Are you a child or spouse of a veteran? A "Next-of-Kin" is defined this way: Veterans and Next-of-Kin of deceased veterans have the same access rights to the record. The next-of-kin is defined as any of the following: the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother, or sister of the deceased veteran. Next-of-kin must provide proof of the death of the veteran, such as a copy of the death certificate, a letter from the funeral home, or a published obituary...
The GENERAL PUBLIC must respect a 62 year privacy law on military records.
(U.S. involvement in Vietnam spanned from the early 1950's to 1973,escalating significantly from advisors to combat troops in July 1965. The Selective Service military draft was used to induct over 1.8 million men. A birth-date lottery began in December 1969. (The 62 years is for the DISCHARGE DATE so if the person was discharged in 1965 the records should be public next year.)THE DETAILS FOR OBTAINING A MILITARY RECORD ARE HERE : NARA PERSONNEL RECORDS OF THE U.S. MILITARY This is a start. I have never personally found a World War II Draft Registration in which a CO was noted, but I hear some do.
According to NARA the primary place to find CO information for your ancestor is:
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in Saint Louis, Missouri, which holds the official military personnel files (OMPF's) for those who served including the conscientious objectors who did serve but in non-combatant roles.
NARA NATIONAL PERSONNEL RECORDS CENTER
The collection you will likely be directed to or have an archivist at NARA look into for you is called: Record Group 147, which includes documentation on Conscientious Objectors (COs).
