I'm sorry this about a WW1 soldier but I didn't know where to ask this...just got a letter back about my great grandfather (American) it says: The archival Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) is a record in the legal custody of the National Archives and Records Administration: access to this record will be granted by providing a copy of the file for $70. I have found him on fold3 being on a ship sent to overseas and back. I have his army serial number and his enlistment date so I'm not sure why they said it was in the area of the fire in 73... We were hoping to get his medals also. They want $70 which is ALOT and not knowing what will be in this. I'm just wondering if it'll only have what we have already have found in it. I don't know what to do....
The chose of whether to spend the money and take a risk is totally up to you. However, before you do that you can likely find information on sites such as ancestry without spending $70. Check with the courthouse in his hometown to see if he filed any documents concerning his service with them.
All records that are held by the NARA are in their legal custody. The NARA has a very simple copying fee schedule for personnel records: $25 for 1-5 pages, and $70 for 6 or more pages. Since they quoted $70, there must be at least 6 pages. You should be able to request a page count and summary of the records they will provide. That will give you a better idea of whether the cost is worth it. The records in an OMPF are not the same as what you will find on Fold3 or Ancestry (both of which are pay websites). His file may very well have been affected by the 1973 fire. Not all that were affected were completely incinerated. Some were scorched. Other records suffered water damage and mold damage resulting from being wet. The fact that you could find his enlistment date and service number has little to do with his personnel records.
