I was repeatedly told by VA representatives that my father's WWII military medical records had burned up in the fire of 1973. Three times! Told unequivocally to forget it!
Surprise: when I filed a request with the National Archives, they even came up with his 1944 medical board retirement hearing transcript. And much more.
This is a blockbuster for me, personally. Without getting into details, I needed to reconstruct his medical history to prove he was wounded in the line of duty.
I have just learned that in 1944, all medical personnel involved with his case were unanimous in saying indeed he was injured in the line of duty.
Months later, some accountant in the Adjutant General's office got it wrong. And it stuck.
There is no limit to the ways that this destroyed our lives, especially as a familiy.
Worst of all, when my father died, they cut my mother off from his disabled officer's pension and denied her the services she previously enjoyed. We ended up selling all our property in order to pay for her dementia care.
It was in the course of trying to rectify that when I was told by all VA personnel I contacted that my father's medical records had burned up and no longer existed, and that there was no way to retroactively address his status.
Finally, thanks to the excellent work of those at the National Archives, I am over the moon to have laid hold of very important records.
When I called back to thank the National Archives personnel, I asked the woman if other people had this problem of the VA erroneously telling them that medical histories had burned up in that fire. She said she heard it a lot. I asked her why they keep saying that. She said she didn't know, but wished they would stop it.
It's a much bigger story. But I wanted to get this online to encourage anyone who is being stonewalled by the VA about medical records to go ahead and contact the National Archives. Particularly if it concerns a WWII case like ours.
PS - I live in a place where I do not have regular internet access. I will not be able to follow this diary today, but if anyone has any questions please leave your comments and I will get back to you in the next couple of days.
3:15 PM PT: Here is the address and fax to write for any information:
National Personnel Records Center
Military Personnel Records
1 Archives Drive
St. Louis, MO 63138-1002
Fax 314 801 9195
Their contact info on the net: http://www.archives.gov/...
I am posting this for posterity, wishing I had seen this somewhere online before we sold all our property.