Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 1992 — Benefits for Na Koa Kahiko (Veterans) [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Benefits for Na Koa Kahiko (Veterans)

by JefT Clark Lionel Parker is issuing a eall to Hawaiian veterans to elaim their due benefits. "There are a lot of

Hawaiians who served their country well, and now they are eligible for benefits," he said. Citizens who spent time in the military are eligible for many tax-free benefits, including medical care, pensions and eompensation. Noting that one out of 10 state residents is a veteran (an estimated

118,000 veterans), and that partHawaiians comprise about 20 percent of the state's populahon, Parker said, "There must be a substantial amount of Hawaiian veterans." Parker, a veteran services officer who oversees 10 benefits counselors. is a part-Hawaiian Vietnam veteran who has been with the Depanment of Veterans Affairs (VA) 20 years. There are four veterans centers in the islands in addition to the one on O'ahu in the Federal Building: Hilo, Kona, Kahului and Lihu'e.

"We think the outer islands are underserved," Parker said, and in order to ensure that native Hawaiian veterans get their benefits, he wants it known that the VA's benefits eounselors make monthly visits to the neighbor islands. "We're available, and we invite them to eome in. Come on in, see what's available in the way of benefits," Parker said. Parker said VA benefits counselors are also available to speak to homesteaders associations. Veterans are eligible for most VA benefits if they were discharged from active military service under "other than dishonorable" conditions.

Personnel who enlisted after Sept. 7, 1980 and officers who were commissioned or who entered service after Oct. 16, 1981 must have completed

1 two years of duty or fulfilled their inihal service applieahon to be eligible. A veteran's service and type of discharge are verified with Form DD 214, whieh the Department of Defense issues every veteran on departure from the service. This form notes service dates, awards, decorations and training. If a veteran has

lost or misplaced his or her DD 214, the VA has some of them on file and ean retrieve the rest from Washington. For permanently and totally disabled veterans who saw wartime service, pensions are available, based on need. A veteran's pension amounts to several hundred dollars per month and is available to those with very low incomes.

Veterans who were injured in a war or hostile action don't just get a Purple Heart. They're eligible for disability compensation ranging from $83 to $1.680 px^r month. Other benefits include home loan guaranty, life insurance, education, vocational training for veterans who are disabled, burial allowanee, and survivor's compensation, pension and education.

Veterans services cover three areas: medical (Primary Care Centers), psychological (Veterans Centers), and benefits (VA). Staffed by physicians, social workers, nurses and other staff, the Primary Care Centers (PCC) provide medical treatment and ean arrange for nursing care, dental, drug and aleohol dependency treatment, prosthetics, readjustment counseling, and Agent

Orange or radiation exposure examinations. The PCCs provide outpatient services, meaning the patient does not have to be admitted for a hospital stay. The majority of inpatient services are rendered at Tripler Army Medical Center on O'ahu.

Veterans ean also get treatment for heahh problems that are not servicerelated, but this is pending the availability of resources, of both the PCC and the veteran. When the budget is low, the treatment of non-service heahh problems is the first service to be cut, Parker said. The Vet Centers provide psychological services, primarily readjustment counseling for those veterans dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder, whieh is also known as "shell shock." The Vet Centers focus on Vietnam-era veterans but also treat veterans from World War II, the Korean conflict, and other hostile actions.

Veterans ean walk in to veterans centers on a first-come, first-serve basis, though former POWs may make appointments. "Veteran benefits are available to all veterans," Parker said, "and we just want to make sure Hawaiians have access to these benefits." •

Lionel Parker