Lost documents slow veterans’ access to benefits

Harold Brewster certainly earned the right to veterans benefits. He was aboard the battleship New Mexico when a kamikaze pilot slammed into its bridge, killing its commanding officer and 29 crew members during World War II.

But when the former sailor now living in Boca Raton asked about the free plots that would be available to veterans in the new South Florida National Cemetery, he found out he needed documents that had been lost years before. Brewster’s military papers and five medals were taken when his household belongings were stolen 10 years ago.

“I didn’t know what we were going to do,” said Brewster, 80.

Almost a million veterans a year ask federal officials about retrieving lost military documents, papers they need to apply for valuable veterans benefits like housing loans and low-cost healthcare.

The process now can be expedited by applying online. But some veterans and their families still find it cumbersome and confusing.

“Most people don’t have the ability to do it on their own,” said Floyd White, section manager with Broward County Elderly and Veterans Services.

At least one veteran a week comes into the office for help replacing lost papers, White said.

Brewster’s family turned to the Mae Volen Senior Center in Boca Raton, where Brewster goes for activities and lunch.

Administrative assistant Grace Ginsberg pulled up the forms online and, within a few months, had the papers, as well as replacements for the medals.

Brewster wept as a Navy recruiter presented his decorations, in a display box put together by the center, during a ceremony two days before Veterans Day.

But some documents can be hard to retrieve, especially for veterans who served in World War II or the Korean War.

A huge fire swept through the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, Mo., in 1973, destroying as many as 18 million military files.

The majority of Army and Air Force veterans discharged before 1964 were affected; the center has reconstructed service histories for 6 million, sending them certificates to replace their military discharge papers.

Officially called a Report of Separation, or DD Form 214, a military discharge paper is required for most veterans benefits, including a veteran’s home loan, healthcare at a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic or hospital, low-cost prescription drugs through the VA, and burial at a veterans cemetery.

According to the VA, the best way to request records is to fill out the Standard Form SF-180. It is available online at www.archives.gov/veterans. Veterans can file the form electronically or by mail.

The records center receives about 5,000 requests a day involving its 60 million records. But the center, part of the National Archives and Records Administration, tries to respond within 10 days, officials said.

Older veterans should apply for replacement documents as soon as they realize their originals are missing, veterans officials said.