Does he have any mementos that he saved? For example, discharge papers, pictures, letters of accomodation, awards. .anything at all like that?

check with a veterans group - Disable American Veterans, for example. I know DAV chapters have advocates (may not be the exact 'title') that can & do help veterans. Does he know his military ID number? (different from SSN). *anything* he can show, like dbfirewife mentioned, would be helpful.

I have a little problem believing ALL records burned in a fire, tho it is possible, I suppose. But I've heard that too many times doing some family research to believe it most of the time. Keep digging....and contact the DAV. If they can't help directly, I'm guessing they'll be able to direct you to someone who can. If one chapter seems 'lazy', find another!!

thank you so very much its a starting point and i appreciate it and no he has no medals or anything and yes they told him everything was lost in a fire...again i thank you for your help i truly do appreciate it.

I'd try going back to the branch of the military that he served in - write/call Washington DC. Also check with Veteran's of Foreign Wars (VFW). Also, check with your local Congressman - they usually have a staff member whose job is specifically to help people with governmental questions.

jeepers i never knew that either thank you. its not like its much cash thats involved but it will help with his drs stuff and his prescriptions. between him and my mom trying to keep track of everything and trying to get them some kind of break since theyve worked their whole lives, is really daunting sometimes. our local ssa here in the bad state of ny..well no one wants to go out of their way to help. honestly its a pain to do this stuff but they are my parents and i owe them everything,but i figured on here someone would know something and really i appreciate all the replys more than you can imagine.

Yes, my husbands were also lost in the fire....it is true. Apparently a building burned down in Chicago ( I believe)and all records for a certain period of time were lost. We finally had to contact our Congressman and he walked us thru the steps and finally we received his discharge papers! This took amost a year.

When he was discharged, he should have recorded it in the county he resided in at the time. They will have a record of it if he did. They will have the special discharge number that he was given at the time if he recorded it with them. Not all veterans did. Our local geneology chapter had the county recorder as a speaker last month, and that is what she said. We were also told the same thing by some one from our local AmVets.

Try and go through the different bases he was stationed at too. But I think the Congressman would be your best bet too. I don't suppose he has his dog tags still.
Leslie

Here's a site that might help you find out what benefits he qualifies for.

Here is a link that might be useful: government Veteran Benefit site

The military records facility in St. Louis burned a number of years ago and a lot of military records were lost, not just recent ones. My grandfather's records from the Civil War had been sent there when his wife applied for a pension and all that information is gone.

i thank you all for your help it was greatly appreciated.

Most counties and states have veterans agencies. I would start there. ANY docs from his service would help.

Daughter, wife (and ex wife) and mother of veterans.

Hi...
Long time lurker here. I had the same problem trying to get my Dad's military records. St Louis claimed to know nothing. I *knew* my Dad was in the Army during WW2. So what I did was call the local Veteran's dept. (New Hampshire)...who also claimed to have no info! They suggested that I call the State Adjutant general's office, and gave me the phone number.
The gentleman that I spoke with was not sure he could help, but I gave him all the info I had,(approximate dates and places, and of names of commanding officers that I remembered my Dad talking about, etc)

***most important was his Social Security number***.

About 5 days later I got a letter from him...including a copy of my Dad's discharge papers. That's all I've found so far, but it is proof that he was in the Army, and also has his serial number listed. That's probably all you need to get your Dad his veteran's benefits, so if you get the serial number, make sure to keep that! Does your Dad remember his serial number? My Dad had been deceased for a few years when I did this (for genealogy purposes), but had he been living, I know he would have remembered his serial number!
Just be prepared...the copies are hard to read sometimes. They used carbon paper with old typewriters back then, and didn't have a way to do photocopies back in the 1940's. What I received was a photocopy of a carbon copy, and I'm sure the original was just as hard to read as my photocopy.
Good Luck, let me know if you have any questions, I will try to help!

Ancestry.com has a lot of old military records online (World War I draft registration cards, World War II Army Enlistment Records, etc, etc.). There's always a chance that something may have been microfilmed before the fire. Ancestry.com also has a lot of old military newspapers online. If your father's name appeared in an article in a military newspaper, that might be enough proof. Also, there are a lot of rosters online. Your father's individual military records may have been lost in a fire, but perhaps a roster still exists with his name in it.

Send me an e-mail through my page (be sure to put KT in the subject line) and give me as much info as you can (full name, date and place of birth, parents' names, places where he and his family lived, etc.) and I'll search the Ancestry.com records for you.

VERY IMPORTANT - He should have in his possession his original DD214. This is the 'holy grail' of military documents which is issued when someone leaves the service, no matter after how long or under what circumstance, and servicemen are made aware of that when they get out. It is required for many benefits, inquiries, etc. I don't see any reason that SSA or DMV would have his military information.

Go through all of his paperwork. See if he still has it. It could save you a lot of legwork.

I take it you are in NY (as I am). Scroll down in the link I posted. On the left side is a link for local offices. Also, look in your online county directory for the county veteran's office.

Here is a link that might be useful: State Veteran's Office

You have been given some valuable information here. One thing I would like to add is if there is a picture of him in his military attire it wouldn't do any harm to have it with you if you go to talk to someone local. It would make it more personal and to show that he is more than just another number to try to find. I wish you and your parents the best of luck. Our veterans are our heroes and deserve any benefits they can get.

Linda