Start with when he served
Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf, the Cold War, post-9/11 — each era carries its own hazards and its own records. Find his era and you know which questions to ask.
Find his eraFor the family of a veteran who has died
You can still find out what he was exposed to — and you may still have a claim.
If you lost your veteran to cancer, to his lungs, or to something the doctors never fully explained, you are not too late to learn what he was standing in. This page is here to show you what he was exposed to, tell you plainly what doors are open to you, and point you to the person to talk to. It costs nothing to read.
Read this first
Nobody sat your family down and explained any of this
He came home, he got older, and then he got sick. Maybe it was prostate cancer. Maybe his lungs. Maybe a cancer nobody in the family had ever had. He was told it was his age, or bad luck, or the cigarettes he quit in 1978 — and nobody ever asked him where he served or what he handled while he was there. By the time the family understood how serious it was, the conversation was about hospice, not about the Army.
So this page does the thing nobody did for him. First, it shows you what he was exposed to — by era, by base, by the duty he actually pulled. Second, it tells you the truth about your own rights: when a service-connected condition caused or contributed to a veteran’s death, the surviving family has claims in their own name, and a claim he had pending when he died does not simply disappear. Third, it tells you who to talk to. No forms to buy, no sign-up, nothing to pay.
Step one
Start with what he was exposed to, not with a form
Every survivor claim is built on the same foundation as his would have been: when he served, where he was stationed, what he actually did there, and what hazard was in that place. Work through these four in order. Write down what you find as you go — a name, a year, a base, a job. You are rebuilding the record he never got the chance to.
Then find where he was stationed
Installations have documented contamination histories. Camp Lejeune, Fort McClellan, K2, Qarmat Ali and many more are on this site with what was there and when.
Look up a base
Then find what he actually did
Aviation, fuel, motor pool, supply, engineers, firefighting, cleanup. The duty he pulled matters more than the job title on his discharge paper — including the details nobody logged.
Find his duty
Then name the hazard itself
Agent Orange, burn pits, the water at Camp Lejeune, solvents, fuels, asbestos, radiation. Put a name on what he breathed, drank or handled and the rest of the file has something to point at.
See the hazardsStep two
What the death certificate says matters more than you think
A death certificate does not have one cause of death on it. It has an immediate cause, the conditions that led to that cause, and a separate line for other significant conditions contributing to death. That structure is the whole reason survivors have a case at all: the law does not require that the service-connected condition was the only thing that killed him. It can be the condition that contributed.
So read every line, not just the first one. Then take three things and put them side by side: the certificate, his service history, and his treatment records. If the disease named on that certificate is one that shows up in the exposure literature for where and when he served, that is exactly where a survivor claim starts. It is also exactly the comparison nobody makes on their own.
Do not throw anything away
The certified death certificate, the hospital and oncology records, the pathology report, his discharge paper, his VA letters, even the photographs with a date on the back. Families discard the exact documents a claim is built from, usually within the first year. Put it all in one box and leave it there.
The record can be rebuilt after he is gone. It happens all the time.
Step three
You can file. These are the four doors that exist for you.
If you believe his death was connected to his service, you do not need his permission and you are not filing on his behalf as a favor — several of these are your own claims, in your own name. Families routinely qualify for more than one of these, and filing one does not automatically file the others. The mechanics, the form numbers and the deadlines are all laid out in the filing guide; what follows is simply so you know the door is there.
Dependency & Indemnity Compensation
A tax-free monthly benefit in your own name when a service-connected condition caused or contributed to his death. For a surviving spouse, child, or dependent parent.
Substitution — continue the claim he filed
If he had a claim or appeal still pending when he died, an eligible survivor can step in and continue it, keeping his original filing date. There is a one-year window from the death.
Benefits already owed but never paid
Money VA had approved and not yet paid when he died can be claimed by the surviving family, following the order of succession. The death certificate is required.
The denial he was still fighting
A denial does not become permanent because he died. A pending appeal can be carried forward, and a final decision can often still be challenged on the right pathway.
The mechanics are already written down for you
Every form, every deadline, and how to get his DD-214
The filing guide on this site names each form, explains what it does in plain English, lists the evidence to gather, walks through requesting his discharge paper and claim file, and lays out the deadlines that actually bite. Read it before you mail anything.
Step four
Who to talk to — in the order that actually helps
Families lose months calling the wrong office. Gather the paper first, then bring it to someone accredited. These four, in this order, is the shortest path from where you are standing to a decision on the merits.
The clinician who treated him
His oncologist or pulmonologist holds the records that describe the disease. You do not need them to agree it was service-connected — you need the records, the pathology and the dates.
How to raise exposure with a doctorThe records custodians
His DD-214, service records, and his VA claim file are all obtainable by an eligible survivor. The filing guide walks through requesting each one.
How to request the recordsYourself, on paper, first
Write down every base, every year, every job and every hazard you can name before you talk to anyone. The worksheet on this site gives you the exact fields to fill in.
Print the exposure worksheetAn accredited representative
Survivor claims turn on evidence and pathways, not sympathy. Albert Thombs is a VA-accredited claims agent, #45147, and a review of what you have costs you nothing.
