So this is how the United States of America treats its best and bravest: First by cutting off their pensions--without warning--and then by dunning them repeatedly. As if they were trying to get out of paying their just debts instead of clearing them up. Their nice case full of medals only gathers dust as these vets try to cut through the mountain of paperwork the bureaucrats have produced for their special torment.
The ordeal will be familiar to anyone who's had to deal with an unresponsive arm of the federal government, but it takes on a special irony when the victim is someone like Jesse Whitley, age 96, of Mabelvale, Ark., who served his country so honorably in war even as she was waiting to serve him so dishonorably half a history-filled century later. Long story short, to quote Mr. Whitley: "No notice, no nothing."
Talk about injustice writ large. Here we have a prime example of it. How was this aged warrior supposed to pay his bills with no money coming in? It was a modest enough sum to begin with--$1,500 a month--and now it was gone. If we the people didn't take care of him, how expect him to take care of those who depended on him? People like his caregiver and his grocer. Why must everything be a federal case? Because it's the feds who make it so. Just try and deal with it about anything from your federal income tax to your service--and we mean service--in the armed forces.
It would seem a civil "servant" would have to try to confuse Jesse Whitley with this other Whitley, Jessie, age 68, of Durham, N.C., to make such a royal mess of the Arkansas Whitley's life. Even though he supplied the VA with a lot more than his name, rank and serial number--which is all an enemy power may demand of American prisoners of war. But our Mr. Whitley was still subjected to cruel and unusual punishment by his own government.
For example, the VA was given his Social Security number, date of birth, Army serial number, and the correct spelling of his first name. He might as well have been a held a prisoner in his own modest home. He was reduced to depending on his children for support until the not so mysterious case of the two Whitleys was cleared up at last. Why didn't they just go ahead and demand that he send them his dogtags, too?
Thank goodness Jesse Whitley had a congressman, senator and surely outraged public opinion on his side. It should never have come to all this, yet it did. For month after month. Thank goodness for true public servants like French Hill, the U.S. representative from Little Rock. All he and his staff needed was a look at what was happening here, and all was made right with dispatch. But it took the Veterans Administration months before it set things right with a check for $5,392 on the 23rd of last month. The whole imbroglio reads like something out of Tsarist Russia, then or now.
"The VA greatly apologizes for the ordeal Mr. Whitley had to go through to rectify and reinstate his VA pension," read the announcement by VA spokesman Jessica Jacobsen. "This was clearly an error on our part, an issue where two Veterans shared the same last name. Whenever an error like this occurs, VA attempts to make good on this error and correct immediately. In this particular instance, this was not handled timely and accurately for the Veteran."
There must be a special sub-department within the Department of Veterans Administration that is employed full-time producing such awful things. Which is the more atrocious--the bad grammar, the telegraphic style, the essence of the announcement, or its content?
"It's mind-boggling to me," as Congressman Hill said of the VA, "the level of incompetence; they didn't even try. This should not take involvement from Congress."
French Hill estimated it should have taken, oh, about four seconds to do right by Arkansas' Mr. Whitley--instead of what must have seemed like ages. Onward and downward in the annals of a bureaucracy that's unsafe at any speed! Give up hope, all ye who dare enter here. For something tells us that, as with hell and the federal bureaucracy, there's no exit.
Editorial on 09/20/2016