hello,to evoryone that finds themselves on my story,first my husband was in panama he was sent home in the 90,s on a compassionate leave his mother was a double amputee,he was murdered while home on leave,at this time i was told to go to the va" and they would help me apply for benefits for me and my children,at this time,i was told by the va" to write to the archives and get his record,this happened again and again over the past 19 years,i continued to call several diferent va' offices and no one could offer me any support or they just didnt take the time to listen to me ,i wrote the va and they stated no record? i wrote human resources they stated the same,so i sent for his wages from socialsecurity once this was done i sent it in to the local government office they didnt know what to do,im in nc"i called evory one that wount listen i could think of,so i basically backed tracked called his last duty station that i could think of ,a very nice man in finance told me to call virginia he stated i needed a dd-214 and they would be able to help me since his wife died while on active duty also,i called this number not thinking that i would get any help or i was going to get the run around again,i gave the serviceman his social they found nothing,she looked through 2 databasis and guess what there it was,after all these years noone called me helped me out or showed me where to go,a nice bystander who just happen to listen and cared showed me the correct place to be,i talked to someone their statement to me was..... we need to investigate this matter?what....ok now what,how long is this going to take,or should i say what are they going to do to keep me from this death benefit,i had to work 3 jobs to support me and my 2 boys the military gave us nothing,except the boot,what do i have to do now fight to get what we are due,im scared to see what they produce now i see these other forms,can anyone help or give me a good honest contact person thanks, for listening.>>>ladypedwards@yahoo.com

REPLY:

First, never mind "your local VA".

I told you to go to the county
or STATE Veterans Service Agency.
The VA is federal.

Second, NO do NOT go to any VFW or
DAV like this other guy said. They
are incompetent and bungled and while
they will pretend to help you, it is
always better to go to a government
office where employees are screened
for literacy.

Stop talking about "your local VA" --
look in your phone book and go
to XXX County Veterans Services Agency
OR XXX State Dept. of Veterans Affairs
etc.

That's where you go, and this is how
it gets done. Leave "your local VA"
out of it. They are federal.

VFW and american legion can also help, and most conties have a county judge, Some time they will help. Check with his parents if possible , sometimes young soldiers have parents listed as their beneficiaries. but you are also intitled to survivor benefits.

Thanks for the kind reply, my local va states that they can do nothing for me because the army states they had no papper work at all,for all these years until i just walked them down to the va in virginia, three days ago,so i guess i have to wait and see what they have or (try) and just be on point and be ready to fight for my benefits,i spoke to a va rep just two weeks ago, he made me cry by stating" u must have not been the benefictiary or you should of gotten that money" i count believe anyone could be so mean and cold,he wount even listen to me that they lost my husbands records,or even direct me to where i could get help in sorting this out,that was his answer,i didnt get the money so,, basically it wasnt left to me, i stated to him the same forms i needed 19 years ago are still needed today to file a claime ,he just didnt care and wanted me to go away,i guess this seemed like a lot of work.seems no one cares?this happened i was 19 im soon to be 37,when will this be corrected??

REPLY to Lady P:


Each county and each state has a
Veterans Service Agency. Look in your
phone book for the one nearest to you.
Make an appointment and tell them
you are a survivor spouse of a deceased
veteran and which to have a review
of your VA benefits rights by a
benefits officer.

Then go and take whatever papers you
have. You will need his Death Certificate
and anything else that you already
have.

Let them do the rest and they will
steer you through the system as well
as they can.

Let them explain to you of any entitlements
which are due you, and they have all
the VA filing forms right there in
their offices.


Good luck to you.