I am trying to find proof of my father's service in the US Army,
during the Korean War and in the National Guard for almost 20 years
after the war.  His serial number is RA 24620763.  How can I find out
any information that will prove his service (and perhaps help him
receive his pension)?  We have been told the records were destroyed in
a fire in Atlanta... but we have our doubts.  Any recommendations?  We
would like to find the information and to find out if he is eligible
for payments.  He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the
Florida National Guard.

Dear jeano345,

It is, alas, true that a fire at the National Personnel Records
Center, Military Personnel Records (NPRC-MPR) in St. Louis in 1973
destroyed 80% of all service records of U.S. Army personnel discharged
between 1 November 1912 and 1 January 1960. Even worse, no duplicates
or microfilm copies of the lost records were kept by other archives.

However, when proof of military service is needed, the NPRC-MPR tries
to reconstruct basic service data from other sources:

"When proof of military service is needed, NPRC (MPR) attempts to
reconstruct certain basic service data from alternate sources.  NPRC
(MPR) has identified many of these sources, but each contains only
limited military service information.  They are utilized to piece
together (reconstruct) basic service data.
It is essential that requesters collect as much information from old
personal papers before submitting a request pertaining to records from
the fire-related collections.  Good information on a request helps
NPRC (MPR) identify which sources to research for reconstructing basic
service data."
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/alternate_record_sources.html

For detailed instructions on how to request service records or data
from alternate sources from the NPRC-MPR, please follow this link:
http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis/military_personnel_records/veterans_and_next_of_kin.html

While the unfortunate loss of many Army service records is a sad fact,
chances for obtaining proof of service from the Florida National Guard
are significantly better since most of those records were and still
are stored in Florida. Please follow this link for instructions on how
to obtain service records from the Florida National Guard:
http://www.floridaguard.net/foiarequest.asp

In addition, the Florida State Archives also hold certain military
records relating to the Florida National Guard. For an overview of the
most important records kept by the archive, follow this link and
scroll down to the paragraph "FLORIDA MILITIA, FLORIDA NAVAL MILITIA,
FLORIDA STATE TROOPS, FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD, AND FLORIDA AIR NATIONAL
GUARD":
http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/fsa/militarypension.htm

Contact information for the Florida State Archives:

Florida Department of State
Division of Library & Information Services
Bureau of Archives & Records Management
500 S. Bronough St.
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0250
--
Phone: (850)245-6700
E-Mail: BARM@dos.state.fl.us
Website: http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/


I really hope that this information will be useful for you!
Best regards,
Scriptor