Service number (United States Army)

For other versions of United States military service numbers, see Service number (United States armed forces).
A military service number of the Regular Army

Service numbers were used by the United States Army from 1918 until 1969. Prior to this time, the Army relied on muster rolls as a means of indexing enlisted service members while officers were usually listed on yearly rolls maintained by the United States War Department. In the nineteenth century, the Army also used pay records as a primary means of identifying service members after discharge.

World War I

The first service number of the United States armed forces

Service numbers (SNs) were first created in 1918 as a result of the United States Army becoming involved in World War I and the need for a record tracking system capable of indexing the millions of soldiers who were joining the ranks of the National Army. Prior to this time, the only way to index lists of soldiers was by use of rosters and muster rolls. As the National Army rose into the millions, this old method of musters and rosters became outdated and a new system had to be developed.

The decision to create Army service numbers was made in February 1918 with the first service numbers to be issued only to Army enlisted personnel. The Army officer corps was still relatively small and the Navy was still maintaining ship rosters to keep track of its personnel. The Marine Corps and Coast Guard were also relatively small organizations without the need for a service number system to track personnel.

The first soldier to receive an Army service number during the First World War was Master Sergeant Arthur Crean who was designated to hold service #1 in the National Army in February 1918.[1] Throughout the remainder of World War I, service numbers were issued to most enlisted personnel with the numbers eventually ranging from 1 to 5,999,999.

In 1920, a year after the close of World War I, the Army introduced the first "service number prefix" which was intended to be a letter placed in front of the service number to provide additional information about the veteran. The first prefix to be created was R which was used to identify Regular Army personnel who had reenlisted after the close of World War I and the disbandment of the National Army. Again, Arthur Crean was the first person to receive a service number prefix and his new service number became R-1. The Army also created an F prefix for those who had served as World War I field clerks.

That same year, the Army opened up the service number rolls to officers and issued the first officer number to John J. Pershing. Pershing held officer service number #1 with the prefix O making his service number O-1.[2] In 1935, the Army created a second officer prefix AO intended for Regular Army officers who were aviators in the Army Air Corps.

The Army officer number system was determined simply by seniority and entry date into the Army officer corps; between 1921 and 1935, officer numbers ranged from 1 to 19,999. Enlisted service numbers continued in a similar fashion with enlisted numbers picking up where the World War I numbers had left off; between 1919 and 1940 the numbers ranged from 6,000,000 to 7,099,999. Enlisted personnel who were World War I veterans continued to hold their pre 6 million service numbers.

World War II

By 1940, it was obvious to most in the U.S. military establishment that America would soon be involved in a major war. To that end, conscription had been introduced and the Army of the United States was founded to serve as a mixed volunteer and draft force raised to fight in the coming war.

Due to the vast numbers of personnel entering the Army ranks, a major expansion to the service number system was required. The original concept was to simply continue with the old service number system and begin with new numbers starting at 8,000,000. The Army, however, chose a more complicated design with new numbers beginning at 10,000,000. The eight and nine million series were reserved for special uses; eight million service numbers would later be used strictly by female Army personnel while the nine million service numbers were never issued.

The war time service numbers began at 10 000 000 and extended to 19 999 999. The "ten million" series were reserved solely for those who had enlisted into the Regular Army (i.e. were not drafted) from recruiting stations outside of the 48 states of the US. The first number after the "ten" would indicate the geographical region from which a person had enlisted with the remaining numbers an identification number for the soldier. The only confirmed geographical codes were 10 1 (for Hawaii), 10 2 (for Panama), and 10 4 (for Puerto Rico). The remaining number codes (3,5,6,7,8,9, and zero) were unassigned and used by various recruiting stations outside the United States. The District of Columbia also used a ten million code.

