK) - either returning their U.S. Army Soldier Dead back to the USA or providing final resting in a Permanent American Military Cemetery Overseas - were honorably born by the personnel of the American Graves Registration Service (AGRS, or often just GRS) of the U.S. Army QuarterMaster Corps (QMC).

Individual Deceased Personnel File

When a Soldier was declared Missing or Killed In Action, an Individual Deceased Personnel File (IDPF) was initiated with his Name, Rank, Army Service Number and other pertinent information. Throughout the care and handling of the Soldier Dead, his IDPF was continually updated and added to. IDPFs are sometimes called "Mortuary Files" or "Casualty Files".

While each IDPF is as unique as the Soldier it pertains to, many components were common to most IDPFs, including various standardized reports and forms; documentation of the identification process; telegrams, letters and other communications with relatives; inventory of effects; medical and dental records, etc. Examples of some common forms are available on the U. S. 7th Armored Division Association Unknowns of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II - Forms for Remains webpage. Very occasionally, photographs and/or vital records such as birth certificates, marriage licenses, etc. can be encountered in IDPF files.

Because IDPF file documents were created most often months or years after death, pages sometimes contain potentially disturbing or distressing information. For this reason, disturbing text has been redacted from some of the IDPFs made available on the 416th.com website. If you require access to the un-edited file, please Contact the 416th BG Archive.

Please be aware, there is no consistent order or sequence to the pages in these files and often blank pages as well as duplicate pages exist. For example, sometimes there can be cases where pages 1 and 2 of a specific document are separated by one or multiple pages from other documents. In one of her books, Jennifer Holik recommends printing the IDPF pages and organizing them into oldest-to-newest date and correct page sequence to make it easier to follow.

Information provided on this web page pertains to WWII U.S. Army (including Army Air Corps/Army Air Forces) Individual Deceased Personnel Files. IDPFs for other Service Branches or Conflicts have not been researched by the 416th BG Archive.

X-Numbers and X-Files

If a U.S. Soldier was located but could not be positively identified at the time, a file (called an "X-File") comparable to an Individual Deceased Personnel File was created, and the unidentified Soldier was assigned an "X-Number". If later, that Soldier was positively identified, the X-Number was replaced by their Army Service Number and the X-File merged with the appropriate IDPF. Thus, some IDPFs may contain documents listing either or both the X-Number and Service Number identifiers.

Informational Pamphlets

One of the documents common to most Individual Deceased Personnel Files is the "Request for Disposition of Remains" form (OQMG Form 345) and associated cover letter. This was mailed to the Next Of Kin requesting they designate their wishes for the Final Resting Place of their Soldier.

Included in the mailing were two informational pamphlets, "Disposition of World War II Armed Forces Dead" and "American Cemeteries", to explain the disposition, options and services made available by the U.S. Government. These pamphlets are seldom if ever included in an IDPF, but examples or information on them are available on-line.

"Disposition of World War II Armed Forces Dead" (PDF)
   - Description and images available from the Graves Registration in the ETO "Disposition of World War II Armed Forces Dead (1946)" webpage.
   - PDF version available from the WW2 US Medical Research Centre.

"American Cemeteries"
   - Description and images available from the Graves Registration in the ETO "American Cemeteries (1945-1946)" webpage.

An additional pamphlet was also mailed to relatives of the Deceased called "Tell Me About My Boy" (PDF). The contents of this pamphlet are transcribed at the Army QuarterMaster Foundation "Tell Me About My Boy..." webpage.

Common IDPF Acronyms and Terms

Some Acronyms and Terms commonly encountered in Individual Deceased Personnel Files include:

AGRS - American Graves Registration Service
ASN - Army Service Number
DNA - Does Not Apply
Exhume - To dig (something buried, especially a dead body) out of the earth; disinter
FOD - Finding Of Death - one year plus one day after MIA status
GRS - Graves Registration Service
Inhume - To bury; inter
KIA - Killed In Action
MIA - Missing In Action
NOK - Next Of Kin
PARE - Person Authorized to Receive Effects
PDD - Presumed Date of Death
QMC - QuarterMaster Corps
QMG - QuarterMaster General
OQMG - Office of the QuarterMaster General
UTD - Undetermined

Requesting Individual Deceased Personnel Files

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for Individual Deceased Personnel Files can now be submitted via E-Mail or U.S. Postal Mail according to the U.S. Army Human Resources Command. "Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests" webpage.

