Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland answers questions from VA Watchdog dot Org readers.

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Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.  If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...  The archive of Jim's articles is here...  To find an answer to a specific VA benefits question, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...  And, be sure to use Jim's:  A Military Veterans Guide To Disability Compensation and Pension Benefits -- A Compendium of Resources and Knowledge For The Disabled Veteran -- click here...   JIm's series for new vets, "Welcome Home," is also featured on Military.com. And, you can follow Jim on TWITTER here ...

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by Jim Strickland

NOTE:  Letters in my Q&A columns are reprinted just as they come to me. Spelling and grammar are left as is and only small corrections are made to improve readability, ensure anonymity or delete expletives that may offend some readers. This is not legal advice. You should always seek the advice of an attorney who is qualified in Veterans' law before you make any decisions about your own benefits.

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Jim;

There is an issue which I bring to you for assistance. My father served two full terms of enlistment in the U.S. ARMY and was honorably discharged both times. He then immediately reenlisted as an active reservist just one month before he passed away. At the time, my mother was six months pregnant with his fifth child. My mother told me that within months of his passing she was denied being eligible for any veteran’s benefits. In fact, I have his funeral bill (along with his DD 214, death certificate, and autopsy) where she applied for assistance, but was turned down - it is stamped “Veterans Benefits Denied”. As a child, the matter didn’t concern me.

As I grew older - it occurred to me that I should at least be entitled to a discounted VA loan (when applying for my first mortgage) being his first born dependant; I was denied. I began to investigate dates and other data to try to determine why his service was of no significance in the eyes of our country.

I requested his military records and I learned that he died September 30, 1963. He first enlisted in 1955, reenlisted in 1959 (the year I was born) and served in Korea; we also lived in base housing in Tacoma, WA. After several calls to the VA, and finally getting someone at the VA to listen to me, it was explained to me that he died months before the establishment of VA and therefore was not alive to make any claim for any benefits which he may have been entitled to.

This just doesn’t sound right to me; how can they say he had no entitlement to any benefits when he served above and beyond the standards of requirements (regardless of it being 40 years ago or by today standards) - and left behind a wife with five children? I inquired of my mother for more information, and she told me that she was not only turned down when requesting funeral assistance - but again years later when I was perhaps 10 she had applied once again for VA benefits - only to be rejected. I recall my mother working two jobs as a waitress and our moving from Madigan Army military housing to the project row housing of Pittsburgh, PA where her family was. My baby sister died exactly one year later, and my mother went through a nervous breakdown - she had no help offered to her at all. No funeral assistance (I recall the 3 soldiers who fired their guns 7 times each), no medical aid, no financial aid.

My father’s grave is marked with a military footstone and they annually place flags at his gravesite, yet he is not recognized in any other way or fashion as being a Veteran who served his country. Surely his service to our country has some value, though no acknowledgement has ever been shown in any manner outside the courtesy flags on his grave. Any assistance or information you can contribute to aid me in this matter is greatly appreciated. We; my mother, brothers, and I really need your help to see that our mother be given the consideration that was not afforded to her 40 years ago.

Thank you for your time and help. In closing, I hope you will assist us in this matter and add to quote President Lincoln and the Veterans Administration -
“to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan”

Reply;

I'm not sure that I understand your letter or exactly what it is you seek. Allow me to tell you why, please.

You say that "it was explained to me that he died months before the establishment of VA". I'm not sure who would have told you that or why. The Veterans Administration was formed July 21st 1931. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan signed into law documents that created a Cabinet-level "Department of Veterans Affairs" to replace the Veterans Administration. All benefits that were available prior to 1988 were available after. Things like disability compensation benefits have been effective since the 1940s.

Veterans aren't usually entitled to a wide range of benefits either after service or for surviving dependents upon the death of the veteran. I don't believe that this detracts from the respect of a grateful nation for the service the veteran gave.

Few of us believe that we will have all the available benefits unless our service qualifies us for that.

The circumstances of the veterans death will determine the menu of benefits that the survivors may be eligible for. Generally speaking, a veteran who served for less than the usual full retirement term (20 years) and who did not have a service connected disability (an injury or illness that was due to military service) isn't due anything more than a very modest funeral allowance.

You also say, "No funeral assistance" but in the same breath you tell us, "(I recall the 3 soldiers who fired their guns 7 times each)". If he had a 21 gun salute he was buried with full military honors...thus there was "funeral assistance" provided by the military and VA. Nobody else could or would have arranged for such honors.

Then there is your statement, "As I grew older - it occurred to me that I should at least be entitled to a discounted VA loan (when applying for my first mortgage) being his first born dependant". I can't begin to guess why you felt entitled to a VA mortgage? That isn't ever a part of any benefits package that I've ever heard of and it isn't addressed in any of the laws that govern VA benefits.

VA mortgages are offered as a benefit to those veterans who served honorably. You apparently did not wear the uniform therefore you are in no way entitled to a veterans benefit.

If your father passed away from an injury or illness that was directly connected to his honorable service, he would have been eligible to apply for disability benefits at that time. The VA was open for business. If that had been the case, your mother may have been eligible for DIC benefits.

If his death was not associated with his military service, that would have meant that by law his dependent spouse would not be eligible for anything. That a man serves does not imply that the government will provide benefits for life unless there are circumstances dictating such..as in service connected disabilities.

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Jim;

I was wondering whether you had any information on points of contact at the Houston VARO. You see, I submitted a Notice of Disagreement & request for DRO review to the Houston VARO in early September 2007, and it's now been nearly 23 months without the VA making a decision. To say I'm tired of waiting and feeling frustrated is putting it mildly. However, whenever I submit an IRIS request to the VA or have my VSO check on the status of my NOD, the only thing they tell me is that my NOD is still being worked, and they have no idea how much longer it will take.


