This is a tough one as there are certain conditions to be met before your dad is entitled to any assistance. First if you haven’t yet secured a copy of your Dad’s DD214 that is the first step. Ask him if he has a copy otherwise go to archives.gov and search for Standard Form 180. I would suggest getting in touch with a good Vesterans service officer (VSO). You can find VSO’s through your state veterans commission, DAV, American legion; some of which are at times located at your local VA. You didn’t mention if Dad was already receiving VA healthcare or not. If not get him enrolled at your local VA. Is your dad receiving any type of VA disability benefits? If not you may need to explore filing a claim for disability compensation through the VA. One thing to be perfectly clear about DO file the SF 180 and ask for his DD214 ONLY. When you receive that then fill out the same form and ask for EVERYTHING but the DD214;ask your father if he was ever hospitalized while in service if so you’ll need the name of the hospital and approximate dates fill that in specifically on the form along with request for all records because hospital records are not included when you ask for medical records. I suggest doing it this way so that records don’t get “lost”. Too much to post about but first order of business is to secure dads DD214, enroll in VA healthcare if not already enrolled and find a VSO to walk you through it. Good Luck to you on this journey.
