Navy veteran tells Tazewell County board veterans faced delays seeking VA benefits, urges support for veterans commission

A Navy veteran who identified himself as Rick Od addressed the board on June 24, describing his service aboard a destroyer during Vietnam and recounting long difficulties getting the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize service-connected exposures.

"I was a hot shellman in a 5-inch gun. To say it was chaotic would be an understatement," Rick Od said, describing his shipboard service. He said he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2005, chose proton beam treatment and later filed for a service-connected Agent Orange/agent exposure claim. He told the board he was initially denied because he had not "stepped on land," and noted that Blue Water Navy sailors only became eligible under VA rules in April 2019.

Od said his service-connected disability rating is 70% and that many veterans experienced similar struggles getting claims processed. He urged the board to back the Tazewell County Veterans Assistance Commission and praised recent board momentum and the hiring of a new superintendent as impetus for change.

"I'm here tonight because I witnessed Chairman Grim's seizing of the momentum to change for the veterans of Tazewell County," he said, thanking board members and volunteers who assist veterans in hospice and other settings.

The board did not take immediate action in response to the public comment but the remarks were followed by recognition of veterans in the chamber and by later administrative updates.