REQUESTS FOR VETERANS' MILITARY INFORMATION

Deceased Veterans' Records:

Individuals may make a request for copies of deceased veterans records. To do so, they should submit a request in writing to the nearest VA regional office (dial the toll-free number, 1-800-827-1OOO). Please provide as much identifying information as possible to enable the local VA office to identify the requested records. Some examples of useful information include the veteran's full' name, VA file number, branch of service, service serial number, Social Security Number, exact dates of birth or death, and enlistment and discharge date. In some cases, it may he useful to provide the veteran's home of record at the time of entry into the service. VA does not maintain organizational information in its computerized database, so information such as duty station is not helpful in identifying VA records. If VA is able to identify the requested records, we will release the deceased veteran's information, subject to applicable laws and regulations.

To Request Your Own Record:

An individual may make a request for his/her own VA record. The veteran should submit a written request, under the Privacy Act, to the nearest VA regional office. The veteran should include as much of the same information listed above, as possible. The most important piece of information, if known, is your VA file number, commonly referred to as the VA claim number.

For Veterans who Have Never Filed for VA Benefits:

Veterans who have never filed a claim for VA benefits, and who are seeking a copy of their military records, should utilize a Standard Form 180 Request Pertaining to Military Records. You may request a form by calling the nearest VA regional office at toll-free number 1-800-827-l000. The form is also available through a "Fax Database" option on VAONLINE accessible at Internet VAONLINE - Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans should complete the form with as much identifying information as possible and submit the form to the appropriate address provided on the reverse side of the form.

Help in Locating a Person or Business:

Do you need to look up a person or business anywhere in the U.S.A.? Try Switchboard.com on the Internet, the free residential and business directory from Coordinate.com. It contains over 90 million people and 10 million businesses with their addresses and phone numbers!

Selective Service gets "On-Line"

For the first time ever, young men can initiate a registration with Selective Service using a computerized online service. "This will make registration even easier for men in millions of computer households," says Gil Coronado, Director of the Selective Service System in Arlington, Va. Coronado heads the Federal agency which preserves America's capability to conduct a military draft in a crisis.

In addition to providing a wealth of information to the public through its Internet home page (http:// www.sss. gov), Selective Service has teamed with CompuServe.com to allow young men to initiate a registration online. The Agency's joint venture is with CompuServe's (All Thin"s Military." A young man with computer access to CompuServe simply utilizes GO MILITARY and requests a registration form. Once the information is entered online, the information is forwarded to Selective Service for processing. Within 30 days, the new registrant receives a personalized registration card in the mail. After checking the information on the card, signing and dating it, the young man mails it back to SSS.

Young men must register within 30 days of turning 18 in accordance with Federal law. More than 35 million men have registered since 1980, however none have been drafted. The last draft ended in 1973. By having the names and addresses of men ages 18 through 25 on file in the Selective Service System data-base, America remains ready to face any threat in the future.

"Being able to offer an on-line means to help men register is just another way to further our goal of providing a wide range of military-related services to our CompuServe members," says Dan Meeks of CompuServe's "All Things Military." CompuServe Inc., connects more than five million home and business users in more than 185 countries.