M21-1 Manual / Part X, Subpart i, Chapter 5, Section A
Establishing Veteran Status Based on Merchant Marine Service
M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, Chapter 5, Section A
Overview
In This Section | | This section contains the following topics:| Topic | Topic Name |
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| 1 | General Information on Veteran Status Based on Merchant Marine Service | | 2 | Merchant Marine Service Verification Required for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Claim |
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1. General Information on Veteran Status Based on Merchant Marine Service
Introduction | | This topic contains general information on Veteran status based on Merchant Marine service, including- eligibility for a U.S. Merchant Marine discharge certificate
- merchant mariners who are eligible for all VA benefits under Public Law (PL) 95-202
- merchant mariners who are eligible for burial benefits only under PL 105-368
- applying for a DD Form 214, Certificate of Discharge or Release from Active Duty, or a DD Form 1300, Report of Casualty, for Merchant Marine service, and
- determining where to send DD Form 2168, Application for Discharge of Member or Survivor of Member of Group Certified To Have Performed Active Duty with the Armed Forces of the United States.
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Change Date | | September 21, 2018 |
X.i.5.A.1.a. Eligibility for a U.S. Merchant Marine Discharge Certificate | | Members of the U.S. Merchant Marine who served under the Coast Guard, Naval Transportation Service, or Army Transport Service in active, oceangoing service during the period from- December 7, 1941, to August 15, 1945, are eligible to receive discharge certificates under Public Law (PL) 95-202, or
- August 16, 1945, to December 31, 1946, are eligible to receive discharge certificates under PL 105-368.
Each of these services will issue a DD Form 214, Certificate of Uniformed Service, or a DD Form 1300, Report of Casualty, as applicable.Important: Claims processors must pay close attention to the law under which the DD Form 214 or DD Form 1300 is issued to avoid entitlement errors.References: For more information on the eligibility of merchant mariners under- PL 95-202, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, 5.A.1.b, and
- PL 105-368, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, 5.A.1.c.
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X.i.5.A.1.b. Merchant Mariners Who Are Eligible for All VA Benefits Under PL 95-202 | | On January 19, 1988, in response to Section 401 of PL 95-202, the Secretary of the Air Force approved service aboard certain merchant or public vessels in oceangoing or foreign waters as active duty in World War II (WWII).If the discharge document shows eligibility under PL 95-202, the merchant mariner and his/her survivors are eligible for benefits in the same manner as any other Veteran or survivor.Reference: For more information on the eligibility of merchant mariners under PL 95-202, see 38 CFR 3.7(x)(15). |
X.i.5.A.1.c. Merchant Mariners Who Are Eligible for Burial Benefits Only Under PL 105-368 | | PL 105-368, Section 402, provides that the qualified service of certain merchant mariners between August 16, 1945, and December 31, 1946, is deemed active duty service for purposes of all Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) burial benefits, including:- burial flags
- burial, plot, and transportation allowances
- headstones and markers
- interment in national cemeteries, and
- markers in memorial areas of national cemeteries.
Important: Merchant Marine service after August 15, 1945, does not establish eligibility for compensation and/or pension.Reference: For more information on merchant mariner benefits under Section 402 of PL 105-368, see 46 U.S.C. 11201-11204. |
X.i.5.A.1.d. Applying for a DD Form 214 or DD Form 1300 for Merchant Marine Service | | To apply for a DD Form 214 or DD Form 1300, a claimant must- complete and sign DD Form 2168, Application for Discharge of Member or Survivor of Member of Group Certified to Have Performed Active Duty with the Armed Forces of the United States, and
- submit the DD Form 2168 to the appropriate service department.
Notes:- The applicant should also submit copies of any documentation of sea service that he or she may have.
- An applicant must resubmit the DD Form 2168 and supporting documentation to establish periods of duty other than those that are shown in Item 18, REMARKS, on the DD Form 214.
- If the merchant mariner is deceased, the applicant must submit evidence of death with the DD Form 2168. A photocopy of a death certificate, a funeral obituary, or other evidence showing the date of death is acceptable for this purpose.
- For certification under PL 105-368, the applicant must enclose a $30.00 check or money order, payable to the U.S. Treasury.
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X.i.5.A.1.e. Determining Where to Send DD Form 2168 | | Use the information below to determine where the claimant should send the DD Form 2168.| If … | Then the claimant sends the DD Form 2168 to … |
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| the alleged service was employment as a civil servant for the U.S. Army Transport Service (or the U.S. Army Transportation Corps, Water Division) | Commander
U.S. Army Human Resources Command
Department 420
Ft. Knox, KY 40122-5402
ATTN: AHRC-PDR | | the alleged service was employment as a civil servant for the Naval Transportation Service | Commander
U.S. Navy Personnel Command (PERS-312)
5720 Integrity Drive
Millington, TN 38054-5045 | - the alleged service was employment with the War Shipping Administration or Office of Defense Transportation or their agents, and
- the U.S. Coast Guard or Department of Commerce acknowledged the employment in a document such as a Merchant Mariner Document/Certificate of Service
| Commanding Officer
U.S. Coast Guard – National Maritime Center
ATTN: Records Management Branch (NMC-41)
100 Forbes Drive
Martinsburg, WV 25404
Phone: (888) 427-5662Reference: For more information about verification of maritime service through the Coast Guard, see the National Maritime Center website. |
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2. Merchant Marine Service Verification Required for a VA Claim
Introduction | | This topic contains instructions regarding information required for a claim, including- information required to establish a claim based on Merchant Marine service
- entering service information during claim establishment
- correct voyage entries and release dates on DD Form 214
- information required on the DD Form 1300
- service information received from the Department of War (DOW), and
- prior Coast Guard certification of certain Merchant Marine service.
