Vietnam veteran's claim trapped by 3 Presidents

Tri-Cities veteran worries he'll die before getting disability claim compensation

WJHL 11 News
By: Jackie DeFusco
Posted: Jan 08, 2019

ELIZABETHTON, TN (WJHL) - Vietnam Veteran William Ward of Elizabethton, a Purple Heart recipient, knows he's on of the lucky ones.

"When the Tet Offensive started we had 28 helicopters and in 40 days we lost 14 helicopters and 21 men."

The former helicopter crew chief said he flew one thousand missions in six months and was shot down three times.

Now, the 71 year-old is worried he may die before he's compensated for a disability claim he appealed fourteen years ago.

"When I landed in the airport in Chicago, I was spit at, I was called names that I can't repeat. And it seems like Vietnam veterans, we were pushed aside and we're still falling through the cracks," said Ward.

Ward has a number of symptoms of service, including PTSD, type two diabetes, hearing loss and sleep apnea.

He appealed his disability claim in 2005. "Next month is February. That will be 14 years that I have been waiting for this," said Ward.
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That would be during the Bush Administration, followed by Obama and now Trump!