In September 2022, a Mineola, Texas area widow of a Navy veteran was awarded over $317,000 in retro pay for a Dependent Indemnity Compensation Claim, plus monthly payments going forward. Her husband had served in Vietnam and was a Navy retiree.
“He passed in 1999 and she filed a burial claim for plot and burial. The veteran never filed for disability and the claim was denied,” said Kerry Easley, Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) Claims Northeast District Area Supervisor. “She kept looking at VA benefits and when Blue Water Navy passed in 2020 she filed for Dependent Indemnity Compensation.”
The widow filed her Claim with Melissa Loren, the Veteran County Service Officer for Wood County at that time.
“I began assisting her in December 2021. I helped her submit supporting evidence and provided status until the Claim was granted in September 2022. She was awarded retro back to 1999,” said Easley, pictured. “Once she filed the Claim, the VA was able to get his records and all that was needed; so, it went smoothly. The hardest thing was the time, the waiting.”
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