Service number (United States Marine Corps)
Encyclopedia
United States Marine Corps service numbers were created in 1920, the same year as Navy service numbers, and were modeled after the same design.
The Marine Corps officer corps in the 1920s was relatively small and, by the start of the 1930s, the Marine Corps had yet to issue more than one thousand officer service numbers. In 1931, the number of possible officer numbers was increased to two thousand with this number not yet reached upon the outbreak of World War II in 1941.
During World War II, the officer service number range was extended to 50,000 and, during Korea, extended again to 100,000; this number was not reached by the officer corps until 1966. At that time, the Marine Corps extended the officer service numbers a final time to 125,000. Officer service numbers were then discontinued in 1972.
The enlisted service numbers between 50,000 and 60,000 were never assigned by the Marine Corps for reasons which are unclear. The next range of numbers, 60,001 to 99,999, were used for retroactive presentation from 1905 to 1919.
The first active Marines who were assigned service numbers fell into the range of 100,000 to 199,999 as it was these numbers which were assigned in the 1920s to the enlisted force of the Marine Corps. In 1935, with the service number cap of 200,000 almost reached, the Marine Corps extended enlisted numbers to a new cap of 350,000. It was in this range that service numbers were being issued upon the outbreak of World War II.
During the early part Second World War, the Marine Corps extended their enlisted service numbers to the number one million with numbers broken down into sub-sections reserved for particular groups enlisting during World War II. The first group, ranging numbers 350,000 to 670,899, were standard Marine Corps enlistees joining for wartime service. Numbers 670,900 to 699,999 were never issued and 700,000 to 799,999 were reserved for female enlisted personnel. The female enlisted service numbers were also the only numbers assigned a prefix code, as the letter W was used to denote female Marine Corps enlisted.
Until the middle of World War II, the remaining service number range of 800,000 to 999,999 was used by regular Marine enlistees. In 1943, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers to 1,699,999 even though the original one million service number cap had not yet been reached. Marine enlisted service number 1,000,000 was issued in 1944 and the cap of 1,700,000 was reached nine years later.
Service numbers 1,700,000 to 1,799,999 were set aside for female enlisted personnel of the 1960s and 1970s while 1,800,000 to 2,000,000 was used by male enlistees. In 1965, with male service numbers running out due to a rise of enlistments during the Vietnam War
, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers a final time to 2,800,000. The highest Marine Corps service number reached was slightly above 2,699,000 before the numbers were discontinued in 1971. After this point, all Marine Corps service records converted to Social Security number
s as the primary identification means for service members.
Marine Corps officer numbers
The first one hundred Marine Corps officer service numbers were intended for retroactive presentation to World War I veterans; the Marine Corps issued these early numbers alphabetically and the first Marine Corps officer number was issued to retired Major James Ackerman. Ackerman was issued the service number "01" with the policy established that all Marine Corps officer numbers would begin with a zero.The Marine Corps officer corps in the 1920s was relatively small and, by the start of the 1930s, the Marine Corps had yet to issue more than one thousand officer service numbers. In 1931, the number of possible officer numbers was increased to two thousand with this number not yet reached upon the outbreak of World War II in 1941.
During World War II, the officer service number range was extended to 50,000 and, during Korea, extended again to 100,000; this number was not reached by the officer corps until 1966. At that time, the Marine Corps extended the officer service numbers a final time to 125,000. Officer service numbers were then discontinued in 1972.
Marine Corps enlisted numbers
Marine Corps enlisted service numbers were also issued retroactively; however, numbers 1 through 20,000 were never assigned. Thus, the first Marine Corps enlisted service number was 20,001 and was assigned to a Marine named Alexander Schott. Service numbers upwards to 49,999 were also retroactive and assigned to discharged or retired Marines who had served between 1905 and 1917.The enlisted service numbers between 50,000 and 60,000 were never assigned by the Marine Corps for reasons which are unclear. The next range of numbers, 60,001 to 99,999, were used for retroactive presentation from 1905 to 1919.
The first active Marines who were assigned service numbers fell into the range of 100,000 to 199,999 as it was these numbers which were assigned in the 1920s to the enlisted force of the Marine Corps. In 1935, with the service number cap of 200,000 almost reached, the Marine Corps extended enlisted numbers to a new cap of 350,000. It was in this range that service numbers were being issued upon the outbreak of World War II.
