Last January 2008, i sent requests to St Louis for the OPMFs for my father and his 2 brothers. I sent in dad`s thru EVet online. John & Frank`s i sent in using Standard Form 180s sent in the same envelope.
In April the first response i got for was for John`s records, it was the standard letter..." records were in the area of the fire" ..yada yada.. "some records were recovered"..$50 for copies. So i send the $50, hoping for anything because i had no info at all on John`s service. About 3 weeks later i recieved a large envelope containing 28 pages of records, everything from induction records, unit assignment, dental/medical records, overseas service dates & locations, campaign & battle participation, medals & awards authorized, & discharge documents. Just about a complete record of service. The copies show some damage, mostly smoke or water damage but for the most part were easily readable.
The second response was Frank, form letter... "unable to locate any records for this individual" So... i sent back a letter enclosing copies of FranK`s DD-214 and a death certificate from the VA Hospital in West Haven, CT. In May, i got another form letter back stating " The separation document provided with with your enclosures contains more information than we are able to reconstruct", 
"an alternate record that is available is a Final Pay Voucher". $15 for a copy. I`m not sure yet if i`ll send for it.
In May i recieved the reponse for dad`s records, standard form letter, " Area of fire...OPMF was recovered but fire damaged, restoration work required prior to viewing at our facility, $50 for copies of records". I sent in the $50, a week ago i recieved the records, 55 pages!
The records show alot of charring/ smoke/water damage but mostly intact. In some areas of the service record, the info apparantly was written in pencil and has faded or worn off & didnt copy very good, also it appears 2 pages and an insert to the service is missing. Of course they were the info i really really need to know about, ie: Southern France. 
There was a lot of info i didnt know about, didnt have details on or had wrong assumptions about, but now i have a more complete picture of his assignments & dates of movements.
Dad was assigned to Co "C" 706th MP Bn. 25 Nov 1942 at Athol, MA. for basic training and this was his Bn thruought the war.
I`m still sorting thru the records & looking for more info. Some records are confusing, for example there is a Report of Change card dated 16 Dec 1943 stating he was assigned to HQ 709 MP Bn in Putnam, CT. but at that time he was doing duty in the Port of Casablanca, North Africa. 
Owell, every little clue or tidbit of info helps to piece the story together. Next stop College Park!