I was hoping that if I could contact the head of the DRO section, perhaps by email, I might be able to obtain better info, or find out how long on average It's taking them to resolve NODs. That would at least give me some sort of ballpark time estimate for my NOD to be resolved. Do you think my idea is of any merit? If yes, do you have any Houston VARO contact info that might be useful to me? P.S. Thank you for contributing to the VA Watchdog website. I really enjoy the veteran Q&A info you post there.

Reply;

There really aren't any POCs at VA like you seek. I understand your frustration with that concept...me too.

However, unless they contact you they really don't like anyone trying to reach them. The rationale is that time on the telephone is time that could be spent working on a case.

I almost agree with that. I use the phone at most once each month to talk to a veteran. It's almost always not very good use of my time. We get to telling lies and swapping memories and 2 hours is gone.

Unlike VA I do communicate...by email. But they rarely do so that isn't an answer.

I can tell you a couple of things bout how all this works.

First, I'm no fan of the VSO system. I'm surprised you have a VSO who speaks with you. Most of them are as hard to reach as any VA staffer. They rarely have any clue as to what is happening. Your folder is marching along at its own pace in line with hundreds of thousands of others. You can't speed it up and almost every attempt to do so backfires.

Then there is the IRIS system as well as that dread toll free number. I urge veterans that they should never ask questions about their claim of either system.

You may not realize that both IRIS and the toll free number are call centers far away from your VARO. The data they see on their screen is so limited as to be worthless. They don't see your claim, they see information that is input by others as your claim winds its way through the 160 or so stops it makes to a decision.

All too often the data isn't put in correctly or timely by the individuals who have the folder. That leaves the IRIS and telephone people to guess at what they see and what it means. The stuff they tell you is rarely factual. I hear it every day that someone calls and they're told there is no record of their case and the next day the letter of award arrives and a deposit is made.

Finally...you're dealing with what may be the worst VARO of the 57 of them. Houston is notoriously backed up, inefficient and corrupt. I lived in San Antonio years ago and I had to deal with Houston then and it was horrible and it's gotten worse.

I'll make a suggestion...

Wait until the 2 year anniversary and reply to this email. Save this of course and use the reply button...if I have all of it to remind me it'll help.

If you have nothing by then I'll assist you to write a compelling letter to the manager of the center...yes, I have all those names, numbers and such, I just don't hand them out at first glance.

At the same time we do that, we'll write a great letter to your Congressional Representative as will as to the Congressional Veterans Affairs Committee. We can stir it up pretty well.

But first...give me some history of what has happened. OK, you were denied a claim and filed a NOD asking for DRO review. Was that acknowledged in writing? Did you do this yourself or through your VSO? What sort of record do you have that you actually filed a DRO NOD?


Once you're past a point where you believe that your claim is really taking too long without an appropriate notice that it's active, you should consider the possibility that it may not have been properly filed in the first place. This is a circumstance that I've seen too many times to count and deserves consideration.

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Jim;

Sorry to bother you but these past 11 months of dealing with the VA and all their abilities to avoid questions has just got me to a point that I want to blow. My husband retired after 20 yrs of service in the Air Force and started his paper work for his VA Benefits and Disability in September of 2008, it is now nearing August 2009 and we still have no answer of benefit information from the VA.

He suffers from Anxiety and Depression issues as well as Sleep Apnea, Asthma, just a few of his daily dealings. His meds got to a point where they were no longer controlling his anxiety or depression issues. So after months of begging he was able to get a appointment with a local VA hospital, later to get a bill from them. So we call them and of course it was “well we can’t guarantee you will get approved for benefits”. I dropped my jaw in disbelief of how the VA was treating a 20 yr veteran.

Anyhow the story only gets worse, down to my question to save you some time.

I realize I am only a military spouse that as I’ve learned has no right to speak up and I want this treatment to stop. I want to know if you have a idea or what I need to do to become a advocate to fight for the VA rights of these veterans? I can’t handle to see this treatment go on and will do whatever I need to do to fight for our veterans. I just need some guidance in what direction to go and I would greatly appreciate if you could point me in that general direction.

Thank you so much for all your hard work.
 

Reply;

Each week I have to tell people, "Your case is just routine. This is how the system and the process works." So, consider that message delivered to you now.

The VBA is about 2 years behind in processing claims. There are about one million claims that are older than 6 months waiting to be processed. I tell clients who I work closely with that they can't
expect adjudication for 24 months.

When their claim is adjudicated there is a 70% plus chance that it will be wrong in one way or another. That means that it will have to be appealed, often adding another 2 years.

No, I'm not exaggerating...that isn't my style. I have hundreds and hundreds of cases I've dealt with and I'm firmly rooted in reality.

That he's a veteran of 20 years service means zip to VA. That gets him the same disrespect and inefficient service as everyone else.

Your claim isn't a year old yet. You may have another year to wait.

If you are serious in saying, "I can’t handle to see this treatment go on and will do whatever I need to do to fight for our veterans" you can have a lot of impact by getting busy and getting involved. You can introduce yourself to your legislators in the Congress...those people who make the law that we live by. The Committees on Veterans Affairs invite input from citizens like you.

Your voice can be an effective one if you shout it out in the right direction. Military spouses are often the most powerful influence that can be had. I hope you'll follow through and be one of those who gets involved and lets Washington know the truth of how the VA system is letting us all down.

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TOPICS: veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs, Jim Strickland, Veterans' Advocate,