All WWII Vets Now Eligible for No-Cost Care

All WWII Veterans who have served between Dec. 7, 1941, and Dec. 31, 1946, are eligible for no-cost VA health care and nursing home service, regardless of their length of service or financial status. If you were turned down in the past, reapply. For more information, contact your County Veterans Representative or your Veterans Representative.

VFW National Legislative Associate Director Quandrea Patterson testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs regarding pending legislation related to fiduciary fraud and VA Board of Appeals processes. She conveyed the VFW’s support to restore benefits to veterans and their families when they fall victim to abuse or fraud by fiduciaries. She also spoke about a bill to establish presumptions of service connection for diseases associated with firefighting. Patterson said, “This would prevent PFAS from becoming another situation like Blue Water Navy or Camp Lejeune in which veterans became sick and died waiting decades for their conditions to be properly recognized and appropriately treated.” She stated VFW’s support for a bill that limits the authority of VA to deny the claim of a veteran for benefits on the sole basis of failure to appear for a medical examination, commenting that “restarting a claim for this reason is unnecessary and veterans would benefit from a process that does not place so much power in a missed appointment.”

The VFW has issued a Claim Shark factsheet for you to share with fellow veterans and social media communities. A Claim Shark is an individual or company that charges hefty fees to “assist” or “consult” veterans with filing their VA benefit claims. This practice is illegal! Like the VFW said last year during testimony before Congress, “In our opinion, any group that fails to adhere to VA’s well-established standards of accreditation and fee arrangements should be met at the door by Capitol Police, not offered a seat at the same table as hard-working, VA-accredited advocates who are held to professional and ethical standards designed to protect veterans.”

VFW Department of Illinois District 15 Commander Chris Maynor testified before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs about the issues facing veteran-owned businesses. Maynor is an Army veteran and owner of Daniel Deans clothing store in Murphysboro, Illinois. He described the difficulty in finding veteran-related programs to help launch small businesses, and shared his journey of getting his company off the ground. Many VFW members across the country are business owners, so having their voices represented before Congress is very powerful.

Army Cpl. R.V. Leo Short, 19, of Seminole, Oklahoma, was a member of George Company, 2nd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment. He died while a prisoner of war in March 1951. He will be buried in his hometown on Dec. 9, 2023.

Army Air Force Sergeant White S. Goings, Jr., 22, of Auburn, Nebraska, was a member of the 93rd Bombardment Squadron. He died while a prisoner of war on July 19, 1942. He will be buried in his hometown in June 2024.

Till next week praying for all service members.