Vet waits 68 years for bennies
ROS sends us a link to Fox News which tells the story of 89-year-old Milton Rackham who never gave up applying for his VA benefits despite the fact that his records were lost in the Missouri fire, and finally scored on his last attempt;
Rackham, who grew up herding cattle in Rigby, Idaho, said he enlisted in the Navy when he was 17 years old — against the wishes of his mother. He fought aboard the PT Boat 81 in the Aleutian Islands for his first year. He later transferred to the South Pacific, where he was severely injured while defending a U.S. ammunition supply ship during a Japanese kamikaze attack. The explosion caused Rackham serious shrapnel wounds that nearly led to the amputation of an arm and leg.
After spending two years in Navy hospitals in Hawaii and Manila, Rackham returned to civilian life in Rigby.
Apparently, the VA had the same information when he applied in 2008 as they had when they awarded him his $800 benefit and $7000 back pay.
“What drove me crazy was that they had the same information in 2008 and they denied me,” he told FoxNews.com. “That’s what blows me out of the water. Ever since 1974, when I first asked for benefits, they’ve had the same information.”
“Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction,” Rackham said.
[…]
Rackham also indicated that he was advised by friends to appeal the $822 and the $7,000, which amounts to 10 months in back pay, but he opted not to, saying, “I won’t live long enough to go through the VA process one more time.”
Category: Veterans Issues, Veterans' Affairs Department
So they can deny the claim of a real veteran for 40 years, but the posers and shitbags get bennies with hardly a raised eyebrow. Amazing. Hope everyone is looking closely at these results, because this is Obamacare.
Yup, dust off your use of the acronym “BOHICA”… we’re going to need it.
As bad as this is in this Veteran’s having to wait, only to find that w/o any additional record information, his claim, previously denied, was granted, the man’s age and the red tape precluded him from appealing the paltry award. I suppose VA regards this as a WIN. Congratulations, VA, on beating down a WWII combat wounded Vet. Yeah, congratulations.
Jonn, I saw this story yesterday. I didn’t bother to write an article for a very good reason. It appears to be highly questionable if not factually incorrect.
It’s a virtual certainty that the guy’s records WERE NOT lost in the 1973 NPRC fire. The reporter who did this story needs a swift kick in the butt for failure to check facts.
This guy was Navy. It is believed, with relative certainty, that no Navy or USMC records were affected by that fire. The fire did not affect the part of NPRC where Navy and USMC records were stored, and none are known to have been affected.
http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/fire-1973.html
I would love to see proof that this guy was actually told by ANYONE from the US government that his records were “destroyed in the fire”. Until I do, I ain’t buying it.
Hondo. Reportedly there were a very small number of Navy personnel records lost in the 1973 fire. The VFW Magazine did a story on the fire in 2013 and mentioned this. Also, Wikiwhatever mentions it and says that the tiny number of damaged/destroyed records are chalked up as missing records and not advertised as fire victims. The destroyed records weren’t stored in the damaged area but had been pulled for one reason or another or were in transit and in the affected area.
2/17 Air Cav – I think Hondo’s tracking on that:
http://valorguardians.com/blog/?p=39667
“If someone served in the Navy or USMC, it’s a virtual certainty that their records were not affected by the fire. At most, 3 dozen or fewer OPMFs for discharged Navy/USMC personnel in archival storage might have been affected. None are known to have been destroyed.”
…and he explains why earlier in the article…would be very interesting to see proof that this Navy guy was indeed impacted by the fire…
Thanks, SGT E. Was tied up for a bit and didn’t have a chance to respond.
Yes, up to 3 dozen Navy and USMC OMPFs might have been destroyed. That’s the upper estimate, which means the actual number is almost certainly lower.
No Navy and USMC records are known to have been destroyed. It is believed that zero (0) were.
Unfortunately, absent a second copy in another archive or a master list of NPRC’s holdings stored elsewhere (neither of which was maintained by NPRC), proving that fact is virtually impossible.
Gotcha. I agree that it is a near certainty that the Veteran’s records weren’t lost in the fire and I found it interesting that he put in his claim months after the fire. The incomplete records issue that delayed his claim can be attributed to many things and I won’t speculate about that. I am pissed that he rec’d such a puny back award but that was his call.
“I won’t live long enough to go through the VA process one more time.”
Records lost in a fire or no, this is still a sad statement to hear from a WWII vet. I do hope it is reviewed and they raise his amounts. Just to give him a sense of justice and fair play.
Unless of course this guy is playing the system. In which case I have less than no sympathy for him. I am sure being Navy his DD-214 can still be found and probably medical records. If a person from the government was being lazy and said “your records were lost in the fire” that’s another thing. But I have never heard of anyone being told that. My understanding was the fire affected Army/Army Air Corp and Air Force records from certain periods. Not Navy/Marine records. In fact it was my understanding the Navy/Marines warehoused their archives in a different city altogether. Someone more enlightened on this please help a dumb ass out here.
Sparks: you might want to read my article on the 1973 fire under the “Military Records” tab at the top of the page.
During World War II, the services did maintain separate records repositories. By 1960, that practice appears to have ended with respect to veterans records in storage. In 1960, the DoD Military Records Center was transferred to GSA. It’s my understanding that contained records from all 4 services.
Navy and USMC records were archived at the NPRC in 1973. However, the fire affected primarily the 6th floor. Navy and USMC records were stored in a different part of the building.
Thanks Hondo. Too lazy this morning to do my own research.
A few years ago, I attended the Army’s birthday party at the Pentagon, where they always have the youngest soldier present, and the oldest soldier present, both hold the sabre to slice the birthday cake.
I don’t remember his name, but that oldest active duty soldier was SEVENTY (70) years old!
He was a senior NCO, with gray hair, appearing physically very fit, dressed in camouflage, wearing jumpmaster wings, pathfinder badge, combat infantry badge, ranger tab, and special forces tab, basically every possible Army qualification and combat award that any soldier could ever earn.
I spoke with him for a few minutes, inviting him and his wife to come visit the guys at the Ol’ Soldiers’ Home.
This was a few years ago, and so I wonder if he is STILL serving on active duty?
Oops!
I commented on the wrong post.
I wonder how that happened?
Mr. Rackham is a friend of the family. My dad was the first one to discover his situation with the VA while he was helping Mr. Rackham to write his wartime memories. Mr. Rackham was advised by a therapist to try to write them as part of the healing process. These memoirs are now available in book form under the title “PT Boat 81: Still on WWII Nightmare Patrol”. Cost of the book is $30.00. You can go here to read excerpts and order a copy: http://ptboat81.weebly.com/