Soldier's Families Being Cheated Out of Pensions

The Army National Guard uses it's "pension plan" as a major incentive for recruitment and retention of soldiers.  What they neglect to tell these fine young men is that even if, like my late husband, they dedicate twenty or more years of their lives to their country's defense their families will not receive a dime of their pension if they die before their 60th birthday.

For myself, it is not the loss of money that hurts so much as the government's callous disregard for the sacrifices made by my late husband for his country.  During his twenty three year enlistment in the military, my husband was called away from my hospital bed to help rescue American citizens trapped in a blizzard.  That was just one of many times he was forced to leave his family and home to answer the call of his country.  Yet answer it he did. 

I long ago lost count of the times he was forced to leave me alone to deal with problems at home over the years while he went off to answer the call of his country. 

Families of soldiers willingly sacrifice a great deal to help their soldier serve his country.  They carry the burdens left behind when their soldier is called away all by themselves and yet you seldom hear a complaint.  We are proud to be the wives of heroes.  Children of the defenders of our country.   But who defends the soldiers?  Not our government, that's for sure!

Shortly after we married, my late husband came extremely close to dying because he contracted Legionaire's disease from a tainted air conditioning system while on training maneuvers at Fort Bragg.  Legionaire's disease is a virulent form of hepatitis which later metamorphosed into Hepatitis C which was the cause of his death at the age of 52. 

He died believing that his wife would receive the pension he worked so very hard for twenty three years to earn.  He died believing a lie...  I thank God everyday that he did not learn the truth before he passed away.  It would have hurt him deeply to know the country he served so proudly would deny his family the benefits he earned simply because he died before his 60th birthday.

If you believe our soldier's families are entitiled to receive the pensions they earned for twenty years of service to their country, even if the soldier dies before the age of 60, then please let your voice be heard now.  Sign this petiion to let our lawmakers in Washington, DC know you want the law changed.