News Letter 1941 Jul-Dec - Air Force Historical Studies Office

Whenever a birth occurs. all physicians.
hospitals and institutions are required to
report the birth along with the nalReof
the child. its sex. names of parents. etc.,
to the burean of vital statistics charged
with maintaining the pnbl1c record. The
birth then is a part of the pnbl1c record
and a certified cOP7 of that record. issued
under seal b7 the office or bureau in
charge is the document required to support
a claim.
It must be recognized. however, that in
some cases there are absolute17 no available
pnblic records of births and marriages.
In these cases then other proof will be
accepted. but it will not. however. be accepted
until or unless a certified statement
is obtained from state or count7 officials
verifying that no pnblic record of
the birth or marriage is obtainBble for
the period in which ths birth or marriage
occurred. That being established. it then
is permissible to p~tablish proof in other
wqs as follows:
PBOOFOFAGE
1. A Certified .Q.g;gx QL A Cbnrch hoord,
If ~ QhU4!A1. :BAl)tized!A A Clmrch.
M~ clm.rches maintain 8lJCh records and
the present registrar of the church will
make a sworn statement of the record.
2. hm Statement Qt Doctor JAg, 2U1-
ciated. .M ~ nt1h Q! ~.Q.h1a. In many
cases this cannot be obtained. due to death
of the doctor or reIIlOT8l from the communi t7.
If obtainaele. the doctor must swear to it
before a not&ry'.
3. ~ Statement Qi ~ Witnesses
Present AI ~ .nu Q! .b Child' 8 ~.
This affidavit must be made b7 individuals
who !mewboth parents at the time of and
before the birth, but the7 do not actual~7
have had to be present at the birth i teelf,
but must certif7 that the7 knew of the
birth and of the naming of the child. etc.
4. Notarized Certificate, hlmllllUtt a
FamilY IDa .Q! ~~. There are ma.ny
avenues for fraud in making certificates
from entries in famil7 Bibles; therefore,
such certificates mq be refUsed and other
proof required. Or the fami17 B1ble itself
~ have to be produced.
5. 1leQU8.tveterans Mm1niBtration h
Obtain lrmIl Bureau Q! CenSUI~ 1lecord .Q!
~ lam '
l7 Ina l1a11lecord 2! 1DA CenSllS
W.£ll Xu. &d.I. Att..u: titlh .Q! ~ Child.
This method is on17 a last resort and is
not requested b7 the Veterans' Administ~
tion unless the7 are convinced. that no
proof of age can be obtained as outlined
under the previous steps. Then the Veterans'
Administration must be requested to
obtain it from the Census Bureau.
There is an unending delqin the settlement
of claims. while awaiting proof of
age and it is. therefore. incumbent upon
all milit&ry' personnel who are married to
begin immediatel7 to obtain acceptable records
of birth of a wife and children. It
will be noted that affidavits of parents
to establish proof of age has not been
listed as acceptable.
PROOFOFMABRIAGE
1. Certified Q..ga.Q! cMmA Record It
Marriage hi. Performed. III A Church. See
Proof of Age. No.1.
2. km Statement Qt Minister ~Publ1c
Official ~ PerfOrmed.~ Ceremony. See
Proof of Age, No.2.
3. ~ Statement h TwoWitnesses mm
WerePresent At ~ PerformanceQi CeremoV.
See Proof of Age. No.3.
4. A Notarized Certificate Ma.h J1lllrma
hUz Qt. ~ Marriage !A FamilY !alt..
DECB.ll3SOFDIVORCE
Whenevera widow is claiming pension or
compensation for the death of a husband.
and it 11 shown that e:l.. ther the deceased or
the widow or both had a previous marriage,
then a certified cOP7 of the pnblic record
of the divorce proceedings must be obtained
and submitted before the right of the claimant
can be establish.ed.
In order to obtain copies of divorce decrees,
a request should be addressed to
the clerk of the court which granted the
divorce. In a good many states, state records
of divorces are kept. compiled from
reports submitted b7 the count7 courts.
Even though some states maintain records
of divorces, the7~ not have 81JY information
other than the namesof the principals
and the date of dissolution of the marriage.
For pension purposes a certified cop7 of
the actual decree and the terms thereof is
required; therefore, the Cop7 of the decree
should be obtained from the court which
granted it.
The book, "CustOdians of Pu.blic 1lecords,.
also lists information for each state, giving
the proper method of addressing the
count7 courts and 1t also suppl~es informa.-
tion as to which states maintain state records
of divorce.
Inasmuch as certified copies of divorce
decrees must be presented in support of a
claim. the. thq should. be obtained at
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