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3-branch veteran fights to get military benefits

Associated Press
Published July 5, 2006

JOHNSTON CITY, Ill. -- Having served in the Army, Air Force and Navy, Howard Lee feels like he served his country well. Now, he says he's fighting to get some service in return.

At 53, the jobless man gets by on just $152 a month in food stamps. His home, for now, is a battered old camper that belongs to some friends. It has electricity, but no heat, air-conditioning or running water. Most days, a nearby pond is his bathtub.

His health problems range from hepatitis C to breathing issues and carpal tunnel in both hands, making this one-time carpenter unable to work. His badly injured foot requires him to use a cane, and chronic arthritis in his back makes it painful for him to sit for even short periods.

Things could be better, he said, if his efforts to collect military benefits--something he's tried to do for months--weren't bogged down in red tape.

Though Lee gets medical care through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center, he has been unable to get disability through the Social Security Administration or his retirement benefits through the VA.

"Any way I go to try and get help I'm met with another obstacle. Right now I'm existing; that's all I'm doing," he said from the trailer near this southern Illinois town. "Who wouldn't be depressed in this same situation?"

Becca Shinneman, a spokeswoman for the VA medical center in nearby Marion, said she could not discuss any details of Lee's claim, citing privacy laws. But she noted that the local office is not in charge of benefits, and that claims sometimes can take years to process.

Hoping to expedite his claim, Lee has sought help from state Rep. John Bradley (D-Marion).

"I'm like a cat chasing its tail and going absolutely nowhere," said Lee, who served four years apiece in the Army and Air Force and three years in the Navy. He was honorably discharged in 1982.

Jim Kirkpatrick, who works for Bradley, said his office has been seeking assistance from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.).

"It's a very unique situation when a man has served in three different branches of the military and is in this position," Kirkpatrick said.

Ronnie Marvel, owner of the camper Lee is living in, said the predicament is "shameful."

"It's pitiful when a veteran that has served in three different branches of the military is treated like this," Marvel said. "This is shameful, and I just wonder how many more veterans are being treated like this."

Still, Lee said he loves his country "as much now as I did when I was in the military."

"I certainly wish things would move faster where I'm concerned, but that doesn't keep me from loving my country," he said. "I served my country and I'm very proud of that. I'll always be proud of that."

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