Still Waiting for Dad's VA Medical Records

My Dad, Harold D. Burk (1909-1978), passed away in the Bronx, New York, OTD in 1978. He was five weeks from his 69th birthday. I've added Dad to Find a Grave here with a bite-sized bio, noting his service in the US Army during World War II. The shadowbox frame above holds his military memorabilia, organized and identified for the next generation and beyond.

Before his death from heart problems, Dad had been in and out of VA hospitals for 20 years--and as his descendants, Sis and I very much want to see his medical records.

2024 Veterans Affairs FOIA Request

In early December of 2024, I submitted a formal request for the US Veterans Affairs agency to provide me with Dad's files, under a Freedom of Information Act inquiry. No response for months. And months.

2025 Denial and Appeal

I finally received a smidgen of info in August of 2025, basically the info I had provided to the VA to support my request. The agency denied my request for Dad's entire file, for no real reason, saying my inquiry was actually genealogical in nature. Um, no.

On the advice of the wonderful folks at Reclaim the Records, I quickly appealed the VA's decision and provided detailed info to prove my identity as Dad's next of kin. Supposedly the FOIA law requires a prompt response but I and many others have only had ... crickets. For months.

2026 Followup of Appeal

In February of 2026, I asked my local Member of the House of Representatives to please get involved and obtain the file or at least an estimated date of resolution to this ongoing request. For the past six months, the powers that be have continually stalled my Rep's staff. They twice asked for the reference number of my request--which I provided, both times, including with a scan of the VA's letter assigning the reference number. 

Yesterday, staff from my Rep's office told me they had an update from the powers that be: the FOIA request is proceeding into the document gathering phase. I'm cautiously optimistic, hoping I will see Dad's file before the end of 2026. 

It is now 12 months since the VA denied my request, and 20 months since my original FOIA request. Fingers crossed.

Remembering Dad with love on this 48th anniversary of his death. 

Update: US Veterans Affairs FOIA Appeals Under Review

 

I'm beginning to hear back from the US Veterans Affairs authorities about my appeals of requests for ancestor veterans' files, which I asked for on the basis of the Freedom of Information Act. 

The very first request I sent, way back in early December of 2024, was for my Dad's veteran's file. Many months later, I was sent a skimpy extract with bare-bones info. I followed the terrific advice of the Reclaim the Records experts and appealed. Then as more skimpy extracts or denials arrived, I continued to appeal.

Above, the email I received this week from the US Veterans Affairs office, telling me they are "obtaining relevant records and/or information concerning" this particular appeal, and can't even estimate when my appeal will be completed. I imagine all the responses will look similar to this.

Just looking at the letter above, you can see how long the VA took to respond to my request for this particular veteran. More than 8 months, to be precise. And now I have no idea when I will receive a determination. I expect to have to wait. And wait. And wait. 

PS: Already I have 6 of these letters in 2 days, with more on the way. Identical in wording, only the case number and veteran's name are different on each letter.

The Clock Is Ticking: Appeal Denials of FOIA Requests for Veterans' Info

I thought all hope was lost for receiving US military veterans' service and medical info requested since December 2024 under the Freedom of Information Act, at least if I wasn't the documented next of kin for the veteran.

It's thanks to Reclaim the Records that the public has much much much easier access to requesting such records in the first place. They sued on our behalf, won, and created an easy-to-search, free website with built-in request functionality to find the names of US veterans who made some kind of claim to the US Veterans Administration over the past 150+ years. Wow! 

Back story 

I wasn't the only one who searched the database, found veterans in the family tree and the FAN club, and submitted multiple requests to obtain info about veterans in the family tree. My 13 requests were among the approximately 20,000 requests submitted since Reclaim the Records put up its database in late December of 2024. 

But then in the summer of 2025, without warning, the US Veterans Administration began answering such requests with denials, only sending ridiculously "skinny" extracts from the records, rather than the actual records themselves. In some cases, the extract didn't even confirm the veteran's name, let alone the branch of the military or service dates or the veteran's birth or death date. More from Reclaim the Records is here.

Update: ALWAYS APPEAL

Now Reclaim the Records has posted excellent, detailed advice about appealing these FOIA denials. They begin with this advice: ALWAYS APPEAL.

What I particularly appreciate is that the nonprofit has created four suggested letters with detailed legal language for us to use in appealing these denials. You can see the sample letters here.

Time is of the essence. To appeal a denial, I have to send a response to the Department of Veterans Affairs that is received no later than 90 calendar days from the date of the denial letter. The clock is ticking, and I'm copying and pasting from Reclaim the Record's sample language into letters that I personalize as indicated in each sample. 

At top, part of the suggested language for a situation in which I wasn't next of kin but I do know that the veteran was discharged from the military more than 62 years ago.

My fingers are flying over the keyboard. I'll post when I get any response. Go ahead and appeal! 

Appealing the VA's Skinny Extract of Dad's Claims File

A few weeks ago, the US Department of Veterans Affairs finally responded to my request for the claim records of Harold David Burk (1909-1978), my late father.  I faxed my official request to the VA on December 11 of last year. After waiting more than eight months, all I got was this pathetically skimpy, skinny extract (above) with nothing about Dad's military service, no spouse name, not even a birth or death date, only his parents' names. Grrrr.

Following the advice of Reclaim the Records, the nonprofit that aims to make public records actually public again, I am appealing. As next of kin, I am legally entitled to Dad's file.

I have to prove that I am, indeed, Dad's child, as part of the appeals process. But my official birth certificate, shown above (with judicious redactions), has NO NAME in the given name section, just under the words "Certificate of Birth."

Why? Because my parents were completely taken by surprise when not one but two babies were born. They weren't prepared with two names and needed a few days to decide. In the hospital, I was temporarily named "Burk A" and my sister's name was "Burk B".

Our names were filed with the Department of Health a couple of weeks later, then written on the back of our original birth certificates.

I have to explain all of that background in my appeal letter to VA officials. The birth cert clearly states that 2 children were born, and I'm the first. This should help.

In all, I included 7 attachments in my pdf file, including a copy of my appeal letter, emailed to the VA Office of General Counsel.

Unfortunately, I can't imagine that the harried VA officials will take much time to read the fine print in my appeal letter and documents. 😕 But I don't give up easily!

Watch for a post months from now on the outcome of my appeal.