86 year old Korean War veteran. A client of Washington County Veteran Service Officer Vicki Horn.
A Story From Washington County: Vicki Horn (CVSO)
“About 2 years ago a Korean War veteran came in to see if he would be eligible for hearing aids and some extra money. He was 86 and still working part time as a mechanic, but said it was getting difficult to maintain employment. I enrolled him in medical coverage and we got him set up for an audiology appointment. We looked at his eligibility and his working income to obtain benefits. He was reluctant to file for hearing loss, even though he had a combat infantry award and had described several significant “acoustic traumas.” In the course of our conversation he also mentioned he broke his back and had spent several months in an Army hospital in Tokyo. In the end we filed for three different conditions. His records had been damaged in a Veterans Affairs (VA) facility fire so it took almost a year and a half to obtain a response. In the end he got an 80 percent disability rating. He also has hearing aids now. He was able to quit working and installed AC in his house last summer. He used part of the retroactive payment to travel to see his brother and sister, who he hadn’t seen for years, last summer. He is why I do this job.”
A Story From Indiana: A State Struggling to Support CVSOs: LISTEN HERE
Contributed by: Andy Smith | AOC Veterans policy manager