Since the revolutionary war, the deck logs have been kept by the naval officers of the United States. The deck logs are essential since they are the ones that keep the records of the significant events that happen in and around the ships. It also states where the ships were anchored and to where they have traveled. The reason these deck logs are significant is that they can be used as very crucial evidence during the claims of VA disabilities. They are also used in the application where the veteran’s or their file of personal information is not able to provide satisfactory evidence.
Due to the rise of the deck logs, the veterans, together with their advocates in the past few years, have been requesting their copies from the National Archives. Due to this reason, the national archive has been able to digitalize their systems to make the accessing of the prints easier. Now because of the digitalized system of the national file, the veterans and their advocates can be able to access the copies of the deck logs that they require very efficiently. The deck logs that are available for all of the commissioned navy vessels are from the year of 1941 to 1978. The National Archive realized that it is challenging for people to access the handwritten copies of the deck logs manually. The reason for this is because it is very tedious and also very overwhelming. The national archive has also made a guide to be able to access the deck logs. These changes have made the search very easy.
Deck logs can be used in very many ways, but one of the essential uses of the deck logs is that it can be used in a disability claim. They can be used in the accessing of information that is required if the data cannot be found in an individual file of a veteran. The deck logs are used for verifying of what caused the traumatic stress that occurred to the veteran during his work. An example of the purpose of the traumatic stress to the veteran maybe is witnessing the death of a fellow serviceman if an accident in the ship occurred. The importance of these deck logs is that they can be used to access the actual date of the occurrence of the incident. The navy veterans that operate in the open seas that are near Vietnam are called Water Veterans.
Before accessing the deck logs, it is essential to know the information that can be found, and that cannot be found in them. It is essential as it will be able to save you time while searching. The information that can be retrieved from the deck logs is listed below. One of the data is the date of the ship moor and when it was docked at the shipyard. The information that will not be available in the kind of work that was being done and the materials that were used during this time. There will also be information about the day to day assignment of the members of the crew.