Researching potentially sensitive military service

Question

I wish I could give more detail, but this is about all I have... My father told us he served during Vietnam, but he never told us much, other than at one point, he served with the Green Berets (Emphasis on with, he was not a green beret, but he served with them....)

He is listed in the Veteran's Administration Death Index (BIRLS) with a service type of "other," but the US National Archives has no record of military service from my father.

Understanding there are numerous possibilities, including paper records being destroyed in a fire (I've seen that with military records in another part of my family tree...), I don't know who else to ask, or where else to look to find details on his service.

I would love to hear if anyone else has seen similar cases, and how you might have found answers.

UPDATE: I have submitted Form SF180 with the NPRC/National Archives, and was told they had no record of him. Yet, he is listed in the BIRLS, which, according to some of the recent comments, doesn't entirely make sense.

Comments

What's the limit for official secrets?

Part of my one sibling's service is still locked up, despite the time limit on official secrets having passed (Australia, not the US, so things may be different), and despite some of what he worked on being openly available.

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Depends on what sort of work he did. He may not have been able to share it due to the nature of the work. Best idea is to check with National Archives.https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2005/spring/spotlight-nprc

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Melanie, there are "official secrets" and there are "official secrets" ... In the US, certain types of classified information carry an automatic expiration date, which can be (and, in my experience, often is) overridden by specific order.  It is extremely rare for an assignment of a person in the military to be classified, but even in such a case some identification (even if very generic) of the portion of time spent in that assignment will be identified.  Certainly, there would be assignments in the person's record that are not classified - such as dates of enlistment and discharge and training types/dates/locations.

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@ Gaile -- I think in Aus it is the same, hence certain of the work done being open, and other aspects still being "locked up".  I gave up trying to understand it decades ago.  

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I did submit form SF180 with the NPRC/National Archives and they said they had no record of his service, yet he is listed on the BIRLS. I'm trying to find the folder that has all the paper copies now.

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What is a BIRLS ?  I also served with the Special Forces but not a SF.

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The Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) is a tool the Center for Verification and Evaluation (CVE) uses to verify an applicant is an eligible Veteran.

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Thanks all the years I been dealing with military and with St Louis never heard of it.

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R., The VA is allowing non-military civilians who were in Vietnam to file for benefits. This may apply in his case. This link will take you to an information page at Military dot com. There is a list of documents needed to file. If the application is approved a DD-214 will be issued and awards, medals, and VA benefits become available.

Answer 1

What type of job did he do in ordinary life?

I looked on Ancestry and fold3 but found no sources.

Comments

I briefly had a fold3/ancestry subscription and tried that. The only thing I found was he was in the BIRLS. He passed when I was 6, but when he did work, he was a mechanic, handyman, car lot manager, and liquor store clerk.

Answer 2

R, as a child, you qualify as next of kin to be provided records for your father by the government. On THIS PAGE of the VA website, I found the following:

If you’re the next of kin of a Veteran who has passed away

You can request a copy of the Veteran’s military records in any of these ways:

• Mail or fax a Request Pertaining to Military Records (Standard Form SF 180) to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC).
  Download Form SF 180 (PDF)
• Write a letter to the NPRC. Send it to:

  1 Archives Drive
  St. Louis, Missouri 63138

• Visit the NPRC in person
• Contact your state or county Veterans agency
• Hire an independent researcher

Another place that might be able to help you get the information is the VFW, although I didn't delve into their WEBSITE at all.

No matter what kind of clandestine operations he may have been involved in, if he has a BIRLS record then he will definitely have a DD-214 record, which provides information about all his assignments while in the military, although some may be missing specifics of the role he performed.

Comments

The NPRC said they had no record of him. I submitted a SF180 back around 2018

Answer 3

When I was in Vietnam (1968-69) there were a number of people who were not military, but serving as government employees in a few select units. I was with, but not a member of, a MAC-V team. We were located at a small village in a remote area. 

MAC-V is "Military Assistance Command, Vietnam". The unit had a mix of military and non military members. The military members were US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, US Marines and "others" from non-disclosed nations. Special Forces and SEALS were included in this group. The non military members were with CORDS (Civil Operations and Rural Development Support) or the CIA (Central Information Agency). 

The military members conducted reconnaissance, forward air control, communications, intelligence, and logistics for other agencies and units they supported.

The two civilian agencies conducted training and sometimes led Vietnamese Regional or Popular Forces (RF/PF) small units that interfered with enemy forces. Most of those activities were "off the books" at the time. You may be able to locate what you need to find at the CIA "reading room". MAC-V monthly reports are available at Texas Tech University. Additionally, there were civilian employees under contract from Pacific Architects and Engineers and Vinnell Corporation. 

Researching this material is difficult as some of the records are not released to the public.

Comments

Terry, I will have to do some digging into seeing those reports at TTU! I actually work for a TTU sister school, so I hope it won't be too hard. Worst case, I need to make a trip up to Lubbock.

Based on the limited knowledge I have, (most of which I heard from my late brother, who heard it from Dad one night involving Tequila Rose...) I wonder if he may have worked with some RF/PF folks...

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Can you contact me off list? I can give you some insight what he may have been doing.

Answer 4

Some may not know this, but it is highly possible there is absolutely no record at NPRC because of the 1973 fire - and they do the best they can to reconstruct service records.

NPRC 1973 Fire

Comments

It is possible. The fire was mostly limited to the area where WWII records were kept, but the water damage was extensive. My father's records were mostly lost but one or two pieces survived or were reconstructed. I did get his separation and hospital record.

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Also WWI records were destroyed. My wife’s grandfather who was with 115th Infantry records were compliantly gone, it was his VA records or hospital records proved he served..