Ask for a free reviewStraight talk, because you have had enough of the other kind
What this page does not promise you
Not every death connects. The service-connected condition generally must have caused or contributed to the death — presence near a hazard on its own is not enough.
A long gap between his service and his diagnosis is normal for these illnesses, but the medical link still has to be made in the file. That is evidence work, not sentiment.
Some records are gone. When a personnel file was destroyed or was never complete, the case gets rebuilt from unit histories, environmental records and statements from people who served with him.
Nobody honest can promise you an outcome. Be careful with anyone who guarantees a result, and confirm accreditation before you sign a representation form.
Turn this page into an appointment
How to get seen about this
Reading a symptom list changes nothing on its own. A dated note in your medical record does — for your health first, and years later for a claim. Below is every route to an appointment, the phrase that gets your exposure history written down, and the numbers to dial. Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and none of it replaces your doctor.
Some things do not wait for a scheduler
Chest pain or pressure lasting more than a few minutes, or chest pain with sweating, nausea, or pain spreading to the jaw or arm
Sudden trouble breathing, or breathlessness while sitting still
Face droop, weakness or numbness on one side, slurred speech, or sudden confusion
Coughing up or vomiting blood, or bleeding that will not stop
A first seizure, or fainting you cannot explain
Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Do not wait to reach a VA facility first, and do not drive yourself. Tell VA as soon as you can afterward — VA asks to be notified within 72 hours of emergency care received in the community — and keep every discharge paper and bill.
Call your VA medical center
Fastest- Calling your own VA facility is the quickest way to get an appointment. VA Health Connect gives you round-the-clock phone access to a scheduler, a nurse, and in many regions a provider.
- Do not know your facility's number? Call MyVA411 at 800-698-2411, any hour, and ask to be connected to your VA medical center's scheduling line.
- Say you are an established patient if you already have a primary care provider, and ask for the next available appointment with that provider.
- If nothing is available soon, ask to be added to the cancellation list and ask whether a nurse can advise in the meantime.
Call VET-HOME — VA's exposure team
Exposure-specific- 833-633-8846, Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET. VET-HOME stands for Veterans Exposure Team — Health Outcomes Military Exposures, and it exists for exactly this conversation.
- Say: I want a military environmental exposure assessment. The intake center schedules you with a clinician specially trained in military environmental exposures — by telehealth, so it does not matter how far you live from a medical center. Any veteran enrolled in VA health care, anywhere in the United States or its territories, can use it.
- The clinician documents your exposure history, answers exposure-related questions, and recommends follow-up. If labs, imaging, breathing tests, or a specialty consult are needed, they say so. Afterward VA mails you a letter with your results, what they mean, and the recommendations.
- Two limits, so you are not surprised: VET-HOME clinicians do not prescribe medication and do not complete disability claim forms. What they produce is a dated VA record of your exposure history — which is the piece most claims are missing.
- They also handle the environmental health registry evaluations, and those do not require VA health-care enrollment. If you would rather be seen in person, ask for the environmental health coordinator at your own facility instead — the list is further down this site's Talk To Your Doctor page.
Schedule online or message your care team
- Sign in on VA.gov to schedule or request many appointments yourself. What you can book online depends on your facility and the type of care.
- You can also send your care team a secure message through My HealtheVet. Use it for non-urgent things — replies typically take up to three business days.
- Secure messaging is not for anything urgent. If you need an answer today, call instead.
- Locked out or cannot find the option? The My HealtheVet help desk is 877-327-0022.
Not enrolled in VA health care yet
- Call the VA Health Benefits Hotline at 877-222-8387, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET, and say you want to enroll in VA health care.
- Enrollment is what unlocks VA primary care and the toxic exposure screening. Under the PACT Act many veterans who were turned away years ago are now eligible, so do not assume an old answer still applies.
- Enrolling does not mean giving up your own doctor. Plenty of veterans keep a civilian provider and use VA alongside it.
- Enrolling in health care is separate from filing a disability claim. One does not require the other.
You see a civilian or private doctor
- Ask the front desk for the next available appointment and tell them why: a symptom that has lasted weeks, plus chemical and airborne exposure during military service.
- Bring this page, or write the exposures and years on one sheet of paper. Hand it over and ask for it to be scanned into your chart.
- A community provider can order tests, refer you, and write your exposure history down — all of which helps. What they cannot do is VA's toxic exposure screening, which only happens inside VA's own record system.
- Ask for a copy of the visit note and every result. Those copies are yours, and they are what a claim is eventually built from.
If you are in crisis right now
24/7- Dial 988 and press 1, or text 838255. The Veterans Crisis Line is staffed around the clock.
- You do not need to be enrolled in VA health care, and you do not need a service-connected rating, to use it.
- You can also start a confidential chat from VA's crisis line website, or ask any VA staff member to walk you to someone.
Ask for your toxic exposure screening
The PACT Act requires VA to offer this to every veteran enrolled in VA health care. It takes about five to ten minutes, and it is the cheapest way to get your exposure history into VA's own record in VA's own words.
What it is
A short set of questions asking whether you believe you were exposed to open burn pits and other airborne hazards, Agent Orange, radiation, Gulf War-related hazards, or contaminated water at Camp Lejeune.
