Officials not destroying military personnel files Published Oct. 1, 2004 By Jim Garamone American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- National Archives and Records Administration officials here are not destroying any military records, they said.The officials said they are trying to counter an Internet rumor advising veterans to apply for their official military personnel files to save them from destruction.There is no truth to this "urban legend" being perpetuated on the Web. "We heard it about a month ago," said Susan Cooper, the archive's public affairs officer.The records are stored at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis where officials said there has been a rise in the number of veterans requesting their records. This takes time away from other legitimate requests, such as veterans requesting separation documents or medical records."We have a limited number of people to do the work and anything that ramps the requests up this quickly is a big production issue with us," said John Constance, NARA's director of congressional and public affairs.Archivists are digitizing some records, Ms. Cooper said. "We are going to digitize some of them for reference and preservation," she said. "When records are handled frequently, it causes some wear and tear. The idea is to preserve (the records), not destroy them." Officials said the paper records remain intact.NARA preserves and protects the files because they are permanently valuable records that document the essential evidence of military service for veterans.The bottom line is if people receive this sort of e-mail, they should ignore it, officials said.