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She received her approval letter yesterday. They are acknowledging my grandfather "stepped foot in Vietnam" and saying he was 20% disabled 3 months prior to his death (when he applied). They are also saying my grandmother should have been getting the spouse aid (I know that's not the correct term) since July 1, 2013 (first month after he died). It also mentions how there was a cost of living increase for 2014 and for this year. 1. Since they are acknowledging he was disabled due to his military service prior to his death, should she be eligible for the extra amount per month? 2. It says she will get a small amount of retroactive payment for the three months between his application and his death. Is there retroactive payment for the time she had to wait following his death or does her payments just start now? I really do appreciate all the help I've gotten on here. Thank you very much.

Mr. Rodgers, What you said seems to make a lot of sense considering the circumstances. I'll have to see what her advocate says at the meeting. Thanks again

Thank you all for the information. Sorry my information has been so vague. It's all come second hand from an hour long conversation with my grandmother. Im going to look further into her paperwork (she kept everything) and see what I can figure out. I'm also going to go to her next meeting with the veteran's advocate in early March. Also, I've found out that he filed a claim before he died. Following his death (definitely within a year) she filed her own claim, which was rejected. She appealed and recently received word she won the appeal. My biggest question of the veteran's advocate is where the actual letter from the VA is.

At the urging of my father, who is a veteran, my grandfather applied for benefits roughly two years ago. He served aboard the U.S.S. Manley during the Vietnam War. He was aboard the ship when a powder case ignited in the breech of the forward gun mount. What I i understand from my grandmother, he was exposed to a chemical while near Da Nang. My grandfather faced a number of health issues once he returned. He suffered from heart vavle problems and diabetes. The reason my grandparents decided to appy in the first place was because my grandfather was battling liver and bio duct cancer. His doctor at the VA hospital in Delware said he had a strong case. Unfortunately, my grandfather lost his battle with cancer in late June 2013. My grandmother continues to fight the VA. She was initially rejected because they claimed he was no where near Vietnam. My grandmother highlighted that part of the rejection letter and sent back a letter from a high-ranking officer aboard the ship at the time attesting to the fact they were there as well as newspaper clippings aboard the explosion and the ship dropping off Senator Henry Jackson following the explosion in Da Nang. She has since been told by a Veteran's advocate that she will receive around $1,200 a month under the classification of diabetes. Although this seems like a step in the right direction, something still seems fishy about the whole situation, which is why I am posting it here. Should my grandmother consider herself lucky to get anything at all here? Is there anything else she could do? Would she receive just the monthtly payments or should she get retroactive payment from when they made the claim? I know absolutely nothing about his process and am asking for advice for her. What I have written is what I've been told over the years so if there are any inaccuracies please let me know. Thank you for your time reading this and thank you for your service to our country.