Combat Status
In 2011, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3611 which mandates the collection of veterans’ combat information on death certificates. When creating a death record for a decedent who served in the military, it is very important that the veteran portion of the record is answered completely, including whether the veteran served in combat. Oregon Vital Records sends monthly reports to funeral homes that contain data on how many “unknowns” were listed for combat status.
Beginning September 2021, The Center for Health Statistics will be calling funeral homes that have a high reporting of “Unknown” for combat status for decedents who were veterans. Funeral homes may be asked to contact families to retrieve the combat status of their loved one in instances where it was not reported on the death certificate.
On the Decedent page in OVERS, there is a field titled Ever in U.S. Armed Forces? If the decedent served in the U.S. Armed Forces, a follow-up question is asked to determine whether the decedent served in combat. If the decedent did serve in combat, a third question collects information on the location of the combat zones in which the decedent served.
We are striving for as few Unknown responses as possible. The informant or family member may not know if or where the decedent was in combat. In this case, "Unknown" is accurate. The key thing is to make sure the informant was asked the question. Please don't select “Unknown” without first asking.
Collecting veterans’ combat status and location of combat zones information is important in several ways. This data provides valuable information for public health studies focusing on veterans. There are concerns about the long-term impact of military service and multiple deployments on veterans’ physical and mental health. The information helps researchers identify factors associated with death or death by suicide. The findings may be useful for the development of future public health intervention programs.
You can help improve the responses to the combat status question by taking the following actions:
- Review the death certificate worksheet that you use to gather information from an informant to make sure that the two questions on veterans’ combat status and combat zones are being asked. Please ask the informant: a) whether the decedent served in combat, and, if yes, b) the location of the combat zone(s) in which they served.
- Train and remind funeral home staff to ask the veterans’ combat status and combat zone questions for all decedents who were veterans. CHS has resources available on our website including the death certificate worksheet and a list of combat zones.
For questions about combat status reporting for veteran decedents, contact Nick Bickford at (971) 673-1163 or Nick.Bickford@dhsoha.state.or.us.
Reminders for Amending a Death Record
Submitting information to amend a death record should be done in OVERS if the record has already been certified. All amendments to fully-electronic records can be done in OVERS after the record has been registered. If the record has not yet been registered, an Affidavit to Correct a Death Record form (45-27A) can be submitted through fax [(971)673-1201] or emailed directly to the proper amendment staff. The Affidavit to Correct a Death Record form (45-27A) must accompany a drop to paper record when delivered to the county.
When submitting this form, please consider the following:
- If possible, type in the information by using the fillable PDF version of the form.
- If you have to complete the form by hand, please type or print all information as clearly as possible. If the information is difficult to read, the amendment process may be delayed if staff have to contact you to clarify data.
- For the affidavit to be accepted, it must be signed and dated by an authorized party.
If you have questions regarding amending the personal section of a death record, please contact Nick Bickford at (971) 673-1163 or Nick.Bickford@dhsoha.state.or.us.
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