During the early part Second World War, the Marine Corps extended their enlisted service numbers to the number one million with numbers broken down into sub-sections reserved for particular groups enlisting during World War II. The first group, ranging numbers 350,000 to 670,899, were standard Marine Corps enlistees joining for wartime service. Numbers 670,900 to 699,999 were never issued and 700,000 to 799,999 were reserved for female enlisted personnel. The female enlisted service numbers were also the only numbers assigned a prefix code, as the letter W was used to denote female Marine Corps enlisted.
Until the middle of World War II, the remaining service number range of 800,000 to 999,999 was used by regular Marine enlistees. In 1943, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers to 1,699,999 even though the original one million service number cap had not yet been reached. Marine enlisted service number 1,000,000 was issued in 1944 and the cap of 1,700,000 was reached nine years later.
Service numbers 1,700,000 to 1,799,999 were set aside for female enlisted personnel of the 1960s and 1970s while 1,800,000 to 2,000,000 was used by male enlistees. In 1965, with male service numbers running out due to a rise of enlistments during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, the Marine Corps extended enlisted service numbers a final time to 2,800,000. The highest Marine Corps service number reached was slightly above 2,699,000 before the numbers were discontinued in 1971. After this point, all Marine Corps service records converted to Social Security number
Social Security number
In the United States, a Social Security number is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents under section 205 of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to an individual by the Social Security Administration, an independent...
s as the primary identification means for service members.
Notable service numbers
Significant Marine Corps service numbers include:- 01: James Ackerman
- 032112: James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
- 096702: Wesley Fox
- 20001: Alexander Schott
- 337948: Byron De La BeckwithByron De La BeckwithByron De La Beckwith, Jr. was an American white supremacist and Klansman from Greenwood, Mississippi who was convicted in the 1994 state trial of assassinating the civil rights leader Medgar Evers on June 12, 1963....
- 385253: Brian KeithBrian KeithBrian Keith was an American film, television, and stage actor who in his four decade-long career gained recognition for his work in movies such as the 1961 Disney family film The Parent Trap, the 1966 comedy The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, and the 1975 adventure saga The Wind and...
- 643310: Gene HackmanGene HackmanEugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
- 1000000: Jack W. HillJack W. HillJack Warner Hill was a member of the United States Marine Corps who bears the distinction of holding Marine Corps enlisted service number one million . Hill served a total of two enlistments in the Marine Corps, one during World War II and the other briefly before the outbreak of the Korean War...
- 1060247: Lawrence MontaigneLawrence MontaigneLawrence Montaigne is an American actor, writer, dancer, and occasional stuntman. As an actor, he is best known for his appearances on many 1960s-era television shows....
- 1522597: Donald BellisarioDonald BellisarioDonald Paul Bellisario is an American television producer and screenwriter who created and sometimes wrote episodes for the TV series Magnum, P.I., Airwolf, Quantum Leap, JAG, and NCIS...
- 1956039: R. Lee ErmeyR. Lee ErmeyRonald Lee Ermey is a retired United States Marine Corps drill instructor and actor.Ermey has often played the roles of authority figures, such as his breakout performance as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Full Metal Jacket, Mayor Tilman in the Alan Parker film Mississippi Burning, Bill Bowerman in...
- 2080594: Leonard LakeLeonard LakeLeonard Lake was an American serial killer. He often used the alias Leonard Hill. The crimes he committed with Charles Ng became known when Lake committed suicide by taking a cyanide pill shortly after being arrested for a firearms offense.-Life:Lake was born in San Francisco, California...
Sources
- National Personnel Records CenterNational Personnel Records CenterThe National Personnel Records Center is an agency of the National Archives and Records Administration, created in 1956. It is divided into two large Federal Records Centers located in St...
, Instruction Memo 1865.20E, "Service Number Information", 14 April 1988 - Military Personnel Records CenterMilitary Personnel Records CenterThe Military Personnel Records Center located at 9700 Page Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is a branch of the National Personnel Records Center and is the repository of over 56 million military personnel records and medical records pertaining to retired, discharged, and deceased veterans of...
, "Training Guide Concerning Military Service Numbers", 28 June 2009