r’ - 

E ORNEY GENERAL 

WILL WILSON 

A1TORNEY GENERAL 

Mr. J. E. Junker 

County Attorney 

Fort Bend County 

Richmond, Texas 

Dear Mr. Junker: 

OF TEXAS 

July 21, 1960 

Opinion No. WW-891 

Re: Whether a County Clerk 

is required to furnish 

to a Veterans County 

Service Officer of another county a birth 

certificate without cost, 

such birth certificate to 

be used to establish a 

claim for benefits on behalf of a minor child of 

a deceased veteran, 

Your request for an opinion from this office involves 

the question of whether a County Clerk is required to furnish to a Veterans County Service Officer of another county 

a birth certificate without cost, such birth certificate to 

be used to establish a claim for benefits on behalf of a 

minor child of a deceased veteran, 

Section 3, Article 5798a-2, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

states In part: 

"The duty of the Veterans County 

Service Officer . . . shall be to aid 

all residents of the county . . . who 

served in the . . . armed forces . . . 

of the United States during any war or 

peacetime enlistment, and/or veterans 

orphans and . dependents in 

prep&lng, submittin; and presenting 

any claim against the United States 

for benefits to which they may 

be'entltled under the existing laws of 

the United States, or of any state, or 

such laws as may hereafter be enacted, 

pertinent thereto . . .)t 
Mr. J. E. Junker, Page 2 (w-891) 

Article 1939a, Vernon's Civil Statutes, reads In 

part as follows: 

"Article 1. Any person, his guardian, 

or his dependents or heirs at law who Is 

eligible to make a claim against the Government of the United States of America . . . 

shall upon the request theref'or by such person, his guardian, or his dependents, or 

heirs at law, be furnished without cost a 

certified and authenticated copy or copies 

of any Instrument, public record or document 

necessary to prove or establish such claim, 

which is In the custody or on file in the 

office of County Clerks, District Clerks and 

other public officials of this State, by 

such officials. , . . 

"Art. 2. The rights conferred by this 

Act shall extend to any person, his guardian 

or his dependents, or heirs-at-law who are 

eligible by reason of service heretofore or 

hereafter rendered in the Armed Forces of the 

United States of America, . . . when such person, his guardian, or his dependents, or helrsat-law are eligible to make claim against the 

Government of the United States of America as 

a result of such service." 

Section 93 of 39 Tex. Jur. "Statutes" at page 176 

reads In part as follows: 

" . the intention and meaning of the 

Legislature must be ascertained from the language of the statute read as a whole, , . . 

If the statutory language clearly and dlstinctly reveals the legislative intent, there is 

no occasion to look elsewhere." 

Article 1939a is explicit In that County Clerks, 

District Clerks and other officials must issue without 

cost certified copies of any instruments, public records 

or documents necessary to establish proof of claims 

against the United States for the purpose of obtaining 

benefits to ex-servicemen, their guardians, dependents 

and heirs-at-law upon their request. 

Further, In Article 5798a-2, Vernon's Civil Statutes, 

the Legislature clearly defines that the duty of the County 
Mr. J, E. Junker, Page 3 (w-891) 

Veterans Service Officer 1s "to aid . veterans 

orphans and . . . dependents in preparing, submlttlng'and 

presenting such claim . . ,” 

It Is the opinion of this office that when the Veterans County Service Officer Is requested by veterans, 

orphans or dependents for aid In preparing a claim under 

Article 5798a-2, the Veterans County Service Officer has 

authority to act in their behalf and is entitled to request and receive from the County Clerk of any county In 

the State of Texas, without cost, certified copies of 

Instruments for the purpose of establishing proof of 

claim. 

SUMMARY 

The County Clerk of any county In 

Texas is required to furnish to a 

Veterans County Service Officer, 

without cost, a birth certificate 

to be used to establish a claim 

for benefits on behalf of a minor 

child of a deceased veteran. 

Yours very truly, 

WILL WILSON 

Attorney General of Texas 

MJS:mm 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Houghton Brownlee, Jr., Chairman 

Marietta Payne 

C. Dean Davis 

Virgil R. Pulllam 

Robert A. Rowland 

REVIEWED FOR THE ATTORNEY GENERAL 

BY: Leonard Passmore