'I look pretty well preserved for being dead for 26 years'

Iraq veteran finds out VA has declared her dead
WLOS News
by Raphael Pires
August 29th 2018

What she also didn’t expect is having to prove she was alive when she came back.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A Candler veteran who was trying to get medical treatment through Veterans Affairs found out the agency has declared her dead.

"I said, 'I look pretty well preserved for being dead for 26 years,'" Judith Herren, an Iraq War veteran, said.

Herren said the problem started back in November when she decided to consider getting treatment at Charles George Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville.

"They couldn't process anything because I was listed as ‘deceased’ in September of 1991," Herren said.

Herren served in the military for eight years -- four in the Army and four in the National Guard, where she found herself in Iraq.

"We were the first units in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, and we really didn’t know what to expect," Herren said.
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