A Regular Army service number, used by a member of the Army Air Forces, during World War II

The 11 through 19 million series (11 000 000 - 19 999 999) were issued to Regular Army enlisted personnel who had enlisted after 1940. The first two numbers were determined by what state a person was recruited from, the next six were an identifying number for the service member; thus, for each geographical area there was an available range of 999,999 service numbers. The various geographical number codes were as follows:

11: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

12: Delaware, New Jersey, New York

13: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia

14: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

15: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia

16: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin

17: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming

18: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

19: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington

Army officers continued to be assigned service numbers based on when they joined the officer corps with a service number range of 1 to 20,000. In 1936, the Army extended the service numbers to 499,999 and, in 1942, officer service numbers were extended again to 3,000,000.

Officers of the Regular Army were assigned lower service numbers, with West Point graduates receiving the lowest of all in the 20,000 to 50,000 range. The service numbers 800,000 through 999,999 were reserved for officers with special duties while the higher service numbers were held by direct commission officers or officers of the Officer Reserve Corps (the predecessor to the United States Army Reserve)

By 1942, the Army had also discontinued the prefix O and established that all officer numbers would begin with a zero. For instance, an officer with the service number 2,345,678 would have the number written in military records as 02 345 678.

The Discharge Certificate of Burt Lancaster showing his thirty million series draft service number with a geographical code of 32 (entrance from New York). The burned edges are the result of the National Personnel Records Center fire of 1973.

The remaining enlisted draft force of the Army of the United States were issued service numbers in the 30 million range. Service number ranged from 30 000 000 to 39 999 999. As with Regular Army service numbers, the first two numbers corresponded to a geographical area where a person had been drafted and the last six were a personal identifier. The geographical codes were as follows:

31: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

32: Delaware, New Jersey, New York

33: Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, District of Columbia

34: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

35: Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia

36: Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin

37: Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming

38: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

39: Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington

The 30 code was reserved for those who had been drafted from outside the United States with the third number following the "30" determining the extra-US draft location. The only extra-US draft codes which were ever established were 30 2 (Panama) and 30 4 (Puerto Rico).

In 1942, the Army expanded the enlisted conscript service numbers and created the forty million service number series ranging from 40 000 000 to 49 999 999. These numbers were to be used for persons drafted under special circumstances or for those assigned to special duties. In all, the only forty million numbers that were ever issued ranged from 42 000 000 to 46 999 999. The forty million numbers were discontinued after World War II and never reused.

A final service number series of World War II was the ninety million series (90 000 000 - 99 999 999) which was reserved for members of the Philippine Army who had been called up to serve in the ranks of the U.S. Army. These numbers were rarely issued and the ninety million series was permanently discontinued after World War II.

During World War II, the Army also expanded the service number prefixes to include several new one letter designators in addition the original three prefixes (R, F, and O) which had been created after World War I. In all, the following prefixes were used during World War II.

A: Used by female members of the Women Army Corps

F: Used by field clerks during the First World War

K: Used by female reserve and specialist officers with service numbers 100 001 and higher

L: Used by enlisted members of the Women's Army Corps

N: Used by female nurse officers

O: Used by Regular Army officers

R: Used by Army enlisted personnel with service #s from 1 to 5 999 999 upon reenlistment

T: Used by flight officers appointed from an enlisted status

V: Used by officers of the Women Army Corps

W: Used by Regular Army Warrant Officers

In October 1945, the Army discontinued the prefix "R" and issued the prefix "RA" to all members of the Regular Army. At the same time, the Army added several other R series prefixes to deal with special enlisted situations. In all, the R prefix series was:

RA: Regular Army enlisted personnel

RM: Regular Army enlisted personnel holding temporary appointments as Warrant Officers

RO: Used by Regular Army enlisted personnel holding temporary reserve officer commissions

RP: Retired enlisted personnel recalled to active duty

RV: Female warrant officers granted reserve commissioned officer billets

RW: Male warrant officers granted reserve commissioned officer billets

After World War II, the Army of the United States began to be disbanded and the thirty and forty million series were discontinued. Personnel of the Regular Army continued to be cycled through the 10 - 19 million series while Army officers continued to be issued numerical numbers determined by date of commission. By the end of the 1940s, the 3,000,000 service number cap for officers had yet to be reached.

