Military records (Army & Air Force) destroyed in 1973 by fire

Why is it so hard to track down the names of the soldiers who were at Camp Desert Rock?

Overland, Missouri: "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.
Branch.......Personnel....................................Estimated Loss
Army.........Personnel discharged 11-1-1912, to 1-1-1960..80%
Air Force....Personnel discharged 9-25-1947 to 1-1-1964...75%
(with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.)

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. Nevertheless, NPRC (MPR) uses many alternate sources in its efforts to reconstruct basic service information to respond to requests."

Studies: The National Personnel Records Center Fire: A Study in Disaster by Walter W. Stender & Evan Walker, October 1974

" * Some U.S. Army Reserve personnel who received final discharge as late as 1964
* Various U.S. Navy, United States Coast Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps records which were out of file and were caught in the section of the building which experienced the most damage in the fire.

The 1973 fire destroyed the entire 6th floor of the National Personnel Records Center. Damage from the fire can still be seen today. In 1974, a massive reconstruction effort was begun to restore the service records which were destroyed in the 1973 fire. In most cases where a military record has been presumed destroyed, NPRC is able to reconstruct basic service information such as military date of entry, date of discharge, character of service, and final rank.

In recent years, some conspiracy theorists have accused the Federal Government of intentionally starting the 1973 National Archives Fire as a cover to destroy unwanted military files, erase certain records from the Second World War, or to reduce budget costs by destroying a floor of an under budgeted federal building. Certain Veteran Organizations have also stated that the 1973 Fire did not happen at all, and that the explanation of a fire destroying millions of military records is a lie conceived by the Federal Government to cut costs and avoid public requests for the older military files. The National Archives and Records Administration, however, continues to formally state that the 1973 National Archives Fire did, in fact, occur although the exact cause, to this day, remains unknown."

VA Shred's Evidence of Radiation Claimants 2003

Wikipedia sources of the Nuclear bombing series

wiki: Operation Dominic I and II 1962, 105 (Christmas Island & Nevada) explosions

wiki: Operation Plowshare 1961-1973, (NM, NV, CO) explosions

wiki: Operation Nougat 1961, 45 (Nevada) explosions

wiki: Operation Argus 1958, 3 (south Atlantic) explosions

wiki: Operation Hardtrack I & II 1958, 72 (35 Marshall Islands, Johnson Island (I) & 37 Nevada (II)) explosions

wiki: Operation Plumbbob 1957, 29 (Nevada) explosions
Shot SMOKY, A Test of the PLUMBBOB Series, 8-31-1957, Fact Sheet pdf version more information about Smoky test

wiki: Operation Redwing 1956, 17 (Marshall Islands) explosions

wiki: Operation Wigwam 5-14-55, 1 under water (Marshall Islands) explosion

wiki: Operation Teapot 1955, 14 (Nevada) explosions

wiki: Operation Castle 1954, 7 (Marshall Islands) explosions

wiki: Operation Upshot-Knothole 1953, 11 (Nevada) explosions,

wiki: Operation Ivy 1952, 8 (Marshall island) explosions (1st hydrogen bomb)

wiki: Operation Tumbler-Snapper 1952, 8 (Nevada) explosions (4 daytime, 4 nighttime drops), video, study Shots Easy, Fox, George, and How

wiki: Operation Buster-Jangle 1951, 7 (Nevada: 6 atm, 1 underground) explosions, more information, Lieutenant General Joseph May Swing, Commanding General, 6th US.Army 1951-54, General Mark Clark, Chief of the Army Field Forces, Major General William "Bill" B. Kean Jr. "More than 1,000 paratroopers and infantrymen - most of them attached to the 11th Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky", Film Badge Dosimetry int Atmospheric Nuclear Test, studies, video

wiki: Operation Greenhouse 1951, 5 (Mujinkarikku Island) explosions

wiki: Operation Ranger 1951, 5 (Nevada) explosions

wiki: Operation Sandstone 1948, 3 (Marshall Islands) explosions

wiki: Operation Crossroads 1946, 2 (Marshall Islands) explosions

wiki: 2 (Japan) explosions: Little Boy 8-6-45, Fat Man 8-9-45, photos

wiki: Trinity test July 16, 1945 (New Mexico) Pu nuclear bomb

wiki: Atomic Energy Act of 1946 (McMahon Act), amended 1954, text, html

wiki: Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) 10-15-90