Disabled Vietnam Vets Still Face Roadblocks

I recently saw this heartbreaking article regarding Vietnam veterans titled “Reverberations from war complicate Vietnam veterans’ end-of-life care.”

Maybe it is because I just watched the Ken Burns’ Vietnam documentary but this article really struck a chord with me.  If you haven’t seen it, this is a “must-watch.” What strikes me the most about the documentary is the absolute incompetent and willfully negligent leadership that kept the problems with the Vietnam war (and why we were there and our chances and definition of success) from the American public.  Instead, the war killed and wounded a tremendous number of our nation’s most precious commodity.  For anyone who has worn the uniform of our country, he or she knows that you don’t put a single one of our troops in harm’s way unless you have a damn good reason to do so.

In that light, I see Vietnam veterans several times each week who now have a hard fight on their respective hands just trying to get their VA disability benefits.  After watching the Ken Burns’ series, the way I feel is that anyone who served in Vietnam “in country” or “in blue waters” should be entitled to their claimed VA benefits immediately upon the filing of his or her claim with the VA.  Additionally, this Ken Burns’ Vietnam series should be required viewing by all VA employees.

For a veteran to receive disability compensation, he or she must have a current disabling condition that is related to an event in service, which is called service-connection. Since a service member is a member of our military 24/7, as long as the event that caused the disabling condition occurred while on active-duty orders, then that condition is considered service-connected. The following are previous blog posts that I have written that may assist veterans in their fight for their disability claim:

VA Disability Blog Posts

• How Should a Veteran File an Original VA Disability Claim?

• New Rules Announced by the VA for ALL claims filed March 24, 2015

• Notice of Disagreement (NOD) to the VA

• What are the VA deadline dates if I am trying to get my VA disability?

• Why Does It Take So Long For My VA Disability Claim To Be Processed?

• Why Does My VA Disability Claim Take So Long?

• VA Delays – The Saga Continues…

• What Can Veterans do to Improve Their Chances of Obtaining Denied VA Disability Compensation Claims?

 

If you need help with your VA disability claim, as a veteran myself, I have been handling these cases for many years and I would be happy to review your situation with you. You can email me. Thank you for your service.

Navigating Legal Issues for Military Veterans   - Co-Author