Do people apply through Veterans Affairs, or through their local VA office?
Eventually the application for benefits is to Veterans Affairs, but one of the easiest ways to apply is through the county Veterans Services office. Every county has one, and that office will help them gather up the information they need. It’s pretty easy to apply. It eventually does end up with Veterans Affairs, but it’s probably a little easier to get a Veterans Service officer to help you out. What do you think the time frame is going to be? Should people get started early if they want to file a claim? Yeah, probably. If somebody applies, if they have what’s called a DD-214, a form that documents their military service, and dates of marriage and children’s birth dates, things like that, it’s pretty straightforward. I think in my case it only took two or three months to get approval. It could be that they’re required to take a physical or something, but it doesn’t take very long. If the person can demonstrate that they were in Vietnam, either on the ground or in what’s called “the br
