anger

Anger has many faces,but i am angry,it is an anger born out of frustration,frustration with the political policies and practices of a government that will frivously sends it's troops into a war and then place the wounded in sub standard hospitals (Walter Reed)i am angry that a road to a veterans hospital remained in poor repair untill the president of the u.s.a. decided to ride down that road (tuskegee va hospital)i am angry that it has taken the montgomery regional office over a year to add my wife as my dependant.
I am angry that the same regional office decided in 1982 that i had a personality disorder and used that as a basis to deny my first claim,i am angry that the russell county veterans service officer used foul language in front of my wife while we were there to get the dependancy issue resolved,i am angry the the montgomery regional office service officer also used the "F" word in front of my wife,i am angry that the russell county court house will not honor the Alabama Code and issue to me the "free copies of any public document" that code promises.
I am angry that the American Legion and the VFW does not seem to care if the code of alabama is followed or not (at least in my case)if these are just my own personal problems then my anger is my own,but if is an accepted policy to use foul language and deny claims,if it is federal policy to issue the wrong diagnosis to veterans in order to deny claims,if it is policy to ignore the state codes,if it is policy to deny any u.s.veteran a benefit that was promised them by any government, federal,state or local then somthing is drasticaly wrong in America.
At the time i went into the VA health system,1982,the veterans administration had hired a large number of psychiatrist from over seas,many of these doctors could not be understood by thier patients,a lot of these doctors were beholden to the federal government and,i suppose,they felt as if they had to render a diagnosis favorable to the government that issued thier checks each month by that i mean even if they KNEW a veteran had a service connected illness,they were DIRECTED by the U.S.Government to render another diagnosis.I know for a fact,that in my case,the doctor had all the pertinate facts,had names,units and area that i had served in and still issued the dianosis of personality disorder,not only that,but i also had an inservice diagnosis,a diagnosis in which i should have been put on sick leave and mustered out as a walking wounded with full medical benefits,they chose to ignore all these facts,ok,so i went on my merry way,tried to work after service,tried to be married,tried to have a normal life,all to no avail.When in 1980,i had what was then called a nervous break down,i went into the VA Hospital,i was perfectly honest with the psychiatrist,gave them all the information they ask for and submitted my claim for benefits,it took me at least 12 years to recieve them,12 years of thinking i was an idiot,12 years of trying to "make it" on my own and 12 years of trying to support a family on social security payments,in the process i lost every thing,my job,my sanity and my self respect,i have been married 5 times i have had too many jobs to name and i abused alcohol,all that is behind me now,i am at last happily married,i do not drink and i am half way sane.
But now i feel as if the montgomery regional office of the veterans adminstration has me labled as a trouble maker because of my numerous complaints to the federal government,my numerous requests for conferences with the veterans court of appeals and my numerous visits to that office (the regional office in montgomery)not to mention my complaints to the alabama state veterans office about the conduct of it's service officers and complaints about the russell county court house not issuing me the requested documents.But if you want to judge me,if you also want to label me,then please keep in mind the fact that i felt it nessasary to make all these complaints because of not recieving the correct diagnosis,not having my claim adjudicated.It has been a struggle to get what i now have,and because i have what was promised,i am writing here to let the veterans of tomorrow know that they face another war,a war to get the benefits that they were promised,a war to get the medical attention they need and a war with the veterans administration to recieve the compensation they earned by virtue of being wounded by military service.And i state again,if this is just my experience,just one example or just a glitch in the works,then it is my problem,but if it is happening to anyone else then it is a problem of great importance and a national disgrace to america and an affront to all veterans yet to come.
I do not support the war in iraq,i do however support our troops where ever they may be deployed,and i feel that if the government cannot or will not take proper care of the wounded veterans of america,then maybe america should stop making veterans.
In closing,i would like to tell all veterans out there that if you feel that you have a valid claim to benefits,do not give up,keep pushing,keep asking questions and lets not let the government get away with just "paying lip service"as to how they take care of us,how they honor us and how brave we were,words are fine,but if they are just empty words,empty promises and empty praise,they have no meaning and no substance.Welcome home my brothers,and God Bless America.

Story ID:	3382
Written by:	Bobby O'neill Mitchum (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Phenix City Alabama U.S.A.
Year:	2008
Person:	SELF