TN 1 (11-01)

A. Policy

1. General

As noted in VB 00102.001A, in order to qualify for SVB an individual must have served in the:

• active military, naval or air service of the United States at any time during the period beginning on September 16, 1940 and ending on July 24, 1947; or

• organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while the forces were in the service of the U.S. Armed Forces pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among the military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the U.S. Army. This military service must have been rendered at any time during the period beginning July 26, 1941 and ending on December 30, 1946.

The individual must have been discharged or released from the above military service under conditions other than dishonorable after service of 90 days or more, or because of a disability or injury incurred or aggravated in the line of active duty.

SSA does not verify military service (as explained in VB 00205.055) unless all the other requirements for qualification are met.

2. Evidence of Military Service

For SVB, SSA accepts, as evidence of military service, a “Certification of Military Service” issued by the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) in St. Louis or a letter issued by the Department of the Army, Philippine Army branch, at face value and without verification IF :

• It contains the required information about the period of military service and the character of the discharge;

• It is an original document (not a photocopy);

• It has not been altered; and

• In the case of the “Certification of Military Service”, the appearance of the document conforms with that in the exhibits of the documents shown in the Forms and Facsimiles section of the SVB Intranet site; and it contains a raised seal.

B. Procedure — General

Develop for proof of the individual"s U.S. military service as explained in RS 01701.005 . See VB 00205.050C for information on the verification of Philippine military service.

C. Procedure — Service as a Philippine Scout, Resident Filipino Member of the U.S. Navy or the Philippine Commonwealth Army

1. Claimant Submits U.S. Evidence of Military Service

a. General

Except as provided in VB 00205.050A.2., verify the evidence of military service as explained in VB 00205.050D.

However, do not delay adjudication of the claim. The U.S. evidence can be used to adjudicate the claim. Continue to process the application under the normal procedures while verifying the military service.

b. Military Service Verified

Document the file to show the verification of the military service. No further action or notice to the individual is necessary.

c. Military Service Cannot be Verified or Does Not Meet SVB Criteria

If the qualification determination has not been made, deny the claim and explain to the individual that he or she does not meet the military service requirement for qualification for SVB.

If the qualification determination has been made but no determination has been made on SVB entitlement, send the individual written notice revising the qualification determination, denying the claim and explaining the basis for the revision and denial of the claim.

If a determination has been made that the individual is entitled to SVB and that determination can be reopened under the rules of administrative finality (as explained in VB 02507.001C.2.) take action to reopen the allowance, deny the claim and recover any overpayment.

2. Claimant Submits Philippine Evidence of Military Service

Verify the evidence as explained in VB 00205.050D. Do not make a determination on whether the individual meets the military service requirement for qualification until the verification has been completed.

D. Procedure — Verification of Military Service

Verify military service with the sources listed below and in the order listed.

1. SSI Claims Folder

Check the SSI claims folder, if readily available, for evidence of military service if the individual filed for SSI after August 1996 and his or her military service was developed for the purpose of SSI alien eligibility. If the file contains information showing that the military service was verified with the VA or the NPRC, no further development is necessary. Document the SVB file to this effect.

NOTE: A claims folder is considered to be readily available if it is in the FO taking the claim or if the FO taking the claim is able to determine which FO has the SSI claims file.

If the SSI folder is not in the office taking the SVB claim, ask in which office the SSI claim was filed. If known, call that office to secure the military service information. Document the SVB claims file to show what the review of the SSI file revealed.

If the SSI claims file is not readily available, proceed to verify the military service as explained in VB 00205.050D.2.

2. Disability, Railroad, Alien Deportation and Military Service (DRAMS) File

Examine the DRAMS file for information on military service.

To access the DRAMS file:

• go to the SSA Main Menu, select A, Primary, and press enter;

• select item 9, Master File Query Menu (MFQM), from the SSA Menu and press enter;

• select item 16, Miscellaneous Menu (MISM) from the MFQM and press enter;

• select DRAMS Query (DRMQ) from the MISM, enter the individual"s SSN and press enter.

If there is no data entry for the individual, the legend “DATA NOT PRESENT ON DRAMS FILE” will appear at the bottom of the MISM screen.

If there is a file for the individual, it will appear. The military service entry for the individual will include a:

• one character proof code, and

• beginning and ending date(s) in month and year format.

See SM 00349.075 for a further description of the military service data block.

Accept the DRAMS file as proof of military service for title VIII purposes if the:

• proof code is “P”;

• period of service (or aggregate of WW II periods) is at least 90 days; and

• information in the file is in substantial agreement with evidence submitted by the individual.

3. VA File

The VA has provided SSA with an electronic file of individuals who have filed for VA benefits based on WW II military service. The file contains the:

• individual’s name;

• SSN;

• service number;

• character of service;

• dates of service;

• branch of service;

• date of birth;

• date of death; and

• folder location.

The VA file has been converted to a database and can be accessed through the SVB Intranet site by selecting “Military Service Verification.” The file can be searched by SSN, name, VA service number and VA case number.

Do not assume that no record exists until a query has been made by each of the four identifiers: name, VA service number, VA case number and SSN.

COMMENT: This VA listing consists of information on Philippine World War II veterans that was extracted from the VA Beneficiary Identification and Record Locator System (BIRLS). Thus, the information on a BIRLS printout has the same value as that from the title VIII VA file.

4. NPRC

See VB 00205.055 for information on checking these records.