Who can get it
Every veteran enrolled in VA health care. If you are not enrolled yet, enrollment comes first — call 877-222-8387.
How often
An initial screening, then at least once every five years. If you answer that you do not know whether you were exposed, VA schedules you again a year later.
How to get one
It is often done during a primary care or specialty visit — but you can ask for it sooner. Ask your primary care team directly, or ask your facility for its Toxic Exposure Screening Navigator by name.
What it is not
It is not an exam for any specific illness, and it is not part of the disability claims process. It is optional, and declining it does not affect your health care or your benefits.
Why bother
It creates a dated VA record that you raised military exposure. Years later, that entry is evidence that the concern predated the diagnosis.
A civilian or community provider cannot perform this screening — it lives inside VA's own health record. If you only see a private doctor, that is a reason to enroll in VA health care as well.
The burn pit registry: you are probably already in it
Since August 1, 2024, VA and the Defense Department enroll eligible veterans and service members in the Airborne Hazards and Open Burn Pit Registry automatically, from deployment records. For most people there is nothing to sign up for.
Automatic enrollment covers service between August 2, 1990 and August 31, 2021 in the listed operations and locations — Desert Shield, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom and New Dawn, the Southwest Asia theater, Egypt, Afghanistan, Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Uzbekistan, Yemen, and the associated airspace and waters.
You do not need to have been knowingly exposed, and you do not need any current health problem, to be included.
If you enrolled yourself before the redesign, your enrollment carried over. There is nothing to redo.
To check your status, contact the Environmental Health Coordinator at your VA facility.
The registry holds deployment and demographic data only. No medical information is stored in it.
Participation is optional and you can opt out. Being in the registry is not required to file a claim, and it does not affect your eligibility for care or benefits either way.
Being in the registry is not evidence of exposure on its own, and it is not a claim. Treat it as a research tool, and do not let anyone tell you a claim depends on it.
What to take with you
- A one-page list of the chemicals and hazards you worked around, with the years and the base or ship
- Your job title and MOS or rating, written the way the military wrote it
- The symptoms that brought you in, and roughly when each one started
- Any breathing tests, blood work, or imaging you already have, including from civilian doctors
- A short list of what you want out of the visit — usually: document the exposure, order these tests, refer me
- Someone who has watched the change in you, if memory or breathing is the concern
Write the veteran's job and the places they served at the top of that sheet, in the words the military used for it.
Before you leave, and afterward
- Ask for a copy of the visit note before you leave, and actually read it.
- Check that your exposure history is in the note. If it is missing, say so and ask for it to be added — politely, but ask.
- Get a copy of every test result, including the numbers, not just the word normal.
- Keep your own folder. Paper you hold is worth more than paper you assume exists somewhere.
- If a symptom persists after a normal test, go back. A normal result rules out some things, not everything.
The numbers, in one place
VET-HOME — VA's exposure team
833-633-8846
Monday to Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. ET
The number to call about a military environmental exposure specifically. VET-HOME books a free telehealth evaluation with a clinician trained in military exposures, and that clinician writes your exposure history into your VA record. Say you want a military environmental exposure assessment.
MyVA411 — VA main line
800-698-2411
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
The one number to call if you do not know who to call. Ask to be put through to your VA medical center's scheduling line, or press 0 for a person.
VA Health Benefits Hotline
877-222-8387
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET
Enrolling in VA health care, health-care eligibility, VA medical bills, and community care billing.
Veterans Crisis Line
988, then press 1
24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Any crisis, and you do not need to be enrolled in VA health care to use it. You can also text 838255.
My HealtheVet help desk
877-327-0022
Monday to Friday
Trouble signing in, secure messaging, or online scheduling.
VA Benefits Hotline
800-827-1000
Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET
Claims, ratings, and back pay — the benefits side rather than the medical side.
TTY
711
Relay service
If you are deaf or hard of hearing.
These are VA's own published lines. If a number ever gives you a runaround, MyVA411 at 800-698-2411 will transfer you — it is staffed every hour of every day.
Bring us what you have
Let an accredited agent look at it before you decide it is hopeless
Send what you have — the certificate, his discharge paper, the diagnosis, the bases you can remember. Albert Thombs is a VA-accredited claims agent, #45147, and the review costs you nothing. If there is no case here, you will be told that plainly. General information, not legal advice. We are not the VA.
Straight from the VA
The VA on survivor and dependent benefits
Two official videos for a spouse or child working out what they are entitled to after a veteran dies.
VA Pensions for Surviving Spouses | VA Benefits for Veterans' Wives & Husbands | theSITREP
Survivor pension basics from the VA, for a spouse figuring out what is left.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
VA Benefits for Children | Dependency & Indemnity Compensation, CHAMPVA, TRICARE, Burial | theSITREP
DIC, CHAMPVA, TRICARE and burial benefits as they apply to children.
Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
These videos are published by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and are embedded here unedited. They are the agency’s own explanation of its rules, not ours, and they are not legal or medical advice. If what the VA said on camera does not match what your decision letter says, that gap is worth a conversation.
