Locating & Obtaining a copy of a WWII Veterans Discharge Documents.
1. You may obtain the Discharge Documents of a Veteran from the Veteran, or the Veteran's family.
Ask everyone in your or the veterans family.
2. Veterans were encouraged to register a copy of their Discharge Documents at the Court House of the County that they resided in after WW 2. Discharge Documents are in the Public Domain, so anyone can obtain photocopies of any WW 2 Veteran's Discharge Documents, IF the Veteran registered a copy of their Discharge Documents.
3. Many Town Clerk offices have discharge documents on file.
4. A copy might have been filed with estate records at the county Probate Court.
5. The Funeral Home that handled burial arrangements will have a copy if the veteran had a military funeral or applied for a government headstone.
6. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). may also have a file on the veteran. The documents in this file will have the veteran's serial number on them and also may have a social security number. During World War II the serial number was NOT the social security number. The documents will also show designated next of kin and the file will contain marriage records and birth certificates.
To get a copy of this file call (800) 827-1000. This will ring at your regional office. They will be able to tell you where your veteran's file is located and where to write. You will need to be able to give them identifying information, a serial number or the VA file number. Later medical records were filed by the veterans Social Security Number. Be sure to tell them you are requesting a "retired file." However, if someone is alive (for example the widow) and is still receiving benefits from the veteran, the file will be "active". You may have to get permission from that person or ask them to request the file in their name. If the widow never remarried and always received benefits, the file will be near where she is living or was living at the time of her death. After they tell you where the file is located, write to that address requesting a copy of everything in the file.
7. If the Department of Veteran Affairs does not have any information you can try contacting the Veteran Affairs Insurance Center at 800-669-8477.
8. IF you have the veteran`s Army Service number, you can use E-vetreqs at the National Archives website or fill out a Standard Form, SF-180 with as much information as you can and mail it to NPRC in St Louis requesting ONLY the DD-214 or equilvant Discharge documents. The is no fee for just a discharge document for next of kin. I do NOT recomend requesting anything from NPRC without the Army Service Number.
