I wonder what the 1973 fire in St Louis REALLY was about.
Overview:
On July 12, 1973, a disastrous fire at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) destroyed approximately 16-18 million Official Military Personnel Files (OMPF).
No duplicate copies of these records were ever maintained, nor were microfilm copies produced. Neither were any indexes created prior to the fire.
https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973