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JIM AND ED'S GREAT ADVENTURE: DIGGING OUT EVIDENCE --

Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland and Veterans' Service

Officer Ed Ball offer some excellent tips.

Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.

If you would like to contact Jim about his columns, you can email him here...

The archive of Jim's articles is here...

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I had a nice email from my friend Ed Ball a couple of days ago. Ed is a contributor to VAWatchdog and a County Veterans Service Officer in Ohio. He's also one of the hardest working guys in the business and is a good man to have on your side if you're a Vet seeking your earned benefits.

Referencing some of my recent work addressing evidence requirements of the VBA Ed notes, “One amplifying comment I have with filing of claims is more times than not, veterans seeking a service connected disability after 40, 50, and or 60 years, are unable to remember details regarding evidence to place before the VARO for adjudication.

The sad part is that most VSO’s interpret the law in such a manner that they submit the required paperwork and note in many cases, in generic terms, what the veteran feels is factual information. For example, a vet may say “I witnessed a young Vietnamese boy accidentally run over by our truck.” or “Our fire support base was overrun on Easter Sunday and I witnessed several body bags laying around the LZ .”

These generic statements are deemed of extreme importance to the veteran because they were there, and it obviously happened. But in neither case can one find a fact the VARO can hang their hat on to request confirmation from the DOD.”

Ed goes on to advise us; “First off, as VSO’s we recognize the DOD did not keep statistics or facts regarding deceased civilians. This case would be a denial, without proper treatment during military service and follow up health care as a veteran. In the case of a FSB on Easter Sunday, what if you knew the Unit?

Hypothetically, let's say the Veteran was assigned to B Battery, 2nd BN, 19th Arty, as noted on the DD-214, and then you took a look at the date, in this case Easter Sunday, you know the veteran served in Vietnam 1/5/1970 to 11/24/1970. Opening up Google I type in 2nd BN 19th Arty+1970 and click on Search. The first item I notice is faces from the wall...March 1970 Vietnam Wall Washington pictures. Then I hit Ctrl F keys at the same time to bring up FIND and type in 2nd BN and find Michael James Wainwright and it just so happens it gives a “date of death – 29 MAR 70 (in the ball park), as well as a place in Vietnam, but no FSB identified.

So then I go back to Google and click on the next entry Michael Blondin, SP5, Army, Westland MI, 29Mar70 12W055 – Then I hit pay dirt. Scroll down ¾ of the page and I find FSB Jay was indeed attacked on 29 MAR 70 with 14 KIA’s. To put icing on the cake, I search for After Action Reports, using Google and find: http://www.army.mil/CMH/documents/vietnam/reneg/rtxt.htm  After Action Report (Hit Ctrl and F keys at same time to bring up FIND and type in Jay – click on Next) I now have dates, places, names, and supporting units, all of which are verifiable information that the VARO can easily request confirmation from DOD.

Another means of finding buddies is I look for unit reunions; in this case I find: http://www.military-network.com/Ben/Associations_Detail.cfm?ID=23216  and work from there. Some cases takes days, weeks, and even months before I find enough details to put the case together. In those cases, an informal claim to establish the date of claim would be appropriate. Once you lay the facts out before the veteran, more times than not, they readily confirm all the details, pictures, some names ring a bell, and so forth. I get some variation of details on some After Action Reports, but that’s to be expected. Uncle Sam does like to sanitize a lot of his reporting.

Then the VSO simply gathers up their check list, and prepare all the items and put them together in one neat package and present it to the VARO as a “ready to rate” claim. The VA doesn’t teach this approach, but I know for a fact that some RVSR’s are using web sites to verify names of KIA’s, but based upon their quota system, they just, unfortunately, do not have the time to do such extensive research. Duty to assist definitions take on a whole new light when we as VSO’s can come up with the factual information a veteran needs to present a legitimate claim before the VARO.”

What Ed has just done is drive home a point I try to make in every column I write...you must have evidence that what you say happened did happen and if you wait for the VBA to find it for you, it just isn't likely to happen. Not all VSO's are as diligent and creative as Ed...he has a junkyard dog tenacity that is rare in the business. You can...and should...do this research yourself.

Everything you need to manage all or most of your claim is available on-line. If you're using a VSO as your intermediary to the VBA, that person will appreciate your research. If you're handling your own claim, your detailed evidence is likely to ensure that you prevail and it'll move your claim through the process faster than the usual file.

The Internet has changed the way that the VBA operates more than any Congressional action will ever change it. It's only been a decade ago that if we wanted to file a claim for benefits we first had to seek out the forms, usually at a VA facility. Today, even the most obscure forms are available for free by going to http://www.va.gov/vaforms/search_action.asp

If you don't feel like using a pen to complete your forms, you can do it on-line at http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp

Beyond just completing the forms easily, the law that affects you is now openly available to us. What all would you like to know? Let's start at one of the most basic manuals that guides the VBA in its daily tasks, the M21-1MR. It's all there for you and updated too! Click this link to see it http://www.warms.vba.va.gov/M21_1MR.html

Maybe you would like to read up on the United Sates Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims in your spare time? If that sounds exciting to you, just click here http://www.vetapp.gov/

Are you assisting your VSO to develop your claim? Maybe you could use some background by searching around at The Office of the General Counsel http://www.va.gov/OGC/  and seeking out precedent opinions by looking at all the data available here http://www.va.gov/ogc/precedentopinions.asp

Then again, as you ponder how to file that claim and get it right the first time, looking over Title 38 would help, here http://uscode.house.gov/download/title_38.shtml

Don't stop there...go to the GAO http://www.gao.gov/  and look at the reports they issued about your VA over the years and see where change is needed.

Bottom line: If you have a valid claim, file it and get that date set. Then get to work. You need as much detailed evidence as you can find to support your claim. You can't always depend on others to do the research for you. If you're reading this, you already know how to use a computer and you're the most interested person there will ever be in your own claim. Doing it yourself isn't that hard. If you don't have much experience using a search engine, start here and learn how http://www.googleguide.com/ 

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Larry Scott  --

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