IDPF Question

[Nic]

Hello All,

I had a quick question regarding the Individual Deceased Personnel File (293) that you can order from the Department of the Army. Would the Army have created this type of file for a MIA soldier?

The reason I ask is that all the IDPFs I have in my collection pertain to soldiers who actually had remains to either be interred overseas or sent back home. The soldier I am currently researching was MIA and no remains were recovered. Would ordering the IDPF from the Army in this instance be worth the time?

Thanks for your help. Nic.

[kastauffer]

Hi Nic!

There will always be an IDPF for all soldiers determined to be KIA regardless if their remains were recovered or not. The US Army also has custody of the US Navy and USMC IDPF's as well.

Kurt

[tom2001]

The soldier I am currently researching was MIA and no remains were recovered. Would ordering the IDPF from the Army in this instance be worth the time?

Depends on the situation. I've gotten IDPFs for Navy KIAs... they were basically 5-6 pages naming the ship and date of death.

Almost immediately after the end of hostilities, the Army sent out Graves Registration units, specifically looking for MIAs. So often Army MIA IDPFs can be a lot larger that a KIA. You'll find dental records, copies of GR investigations sometimes including interviews with locals, etc. You'll also find records of the hearing where the soldier was officially declared dead (pretty boring and pro forma, but they're there).

[Nic]

Thanks guys for the responses! I have held off ordering 3 other IDPFs for medals I have in my collection. All were USAAF members who were MIA. I guess I had always thought no remains equals no IDPF. Now I know better! Thanks. Nic.

[MWalsh]

IDPF's for MIA's

I have run into problems getting IDPF's for Vietnam MIA's whose remains were never recovered. Apparently there is a Federal law that gives family members of Vietnam MIA's (and only Vietnam MIA's is my understanding) the option of whether or not the IDPF is releaseable under the FOIA provisions. So, the last one I tried to get a copy of, I got denied on. There is an appeal process in place through the Defense Missing Persons Office (I think its called, or something similar anyway), and I appealed their initial decision and asked for just generic information, but its been over a year and I am still awaiting a reply. I would guess that the reasoning is that because there were some shady / shadowy folks out there trying to scam Vietnam MIA families about remains and that their loved ones were still being held as POW's years after the fact, so the military slammed the door on some of the info that was out there. Anyway, I know your question appears to be on WW2 USAAF IDPF's, but just some notes in the event you want to ever try and get Vietnam era MIA IDPF's.