THE SYSTEMATIC DESTRUCTION OF VA RECORDS A CRIME
WHY ARE BUSH AND OBAMA SILENT?
By Gordon Duff STAFF WRITER
We are now finding that VA "records" at nearly every office in America have been systematically destroyed, misdated or purposefully lost. By "records," they mean applications for:
1. DISABILTY COMPENSATION AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS 2. EDUCATION AND TRAINING BENEFITS 3. HOME LOANS 4. MEDICAL CARE 5. DEPENDENT’S BENEFITS AND OTHERS
By destroying correspondence, veterans have been denied, through fraud, every benefit guaranteed them by law and by the sacred promise of the American people. For every document destroyed, altered or hidden, a veteran and his family has been denied a vital service. A veteran or his children have been denied education, medical treatment has been withheld, perhaps leading to death, a home has never been purchased or a family has lived in poverty.
Not one government official, not one Veterans Service Organization has given more than minor lip service to this problem. Nobody has asked when it started or why we are now finding that EXACTLY THE SAME ILLEGAL ACTS ARE A PART OF EVERY VA OFFICE AROUND THE COUNTRY. IS THIS A COINCIDENCE? WHERE ARE OUR LEADERS? WHERE ARE OUR ORGANIZATIONS? WHY NO DEMONSTRATIONS? WHY NO MARCH ON WASHINGTON?
The amount of human suffering caused by this "missing paperwork" is colossal. Tens or thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of veterans have been called liars by VA employees for decades as part of this sick game. Victims have seen their families denied health care and education, have been denied home loans and dozens of other services, services earned on the battlefield, earned with sacrifice, services promised, not only by our nations debt to her veterans but by federal law.
Why is nothing being done?
I want every living veteran questioned as to services denied, documents destroyed and systematic abuse at the hands of the VA. Now we will believe the veteran and not the criminals who have been abusing them.
I want redress. No more "dead end" appeals process that lasts longer than the veterans themselves.
Veterans denied benefits should be able to resubmit claims for special handling, dated years, perhaps decades into the past and have their benefits paid, in a lump sum, perhaps to their survivors. Uncounted numbers of veterans, perhaps in the hundreds of thousands, have simply walked away from valid claims. Others simply killed themselves. No "airport spitter" or "Jane Fonda" could ever match the VA for damaging the morale of our veterans.
Survivors of veterans denied the benefits they were owed need a mechanism and process for justice. Holding off veterans until after they die should not be rewarded as it is now.
A reasonable estimation based on observing this problem over the years is that the VA has a covert policy of denying and delaying all claims so that only the most patient and insistent of veterans can receive compensation or medical treatment for chronic service related problems. There is more than incidental evidence of this policy.
In order to avoid any administrative oversight, VA officials have systematically altered dates on documents or have appointed "patient advocates" who are part of the problem. The only option the VA leaves veterans is to walk away mad or just walk away. Many walk away sick, homeless or worse. You will never see these figures on any report of VA performance.
Considering that the wounded, crippled, paralyzed, traumatized and chronically ill are the most easily victimized group, they have been an easy target for the VA’s aggressive and covert program of "filtering" as a cost savings. Taking into consideration that the victims of this policy are those who politicians turn to for votes during elections or sacrifice during wartime, VA policies, policies our elected officials and most service organizations have turned a ‘blind eye’ to, are worse than criminal.
Look at it this way, a wall has been placed between veterans and any potential benefits they are guaranteed by their government. By destroying mail and altering documents, benefits that are life and death, literally, to many become subject to a virtual lottery. "Will my mail be read or shredded?"
For many more, it is "Now I know why the VA tells me my documents never showed up or why I keep being denied benefits."
There is nothing more important for all of us than reminding, not only our elected representatives and service organizations of a problem so endemic and disgusting that "looking the other way" seemed the only solution. Nothing is more important, not only to our newly returning soldiers but to our aging population of veterans from other wars.
Neither group can be ignored. Decades old deceit deserves immediate redress, as much as saving those more recently in need. Studies and commissions are not the answer. Pay people the money they have coming, even if it amounts to millions. If we owed 5 cents to a defense contractor, a dozen senators would be crying.
It’s time veterans got the justice they deserved, not excuses.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gordon Duff is a Senior Staff Writer for VeteransToday.com. He is a U.S. Marine Vietnam Veteran and regular contributor. He is a specialist in banking and economics and holds a United Nations diplomatic post.
Gordon Duff posted articles on VT from 2008 to 2022. He is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War. A disabled veteran, he worked on veterans and POW issues for decades.
Gordon is an accredited diplomat and is generally accepted as one of the top global intelligence specialists. He manages the world’s largest private intelligence organization and regularly consults with governments challenged by security issues.
Duff has traveled extensively, is published around the world, and is a regular guest on TV and radio in more than “several” countries. He is also a trained chef, wine enthusiast, avid motorcyclist, and gunsmith specializing in historical weapons and restoration. Business experience and interests are in energy and defense technology.
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