Korean War service numbers

At the end of the Second World War, the United States Army was reorganized into the following components:

Between 1945 and 1947, the World War II draft force was slowly disbanded with the 30 and 40 million service number series formally discontinued. Personnel who chose to remain on active duty kept their original serive numbers, regardless of their new component. The United States Air Force was also founded in September 1947, with enlisted personnel transferring into the new organization with their old Army service numbers while officers were either issued a new number or kept their Army number as well.

The VA Index Card of Frank Gorshin showing a fifty million service number.

In 1948, the Army opened up the 50 million service number series. These numbers would range from 50 000 000 to 59 999 999 and would be assigned to personnel who were either drafted into the Army of the United States or who enlisted into the Army Reserve. As with the older 30 million numbers, the first two numbers were determined by the geographical region from which a soldier was drafted or had enlisted. Numbers beginning with "50" specified an entry location outside the United States with 50 0 reserved for Hawaii, 50 1 reserved for Panama and Puerto Rico, and 50 2 reserved for Alaska. Within the United States, the geographical codes were:

51: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont

52: Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia

53: Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee

54: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas

55: Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming

56: Arizona, California, Idaho, Georgia, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington

Service numbers beginning with 57, 58, and 59 were not assigned a specific geographical region and were used for enlisted personnel in the Army Reserve or those assigned to special duties. When the Korean War began in 1950, this service number system was used throughout the conflict and through the remainder of the 1950s. The Regular Army service number system, ranging from 10 to 19 million, remained unchanged.

Officer service numbers during this period ranged from 50 000 to 500 000 (set aside for West Point graduates and Regular Army officers) and 500 001 to 3 000 000 used by reserve and direct appointment officers. All officer service numbers by this point were preceded by a zero.

Vietnam era service numbers

In 1954, one year after the close of the Korean War, the Army extended the range of officer service numbers by adding the three and four million series. The new officer service numbers ranged from 1 000 000 to 4 999 999; service numbers from 800 000 to 999 999 were still being used for special duty officers. In 1957, officer numbers were extended again this time to 5 999 999. It was also declared that the three million numbers (3 000 000 – 3 999 999) would only be issued to warrant officers. Service numbers below 500 000 were only issued to West Point graduates and other Regular Officers. By 1969, the highest service number issued to a West Point graduate was slightly above 120 000.

Enlisted service numbers during this post-Korea/pre-Vietnam era remained unchanged with the Regular Army continuing to cycle through the 10 - 19 million series while the draft force was assigned service numbers in the 50 to 59 million range. In 1966, with the increased US involvement of the Vietnam War, the Army realized that a many more number of troops would be needed. The service number system had to be expanded, which resulted in the Army activating the 60 million enlisted service number series in 1967. Officer service numbers remained unchanged.

The new enlisted service numbers applied only to those drafted and ranged from 60 000 000 to 69 999 999 with the first two numbers a recruiting code and the last six a personal identifier. At the same time, there were still a wide variety of older enlisted numbers still active, ranging back to the thirty million series used during World War II.

By 1968, the Army had also declared the final version of service number prefixes. The most common prefixes were the following two letter codes:

ER: Used by enlisted members of the Army Reserve

FR: Used by some Army reservists from the late 1940s through 1962

KF: Used by female Regular Army officers

NG: Used by National Guard enlisted personnel

OF: Used by male Regular Army officers

UR: Used by draft personnel appointed as officers in the Regular Army

US: Used by conscripted enlisted personnel

The following special prefixes for medical personnel were also declared during the mid-1960s:

MJ: Used by Occupational Therapist Officers

MM: Used by Physical Therapist Officers

MN: Used by male members of the Army Nurse Corps

MR: Used by Army enlisted dieticians

The Army also used the following one letter prefixes for a brief period of time in the 1960s:

