Hey Jim!
I very much appreciate your informative reply, as well as those of Gerald, Ray, & Michael. The input has been most helpful to me and I am working through the info now. Genealogists must be some of the most generous people I have known. Now sir, to answer your questions, I offer the following:
I was looking to find the service record of my ggrandpa John Wade McGill from the CW. Searching my Ancestry files, I located two John McGills, one in the 5th TN and one in the 3rd Mtd. TN Inf. I noticed that the one in the 5th had a pension file and a wife named Nancy, same as my ggrandma. I sent for the file through the NARA, and got a notice back that they did not have it, that it was in a National Records Center. NARA acknowledged that they SHOULD have the record, but did not, and said that they are working with the VA to get those records in the VA's possession back over to NARA. The Ancestry image provided me the "XC" number, which was confirmed by the NARA, who also was kind enough to instruct me how to write to the VA. Their instructions said to write and say "I am requesting that you conduct a BIRLS (Beneficiary Information and Records Locator System) search for the file and retrieve it for my use from the Federal Records Center where it is currently housed." They further advised that the VA requires that a FOIA (freedom of information act) request be in writing and signed by the requestor. It must reasonably desribe the record so that it can be located with a reasonable amount of amount of effort. They also tell you to state your willingness to pay any applicable fees, and provide a daytime telephone number. Write FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST on the envelope. They say to mail the request to the VA FOIA/Privacy Act Officer, VA Central Office at:

Department of Veteran's Affairs
Director, Records Management Service (005E3)
810 Vermont Ave. N/W
Washington, DC20420

NARA first searched their files for me on 11 -5- 05. On January 23rd, 2006, the VA received my letter that I wrote in accordance with the above instructions. It said that they were forwarding the letter to the Veteran's Benefits Administration or VBA for processing. The letter indicated that if I had questions, I could call Ms. Dolly Jackson at 1 202 565 4504 of their Records Management Service. Then, on August 1st, 2006, I got a letter from the Dept. of Veteran's Affairs in Washington saying that their office does not have the records I asked for. It then tells me that those records are in a Federal Records Center. They advised that they were forwarding my request to the VA Regional Officeat 1722 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20421, for a "recall" of the records. It said that when they received the records, they would evaluate them, determine whether they were applicable to my request, and let me know. They gave a point of contact as being the VA Regional Office mentioned above, and gave me a phone number for them of 1 800 827 1000. This letter was signed by Mr. F. John Buck, Chief of Administrative Division.

In the fall, I got tired of waiting, called the number, and somehow got in touch with a Vickie Hudzik, who said they had no record of my request, but asked me to fax her everything I had already sent off . I did that, and she put my request above all the others. I think she mentioned a fee, but said to forget it due to my trouble (if I remember correctly). She really came through for me, and earlier this month of December 2006, about a year after I sent my letter, I got my reply. It was well worth waiting for though. It seems ggrandma had, in 1923, been informed of a book at the public library in knoxville with the names and outfits of the TN CW veterans. Seeing at least one John McGill in there, she applied for a widow's pension. She wound up contesting a widow's pension for the widow of John McGill who served in the 5th TN inf. There was an inquiry held, after which the Pension Board ruled that ggrandma was not the wife of the veteran of the 5th TN, but was most likely the wife of the veteran of the 3rd Mtd. TN Inf, who deserted in 1864, and had no discharge papers. Therefore, she got nothing, but BOY I got a lot of great genealogical info that confirmed the line I had been following was indeed that of my true family, and a bunch of other info was confirmed as well. There were affadavits from ggrandma, her sons, and others, which spoke volumes about them, confirmed birthdays, deaths, tied persons together, and more. I would encourage everyone to jump through whatever hoops are necessary to get these type of files. The one difference I make now though, is to use this site of yours Jim to get the files, cause I get them faster!!! Jim, I don't think you need to show a relationship to the veteran, and you can just write your own letter without any pre-prepared forms. I think that the delay was due to them "losing" my request, but apparently they were eager to make it up to me, and were helpful on the telephone.

I certainly hope that this helps someone else to get a file that they may have thought would be inaccessible. BE PERSISTENT would be my recommendation, and keep all letters, addresses, and phone numbers to follow up with if needed.

Merry Christmas to all, and may GOD truly bless!!!
ROY