{"value"=>"<p>Claim files are arranged numerically by claim number assigned by PWCA at the time of initial application. Early in the Association’s work, a single claim number was assigned to multiple applications for claims based on the service of one soldier or sailor. Thus two separate files for one soldier may have the same claim number (e.g., one for a pension, the other for back pay). This practice later changed. Multiple claims filed on behalf of the same individual may have an “A” or “B” following the same claim number to distinguish between claim types. Also, an application for one type of claim pertaining to an individual may carry a different number than that individual’s application for another type of claim made substantially earlier.</p> <p>File jackets prominently display the name of the soldier or sailor upon whose service a claim was based; those names appear in the container list. The numerical sequence for these files is non-inclusive. Approximately 2,300 files are present; a similar number of PWCA files can be found in the ANCA claim files. Thus, a substantial number of PWCA files are not found in the collection.</p> <p>Files generally consist of a jacket or envelope containing documentation for an individual claim application. Documents may include: claim application forms; communications from government and USSC departments; witness statements notarized by local clerks of court; copies of marriage, birth, and baptismal records; letters from claimants, providers of evidence, agents, and others providing assistance to claimants; and soldiers’ letters to family members offered as proof of circumstances. Jackets and envelopes often have notes on them regarding the status of the claim application written by PWCA staff. Some jackets have no enclosures.</p>"}