95-Year-Old WWII Veteran Denied Benefits Because He Lost His Service Records in Fire Five Decades Ago

A 95-year-old man who fought in World War II has been denied benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs for months — until a local news outlet stepped in. 

Walter Dashiell lost his service records in a fire in 1973, according to local CBS affiliate KHOU. 

His daughter told the outlet she has been trying to get benefits from the Veterans Affairs Department for more than a year. Without the benefits, Walter isn’t able to cover the cost of his senior living facility in Sugar Land, Texas. 

Walter’s daughter, Zelda Dashiell, said she received a letter from the agency in August saying her father was denied benefits. 

“It's heartbreaking because you know how much time you've sacrificed,” Zelda said. 

That’s when Zelda reached out to KHOU. 

“I don’t know what else to do,” she said. 

A VA spokesperson told the outlet that Walter’s records were destroyed in a fire in 1973, adding that the department is “working closely with him, his family, and the National Archives and Records Administration to reconstruct his records.”

A National Archives spokesperson confirmed to KHOU that the records had already been restored in July. 

Yet the Veteran Affairs Department still didn’t process benefits for Walter. 

“I need help,” Walter told KHOU, who then placed numerous calls to the department. 

After those calls, the agency confirmed that Walter, as of Monday, “has been approved for homemaker-home support,” a program that includes assistance with various services such as eating, dressing, and health monitoring.

Ahead of Veterans Day on Saturday, another vet, a 96-year-old man who fought in the Korean War, has not yet received a Purple Heart medal after getting a piece of shrapnel stuck in his thigh from a battle in 1951.