Baloney, computer systems in use decades ago have recorded
this information immutably for veterans and citizens alike
If only we were so tough on all the illegals and uncitizen scammers like 0bola
and how do you access those computer systems without a military ID, or a DD-214? Unless you do 20 years and retire you turn in your military ID upon ETS.
On the civilian side, you need a certified abstract of birth, (not a hospital birth certificate), ID, proof of address etc to get a replacement drivers license.
I recently renewed my passport. Because it had been too many years I had to start the process completely over despite having the old passport. Certified abstract of birth, old passport, retired military ID copy, drivers license copy.