Stay updated with breaking news from Records Centers. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
The apocalyptic scene is still burned into Mike Buttery’s memory 50 years later: Black smoke billowing from the top floor of the Military Personnel Records Center and bits of paper
Fifty years ago, millions of files were destroyed in a huge fire at the Military Personnel Records Center in suburban St. Louis.
The July 12, 1973, blaze consumed an estimated 16 to 18 million personnel files, the vast majority covering the period just before World War I through 1963.
The apocalyptic scene is still burned into Mike Buttery's memory 50 years later: Black smoke billowing from the top floor of the Military Personnel Records Center; bits of paper wafting
The July 12, 1973, fire in Overland is believed to be the largest loss of records in one catastrophe in U.S. history.