Meeting Another Nam Vet, Or Maybe?

A market along Highway 1 about seven miles north of Danang 1968.
Someone on our truck fired a shot in the air and everyone in the market hit the ground in unison.
Moments later, they were all back up. Strange times. (Click picture to make it larger.)

I met a Vietnam veteran last time I was at the store. I saw him in the bathroom washing his hands. He had on a POW jacket and a Vietnam veteran baseball type hat. He was scraggly and had a long grey beard. He was still washing his hands when I left so I waited outside for him.

"Hi, when were you in Nam?" I asked him. 

I will usually ask if I see a guy wearing all that stuff. It's just my curious nature because I'm one of those Nam veterans who doesn't wear the patches and hats and all the other bells and whistles.

"I was there in 64 and 65," he said. "And 66, 67, 68, and 69."

So this guy pretty much had the entire active war covered. That means he would have had to have done five tours.

"I was there in 67 and 68," I said.

"Lots of combat going on then," he said. "The Tet Offensive."

"Yeah, I was there for Tet."

And then the guy took off so fast, I didn't have a chance to talk to him about anything else. He for sure wasn't a lifer. Old lifers don't dress or look like he did. You can always tell an old lifer because they still walk and talk and look like they are wearing starched utilities. Their entire bearing and haircut will scream old lifer. This guy wasn't any of those things. 

I've never heard of any on the ground in-country enlisted man doing the five complete tours that it would take to cover those six years. It's possible he could have been Air Force and flew in and out during that time or he could have been a Blue Water Veteran from a ship that came and went. But I guarantee you, he never served five tours on the ground in Nam. Of course, he never said what branch of the service he was in before he took off.

I have to conclude, based on that brief encounter, that he was a phony. The phony Nam vet will always add more tours for some strange reason, as if one wasn't enough. Those who were really there know that one tour was enough. That's why the phony vet has to embellish because they don't know how bad it really was over there. Some veterans did a six month extension and some did two tours and some may have done three because of unit movements where everyone in the outfit has to go. But five is probably creative science fiction.

The first thing I usually ask is what outfit a guy was with after I ask what years they were in Nam. I didn't have the chance with this guy. If he didn't want people to ask, then why wear all the stuff that announces Nam veteran? He probably did want people to ask, but just not another Nam veteran. All I can say is they are out there, and they have been out there from every war. I could be wrong about this guy, but I doubt it.

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Questions and Answers

I grind my teeth (bruxism) really bad and have done so since I returned from RVN. My family dentist fixed me up with a night guard about 4 years ago which seems to have stabilized my condition but unfortunately the damage is already done.
When I filed my PTSD claim thru the DAV I wasn't aware that bruxism could have been brought on by my PTSD and my family dentist is willing to write a letter for me stating that in his opinion it was more likely than not that the PTSD contributed to my bruxism.
I didn't include it in my PTSD claim. Last week I went back to the DAV and had them file a claim for my bruxism.What I am trying to get is dental coverage for this condition thru the VA for my bruxism.

Grinding your teeth unless it's in your service records is going to be hard to prove. I have the same problem and I also wear a mouth guard. You can file as being secondary to PTSD, but I would be surprised if it went through. The best way to get the coverage is the increase in PTSD. If you get to 50%, then immediately file for a higher percentage. Once you get to 70%, they have to consider you for unemployability (100%) if you're not working. This would give you dental coverage. The VA only does dental work on service record injuries and 100%. But you never know. The claim could go through, but I have to answer based on the possibility of it being approved, which I don't think is good.

My service-connected hearing loss is rated at 10% and getting worse. What can I do to get a rating increase?

You can file to have the percentage increased. Problem is: hearing impairments are one of the most restrictive disabilities in the V.A. system. They don't give you any kind of a break. And their decisions with these type of claims are usually harsh and arbitrary. Be sure to get as much documentation as possible, particularly when it involves the loss of a job or some other adverse economic effect on their lives. You may also expect to probably have to use the appeals process since most of these type claims are almost always turned down by the regional office. But you can win on appeal.


I recently received 100% for unemployability, but it said nothing in my letter about being T&P. It did say that I was not scheduled for future exams and I have education and other benefits. Does this mean I’m T&P?

If your letter states you are not scheduled for a future exam and you have the education and other benefits, then you are considered T&P. No future exams means the same thing as T&P, and you would not have the other benefits if you were rated unemployable on a temporary or recall basis. Once a vet is rated unemployable, especially after age 50, it isn’t likely any future exams will change that situation unless the veteran goes to work full time.


Why can’t the Regional Office ever tell me anything about my claim when I call the 800 number?

Mainly, because the person who answers the phone call doesn’t have any more information than you do, especially if the claim is in adjudication. What you don’t want to do is make a formal inquiry. This stops the claim process cold. They have to pull your file out of line and then check to see what is going on. This can often put a claim months behind of where it should be in the system.


Is there a way to have the BVA decide my case more quickly?

If you feel you have a hardship which limits your time for the case to be resolved, you can submit a motion to advance on the docket directly to the BVA. You must show some evidence of the hardship such as a terminal illness or danger of bankruptcy or foreclosure before your case can be moved ahead of others. The BVA states that over the years, fewer than 3 out of every 20 requests have been granted. But it’s worth a shot if you have tried everything else.

Write to:
Board of Veterans Appeals (014)
Dept. of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20420