O: Used by some Army specialist officers

R: Used by Army officer dieticians

From the late 1950s to the mid-1960s, the Army also had established the following special prefix codes for female personnel:

WA: Used by enlisted members of the Women Army Corps

WL: Used by female Regular Army personnel granted officer commissions in the Army Reserve

WM: Used by female Regular Army personnel granted warrant officer commissions in the Army Reserve

WR: Used by female enlisted reservists attached to the Women Army Corps

The Regular Army prefix codes RA, RM, RO, RP, RV, and RW remained unchanged from their post World War II origins.

The National Guard

During World War II, the US Army federalized a large number of National Guard personnel to augment the growing Army of the United States. Prior to 1940, there was no procedure to issue service numbers to National Guard personnel since most personnel served completely under the authority of the state government.

Beginning in 1940, National Guardsmen who were federalized were given Army service numbers in the 20 million range with numbers ranging from 20 000 000 to 20 999 999. Guardsmen federalized from Hawaii were issued service numbers beginning with 20 1 while 20 2 through 20 9 was used randomly by other states.

After the close of World War II, all states began issuing guard personnel service numbers whether or not the guardsman had been federalized. National Guard service numbers were extended from their previous cap of 20 999 999 to a new range from 20 000 000 to 29 999 999. The first two numbers were a state identification code while the last six a personal identifier.

The National Guard issued service numbers until the late 1960s when the Social Security number became the standard means of identifying guard personnel. National Guard service numbers were formally discontinued in 1969.

Discontinuation of Army service numbers

In 1968, the Army activated the seventy million series and in 1969 created eighty million numbers as well. The new numbers, which were to be issued only to the enlisted draft force, ranged from 70 000 000 to 89 999 999. By this time, however, service numbers had been informally discontinued and most military records used Social Security numbers to identify the service member. As a result, on July 1, 1969, service numbers were declared discontinued and no 70 or 80 million series numbers were ever issued.

It was not recorded who exactly held the last service number of the United States Army. The highest service number for the draft force was in the 68 million range; however, since Social Security numbers were being commonly used instead of service numbers, the identity of the soldier who held this number is unknown. The Regular Army, which had issued service numbers by geographical codes since World War II, had several numbers which could be interpreted as the final service number of the 10–19 million series.

Final distribution of Army enlisted service numbers

The highest Army officer service numbers were issued slightly above 05 850 999 although there are no clear records of who held these final numbers, again due to Social Security numbers being used for record keeping instead of service numbers. The last Regular Army service number was somewhere in the 130 000 to 140 000 range.

Final distribution of Army officer service numbers

After 1969, the Army completely converted to Social Security numbers for the identification of military personnel.

Geographical Codes and Regular Army Distribution

State Geographical Codes were used as the first two numbers of an Army or Air Force enlisted service number to indicate where a soldier had entered the U.S. military. For instance, the service number "12 345 678" would have a geographical code of 12 and a personal identification number of 345,678. A comparison of the state codes between the Regular Army, World War II draft force, and Korea/Vietnam draft force is as follows:

State Regular Army Code World War II Code Korean/Vietnam War Code
Alabama 14 34 53
Alaska 19 39 50 2
Arizona 19 39 56
Arkansas 18 38 54
California 19 39 56
Colorado 17 37 55
Connecticut 11 31 51
Delaware 12 32 51
Florida 14 34 53
Georgia 14 34 56
Hawaii 10 1 20 1 50 0
Illinois 16 36 55
Idaho 19 39 56
Indiana 15 35 52
Iowa 17 37 55
Kansas 17 37 55
Kentucky 15 35 52
Louisiana 18 38 54
Maine 11 31 51
Maryland 13 33 52
Massachusetts 11 31 51
Michigan 16 36 55
Minnesota 17 37 55
Mississippi 14 34 53
Missouri 17 37 55
Montana 19 39 56
Nebraska 17 37 55
Nevada 19 39 56
New Hampshire 11 31 51
New Jersey 12 32 51
New Mexico 18 38 54
New York 12 32 51
North Carolina 14 34 53
North Dakota 17 37 55
Ohio 15 35 52
Oklahoma 18 38 54
Oregon 19 39 56
Pennsylvania 13 33 52
Rhode Island 11 31 51
South Carolina 14 34 53
South Dakota 17 37 55
Tennessee 14 34 53
Texas 18 38 54
Utah 19 39 56
Vermont 11 31 51
Virginia 13 33 52
Washington 19 39 56
West Virginia 15 35 52
Wisconsin 16 36 55
Wyoming 17 37 55

