For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
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VA can help vets get in touch
Question: How do I locate a buddy whom I served with in the military?
Answer: The Privacy Act requires that the Department of Veterans Affairs, as a federal agency, protect the privacy of veterans' personal information. Therefore, VA cannot release personal information about a veteran without that person's permission. VA can, however, forward a message from you to the veteran, providing VA has a current address on record. Write your message to your friend and place it in an sealed, stamped envelope. Put this in another envelope with a note to VA explaining who it is that you are trying to reach and add as much identifying information as you have. Mail the note and the sealed message to the VA Honolulu Regional Office, or drop it off at the VA located in Tripler Army Medical Center's E-wing. Your message will be sent to the address on file for the veteran. It is then up to the veteran to contact you. If you have any questions, call the VA Regional Office at (800) 827-1000. Another source, if you are looking for a female, is the Women in Military Service for America Memorial located at the ceremonial entrance of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va. It can be reached at (800) 222-2294, or visit www.womensmemorial.org.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or visit the VA Web site at
www.va.gov/hawaii or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.