I've had my issues with the VA, but I was willing to let it go. But I'm not willing to let go what my friend told me. First of all, my problem seems minor and I'm not even sure I was entitled to benefits because I spent my time in the Marines as a reservist. However, I was encouraged by a fellow who helps veterans receive their benefits that I had a case for requesting assistance and expecting to receive it. The matter surrounds my hope to qualify for hearing aids because of damage to my hearing that may be related to my service. In the simplest of terms, for two years I was in the air wing where I worked on the ramp and sent out F8 Crusaders. I researched and found that the decibel rating of a jet engine is about 189. Hearing damage can occur at 120, sometimes less. On many occasions I stood no more than ten feet from those engines. Through many attempts to get the VA's attention, and nothing but frustration, I gave up. Those people could not be more inefficient or negligent with the veterans needs if they tried. And in fact, I believe they do try. At one point I was talking with a man that handles Veterans assistance. He's a civilian who helps veterans obtain their benefits and not a part of the system. After so much frustration that I explained to him he said that the VA goes by the motto: Delay, deny, and hope they die. I put up with their crap for more than a year and finally after banging my head up against a brick wall, I gave up and tossed out my VA file.
But that's just my experience, which is small and not that serious. There are so many veterans who really do need help and I am certain the VA is letting men and women down who are entitled to benefits and really need them.
And that's why I'm writing the story of my friend Andy. I met Andy when he came into my reserve unit in Miami. He was so different from the rest of us. We were reservists who spent our time in classrooms, marching around the parade ground, and basically never going anywhere the action. We hd no real idea what active duty in the Marine Corps was like. So, along came Andy. He was maybe 21 years old. He had been released from active duty after a harrowing tour in Vietnam. Andy was Forced Recon and saw horrific action over there. He had been wounded twice and nearly had his foot blown off on a mine. In the ANGLICO unit he was put in a slot to be an instructor. I was an instructor also so we met on the first. day. I was in awe of Andy for what he had been through. The training along with jump school, scuba, AIT and all the other stuff on top of being a war veteran placed him above all the rest. But somehow he and I connected and became very close friends, more in civilian life that in the Marines.
Andy was a brown belt in judo and I too was training in martial arts. I was also a very squared away Marine for a reservist. In fact I had received the award for being the "Outstanding Marine in the unit below the rank of sergeant." That was number one out of maybe 200. Anyhow, for what it was worth, I was noticed. Outside of the reserve unit is where we became quite close. We dated a couple of the same girls, and I think I even gave Andy a place to live for a while. He went to Miami-Dade while I was at UM. We were real buddies and I never stopped admiring him for all he had done. And after he left the Marine unit he joined some kind of Special Forces reserve unit for more training and then joined the Para-rescue team of the Air Force for more training. Para-rescue (PJs) is the toughest training in all the armed forces, far beyond what the SEALS do. Physically, there were not many people who had trained to the extent Andy had, Marine Force Recon, Army Ranger, Air Force para-rescue.
From there Andy kept up with the training and did some marathons and I think even a few Ironmans. Physically he's a beast even though he's not a particularly big guy, there's nobody tougher. He went on in civilian life to become a firefighter/paramedic as a career. I know that in that capacity, besides his regular work, he did a lot of training of other firefighters.
As an aside, when my son, P.J. was trying to decide what he wanted to do with his life he had visited a Navy recruiter. The recruiter tried to entice P.J. into the Navy by telling him glorious stories of the SEALS and how he too could become a SEAL. When I heard this I freaked out and called Andy. He told me to keep P.J. as far away from those people as I could. It ended up that I arranged for P.J. to spend a day with Andy to learn all about SEALS and all the why nots about it. That was a fortuitous event because P.J. was so impressed that he ultimately became a firefighter/paramedic himself and eventually an emergency room doctor. I credit Andy with a big part of that success, a very big part.
Well, back to the VA. In later years, I mean 40 years later, Andy admitted to suffering psychologically from PTSD. He had mental issues that needed to be addressed. He went to the VA and applied for help. He spent years arguing his case. At every turn the clerks at VA lied to him, lost his file, did nothing, and frustrated him. But Andy was really in need of help. A couple of days ago I was on the phone for three hours with Andy as he told me the story of his VA experience. He got so wound up in telling the story of his great frustration that his voice was choked up and he was near tears. It seems that the VA gave him as much PTSD as action in a war zone did. I was greatly touched by Andy's story. I was also pissed at the VA all over again.
I told Andy about the "Delay, deny, and hope they die" saying and he agreed that that was exactly what to expect. I think this is a deplorable situation and leadership at the VA should be replaced with better people, and the attitude should be one of actually trying to help instead of stonewalling veterans who need and have earned benefits.
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