To submit a FOIA request for IDPFs:
- All FOIA requests must be in writing: (letter or email).
- State your willingness to pay applicable fees. If you seek a fee waiver, provide justification for such waiver.
- Describe the specific records you are requesting in enough detail so that the requested records can be located with a reasonable amount of effort.
- Provide as much of the following as possible for the Soldier: Full Name, Rank, Army Service Number, Branch of Service, Squadron/Group, Date of Death, other relevant details.
- Please provide your contact information. (Mailing address, phone number and email ID). However, DO NOT provide personal information such as credit card numbers, photos of drivers' license or other forms of identification.
- Include an explicit statement that this is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
- Please review the "Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests" webpage for more details.

As long as enough information is provided for each Soldier to facilitate successful searches, you may submit up to 20 names in a single FOIA IDPF request.

WWII Army Individual Deceased Personnel File requests are made to one of two locations, depending on the first letter of the Soldier's surname.

E-Mail: usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.foia@mail.mil

U.S. Postal Mail:
Department of the Army
US Army Human Resources Command
ATTN: AHRC-FOIA
1600 Spearhead Division Avenue, Department 107
Fort Knox KY 40122-5743

WWII U.S. Army IDPFs for surnames M-Z from Ft. Knox HAVE BEEN digitized, thus the processing/response time is much faster.

There have been no costs for the 416th BG IDPFs which have been recently requested and received via E-Mail from "usarmy.knox.hrc.mbx.foia@mail.mil".

Our sincere appreciation for assistance from the following in our IDPF research

William L. "Bill" Beigel, WW2 Research Inc., WWII Researcher. Bill graciously uploaded IDPFs of 416th Soldiers Capt. Charles J. Andersen Jr. and 2Lt. Leo J. Roman to the American Air Museum in Britain and we were able to download and include them.

George Fuller, Archival Reference Technician, National Archives, St. Louis, MO. George promptly fulfilled 3 of our Freedom of Information Act requests for 416th Bomb Group IDPFs.

Geoff Gentilini, Director | Lead Researcher, Golden Arrow Research, LLC. Geoff does a remarkably fast and accurate fulfillment of any of our IDPF requests.

Bryan K. Jolly, Government Information Specialist, Freedom of Information and Privacy Office, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Fort Knox, KY. Bryan has diligently fulfilled our Freedom of Information Act requests for 416th Bomb Group IDPFs very promptly.

Margaret McEvoy for acquiring and donating the IDPF of her uncle, 1Lt. James P. Kenny.

Wayne Sayles for acquiring multiple 416th BG Soldier IDPFs.

Nigel Staniforth, Independent Researcher. Nigel acquired and donated to the 416th BG Archive IDPFs of 416th Soldiers 2Lt. Arthur A. McDonald, S/Sgt. Leroy Barnard and S/Sgt. Joseph J. Shields.

Ms. Corey S. Stewart, Archivist, National Archives, St. Louis, MO. Corey has been very responsive in answering questions related to requesting IDPFs from the St. Louis holdings.

Ron Wintjens for acquiring and donating the IDPF of 1Lt. Francis De Mand. Ron has adopted the Grave of Francis at Margraten, Netherlands.

Selected References and Resources

The following is not a complete list, but these websites and books proved very helpful in researching Individual Deceased Personnel Files and the Graves Registration Service processes. Several of these web pages identify additional resources.

