How would you react after discovering someone you served alongside with in the armed forces became a famous celebrity? Maybe a senator, writer, astronaut, or actor? That would be quite a story to say, ‘I served with John Glenn in the Marines’ or ‘I knew Isaac Asimov when he was in the Army.’ How amazing would it be to make that claim?

The U.S. Armed Forces attracts people from all walks of life. Many took career direction during their service. Some even put aside their professional careers to enlist in the armed forces. When a veteran achieves some type of public notoriety, their service record becomes the subject of special interest. The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) retains the Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF) for individuals labeled ‘Persons of Exceptional Prominence’ (PEP). This simply means that well-known public figures, i.e. politicians, scientists, celebrities, etc., have their records open to the public. Anyone can view these documents after following specific guidelines. You won’t see the original record due to preservation and security reasons, but the archival staff does reproduce the record.

Records for Persons of Exceptional Prominence are classified are Specially Protected Holdings (SPH). This constitutes an additional layer of security due to either the nature of work they did or the notoriety the attained in private life. Their military record becomes valuable and in order to prevent theft or vandalism, PEPs and SPHs receive distinguished protection.

Persons of Exceptional Prominence can also be exempt from some of the archival rules with the NPRC. When a service member has been separated from the military for 62 year from the date of final discharge, their record is categorized as archival. This means that now their service is public record and anyone can view it. This rule applies to all personnel records, not just PEPs. For example, you can request a complete copy of George S. Patton’s WWII service record, but not David Petraeus’ record; he was fully discharged in 2011. You could request a complete copy of Desi Arnaz’s service record (Ricky Ricardo of ‘I Love Lucy‘) but not MC Hammer’s service record since he was discharged in 1983 (Yes, the rapper and pioneer of hammer pants is a U.S. Navy veteran).

Some records are more accessible than others. The National Archives manages a number of digitization projects. Scanning all types of records and documents are a priority for the agency. OMPFs for a select few personalities are fully digital and available for online viewing. A full listing is posted on the NARA website, but here is a snapshot of PEP service records that are fully digitized:

• Charles Addams (Cartoonist, creator of ‘The Addams Family‘)
• Spiro Agnew (U.S. Vice President and Governor of Maryland)
• Alvin York (World War I Medal of Honor Recipient)
• Maxwell Taylor (Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Ambassador to South Vietnam)
• Ruth Streeter (U.S. Marine Corps Women’s Reserve Director)
• John Philip Sousa (Musician and composer of American military marches)
• Margaret Chase Smith (U.S. Representative and Senator from Maine; joined service while serving in Congress)
• Francis Scobee (U.S. Air Force colonel and astronaut; died in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster)
• Theodore Roosevelt Jr. (Assistant Secretary of the Navy, son of President Theodore Roosevelt)
• Lafayette Ron Hubbard (Science fiction writer and founder of Scientology)
• Jackie Robinson (Professional athlete, first black baseball player to play for Major League Baseball)
• Ernie Pyle (Journalist and war correspondent; killed in action during the Battle of Okinawa)
• Josephine Bowman (Superintendent of the U.S. Navy Nurses Corps)
• Robert Peary (Artic explorer who reached the North Pole)
• John Dillinger (infamous bank robber and Public Enemy No. 1 during the Great Depression)

OMPFs for PEPs contain all the same information as any other personnel records. Enlistment contracts, training documents, transfers, disciplinary actions, citations, and more are held in said files. For more information on how to view PEPs, visit the National Archives website; Persons of Exceptional Prominence.