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Change Date | | February 2, 2026 |
X.i.5.A.2.a. Information Required to Establish a Claim Based on Merchant Marine Service | | VA requires evidence of Merchant Marine service before a claim can be established. This includes electronic transmission of service information from the Department of War (DOW) to VA, documented in the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) by Yes inthe SYSTEM VERIFIED SERVICE field on the MILITARY SERVICE screen.If there is no evidence of Merchant Marine service, establish an end product 400 and inform the claimant that VA cannot initiate development until the claimant provides a DD Form 214 or DD Form 1300 or other evidence of Merchant Marine service.Important: - Develop the claim while awaiting receipt of the certified discharge document when evidence of Merchant Marine service
- exists, or
- a copy of a discharge document has been submitted by the claimant or approved VA representative.
- Although it is ultimately the claimant’s responsibility to provide a discharge document, VA is not precluded from accepting the discharge document from any legitimate source such as the service department or power of attorney when warranted.
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X.i.5.A.2.b. Entering Service Information During Claim Establishment | | During claims establishment, add the claimant’s three earliest voyages as individual periods of Merchant Marine service on the MILITARY SERVICE screen in VBMS. Use the beginning and ending dates of each voyage for entry on duty (EOD) and release from active duty (RAD) information, unless the claim is established based on the System Verified Service entry and voyage information is not yet available.If the three earliest voyages do not satisfy the minimum 90-day active duty requirement for pension eligibility, enter the three longest voyages instead. |
X.i.5.A.2.c. Correct Voyage Entries and Release Dates on DD Form 214 | | The DD Form 214 issued should show the- EOD as December 7, 1941, or the date of the earliest voyage, and
- RAD date as the date of completion of the last voyage or
- August 15, 1945 (for PL 95-202), or
- December 31, 1946 (for PL 105-368).
Notes:- The actual voyages and inclusive dates of each voyage will be shown in Item 18, REMARKS, on the DD Form 214. If all of the voyages cannot be entered in Item 18, an attachment sheet will be provided.
- For computation of service, only the actual dates of each voyage are considered as qualifying active duty for VA purposes.
- Do not use the information provided in Item 12, RECORD OF SERVICE, to determine an applicant's entitlement to VA benefits.
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X.i.5.A.2.d. Information Required on the DD Form 1300 | | If the death of a merchant mariner occurred during service, DD Form 1300 is issued in lieu of DD Form 214.The DD Form 1300 should show the equivalent military pay grade. If the pay grade information is necessary but not provided, request pay grade verification by following the instructions in M21-1, Part III, Subpart ii, 2.H.10.Note: A DD Form 1300 is valid even without pay grade information or a Social Security number. |
X.i.5.A.2.e. Service Information Received From DOW | | When processing paper copies of DD Forms 214 for certain categories of service members, the VADS unit entered DEV as the separation reason into the corporate record. This DEV entry ensured that merchant mariners who served during the WWII era did not receive the benefits information package that is intended to be sent only to recently discharged. If the corporate record was updated by DOW data sharing with VA - prior to 2015, it is not necessary to clarify a separation reason code listed as DEV, or
- on or after January 1, 2015, a separation reason code listed as DEV requires additional development to obtain the actual separation reason.
Important: In either circumstance, if the SEPARATION CODE on a certified copy of DD Form 214 (or electronic equivalent) is SAT, update the corporate record to reflect the correct entry.Reference: For more information on the VADS data format field in the corporate record, see the Share User Guide. |
X.i.5.A.2.f. Prior Coast Guard Certification of Certain Merchant Marine Service | | Previously, the Coast Guard would certify 90 days of service in certain cases, without providing specific periods of service, if there was proof that a mariner sailed on oceangoing vessels, but the records of vessels or dates of voyages were incomplete.Even if Item 18, REMARKS, on DD Form 214 shows no voyage information, consider a previously issued DD Form 214 to be valid if it contains the following statements:- The above individual falls into a special class of World War II Merchant Mariners. The complete sea service records for these individuals, which indicate specific sailing dates and vessel names, cannot be located due to their no longer being in the Federal records system; were lost with the ship; or the individual served aboard the ship in a capacity for which official records were not kept.
- Based on the information available, the Coast Guard certifies that the above individual has at least 90 days of service aboard oceangoing vessels during the period between 7 December 1941 and 15 August 1945.
Reference: For more information about what a currently issued DD Form 214 must contain, see M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, 5.A.2.c. |
Source: VA M21-1 Adjudication Procedures Manual, M21-1, Part X, Subpart i, Chapter 5, Section A (U.S. government work, reproduced for reference). Browse all sections →