Veteran paid for wound from '45
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Printable FormatCredits Obama with finally getting benefit out of VA
By JOHN REYNOLDS - STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
Back in 1945, Springfield resident Dale Hunter was wounded by a German machine gun near the Rhine River.
A claim for disability payments was filed about a year later, but because of paperwork snafus, Hunter was denied compensation by the Veterans Administration, which later grew into the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Hunter had more or less given up on the money, but through the help of Sangamon County officials and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., he has finally received $34,500 in back pay.
"I think it's wonderful. (Obama) did what nobody else would do. He kept asking," the 80-year-old Hunter said. "His staff is excellent. They called me once a week."
Hunter's injury occurred in March of 1945, while he was on a reconnaissance mission to liberate a group of Russian and French laborers. At that late stage of the war, many Germans were walking up to Allied soldiers and surrendering. Hunter's group, however, ran across a defended position, and Hunter was wounded in the left knee.
Information from Obama's office indicates that, when Hunter's original claim was filed in 1946, the VA failed to report the injury. As a result, Hunter was denied compensation.
Hunter returned to work after the war, and he did receive treatment at VA hospitals. He retired in 1974 from the Material Supply Co. in Springfield and began using a cane in 1977.
In 2003, the error was recognized by the Sangamon County Veterans Assistance Commission, and in June 2005, Hunter received a $22,000 portion of his retroactive pay. Hunter contacted Obama's office in April for help with the final payment.
Obama's office discovered that the paperwork for the remaining $12,500 was under a stack of other claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The final check was given to Hunter on April 29.
Hunter is the same person who was the subject of a State Journal-Register photo published March 30. Hunter, with two canes in his right hand and a handsaw in his left, was shown cleaning up debris left behind by the March 12 tornadoes.
The problem of Illinois veterans not receiving benefits or receiving fewer benefits than their counterparts in other states has been an ongoing issue.
"For decades, Illinois veterans have received less disability pay than they earned simply because of where they live," Obama said in a press release. "And unfortunately, stories like Mr. Hunter's are far too common."
A 2004 investigation by the Department of Veterans Affairs inspector general showed Illinois veterans received the lowest disability payments in the nation, Obama's office said. Obama encouraged veterans to contact the VA if they think a mistake has been made. They can call the VA at 1-800-827-1000 or visit the Web site at www.vba.va.gov/ specialoutreach.