Jim, you are correct in that the DD 214 is simply called a Report of Separation from Active Duty. The actual "discharge" would be a DA 256 if you were Army. However, most veterans simply call it their DD 214 as "discharge papers". Most of the WWII vets I know do not remember the form number but they know what form they are talking about and simply just call it "discharge". I would suspect this is because the actual certificate itself that reads Honorable Discharge and is suitable for framing isn't worth a hill of beans when it comes to obtaining VA benefits. Another thing to remember, is that this certificate is usually not issued when an individual leaves the service unless his/her military "obligation" has been completed, ie served for more than 6 years (Nam era, now 8 years) or retired. In my case I received BOTH the "Honorable Discharge" (DA 256) and the DD 214 as I had completed more than 8 years of service. At the time military obligation was only 6 years. George gebasden@worldnet.att.net http://www.basden.com ---------- > From: Jim McDonnell <seamus@seanet.com> > To: GenTips-L@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: DD 214 > Date: Sunday, June 21, 1998 8:11 PM > > Cathy Cooley wrote: > > > > George and Mary, > > > > Although I had e-mailed Mary privately, I wanted to comment on what George > > had to say about the DD 214. From my father's and father-in-law's WW II > > records, both received the DD 214 which appears at the bottom of the form. > > With George's comments it makes me think that there must have been a > > "transitional phase" in the changing of discharge forms from Form 53 and > > Form 100 as mentioned by George to the DD 214, which I believe is still used > > to the current day.....at least it was during the Vietnam era, of which I > > was a part. > > The DD214 is not a Discharge, it is a Report of Seperation from the > Armed Forces of the United States. It is a one page summary of service. > -- > Jim McDonnell > Seattle > seamus@seanet.com > > A surplus of leisure; > a bare sufficiency of funds. > > > ==== GenTips Mailing List ==== > Support online research! Donate to the RootsWeb Genealogical Project! See more information at: > http://www.rootsweb.com > > > >