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Nothing you enter leaves your browser. This screens the common earlier-effective-date rules — it is not a determination.
Records lost in the 1973 NPRC fire?
A special path for one group — and it plugs straight into the service-records lever (38 CFR 3.156(c)) above.
A 1973 fire at the National Personnel Records Center destroyed ~16–18 million military files. It mainly hit Army veterans discharged 1912–1960 and Air Force veterans discharged 1947–1964 (last names Hubbard–Z). If that's you and your records are gone, VA now runs a streamlined process:
- File NA Form 13055 ("Request for Information Needed to Reconstruct Medical Data") with your claim (VA Form 21-526EZ). If you've already sent the forms, VA won't ask again unless NPRC needs something new.
- VA applies a sympathetic evidentiary standard — it can accept credible statements from you or fellow service members in place of the burned records.
- If reconstructed service records come in later, that can trigger the 3.156(c) lever above and push your effective date back.
Official: va.gov — reconstruct records · VA 1973-fire claims page.
Found a lever? Estimate what the earlier date is worth.
Back Pay Calculator → Have us read your file →Educational screen of the common effective-date rules in 38 CFR 3.400, 3.114, 3.155, 3.156(c), 3.105(a), and the Nehmer rules — not a determination. The general rule is the LATER of the date you filed or the date entitlement arose; the situations below are the recognized ways to reach an EARLIER date. Each has conditions the VA must find met. Confirm with a VA-accredited representative and at VA.gov. US Vet Help is not affiliated with the VA and does not file claims.