In the 90’s, I spent a lot of time going through Civil War military and pension records at the National Archives. I can’t tell you how many records couldn’t be found because they were still in the hands of the VA. At one point I had to write my Congressman about it, and he in turn contacted the VA who made special arrangements for me to go to Buffalo to view the list of records I wanted to see. There aren’t any Civil War veterans still alive, and at this point in history, I’m not sure there are any widows left receiving benefits, but if there are, those are the only records that should be in the hands of the VA.
The VA might have those records because of the “true story” that “Night of The Living Dead” is based on.