Show a SERVICE BURKA EDITORS NOTE this newspaper through special arrangement western with ith the washington bureau ol oj western newspaper union at as 1616 eye street N W washington DC acis is able to bring readers this weekly column on problems ot oj the veteran and serviceman ant and I 1 his it Is family questions may be addressed to the above bureau burea it and they will willbe be answered ltv re in a su subsequent beque seque nt column no replies can be made direct by mail but only in th the a column which will appear in this newspaper regularly provisions of terminal pay veterans service bureau today contains the answers to countless inquiries which have come to our washington office concerning provisions of the new terminal pay law for enlisted men recently signed by the the P president r esi d e nt 0 official an fn c la 1 ti title t le t to 0 the t lct a act et is s the th e 2 armed T m ed f forces or c e s 1 leave e v e a act of 1946 which by the way is the first major revision of armed forces leave policies in 70 years since the basic law respecting army and navy officers leaves dates from 1874 with an amendment in 1876 heres what the act does overall it gives to about 15 million former army navy marine and coast guard members an estimated 27 billion dollars in cash and interest bearing five year bonds essentially the act gives officers and enlisted men and women of all services identical leave rights and limits the amount of leave which any individual may accrue to 60 days instead of the maximum of days tor for officers as heretofore men still in active service who have accumulated from 61 to days leave as of september 1 1946 will be reimbursed in cash and bonds for the balance over 60 days and on september 1 will have to their credit 60 days leave As more leave time accrues to these persons they must take their leave or lose credit for it all veterans who already have left the service will be paid in cash and bonds for accumulated leave not taken up to days between september 8 1939 and september 1 1946 the treasury the army and the navy have outlined the following steps to be taken by veterans in applying for their payments 1 obtain from any post office in the country a form entitled claim for or settlement unused leave and the instruction sheet which goes with it 2 fill out this form following the instruction sheet if assistance is desired it may be obtained at any of the odd veterans community information or advis advisory ory centers throughout the nation or at the office of any state or county veterans service officer 3 swear to or affirm the statements made in the form before a notary public or other ci civil vil officer authorized to administer oaths the majority of the community information or advisory centers will provide this notarial service free of charge 4 man mail the completed form together with your discharge certificate or certification of service for each period of service covered in the claim to the appropriate army navy marine corps or coast guard paying officer listed on the reverse side of the claim form your discharge certificate may be the original a photo static copy or a certified copy if the original discharge certificate has been lost or destroyed st a certificate in lieu of discharge which will be considered as valid evidence for payment will be issued on application to the appropriate prop one of the following agencies for example the adjutant generals office goodfellow Good tellow blvd st louis 20 mo for navy chief of naval personnel navy department washington 25 D C tor for marine corps headquarters U S marine corps washington 25 D C for coast guard commandant of the coast guard washington 25 D C in case of veterans from the army a form for which to apply for a certificate may be obtained at any recruiting office it is a good idea to have at least one photo static copy of your original discharge certificate made for your own files 5 upon receipt of the claim and supporting papers the paying officer will examine all documents to make certain they are in proper form for payment and after the supporting documents have served their purpose they will be mailed back to you payment will be made as soon as possible possibly by october 1 but do not write or call in person to paying officers inquiring about your claim it will only delay speedy settlement of claims 6 if the amount of the claim is less than 50 or if the claimant was last separated from active service before january 1 I 1943 payment will be made in full by treasury check for claims over 50 pa payment v will be in bonds in multiples of 25 with a check tor for the balance for instance if the leave claim is for or the veteran will get gel in 25 bonds and a check for 19 in cases where vetera veterans ns have ave died or in cases where they have been adjudged incompetent payment will be made fully by check to survivors |