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Use a service officer to tap into benefits

February 5, 2013 • J.J. Montanaro

Q: I am inquir­ing about whether my hus­band who was a Viet­nam Vet­eran is eli­gi­ble to any death ben­e­fits. He never used any ben­e­fits while he was alive, but he has just passed away and I am won­der­ing if he is eli­gi­ble for any bur­ial assis­tance, or sur­vivor ben­e­fits. Thank you.

–Linda, Las Vegas, Nevada

A: I’m sorry for your loss. A lot of the answer to your ques­tion depends on whether or not his death was related to his ser­vice.  At the very least, he’s prob­a­bly eli­gi­ble for Depart­ment of Vet­er­ans Affairs (VA) bur­ial and memo­r­ial ben­e­fits includ­ing a head­stone and bur­ial in a national ceme­tery. Check with per­son­nel at a local national ceme­tery to get the details on this ben­e­fit. Here’s a link to the infor­ma­tion at the VA web­site. You can also find the clos­est ceme­tery by vis­it­ing www​.cem​.va​.gov.

As far as sur­vivor ben­e­fits, the pri­mary pro­gram that could be applic­a­ble is called Depen­dency and Indem­nity Com­pen­sa­tion. This is only avail­able if your husband’s death was related to his ser­vice.  This could still be pos­si­ble even though he appar­ently wasn’t receiv­ing any VA dis­abil­ity com­pen­sa­tion. You can call the VA directly or seek out the help of what is called a “ser­vice offi­cer.” These folks know the VA sys­tem and can assist you with under­stand­ing what is avail­able and fill­ing out the paper­work to access those ben­e­fits. You can find them in many county vet­er­ans’ ser­vices offices or through orga­ni­za­tions like The Amer­i­can Legion or the VFW.  The Amer­i­can Legion Nevada Depart­ment Ser­vice Offi­cer could be a good place to start, 775–688-1653. Good luck.

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2 responses to “Use a service officer to tap into benefits”

  1. suziqj66
    February 11, 2013 at 1:04 pm |

    I was in the Navy for for 4 years when I met my my hus­band who was in the Navy. We were mar­ried 19 1/2 years. He retired after mar­ry­ing his curent wife. i gave up and did not take any of his retire­ment. I was told that I was enti­tled to a depen­dent ID card for use in the NEX, com­mis­sary, and MWR gyms on base. Is this true? I’ve tried to google and read about it but I do not under­stand it. Any infor­ma­tion will be help­ful. Thank you.

  2. margherita
    February 12, 2013 at 8:15 pm |

    my hus­band was a viet­nam vet­eran and his death 17 years ago was ser­vice con­nected. I cur­rently receive wid­ows benefits.Someone tod me Iwas elig­g­ble to shop at the local mil­i­tary base com­mis­ary. Is this true and if so what must i do to access the base and the commisary

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