A VIETNAM VETERAN DID NOT RECEIVE BENEFITS BEFORE HIS DEATH LAST MONTH. THAT’S BECAUSE THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAYS IT HAD NO RECORD OF HIS SERVICE. KCCI SENIOR REPORTER TODD MAGEL IS IN JASPER COUNTY WITH HIS FAMILY’S FIGHT TO FIND JUSTICE FOR THEIR FATHER AND OTHER MILITARY FAMILIES. IT’S BEEN ABOUT A MONTH SINCE KEN VAN VEEN PASSED AWAY, AND WAS BURIED HERE IN A RURAL JASPER COUNTY CEMETERY. SADLY, HIS FAMILY SAYS HE DIED FRUSTRATED THANKS TO ONE FINAL INSULT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. IT WAS HORRIBLY FRUSTRATING. LISA VAN RYSWYK AND HER SIBLINGS LOST THEIR BELOVED FATHER AFTER HE DIED FROM STOMACH CANCER IN MARCH. HE SERVED IN VIETNAM IN THE MID 1960S, WHEN THE 82 YEAR OLD MARINE DISCOVERED HE WAS SICK LAST YEAR, HE REACHED OUT TO THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION FOR HELP WITH A DISABILITY CLAIM. THEY DENIED HIS REQUEST, SAYING THEY HAD NO RECORD OF HIS SERVICE. HIS COUNTRY WAS NOT RECOGNIZING WHAT HE DID AND HIS. HE EVEN MADE THE COMMENT, I GUESS I WAS NEVER IN THAT HELL HOLE AFTER ALL. YOU COULD JUST SEE IT ON HIS IT WAS HORRIFYING TO WATCH THAT. THAT’S WHEN THE FAMILY BEGAN FIGHTING BACK. IT IS A FIGHT FOR THESE VETERANS TO GET THESE BENEFITS. ALYSSA WILSON IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE JASPER COUNTY VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT. SHE HELPED THE FAMILY SLOG THROUGH MONTHS OF FILLING OUT FORMS, IGNORE REPEATED DENIALS, AND CONTACT IOWA SENATORS GOOD CONDUCT MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, AND THE NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL. THE FAMILY HAD ALL THE PAPERWORK AND PICTURES TO PROVE THEIR FATHER WAS A VIETNAM VET. FINALLY, AFTER HE DIED, THE VA DISCOVERED ITS MISTAKE. IT WAS TOO LATE. I STARTED CRYING AT MY DESK. UM, BECAUSE I WISH MR. VAN STEPHEN BAYNES STORY WAS RARE. AND IT’S NOT. WHEN HE CAME HOME FROM VIETNAM, HE WAS IN THE AIRPORT AND TOLD US ABOUT A TIME WHERE HE WAS SPIT ON WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM VIETNAM, AND HE KIND OF FELT LIKE THAT WAS HAPPENING AGAIN IN THE END. VAN VEEN’S FAMILY SAYS IT’S NOT ABOUT THE DISABILITY MONEY. IT’S ABOUT WARNING OTHER FAMILIES NOT TO GIVE UP AND KEEP FIGHTING FOR THEIR VETERANS WHO SERVED WITH HONOR. BUT THERE ARE SO MANY VETERANS WHO NEED THAT MONEY AND REALLY ARE COUNTING ON THAT. AND IF THERE IS ANY WAY TO TRY AND MAKE THE PROCESS BETTER, THAT’S REALLY WHAT WE’D LIKE TO DO, KIND OF AS A LEGACY FOR DAD. VAN STEPHEN BAYNES FAMILY SAYS THEY ARE HAPPY THE CASE IS FINALLY RESOLVED AND THAT THEIR FATHER CAN NOW REST IN PEACE IN JASPER
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Veteran seeking disability benefits dies before he can prove he fought in Vietnam War
Updated: 1:30 AM EDT Apr 19, 2024
A Vietnam veteran recently died after the federal government said they had no record of his service and, therefore, no veteran’s benefits for him.“It was horribly frustrating,” said Lisa Van Ryswyk.She and her siblings lost their father, Ken Van Veen, after he died from complications of stomach cancer in March. He served in Vietnam in the mid-1960s.When the 82-year-old Marine discovered he was sick last year, he reached out to the Veterans Administration for help with a disability claim. They denied the request, saying they had no record of his service.“His country was not recognizing what he did, and … he even made the comment, ‘I guess I was never in that hellhole after all.’ You could just see it on his face. And it was horrifying to watch that,” Van Ryswyk said.That’s when the family began fighting back.“It is a fight for these veterans to get these benefits,” Alyssa Wilson said.Wilson is the administrator of the Veterans Affairs Department in Jasper County, Iowa. She helped the family slog through months of filling out forms, ignoring repeated denials and contacting Iowa senators.The family had all the paperwork and pictures to prove their father was a Vietnam vet. Finally, after he died, the VA discovered its mistake. It was too late.“I started crying at my desk because I wish Mr. Van Veen’s story was rare. And it’s not,” Wilson said.“When he came home from Vietnam, he was in the airport and told us about a time where he was spit on when he came back from Vietnam. And he kind of felt like that was happening again,” Van Ryswyk said.In the end, Van Veen’s family says it’s not about the disability money; it’s about warning other families not to give up — and keep fighting for their veterans who served with honor.“But there are so many veterans who need that money and really are counting on that. And if there is any way to try and make the process better, that’s really what we’d like to do or kind of as a legacy for dad,” Van Ryswyk said.
A Vietnam veteran recently died after the federal government said they had no record of his service and, therefore, no veteran’s benefits for him.
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“It was horribly frustrating,” said Lisa Van Ryswyk.
She and her siblings lost their father, Ken Van Veen, after he died from complications of stomach cancer in March. He served in Vietnam in the mid-1960s.
When the 82-year-old Marine discovered he was sick last year, he reached out to the Veterans Administration for help with a disability claim. They denied the request, saying they had no record of his service.
“His country was not recognizing what he did, and … he even made the comment, ‘I guess I was never in that hellhole after all.’ You could just see it on his face. And it was horrifying to watch that,” Van Ryswyk said.
That’s when the family began fighting back.
“It is a fight for these veterans to get these benefits,” Alyssa Wilson said.
Wilson is the administrator of the Veterans Affairs Department in Jasper County, Iowa. She helped the family slog through months of filling out forms, ignoring repeated denials and contacting Iowa senators.
The family had all the paperwork and pictures to prove their father was a Vietnam vet. Finally, after he died, the VA discovered its mistake. It was too late.
“I started crying at my desk because I wish Mr. Van Veen’s story was rare. And it’s not,” Wilson said.
“When he came home from Vietnam, he was in the airport and told us about a time where he was spit on when he came back from Vietnam. And he kind of felt like that was happening again,” Van Ryswyk said.
In the end, Van Veen’s family says it’s not about the disability money; it’s about warning other families not to give up — and keep fighting for their veterans who served with honor.
“But there are so many veterans who need that money and really are counting on that. And if there is any way to try and make the process better, that’s really what we’d like to do or kind of as a legacy for dad,” Van Ryswyk said.
