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TERRY RICHARDS: Mother of Dead Soldier paid $800 Death Gratuity 43-years later
by Terry Richards
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
ST. PETERSBURG, FL – In a letter dated January 20, 2011 titled: “Subject: Waiver of Time Limits on payment of Death Gratuity of PFC William D. Noddin (KIA Vietnam April 25, 1968) to his mother, Mrs. Lorraine E. Noddin, DOHA Claim No. 2011-CL-011107.”
After I spent about 30-hours on this claim over the last 18-months, and Mrs. Noddin spending countless more hours including driving-time over the last 30-months endeavoring to find the proper agency to send this claim to, and then to get a Time Limit Waiver, about 6-months ago Mrs. Noddin went to Congressman C.W. Bill Young’s Office asking the Congressman to make inquiries into this matter.
On or about January 25, Mrs. Noddin received a letter from Leon Schachter, Director of the Department of Defense Legal Services Agency Office of Hearing and Appeals in Arlington Virginia, stating that he waived the “BARRING ACT” Time Limits of 6-years, and 43-years after the death of her son Billy, Mrs. Noddin received the $800 Death Gratuity she should have been paid in 1968.
In pertinent part Schachter stated that:
“Our experience suggests that during the Vietnam era, the appointment of casualty officers was often as a collateral duty, and they did not always receive the necessary training to assist survivors. It is not difficult to imagine that PFC Noddin’s parents were not informed of the death gratuity benefit and would have claimed the gratuity if they had been made a aware of it.”
View earlier stories below to understand the full story.
- MOTHER OF SOLDIER KILLED IN VIETNAM NEVER TOLD ABOUT DEATH GRATUITY
- Defense Secretary Gates ignores Death Gratuity Appeal from Dead Soldier’s Mother
Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=81920
Posted by Terry Richards on Feb 19 2011, With 0 Reads, Filed under Veterans Affairs. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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I’m sorry Terry. This guy Gates and his VA Bureaucracy cronies like Schacter and all their predecessors have to be absolutely embarrassed about this pitiful situation. That is, they’d be embarrassed if they had any commonsense, dignity or human empathy.
What a mess government bureaucracies are.
At the barest minimum Bill Noddin’s mother should receive compounding interest on the $800 since 1968, plus any increase in payments and interest since then. Even that much higher settlement is FAR less than Mrs. Noddin deserves.
Tea Partier for my fellow Vets
never heard of this payout
Me either Wally. That’s probably because all the “payouts” drifted from balance sheets into government and political crony private expense accounts.
Think about it. 58,000 American humans died during the politicians version of Nam, and 2.5 million Vets died early deaths because of “little things” like Agent Orange side-effects (some estimates show only 700,000 Nam Vets are still alive).
If we multiply that number by $800 (2.55 mill X $800)+interest = $3+ Trillion shoved into politician and cronies pockets, all out of we taxpayers pockets.
And that’s just Nam.
TV First Cav
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