Death Benefits Denied To Fallen Soldiers Killed In Action, Foundation Stepping In
Death benefits are being denied to five fallen soldiers’ loved ones who were killed over the weekend, after the payments were suspended due to the government shutdown.
The benefits include among other things coverage for funerals, public or private, assistance with expenses for the families to receive the flag draped coffins when they return to the US, and help with lodging expenses during travel.
Veterans are calling the situation “an outrageous slight” after the soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice for the country.
We are talking about the death gratuity, a payment of $100,000 which is normally sent to families of those fallen soldiers within three days of their death.
Ashley Peters, whose husband, Jeremy Peters, a special agent with the Army’s 5th Military Police Battalion was one of the five killed and to whom death benefits are denied at this time says:
“It is upsetting because my husband died for his country, and now his family is left to worry. My husband always said if something happened to him we would be taken care of.”
“I’m a stay-at-home mom, which is what my husband wanted,” Peters said. “He wanted me to take care of our son.”
@megynkelly Please keep getting the word out on Heros we lost. POTUS refuses to pay the death benefit! #kellyfile pic.twitter.com/7nt8uRDIvB
— Mark Allen (@mallen2700) October 9, 2013
On Tuesday, amid mounting outrage from many corners, the Fisher House Foundation has offered to cover the expenses until the government can reimburse the money.
The foundation, a branch of the Zachary and Elizabeth M. Fisher Armed Services Foundation, in conjunction with the Department of Veteran Affairs, runs what it calls Fisher Houses for veterans and their families at over 60 VA medical centers and military facilities in the US and Europe.
The Fisher family founded the program in 1990 and Zachary Fisher was even awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his dedication to the Armed Forces in 1988. He passed away at the age of 88 the following year.
Joe Davis, a spokesperson for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called the death benefits suspension “disgusting”.
“Veterans, military personnel and now their families are not to be used as leverage in this political game of blame,” he said in a statement. He called on leaders of Congress to “put the country ahead of their politics.”
After Congress passed a law to keep payments for the military during the shutdown, the Pentagon determined that it was “impossible” to pay the death benefit, a defense official reported to NBC News.
A draft to rectify the exclusion of the benefits to fallen service members is reportedly being drafted by Republican aides and could be put to a vote as early as Wednesday.
Dependents/Survivors NOT receiving "Death Benefit" due "Shut Down" #SAHD #DadsTalking http://t.co/v6Yl83THq4
— Max (@Max_Daddy_DC) October 8, 2013
House Speaker John Boehner (R) said on Tuesday,
“We gave broad authority to the Department of Defense to pay all kinds of bills, including this. And frankly, I think it’s disgraceful that they’re withholding these benefits. But again, tomorrow, the House is going to act specifically on this, and I hope the president will sign it.”
However, by the time the legislation passes and the payments are processed it could be the end of the week and in the meantime the families of the five service members killed in Afghanistan over the weekend will not receive the payment.
Peters and three other soldiers were killed by an improvised explosive device on Sunday in the Zahri district and were identified as: 1st Lt. Jennifer Moreno, 25, of San Diego; Sgt. Patrick Hawkins, 25, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and Pfc. Cody Patterson, 24, of Philomath, Oregon.
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeremiah Collins Jr., 19, of Milwaukee was killed on Saturday in Helmand Province while supporting combat operations.
Patterson’s father had some choice words for Congress,
“If Congress were trapped in a car that sunk down in a river, I would swim to the window, and I would look them all in the eye and say, ‘Suck water'”
The Fisher Foundation is stepping in to take care of the death benefit due to the family of the fallen troops in Afghanistan, while the government decides what to do. Let us know your thoughts on this outrageous situation.