On-Line:

612th Graves Registration Company. "C’est La Guerre! 612th Graves Registration Company World War II 1943-1945"., <https://archive.org/details/CestLaGuerre612thGravesRegistrationCompanyWorldWarII1943-1945>. (PDF), 1945

Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. "World War II"., <https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaFamWebWWII>.
[Includes "Search World War II Service Member Profiles"]

Heckmanns, Peter. "WWII Grave Registration". In-Honored-Glory, <http://www.in-honored-glory.info/html/graveregif.htm>.

Holik, Jennifer. "Building a WWII Timeline of Service"., <http://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2015/10/22/building-a-wwii-timeline-of-service/>., 22-Oct-2015

Holik, Jennifer. "The Graves Registration Service in World War II: Part I"., <https://www.archives.com/experts/holik-urban-jennifer/graves-registration-service-in-world-war-ii-part-i.html>. (PDF), 29-Jan-2014

Holik, Jennifer. "The Graves Registration Service in World War II: Part II"., <https://www.archives.com/experts/holik-urban-jennifer/graves-registration-service-in-world-war-ii-part-ii.html>. (PDF), 6-Feb-2014

Johnston, Wesley. "Dad's War: Finding and Telling Your Father's WWII Story"., <https://www.wwjohnston.net/dadswar/>.

Johnston, Wesley. "Unknowns of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II". U. S. 7th Armored Division Association, <https://www.7tharmddiv.org/eto-unks.htm>.

Johnston, Wesley. "Unknowns of the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II - Forms for Remains". U. S. 7th Armored Division Association, <https://www.7tharmddiv.org/eto-unks-forms.htm>.

McGraw, Bryan K.. "Individual Deceased Personnel File"., <https://www.archives.gov/files/calendar/genealogy-fair/2014/handouts/session-14-presentation-handout-mcgraw.pdf>. (PDF), 2014

Project Recover. "Home Page"., <https://www.projectrecover.org/>.

Shomon, Joseph James. "Crosses in the Wind"., <https://archive.org/details/CrossesInTheWind>. (PDF), 1947

Steere, Edward. "The Graves Registration Service in World War II". Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, <https://books.google.com/books?id=_UWs8WZeQc8C>. (PDF), 1951

Steere, Edward and Boardman, Thayer M.. "Final Disposition of World War II Dead 1945-1951". Washington D.C.: Historical Branch of the Office of the Quartermaster General, <https://www.google.com/books/?id=Zywp5Rmxwy0C>. (PDF), 1957

U.S. Army. "PAM 21-40 Military Escorts: Return of WWII Dead"., <https://archive.org/details/PAM21-40-nsia>. (PDF), 1948

U.S. Army Human Resources Command. "Freedom of Information and Privacy Act Requests"., <https://www.hrc.army.mil/content/Freedom%20of%20Information%20and%20Privacy%20Act%20Requests>.

U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps and Quartermaster School. "Quartermaster History"., <https://quartermaster.army.mil/history/>.

U.S. War Department. "FM 10-29 Quartermaster Graves Registration Company"., <https://books.google.com/books?id=HGG3jnYxTDIC&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1>. (PDF), May 1952

U.S. War Department. "FM 10-63 Graves Registration 1945"., <https://archive.org/details/FM10-63>. (PDF), 1945
[Supersedes 1941 "Technical Manual (TM) 10-630: Graves Registration" edition]

U.S. War Department. "Plan for Repatriation of the Dead of World War II and Establishment of Permanent United States Military Cemeteries at Home and Abroad"., <http://wwiiresearchandwritingcenter.com/wp-content/uploads/Plan-for-Repatriation-of-the-Dead-of-World-War-II-and-Establishment-of-Permanent-United-States-Military-Cemeteries-at-Home-and-Abroad-1945.pdf>. (PDF), 1945

World War II Research and Writing Center. "American Graves Registration in WWII"., <https://www.wwiieducation.com/blog/american-graves-registration-service-wwii>.

WW2 US Medical Research Centre. "Quartermaster Graves Registration Service"., <https://www.med-dept.com/articles/quartermaster-graves-registration-service/>. (PDF)

Books: