Vietnam Veteran Declared Dead by the VA Loses Everything

Letter From a “Dead” Vietnam Veteran
by John A. Evans

My name is John A. Evans, according to the United States of America. I was declared dead by our government in July of 1994. And also four years later in 1998, I was still classified as deceased. I am still alive.

I served my country in the United States Army from 1968 until 1970. I was sent to Vietnam during that time. I was also wounded in Vietnam. I am writing this letter, because I would like for some one to help stop this from happening to other people, and I have been told that it has happened to other people, too.

But the bad part of it is that, it almost took my life. I feel that no one should play with a person’s life in this way. I had a 5-way by-pass surgery as the result of it.

My disability is based on a 100% post traumatic stress and shoulder wounds. Why, when a post-traumatic stress patient ( Veteran ) speaks out, it doesn’t mean anything? We are human just like everybody else. GOD created us all. The Federal Government has made a big mistake. I would like for them to fix it so that I can have my life back…

It all started when my son was killed in July of 1994, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. His name was John Patrick Logan. My son had a different last name, a different address, and a different Social Security number. I don’t see how the Social Security could have mistaken me for him.

After my sons funeral, I went to my hometown in Marion, Alabama, where my mother lived during that time, to recuperate from his death for about a month. On September 1, 1994, I returned back to my home (Fort Wayne, Indiana) to check my mail box and pay my bills. I had received a letter from the Veterans Administration expressing their sympathy for my death and please send the last two months checks back that I had received.

Within two months, that should be enough time to know if your dog, or anybody is dead. I thought that it was just a misprint, so I went on about my business. I had bills to pay, so I went to my bank to withdraw money out of my account, so that I could pay my bills. My Social Security and V.A. checks were setup for direct deposit. N. B. D. Bank ( which is now call Bank One ) informed me that my account had been closed when I got there. The Social Security and Veteran Administration had contacted them to let them know that I was deceased.

I began to get stressed out because I still had to pay my bills and they were telling me that I was dead and my account was closed.

After that I went to The Three River Credit Union, to borrow some money to pay my bills. I had two loans with them any way. So the credit union ran a credit check on me and they said that they could not loan a dead man any money.

A judge had stated to me, that If I were to come back in his court room for missing any child support that he would have them to lock me up.

At this time I was beginning to panic. I couldn’t believe that this was happening to me. So I thought that my best chances was to go to the STATE CAPITAL in Indianapolis, Indiana, which was a hundred and some miles away. At the Veterans Administration office I had a talk with my power of attorney.

He said that it would take about three or four weeks before he could straighten this situation out. And I said, why can’t you go down the hall and have them to print me a new check. You see that I am alive. He declined to do that, even after I told him what the Judge would do to me.

at this point, I was really getting stressed out. I didn’t know how I was going to pay my Child Support and keep from going to jail. I came back to Fort Wayne, Indiana, because I didn’t have any choice.

THAT DAY I HAD A HEART-ATTACK AFTER I LEFT THERE.

When I arrived back at home, I started sweating, couldn’t even walk and started having pain in my chest. The pain in my chest was like someone putting weight on my chest. I was hurting so bad, until I called my brother and I ask him to take me to the hospital. When he was taking me to the hospital, he ran every stop light that he approached.

He also ask me if I wanted to go to the V. A. Hospital. I said no, I told him, you know how they treated me in year of 1991. Park View Hospital is next door to the V. A. Hospital any way. So we arrived at Park View Hospital and they started giving me Nitro pills right away. The next thing That I remember was that I woke up and the doctors were pounding on my chest. They told me that I just had a Heart-Attack.

They also told me that the bad news is that they can’t do surgery until my blood pressure goes down. I spent about three weeks in the hospital and then I had a five-way bypass heart surgery.

Now I had more bills ($70,000.00) with no help from the Social Security or The Veterans Administration because I didn’t go to the V. A. Hospital first. My doctor stated that if I had waited for a second later, then it wouldn’t have been any use bringing me there. That’s what they told my brother.

