Local veteran gets long-awaited DD214 with help from Call 4 Action

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - The Call 4 Action team is getting help for a local veteran who was in desperate need of important documentation of his military record.

That military documentation is called the DD214, it details a veteran's character of discharge, duty stations and assignments among other information and it's key in veterans getting their benefits.

U.S. Army veteran Darryl Mayham of Buffalo first contacted Call 4 Action in January. He was having issues in getting his DD214 after misplacing it while he was moving.

"I tried myself on my own and they had had a fire in Missouri and Missouri couldn't find no records or nothing like that so once I contacted you, then you sent me a couple senators and you worked with me," Darryl said.

Veterans can request a copy of their DD214 and other military service records from the National Archives or the Department of Defense.

In 1973, a massive fire broke out at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, destroying millions of military records. It's a fire that impacted the military for years. Even though Darryl served in the early 1980s, he says he was running into problems getting his DD214 on his own, which was frustrating.

"It helps me to live, most veterans don't understand if got your DD214, your driver's license, your insurance is better, your homeowners insurance is better people look at you different, as far as, when you go get credit and everything like that," Darryl said.

News 4 contacted Congressman Brian Higgins' D.C. Office before he resigned last month to help find Darryl's DD214. Even with Higgins out of Washington, staff in D.C. have continued to dig into casework. After reaching out to multiple agencies, Higgins' staff was able to track down Darryl's DD214 and mail it to him. Staff from Higgins office say usually it takes about three days to get a DD214, but in Darryl's case it took much longer because they had to contact numerous agencies.

"They told me that it took them a lot, they told me just hang in there and I guess they went through Washington, they did this, they did that, they went back to the 42nd Division from New York state and they went back and forth with you," Darryl said, "If you didn't help me, I would've never got the DD214, I almost gave up and when I called you and you pursued it and you went to it, I appreciate it so much for Channel 4 backing me up."

In black and white, Darryl's DD214 was delivered to him -- detailing his two years in the Army National Guard, serving as a marksman, sharpshooter and transportation specialist based at Fort Benning, Georgia. Darryl received an honorable discharge.

"I would do it all over again, I enjoyed it, it was something to do, you meet a lot of people, different people and it's a good thing to do I recommend young men, go to the service it help you a lot it helps you become a better man, a better father and everything," Darryl said.

As for Darryl's certified discharge papers, he has his original at a safety deposit box at his bank and one stored in Surrogate Court, so he'll never misplace it.