Many problems start in Military

Military starts problem, VA makes it worse      Unknown to a lot of us vietnam ear veterans the real problems started in the military, such as lost records, misplaced records or someone elses records in our file. Then there is the big problem that we may not have known: Our medical discharge from the US Army at Ft. Benning was a fraud perperatrated against us.
In the mid 70’s I smelled a rat in my VA claims and got copies of my military records. Much to my surprise I saw for the first time several things in my records that I was unaware of, such as a DA1361 form which stated that a US Army civilan had been my legal councilor. This was news to me as I never met or spoke to this person till 1978, I was discharged in 1969. I informed this person that I wasn’t upset with them but wanted to know who they were and what they were suppose to have done in my medical discharge. This person told me they were to have explained every part of the medical discharge proceding and made sure I was at an medical retirement hearings. I told this person of the DA1361 form and that they had never signed it nor had I as it is required that the service member sign that this person had counciled them, then under the last block on the form the member checks a choice of if they accept the findings of the board or that they reject it and if they reject it do they want a formal board. All of this on my DA1361 form are blank.
I also found that the US Army had stated that I was phyically present at a medical retirement hearing at Ft. Gordon, Ga. I have never been to Ft. Gordon and thre is no travel orders in my records from Ft. Benning to Ft. Gordon and back again. Remember the US Army doesn’t take a dump without a set of orders.
I put all of this in a letter to the President, then Jimmy Carter. The president or his staff sent it to the records center and a Lt. colonel reviewed my records and stated that the US Army had not provided me with a legal councilor, not sent me to Ft. Gordon and had not given me the chance to non-concer with the false medical board findings and elect to have a formal hearing. I then sent this to the BCMR, for those who don’t know what this is it’s the Board of Correction of Military Records.
The Board answered that somenoe else had counciled me?? And that I had been at Ft. Gordon, Ga at the hearing?? I’ve never been there yet!
In short the US Army had done nothing wrong or denied me my legal rights. No, They had done nothing right. Technically I’m still on active duty. Then there is all the mistakes in my medical records that the VA used against me and took 30 years to correct, now I’m totally disabled because of this.
Recently, shortly after the VA said my lymphedema was from agent orange, the US Army sent me a letter to put in for my servcie time in nam and my purple heart. It seems the US Army had misplaced my records of my short TDY in country. I have not complied with this request as the US Army won’t admit it falsely discharged me at Ft. Benning and as for the purple heart the only person I would have wanted to see it died in 1979, My Dad.
Now days I spend my time trying to forget I was ever in the US Army as the VA has used repeatdly the mistakes in my army records to deny several claims, which caused me to fight for up to 30 years to overturn. As for the VA I pray everynight that I die in my sleep so I don’t have to deal with them again the next day especially here in Cleveland, Ohio.
So if you were medically discharged from Ft. Benning, Ga you might want to get a copy of your records and checkout if all was done properly as the US Army did this to cheat vets out of their rightful disabality ratings, then they didn’t give you a copy of your DD214 when you signed it but mailed it to you much later.
For new disabled veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan watchout that they aren’t still screwing the vets.