The V.A. Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana didn’t have the proper equipment to do heart surgery anyway. They would have sent me there anyway or I would have died.

After I got out the hospital, Park View Hospital filed a lawsuit against me for my bills. I went to court and I told the Judge that I felt that The Social Security Administration and The Veteran Administration were the ones that caused all the stress that led to my heart attack.

We Veterans have feelings too. Without our veterans, we would not have a country to call our own.

I AM AFRAID TO GO TO ANY V A HOSPITAL AFTER THIS HAPPENED TO ME.

I think that they were the ones that cause or created the heart-attack by declaring me dead for no reason at all. So they should be the ones to be responsible for the doctors and hospital bills, and you don’t treat stress by adding more stress.

The judge had to contact the Veterans Administrations and they finally accepted the responsibility for the hospital bills. And then it took them a year and a half before they would pay the hospital bills. And even longer for the doctor bills.

By them waiting so long to pay the bills, I had started back having chest pains, I thought that I was having another heart-attack each time.

My credit was still bad, and I was still declared dead.

I was forced into bankruptcy. I lost my house, my car and truck. I lost everything and almost my life.

When I got wounded in VIETNAM, the pain and suffering was not as near as painful as what I am going through now.

Do you think a Veteran should be treated like this?

I applied for a loan 4 years later after this happened and Tel A Track, A Credit Reporting Agency Nationwide said that I was forcing a dead man’s Social Security Number. As of 12-21-1998, I was still declared dead. As a result of it, I have lost everything in the Bankruptcy. I have nothing left to show.

I am still suffering dearly from this dreadful event that was put on me. My credit is still messed up, and I am living everyday to stop this madness.

I have never heard of suing The Federal Government, but I am going to seek JUSTICE on this tragic incident until I die, and for my rights to be alive!

The United States Government has no rights to considers me legally dead, when I am still alive and with no proof. How can they declare anyone dead without a Death Certificate? Why was it taking so long to go into The Master Social Security Death File and correct their mistake?

I am still fighting to have my life back like everybody else got theirs and it have been over eleven years, and I am still suffering from their mistake.

I have had more pain and suffering within the last eleven years in the United States, than I had the one year in Viet-Nam after getting wounded.

I was a volunteer van driver for the V. A. Hospital. I took V. A. Patients from Fort Wayne, Indiana V.A. hospital to the Indianapolis, Indiana Veterans Hospital.  I was also a volunteer for the Fort Wayne Police Department. I have served my country and I don’t deserve to be treated like this.

I have been on television stations, newspapers, radio programs and all kinds of news media shows to tell my story. And justice still hasn’t been serve.

I feel that I should be compensated for my losses because I didn’t do anything wrong. Please consider this letter as a plea for help, from a living person fighting for his rights to get his life back.

I will be traveling in and out of difference states to seek help, because Indiana will not help me. But I will make Washington, DC my home until I die unless JUSTICE is served.

I also hope that I can find somebody that will help us all VETERANS, no matter what color that we are claim to be. Please don’t forget our Veterans, and our troops over seas and the ones that have made it back home,because this could happen to anybody & you too. 

I was not good enough to be given a thread mill test at the V.A. Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the year or 1991. Cost too much or they didn’t feel like doing it! But I was good enough to fight in the Vietnam War and also got wounded over there for our country. I made SGT. within a year and three months time, I have two Bronze Stars, Purple-Heart and many other medals. But they don’t mean that much to me, because of the ways that I am been treated. 

Think about it, because it could happen to you or someone that you care about. If this situation were to happen to you or someone you know,or love ones for no reason at all, would you try to get back what is yours or theirs?

Hurt, is a pain that nobody knows about but you. And I have had mine for eleven years and some. And it looks like I will have these pains until I die. No matter how many tears you shed, the pain is still there and nobody is there to share them with you but GOD. I am asking all Veterans and to the Public, please come to Washington, DC if you can to help us fight for Justice and our RIGHTS.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you would like to help John Evans or learn more about his plight you can visit his website at www.forgottenvets.com