Vets benefit from service officers’ help

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Gene Allen, left, a veteran from Hulbert, got help from John Martin, Veterans of Foreign Wars service officer, right, filling out paperwork for the Veterans Administration at the VFW Post 3707 Wednesday. Photo by Travina Coleman

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March 11, 2010

By TRAVINA COLEMAN Press Staff Writer The Tahlequah Daily Press Thu Mar 11, 2010, 10:08 AM CST

TAHLEQUAH —

Are you a veteran who hasn’t filed for benefits? Or maybe some of the paperwork seems too overwhelming and you’ve procrastinated in the process?

Help is closer than you might think.

Veterans can talk to service officers at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3707 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., the second and fourth Wednesdays each month.

Gene Allen, of the Hulbert area, dropped by the VFW Post 3707 to get some help with paperwork this week.

“I’m just doing some paperwork for VA [Veterans Administration] benefits,” he said.

When Allen was asked why he chose the VFW service officer instead of going through the VA, he just shook his head.

“I’m not going back there,” he said. “I went once in ‘87 for an evaluation and I haven’t been back since.”

And this isn’t unusual, said Earlene Rystedt, VFW Auxiliary president.

“Some really don’t want to go there,” she said. “I think this is an important service to veterans in the area. This way, they don’t have to drive all the way to Tulsa or Muskogee.”

Rystedt said veterans can get all their initial paperwork done at the VFW on the specific days, in a relaxing environment with coffee and doughnuts.

“It’s nice and comfortable in here,” she said. “They can just come on in.”

More and more troops are being deployed into the Middle East, and the numbers of those coming back with disabilities are rising.

For those returning from places like Afghanistan, or Iraq, the most common disabilities are hearing loss and post traumatic stress disorder, according to Sharon Mullen, Disabled American Veterans service officer.

“Those that have hearing problems, we have a lady who does hearing aids for veterans at no cost,” Mullen said. “Many of the other injuries from this war are PTSD.”

“And there is no cure for that,” added Vera Royce, another DAV service officer.

Two years after the beginning of the war in Iraq, nearly 150,000 American men and women were serving in the war zone, and another 16,000 were in Afghanistan. The rotations of troops returning home from Iraq are now a common occurrence.

Military analysts and government sources say the deployments and repatriation of combat veterans are unlike anything the nation has experienced since the end of the Vietnam War. They also say the deployments are likely to continue, according to www.nchv.org.

Royce said her son has been in the service for the past seven years, and is finally being deployed to Afghanistan.

“I’m scared for him,” she said.

Royce, like the other service officers, is also a veteran. She and the others offer this service on their own time.

“There is no pay,” she said.

For veterans who would like to come down to the VFW Post 3707 and start their benefit paperwork, DAV service officers advise they bring their DD214 forms; a marriage license, if applicable; and any divorce papers.

If they have children, they need to bring those birth certificates also.

Martin said the purpose of their service is to make sure the veterans are taken care of and know what benefits are available to them.

“I used to do this for a living until my health got bad,” he said. “Now I do it as a volunteer. There are some things veterans don’t know they have access to, depending on their situation.”

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