"The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
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May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.
- General George Patton Jr
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"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
-- John Adams (Address to the Military, 11 October 1798)
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GOD AND THE AMERICAN SOLDIER
You wouldn't think that he would cry or ever kneel to pray-
Because you don't understand what he faces every day-
But I have seen his very soul on many a terrible battlefield-
He rarely stands alone, when like steel he will not yield-
To you he is a drunken lout whose heart is made of stone-
I have seen him cradle a fallen buddy weeping all alone-
He is the quiet man down by the solemn memorial wall-
Quietly mourning for those heroes who gave their very all-
He is seldom heard to boast or bring attention to himself-
His beret and medals remain at home up on the top shelf-
This day is not for him, even with medals by the score-
This day is for his brethren lost on that foreign shore-
Americans around him think this just another holiday-
But for him a quiet memory in the place where they stay-
He takes the small Stars and Stripes to the solemn stone-
Today his fallen Soldier friend will not lie there alone-
At work the following Monday the stories do abound-
About parties and a band which played the latest sound-
Out of courtesy they ask what he did on his holiday-
I just visited friends in a quiet place where they stay-
For my old boss Powell Johnson Commander of Camp Darby 1971 -Mark
Introduced Measures Pending Committee Consideration
"Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment nothing can fail.
Without it nothing can succeed.
He who molds opinion is greater than he who enacts laws.
"-Abraham Lincoln
VETERANS Q&A with JIM STRICKLAND, #24 for 2009
Jim;
what priority group would I be in if I have a combined rating of 20% Diabetes, 10% Lower right foot Neurophy, 10% Lower Left foot Neurophy and 10% chronic pain left hand ? does combined %'s equal total 50% or does it equal 42% arounded down to 40% for Healthcare proiority groups as it does for comp ? ( sorry for my confusion )
Reply;
That's a great question! This stuff is very confusing.
Whatever your compensation rating is will be how your PG is set. If you're 40%, that's 40% across the board.
Click
and
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Jim;
Is the hypertension claims a dead issue or are they still looking at this issue,I'am a veitnam vet and just started to file some claims. I have type 2 diabetis and am receiving comp for this.
Reply;
Hypertension as a presumptive condition secondary to exposure to herbicides isn't being pursued in any strong legislation that I'm aware of. You can always try the direct route. To prevail, you will need an expert physician to review your record and agree that your hypertensive condition is more likely than not caused by your exposure to dioxin.
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Jim;
I'm a Viet Nam Vet and I'm now in the process of appealling my claim and have asked for a DRO.My biggest problem is that my medical records were destroyed when my base was destroyed in April 1968,so I have nothing to show my medical problems.I was taken into the Marine Corp with a Heart defect which is noted on my dental record and I had a heart valve replacement and aortor repair at 48 in 1998 I have had hypertension since1970 when I was discharged.
I've been diagnosed by VA medical personal with PTSD and hearing loss.I was told to file claimes which I did.I received a letter back denying all claims because my ( Medical records did not back up my claims) there are no records. I have paperwork signed buy my CO that states our base was destroyed that all medical,company records were destroyed and in the statement of the case they make no mention of my medical record from my heart surgeon which had lots of information about my heart condition.I don't have much else to say except that I feel that they are jerking me around.I appreciate any information you can share with me Thank you
Reply;
I'd advise you to lawyer up. You're currently eligible to do that at no up-front cost to you.
I suggest a lawyer earlier for you than I would some others as you have some very complex issues going on.
I've referred you to an attorney and trust you'll do well under his guidance.
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Jim;
Hello I am a vetnam vet sgt. test positive for possible sinus infection for agent orange . so i put in a claim I have a AMVET REP . I have been also tested positive for PTSD. so I wrote a stressor letter. Looked like a 4yr old wrote it my mind wont work worth a dam. sence i put in for service conection on these problems after they turn me down is there any way to rewrite the letter? as time goes along things come back to me today that was not there a year ago. Messed up mind is a sad thing. to try to remember detail. thanks for your consern.
Reply;
We've exchanged a couple of messages and I now understand that your case is still in the process of an appeal. Your AMVET VSO seems to have a handle on it for now. You've promised me that you'll stay in touch and we won't do anything else until this appeal is finished.
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Jim;
First, thank you for providing all of the useful information on your web site. It has been extremely helpful. I wish I would have found it sooner. I'll get straight to the point, I want your opinion on if I have any hope of winning my claim against the VA. I feel like I have already been defeated but I'm not ready to give up.
Here is a summary of everything:
Denied for Service Connection for back problems June 19, 2000 because there was not enough evidence of actual disability. I did not appeal this decision. I was young and didn’t understand how the VA works at the time.
Denied for Service Connection for upper and lower back pain on February 28, 2008. The VA said my condition was identified as scoliosis of the lumbar and thoracic spine and is considered a congenital or developmental defect which is unrelated to military service and not subject to service connection.
Reply;
Your original email was quite long. I've abbreviated it down to the few sentences you see here. In that email you described in great detail all of the history of your condition.
While that's relevant and important to know, for our purposes here it isn't that important. What is important is that VA didn't tell you everything they should have. That's interesting because from my perspective they've completely ignored the law and the obvious response they should have offered you.
If a preexisting condition is aggravated by military service, that condition may be compensated as service connected. VA has verified you had a preexisting condition. They didn't complete the thought process as they should have.
Read the regulation;
Title 38: Pensions, Bonuses, and Veterans' Relief, PART 3—ADJUDICATION
Subpart A—Pension, Compensation, and Dependency and Indemnity
Compensation Ratings and Evaluations; Service Connection
§ 3.306 Aggravation of preservice disability.
(a) General. A preexisting injury or disease will be considered to
have been aggravated by active military, naval, or air service, where
there is an increase in disability during such service, unless there
is a specific finding that the increase in disability is due to the
natural progress of the disease.
You and I have talked about how to handle your appeal and we've concluded you will be best served by asking an experienced lawyer to handle your case for you. I've made a referral to an experienced attorney.
