In 1973, a fire in St. Louis changed American history — by destroying it
St. Louis on the Air · St. Louis Public Radio
November 10, 202350m 32s
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Show Notes
On July 12, 1973, a fire in the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis destroyed 80% of U.S. Army records between 1912 and 1960. It was one of the largest destructions of federal records in the history of the county. To explore the legacy of the fire, producer Danny Wicentowski goes searching for his grandfather’s records, which were burned in the fire. He also talks to firefighter Captain David Dubowski, archives specialist Eric Kilgore, and Jessie Kratz, historian of the National Archives.