In 1940, when the United States Army expanded its service numbers beyond ten million, the range of 10 000 000 to 10 999 999 was reserved for Regular Army enlisted personnel who joined from recruiting stations outside the United States. With 999,999 service numbers available in this range, the Regular Army was able to issue service numbers to extra-US enlistees, without repeating numbers, until the disestablishment of service numbers in 1969.

The remaining range of 11 000 000 to 19 999 999 was reserved for Regular Army personnel who enlisted from within the United States with the first two numbers a geographical code and the last six a personal identifier. This gave geographical recruiting areas 999,999 service numbers a piece to allocate to new recruits. The Army directed that every effort should be made to avoid repeating service numbers and allocated only a certain block of numbers for certain time periods of enlistments. The matter was made even more complicated when the Regular Air Force came into being in 1947, also with instructions that the 11–19 million service numbers should not be repeated nor should an Air Force service member be given a service numbers already held by a Regular Army soldier.

In general, both the Army and Air Force made every effort to avoid repeating service numbers although some mistakes did occur. The final breakdown of Regular Army service numbers by time period was as follows:

Geographical Code Allocated Numbers
(1940–1945)		 Allocated Numbers
(1946–1948)		 Allocated Numbers
(1949–1960)		 Allocated Numbers
(1961–1969)
11 000 000 - 142 500 142 501 - 188 000 188 001 - 384 000 384 000 - 999 999
12 000 000 - 242 000 242 001 - 321 000 321 001 - 614 900 614 901 - 999 999
13 000 000 - 197 500 197 501 - 299 700 299 701 - 705 500 705 501 - 999 999
14 000 000 - 204 500 204 501 - 300 770 300 771 - 745 000 745 001 - 999 999
15 000 000 - 201 000 201 001 - 280 500 280 501 - 639 615 639 616 - 999 999
16 000 000 - 201 500 201 501 - 307 000 307 001 - 683 100 683 101 - 999 999
17 000 000 - 183 500 183 501 - 254 500 254 501 - 592 940 592 941 - 999 999
18 000 000 - 247 100 247 101 - 546 000 546 001 - 607 725 607 726 - 999 999
19 000 000 - 235 500 235 501 - 420 000 420 001 - 597 661 597 662 - 999 999

Draft force service numbers in the 30 and 50 million range also used geographical codes but were free to use all 999,999 possible personal identification numbers for the entire period of the draft. The 30 million series was used for World War II draftees and the 50 million for the Korean War and early Vietnam. The 60 million series of the late Vietnam War was issued without restriction.

Notable service numbers

The following service numbers have been held by some of the more famous veterans of the United States Army:[3]

According to U.S. Army records, despite efforts to avoid duplicate service numbers, there have been at least six occurrences of an Army soldier who was issued the service number "12 345 678".[4]

References

  1. ↑ Archival reconstruction record of Arthur B. Crean, Military Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri
  2. ↑ Military service record of John Pershing, Military Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri
  3. ↑ National Personnel Records Center, Military Operations Branch, "Service number index and registry of retired, deceased, and discharged military personnel" (2007)
  4. ↑ Freedom of Information Act response, United States Army Human Resources Command, April 2007

Sources

External links

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