With the warning that the information I am sharing was found almost 7 years ago and may have changed.... 1) I stumbled across a site for the "National Help Desk" 1-888-596-4357 - 2) I was advised to send a message to a government email address they provided. 3) A representative responded the next day with the explanation that the Records Center in St. Louis is not a VA facility - it belongs to the NARA. Using the scant information I had to offer (name, rank, service number, station in 1952) and the additional notation from St. Louis that "documents requested may have been sent to the Dept. of Veterans Affairs - refer to claim #_____" they ran it across VA electronic records and found my veteran listed. 4) I replied to their email - thanking them and asking if the VA electronic records they referred to were available to the public and if so could I obtain copies. They informed me that the electronic records are "screen shots" of info. from a master file of veterans who have applied for benefits. My veteran's file showed that there was a paper file which was retired to a Federal Archives Records Center (FARC) and issued number_____. They also supplied me with a storage number for those records and advised me to contact the VA regional office that serves my area for copies (request should include all info. including VA file #, FARC location # and FARC file #). Address can be found - http://www.vba.va.gov/benefits/ROcontacts.htm from the main site - http://www.vba.va.gov/benefits/address.htm 5) I wrote (snail mail) to the VA Regional Office in my area requesting the records of two deceased Army veterans (even though the veterans had not been residents of my area). I listed as much personal information as I had available in my request and was rewarded with more records than I had dared hope for. So you still have some work ahead of you - hope that all the connections are still available. If not, I'm sure that some office in the VA should be able to help - they were very kind and helpful when I needed them and it was truly appreciated! eile wrote: > > The VA has refused to even search for his name. They say that I need > his service number or social to even begin to make a request for records. > > Paul > >