(8) Department of Defense Directive 1000.20 
directed that the determination be made by the Sec-
retary of the Air Force, and established the Civilian/ 
Military Service Review Board and Advisory Panel. 
(9) In 1987, three merchant mariners along 
with the AFL–CIO sued Edward C. Aldridge, Sec-
retary of the Air Force, challenging the denial of 
their application for veterans status. In Schumacher 
v. Aldridge (665 F. Supp. 41 (D.D.C. 1987)), the 
Court determined that Secretary Aldridge had failed 
to ‘‘articulate clear and intelligible criteria for the 
administration’’ of the application approval process. 
(10) During World War II, women were repeat-
edly denied issuance of official documentation af-
firming their merchant marine seamen status by the 
War Shipping Administration. 
(11) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 
(April 1992) identifies the following acceptable 
forms of documentation for eligibility meeting the 
requirements set forth in GI Bill Improvement Act 
of 1977 (Public Law 95–202) and Veterans Pro-
grams Enhancement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105– 
368): 
(A) Certificate of shipping and discharge 
forms. 
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(B) Continuous discharge books (ship’s 
deck or engine logbooks). 
(C) Company letters showing vessel names 
and dates of voyages. 
(12) Coast Guard Commandant Order of 20 
March, 1944, relieved masters of tugs, towboats, 
and seagoing barges of the responsibility of submit-
ting reports of seamen shipped or discharged on 
forms, meaning certificates of shipping and dis-
charge forms are not available to all eligible individ-
uals seeking to document their eligibility. 
(13) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 
(April, 1992) states that ‘‘deck logs were tradition-
ally considered to be the property of the owners of 
the ships. After World War II, however, the deck 
and engine logbooks of vessels operated by the War 
Shipping Administration were turned over to that 
agency by the ship owners, and were destroyed dur-
ing the 1970s’’, meaning that continuous discharge 
books are not available to all eligible individuals 
seeking to document their eligibility. 
(14) Coast Guard Information Sheet #77 
(April, 1992) states ‘‘some World War II period log 
books do not name ports visited during the voyage 
due to wartime security restrictions’’, meaning that 
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company letters showing vessel names and dates of 
voyages are not available to all eligible individuals 
seeking to document their eligibility. 
SEC. 3. METHODS FOR VALIDATING CERTAIN SERVICE 
CONSIDERED TO BE ACTIVE SERVICE BY THE 
SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of verifying that 
an individual performed service under honorable condi-
tions that satisfies the requirements of a coastwise mer-
chant seaman who is recognized pursuant to section 401 
of the GI Bill Improvement Act of 1977 (Public Law 95– 
202; 38 U.S.C. 106 note) as having performed active duty 
service for the purposes described in subsection (c)(1), the 
Secretary of Homeland Security shall accept the following: 
(1) In the case of an individual who served on 
a coastwise merchant vessel seeking such recognition 
for whom no applicable Coast Guard shipping or dis-
charge form, ship logbook, merchant mariner’s docu-
ment or Z-card, or other official employment record 
is available, the Secretary shall provide such recogni-
tion on the basis of applicable Social Security Ad-
ministration records submitted for or by the indi-
vidual, together with validated testimony given by 
the individual or the primary next of kin of the indi-
vidual that the individual performed such service 
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during the period beginning on December 7, 1941, 
and ending on December 31, 1946. 
(2) In the case of an individual who served on 
a coastwise merchant vessel seeking such recognition 
for whom the applicable Coast Guard shipping or 
discharge form, ship logbook, merchant mariner’s 
document or Z-card, or other official employment 
record has been destroyed or otherwise become un-
available by reason of any action committed by a 
person responsible for the control and maintenance 
of such form, logbook, or record, the Secretary shall 
accept other official documentation demonstrating 
that the individual performed such service during pe-
riod beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on 
December 31, 1946. 
(3) For the purpose of determining whether to 
recognize service allegedly performed during the pe-
riod beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on 
December 31, 1946, the Secretary shall recognize 
masters of seagoing vessels or other officers in com-
mand of similarly organized groups as agents of the 
United States who were authorized to document any 
individual for purposes of hiring the individual to 
perform service in the merchant marine or dis-
charging an individual from such service. 
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(b) TREATMENT
OF OTHER DOCUMENTATION.— 
Other documentation accepted by the Secretary of Home-
land Security pursuant to subsection (a)(2) shall satisfy 
all requirements for eligibility of service during the period 
beginning on December 7, 1941, and ending on December 
31, 1946. 
(c) BENEFITS ALLOWED.— 
(1) BURIAL BENEFITS ELIGIBILITY.—Service of 
an individual that is considered active duty pursuant 
to subsection (a) shall be considered as active duty 
service with respect to providing burial benefits 
under chapters 23 and 24 of title 38, United States 
Code, to the individual. 
(2) MEDALS, RIBBONS, AND DECORATIONS.— 
An individual whose service is recognized as active 
duty pursuant to subsection (a) may be awarded an 
appropriate medal, ribbon, or other military decora-
tion based on such service. 
(3) STATUS OF VETERAN.—An individual whose 
service is recognized as active duty pursuant to sub-
section (a) shall be honored as a veteran but shall 
not be entitled by reason of such recognized service 
to any benefit that is not described in this sub-
section. 
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(d) DETERMINATION
OF COASTWISE MERCHANT 
SEAMAN.—The Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
verify that an individual performed service under honor-
able conditions that satisfies the requirements of a coast-
wise merchant seaman pursuant to this section without 
regard to the sex, age, or disability of the individual dur-
ing the period in which the individual served as such a 
coastwise merchant seaman. 
(e) DEFINITION OF PRIMARY NEXT OF KIN.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘primary next of kin’’ with respect to 
an individual seeking recognition for service under this 
section means the closest living relative of the individual 
who was alive during the period of such service. 
(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This Act shall take effect 90 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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