Cherokee Nation and the Department of Veterans Affairs are trying to identify veterans who qualify for benefits but aren’t receiving them.
There’s an outreach event Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Cherokee Nation Tribal Veterans Building, 17675 S Muskogee Ave. in Tahlequah.
Many veterans don’t know they qualify for a pension by having a condition the VA presumes is related to military service, like illnesses tied to exposure to burn pits or chemicals.
VA Tribal Relations Specialist Mary Culley said that also includes seemingly routine assignments.
"If somebody was a paratrooper and doesn’t realize that even though they were not shot when they were in war … the hip problems they’re having, the back problems they’re having are all associated with what they did in the military," Culley said.
All veterans are welcome at Tuesday's event, regardless of discharge status.
"We have a lot of vets who may be other than honorably discharged. They still need to come in and ask. You know, there might be a way we can service them and help them. Same with our widows. A lot of our widows don’t even know that they’re eligible for benefits," Culley said.
In six sessions across Oklahoma last year, the VA reached 300 veterans and helped 49 file disability or pension claims.
"And of the 49, 44 were approved any where from within a three-hour window to a 59-day window, many of whom also received back pay," Culley said.
Veterans are encouraged to bring documents like medical and military records.
