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Selective Service Board

This collection (NvSA-000124) contains the records of the Selective Service Board from 1933-2002. The 2 c.f. and 167 odd-sized boxes of materials consist of correspondence, registrations, service entry cards, rosters, and reports of transfer or discharge.

To learn more about the board, download the history here:

Contents Dates Extent

Statement of Service (WWII and Korean War) - OSSR Form 4

On reverse of card: "This Statement of Service is furnished by the Office of Selective Service Records

under Public Law 26, 80th Congress, approved March 31, 1947, from Selective Service Records and from information furnished by the armed forces . . . . This statement is furnished primarily for historical purposes of the State but may be used for other governmental purposes of the State such as use in the adjudication of claims in which the State is solely concerned." The remainder of this statement concerns confidentiality.

The following information is found on the cards: name, service serial number, residence, Selective Service local board, date of birth, place of birth, race, sex, registered (yes/no), service in (Coast Guard, Army, Navy, Marine Corps), entered service by (enlistment, induction, commission), date of enlistment/induction/commission), date of entry into active duty, date of release from active duty, grade or rating at separation, highest grade or rating held, character or type of separation or discharge (e.g., honorable, presumed dead, transferred to reserve), battles and campaigns, decorations and citations, foreign and/or sea service (yes/no, dates), remarks (e.g., "discharged to accept employment in essential industry"), last mailing address, and date prepared. Arranged alphabetically by name of veteran.

There are cards also for veterans of the Korean Conflict.

 1948-1953

19 boxes

Registration and Service Entry Cards

Most of the cards are "Selective Service System Registration Cards" (SSS Form 1, various versions). The information required includes: name, selective service number, place of residence, date of birth, place of birth, mailing address, date of registration, "name and address of person other than a member of your household who will always know your address," color of eyes and hair, height and weight, and other obvious physical characteristics (e.g., birthmark, scar, tattoo).

Also there are cards for "Notification of Entry into Active Military Service" (DD Form 53, various versions), which was "Not to be used for men inducted under the Universal Military Training and Service Act." These forms call for the following information: name, selective service number, number and address of local Selective Service board, home of record, armed force (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard), service number, grade, rate, or rank, date of entry into active service, date of birth, sex, name, grade, and station of responsible officer.

Another form found in these records is "Report of Home Address at Time of Last Entry into Service" (NME Form 53, various versions), which was "not to be used for men inducted under the Selective Service Act of 1948." Categories of information include: name, county, city or town, number and street or RFD number, grade, rank, or rating, serial or service number, race, service (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard), and information needed for those registered under the Selective Service Act of 1948 (local board number, state, county; Selective Service number).

Finally, there are plain cards upon which is the following information is typed: name, address; Selective Service System number, and date of birth. Arranged alphabetically by name of registrant.

1965-1972

76 boxes

Selective Service Files

This series documents the functions and procedures of the Selective Service System in Nevada in the World War II era. There are also records from the 1930s relating to plans for conscription and mobilization, as well as material on the Korean and Vietnam eras. Among the records herein are those pertaining to civilian personnel (1942-1944), which includes: a table of organization, rosters, information on hiring, salaries, promotions, and correspondence between Nevada's Selective Service offices and national headquarters of the system including personnel, memoranda, and press clippings. Other records include:

  • Reports and outgoing correspondence, with related documents, regarding Nevada casualties in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.
  • World War II-era forms (DSS Form 100A--Classification Record) for classifying registrants. Arranged by county; circulars issued from State Headquarters, Selective Service System, 1940-1944, with alphabetical and numerical indexes for the 1940-1941 circulars.
  • Materials relating to pre-World War II planning: General Mobilization Plan, State of Nevada, 1933; "Selective Service. Plans of Organization and Administration. State of Nevada," n.d., ca.1940; "Selective Service Plan for Printing Selective Service Forms, State of _________," ca. 1932; and "The Protective Mobilization Plan, Ninth Corps Area, 1938," Annexes 1 and 7 (Part 5).

1933-1977 

2 cu. ft.

Reports of Transfer or Discharge (DD Form 214)

Arranged in two different ways: 1945-1972, alphabetically by name of veteran; and 1980-1997 by year of discharge and then alphabetically by name of veteran. There are very few records for 1973-1980 when the draft had been abolished.

These records consist mainly of D[epartment of] D[efense] Form 214 ("Armed Forces of the United States Report of Transfer or Discharge") in various versions from 1950-1972. The versions vary in some details, but the essential information remains the same.

A person leaving active duty retained the original of this form; other copies went to the headquarters of his or her branch of service, the National Military Personnel Center at St. Louis, and to the Selective Service board of the state from which the veteran entered the armed forces. With the termination of Selective Service System in 1973 the state copies of DD 214 in Nevada were transferred to the State Archives. Since the revival of the Selective Service in 1980, the state copies of DD 214 have gone to the Nevada Commission for Veterans Affairs which in turn sends records older than 3 years to the Nevada State Library and Archives.

Major categories of required information include: name; service number; social security number; selective service number; department, component and branch or class (Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force); grade, rate or rank; pay grade; citizenship; place of birth; type of transfer or discharge; reason or authority; character of service (e.g., honorable); last duty assignment and major command; district , area command or corps to which reservist transferred; terminal date of reserve /UMT & obligation; term of service; date of entry; home of record; statement of service (years, months, days); decorations, medals, badges; education (civilian and military); VA claim number; remarks (e.g., blood group)

Other forms which may be attached to the above records include: DD Form 4 ("Enlistment Contract--Armed Forces of the United States"); GSA Standard Form 88 ("Report of Medical Examination"); "Department of the Army Special Orders"; DD Form 44 ("Record of Military Status of Registrant"); "Record of Discharge from the US Naval Reserve."

1945-1979; 1981-2002 72 boxes

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