I had great luck receiving a pension file from the VA in Iowa. My great-great grandmother drew on the pension until 1944. I too, submitted a FOIA. I did receive a postcard saying it had been received (no additional information). Very soon after that I received a letter from the VA in DC saying they didn't have it and they were sending my request to the regional office (Des Moines, where the widow was living at the time of death and probably the office that oversaw all Iowa Veteran's, which this man was). Very soon after that I received a letter from the DM regional office saying the records weren't in their office but they would attempt to locate them. They reserved the right to charge me for a search, copies, and to delete sections of the records. At this point I thought it was a lost cause. One month later I received a huge package in the mail. No letter of explanation but the entire pension file. No charge for copying or searching. This all happened in the fall of 2009 so perhaps some policies have changed? Or perhaps some regional offices are more accommodating than others? I wish you luck!