Sherburne County Veterans Service Officer (CVSO) Bruce Price is on a mission.
He’s determined to clear up misinformation that’s been keeping veterans from applying for and receiving benefits due them.
“The 2000 census says less than half of one percent of the U.S. population have ever served in the military,” says Price, who served in the military for 24 years. “Of that minute fraction, the state and the Federal VA say that only about 20% to 30% of veterans have ever applied for their benefits. And many of them have been given incorrect information.”
Price, who started in the Veterans Service Office in Stearns County in 2008, took over as Sherburne County’s CVSO on Memorial Day after Eugene Graff retired.
He says many veterans assumed they weren’t eligible for any benefits because of something they were told years ago.
He says in some cases, it could have been a misunderstanding that happened when a veteran tried to join an American Legion or VFW Post.
“They may have been told they didn’t meet the criteria,” he says. “Some were told they had to have served during a specific period or in a war in another country.”
He says that criteria isn’t the same when it comes to applying for veterans benefits.
“A lot of military veterans don’t even know the definition of a veteran,” he says.
Price said he met a woman who served in the military for four years, but thought she wasn’t a veteran because she didn’t retire from the military.
Others who served in the National Guard or the Reserves say they have been told their service doesn’t count for veterans benefits.
“That’s not correct,” says Price. “If you get hurt in the military, training in the military, in the Reserves or National Guard, you can put in a claim for that injury, illness or event that might cause PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder).”
In another case, he met someone in the SuperAmerica in Big Lake who had a Purple Heart license plate on his van. The man told him he went to the Veterans Service Office eight years ago and was told he wasn’t eligible for benefits.
Price recently helped a 92-year old veteran get benefits for hearing loss. The man didn’t know he was eligible. “He could have applied years ago,” said Price.
Not long ago, Price was briefing a veteran about his benefits when he learned the veteran’s father, also a veteran, had died from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in 1973.
In 2009, the Veterans Adminstration added benefits for a number of illnesses that are presumed to be connected to serving in the military. On that “Presumptive Service Connection” list was ALS.
“I told him his mother was eligible for a monthly tax-free benefit and health insurance,” says Price.
But when the mother, who lived in another state, tried to apply for the benefit, she was told they didn’t know anything about it. Price got in touch with them and cleared it up.
“We informed them. It was a federal program,” says Price. “Now his mom is getting the $1,255 a month to pay for the nursing home, plus health insurance.”
But it’s cases like that one that show how much misinformation is out there when it comes to veterans benefits, says Price.
“It’s the same story I’ve been hearing since I started doing this job in Stearns County,” he says. “And it’s a consistent story across the board no matter where they live. Giving incorrect answers can affect people’s lives.”
Price says there are federal benefits for healthcare, education and training, disability, survivors benefits and VA home loans. There are also state veterans benefits and services based on income.
But unless veterans and their spouses know about them, many won’t ever apply.
“The biggest thing is trying to get the word out,” says Price. “Right now I’m concentrating on veterans in Sherburne County. But this is a national issue.”
For more information, veterans can contact the Sherburne County Veterans Service Office at 1-800-433-5243 or 763-765-3100.
