WWII Veteran Improved According to VA, Actually Clinically Deaf

You know the commercial with "Can you hear me now?" Well that is all I can think about because apparently the VA didn't hear this WWII veteran when they cut his disability until a reporter got involved in the story and then suddenly, they seem to have heard him loud and clear.

WWII vet, 91, struggles with VA lag
Ocala.com
By April Warren Staff writer
Published: Saturday, April 4, 2015

"Sullivan said she was first contacted by the VA on Friday, the day after the Star-Banner contacted the VA to inquire about Desario’s case. She said a VA official told her it will now order more tests for Desario."

Joseph DeSario, 90, who was a top turret gunner on a B-24 Liberator during World War II points to the spot just below where he was positioned in the bomber in a painting at his home in Marion Woods Senior Living in Ocala, Fla. on Monday, Oct. 27, 2014.
Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Star-Banner

The 2½ years Joseph Desario spent in the military during World War II have remained with him forever.

Desario, 91, can still recall with detail his work as a top turret gunner on 30 missions aboard the B-24 Liberator, a four-engine bomber. He was stationed behind the pilot, but between the roaring engines, operating twin .50 caliber machine guns over Europe.

Desario survived two plane crashes, which later led to the replacement of both his knees.

Upon his honorable discharge in 1945, Desario was given a certification of disability. In recent years, he received an overall combined disability evaluation rating of 80 percent, which took into account two service connected disabilities: post-traumatic stress disorder and bilateral hearing loss.

“The noise was tremendous all the time,” Desario’s daughter, Mary Lynn Miraglia, said of the gun noise, blasts around the planes and lack of protective earwear.

In October 2013, Desario applied for an increase in compensation in the individual unemployability category. Instead, his benefits were cut by about $600 a month when test results indicated an improvement in his hearing.

The result later was refuted by a clinical audiologist who said her evaluation found Desario to be legally deaf.
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