HOUSTON – The 20th anniversary tribute ceremony of the Texas Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be held in Dallas Saturday.
As we go about the business of our daily lives, the images of war that play out before us on television seem so far away, and so far removed.
It’s like living with a bad dream every day. Unless, of course, like Jeremy Williams, you experience that bad dream firsthand every day.
Williams, 27, served three tours of duty in Iraq with the Marine Corps.
"(I was awarded the) Navy Achievement Medal, and the National Defense Medal," said Williams who served three tours in Iraq. "I look at life in a completely different fashion now."
If you look beyond Williams’ piercing eyes, and beyond his confident smile, it’s clear the roadside bombs, the rocket and mortar fire have left him a changed man.
"I still have memory issues, anxiety issues, anger issues, chronic and chronic headaches, and migraines," said Williams. "It gets so bad I have to go to my room, close the door and turn off the lights and put the pillow over my head."
After being discharged, Williams was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. He said he filed a claim for disability benefits with the Department of Veterans Affairs regional office in Houston.
"After I filed my claim in 2007, it took a year for me to get a response," Williams said.
Williams received limited benefits, but a lot can happen in a year.
He said he lost his career in the Marine Corps, wife and two children.
"(I’m) going through a divorce, a custody battle," said Williams. "…seeing my kids two weeks out of the month, and I’m leaving the home that I had bought for my family to create some stability."
This former Marine said he was hospitalized twice for post traumatic stress disorder, and he was unable to hold a job.
Williams said he sought an increase in disability benefits again through the VA office in Houston.
"He’s not employed. He should have been at least 100 percent until he was able to control the PTSD. The VA didn’t see it that way, so they denied it," said John Roberts with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Williams appealed the decision.
11 News: "How long ago did you appeal?"
Williams: "November of last year."
11 News: "And it took them a year to respond to you to begin with?"
Williams: "Um hmmm."
That delay doesn’t surprise the service director for the Wounded Warrior Project John Roberts who says these veterans are losing their homes, and they can’t feed their families either.
Roberts, a wounded warrior himself, said he has also worked as a supervisor in the claims division of the Houston VA.
"It’s absolutely not right, and if you look at the numbers nationwide, it’s overwhelming," said Roberts.
In fact, there are about one million cases pending across the country, which, some critics argue, places the Houston Regional VA at the epicenter of a national crisis.
There are about 20,000 claims pending there. Nearly half of those claims were made over six months.
Records indicate the Houston office also has the highest number of appeals pending in the country.
When 11 News contacted the office to ask why, a spokesperson declined an interview and offered no explanation.
Meanwhile, the numbers continue to grow with soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.
"A lot of times I wake up, you know, and I say, ‘Oh my God,’" said World War II veteran Bill Maxson.
The 91-year-old was diagnosed with PTSD last year.
"You never forget. You’ll never forget," he said. "You’ll die with it."
Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart during WWII, the VA recently granted his claim after a battle that lasted longer than the war itself.
Maxson’s son, Denis, said his father deserves more respect.
"It’s criminal behavior as far as I’m concerned," said Denis Maxson. "They are the greatest generation…the things they did for us."
Bill Maxson said he and other veterans did the same things currently being done by another generation.
"What about the people that’s coming out now that’s wounded and stuff. Don’t you think they need help," said Bill Maxson.
