A black Army veteran from Florida who has been declared dead four times is actually alive and breathing, according to WESH News Orlando.
The veteran, former drill sergeant Jerry Miller, who served in the Army for 10 years, said the Department of Veterans Affairs has declared him dead four times. "To me it's stupid. I can't die but one time. They have killed me four times," he told WESH. "I'm alive, you see. This can't keep going on and on."
The confusion began in 2010 when a letter addressed to his "estate" was sent to his house saying that as a deceased man, he was not eligible for the veterans benefits he was being paid. The benefits were reinstated after he informed the VA that he was still alive.
The letters, however, kept coming. In January he received another letter asking for repayment of more than $94,000.
The VA said it is looking into the case.
We have heard stories from veterans of how benefit payments can stop if anyone calls the VA and says you are dead; they don't even need proof. If these accounts are true, this government agency needs to take a close look at its procedure for determining who is dead and who isn't.
Advertisement
Read more at WESH Orlando.
