HOW TO VERIFY IF A RELATIVE WAS AN ALAMO SCOUT!!
This web page is designed to help verify if your deceased relative was an Alamo Scout. The most commonly asked question of this site is: “My father was an Alamo Scout…why isn’t his name listed?”Simple. We have no documentation verifying his service. This does not disprove that he was an Alamo Scout, only that there is no extant record.
According to extensive research by our historian and the Alamo Scouts Historical Foundation, approximately 500 men attended one of the nine Alamo Scouts Training Centers (ASTC), from which approximately 325 men (250 enlisted and 75 officers) graduated and received diplomas. Of these men, only 138 were retained by the Alamo Scouts and only 126 actually went on an operational mission against the enemy. Those who graduated but were not retained, returned to their former units and performed similar scouting activities. Those who did not graduate from the ASTC were returned to their parent units.
To qualify as an Alamo Scout the serviceman must meet one of the following criteria:
1) Have graduated from one of the ASTC. Have participated on at least one live mission as a member of an operational Alamo Scout team or as part of a Scratch team composed of men from within the ASTC.
3) Have served as an instructor, cadre or command staff at one of the ASTCs.
4) Have served as a member of the camp Overhead Staff.
5) Produce one of the following: DD 214 or any official military document detailing service with the Alamo Scouts.
6) Confidential Orders sending the candidate to or from the ASTC.
7) Medal Citations stating that the award was received for or in conjunction with Alamo Scout operations.
8) Letters home bearing the address APO442 indicating that the serviceman was at one of the ASTC, war diaries or photographs,
If you have any questions you may e-mail me: E-Mail
Alamo Scouts Full Roster Database
Finding Information on Personal Participation in WWII
The National Archives
The Fire
Securing Military RecordsBefore writing to obtain military records, there is one thing to be aware of:
The 1973 Fire
On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at NPRC (MPR) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files. The affected record collections are described below.
Records of Personnel and Period Affected 80% of Army Personnel discharged November 1, 1912 to January 1, 1960
No duplicate copies of the records that were destroyed in the fire were maintained, nor was a microfilm copy ever produced. There were no indexes created prior to the fire. In addition, millions of documents had been lent to the Department of Veterans Affairs before the fire occurred. Therefore, a complete listing of the records that were lost is not available.