Teac... Thanks for replying. Yes, I am under no illusions about the difficulty of such a case; but where theres a will (and records, and ect.), perhaps there's a way. All I know is I entered the service with a clean bill of health, at 18, and very shortly after aleaving, a couple of years later, I was diagnosed with al respiratory disease, whereby, lung lesions,- bullae, (also called "blebs") form on the lung, and if these should rupture, you have a collapse ( pneumothorax ). This respiratory disease is "Bullous Emphysema", not pulmonary emphysema. Back in the day it was, "of unknown cause". Medical literature today says causes are, VERY LONG TERM SMOKING,(had only been smoking maybe 2 and half years", heridity,(none in my family), OR, exposure to enviromental toxins! - plenty of that. there is a medical phenomenon where otherwise healthy individuals, usually male, from 20 to 40, can have spontaneous pneumothorax, usually in right lung, known as idiopathic spontaneous pneumothorax. But as it states, they are otherwise healthy - NEVER a diagnoses of ANY lung disease,as a causeative.( All my collapses, and subsequent surgery for, was left lung, btw).The doctor who I saw in the emergency room, after my first collapse, said I was the first person he had ever seen , or even heard of, who had emphysema that young. Same with doctors since. Not suprisingly, both hospitals- where I went to emergency room, and where I had surgery- said they don't keep records from that far back. Going to check medicaid records also, and I've just printed 180 form for smrs, which I also need for other claims. Oh, and I was treated twice in VN for severe bronchitis, each time with a heavy dose of antibiotics, for whatever that's worth. Anyway, hope I haven't talked too much