I returned about 1820 hrs today from my ninth visit to the NARA, College Park, MD. It was a long, tiring, expensive but productive two days. I copied many documents of the 45th Infantry Division; the Operation Typhoon Historical Report of the 63rd Infantry Regiment, 6th Infantry Division; and several of the 214th AAA Bn. In addition, I spent about seven hours over two days in Still Images on the Fifth Floor, where I scanned many photos of the 45th and the 6th Infantry Divisions and many other interesting photos I found in the albums. When I transfer these from my laptop to my desktop, I intend to put the gems on my Pbase page. Dave
Dave, Next time your down my way, please let me know. I work down the road from NARA at Goddard and have always wanted to visit but with someone who knew what they were doing and familiar with the procedures, etc. Thanks! Post some of those pix!
Dave : do have any clue if the WW 2 US 8th Air Force fighter combat reports are held there > ? I know for a fact that AFHRA in Maxwell has a fat 0. E ~
Erich, I am surprised that Maxwell has none. I would surmise, then, that College Park has them. You can establish an account with the NARA and request specific reports: https://eservices.archives.gov/orde...Request+Screen&SWEView=GPEA+Find+Request+View The cost is $0.75 per page. Dave
Dave thanks ! yes need to check them out for my books-research tools. yes indeed got a email quite lengthy from several researchers from Maxwell had never heard of the reports before, I couldn't fathom that ! they of course are noted for the much needed MACR's of which I have a few of course, a nice little package came several days ago. will do a lengthy search via the link you provided. much appreeciated
Dave, I want to make a trip to NARA some time in the future when I have enough information on my grandfather's military history. Approximately how much of an expense is it? Minus the flight and hotel costs. How much is it to access and copy the records? Do I have to make photo copies or does their copy machines allow to make digital copies?
Dave hasn't been around for awhile. You might try emailing him. I've never been to NARA, but it might be a smarter route to hire a researcher. They're a bit expensive, but their results are worth it. I've used Geoff at Golden Arrow. You might try there to see what the cost is.
Hi astreb The National Archives at College Park, Maryland - info can be found here - https://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park TD
There is no actual cost at NARA II to access records, other than the cost to your time. You simply go in with proper ID, get a researcher ID card and then may access whatever you wish from the available records. Copiers however are expensive and usually at a premium for use. The best thing to do is to use a simple digital camera and laptop, both of which you can bring in after properly registering them. With a bit of practice you don't even need a camera stand, although some are available for shooting things like photos or maps where you need one. It is always a good idea to ask if you can speak to one of the military history branch archivists - they can make you visit much quicker and easier than if you try to randomly search for stuff. Meanwhile, follow the rules for handling records and you will have no problem. Try to remember the records you look at may be accessed later by another researcher, so take care of them. If you open a file, make sure you put the pages back in order and do not interfile pages between files (you should not be able to, since you should only have one folder out of a file box at a time). I never want to find pages from the 25th ID in Vietnam in a folder on the 84th ID at Geilenkirchen again! If a document is stapled, take it to one of the desks to be properly unstapled - do not try to do it yourself. And so on. Have fun!
On the copiers, do they allow you to make digital copies to a USB flash drive(thumb stick) for free? This method is not using their paper or ink.
Not as of my last visit. There are few copiers and a lot of researchers. You have to sign up and time is limited for reservations, plus they are a revenue source for NARA. It is much easier to use a digital camera and/or scanner.
