FREE FLORIDA MEDICAID AND ESTATE PLANNING SEMINAR - CHOOSE ONE OF THREE LOCATIONS

FREE SEMINAR!

Hear about how you or a loved one may qualify for Florida Medicaid and veterans "aid and attendance" benefits before losing everything to long-term care costs - even if your loved one is already in a nursing home.  

Find out how good estate planning can protect you, your family and your assets from the many other threats we face as we age.

Attendees are eligible to receive a free, one-hour consultation from one of our attorneys (assuming we can assist you).
No reservations necessary. Light refreshments.

PORT ST. LUCIE
Tuesday, June 25
1:30 pm to 4:00 pm 
Port St. Lucie Holiday Inn,10120 S. Federal Highway
  
BOYNTON BEACH
Wednesday, June 26
1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Courtyard by Marriott, 1600 N. Congress Ave.

PALM BEACH GARDENS
Thursday, June 27
1:30 pm to 4:00 pm
Palm Beach Gardens Marriott, 4000 RCA Blvd.

  More information at The Karp Law Firm website, or call us at  (561) 625-1100

Blue Water Vietnam Veterans Again Denied Agent Orange Benefits

Vietnam veterans who served in “blue waters” off the coast of Vietnam have for years pressured the federal government to provide them with the same benefits other Vietnam veterans receive as a result of exposure to Agent Orange. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 excluded Blue Water veterans from these benefits, despite the veterans' contention that they were exposed to the herbicide as a result of water used aboard ship for laundry, cooking, etc. Exposure to the herbicide has been linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory problems and neurological disorders. You can read my prior post on this topic here.


Unfortunately, Congress recently delivered another political setback for Blue Water veterans. The Senate just killed a measure passed 382-0 by the House, that would have provided 90,000 Blue Water veterans with Agent Orange medical benefits. Senators Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) blocked the vote, noting the V.A.'s concerns about the cost. Originally thought to cost $1.1 billion over ten years when the House passed the measure, the V.A. more recently projected the cost at closer to $5.5 billion. The V.A. has also continued to express doubt about the link between blue water service and Agent Orange-related maladies. Both senators indicated that wanted to wait to vote on the issue after an additional scientific study is available on the subject. The study is due out in 2019.


Advocates of the measure in Congress and veterans' groups were quick to condemn the Senate's lack of action.  House Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Tim Walz, (D- Minn) accused Senate opponents of hypocrisy, given the major tax cut package passed by the Republican-controlled Congress. Senator John Tester (D-Wyoming) said "this 11th hour attempt to block the bill is a thumb in the eye to millions of veterans and service members." And the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, B.J. Lawrence, claims that obstruction of the bill "forsakes our nation’s promise to take care of those who were injured or ill due to military service.” House Representative Mark Takano (D-CA) suggested the president could tweet out his support for the Senate bill and call out the two senators holding up the vote, but the tweet never came.


Supporters of the measure have vowed to reintroduce the legislation again next year.

Film "What They Had" Focuses on Family Coping With Alzheimer's Disease

Update 11/29/18: This film is no longer playing locally.

With Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias on the rise, the new film "What They Had" will resonate with many American families coping with caregiving responsibilities. First-time writer-director Elizabeth Chomko has loosely based the film on her own family. Chomko's grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's seventeen years ago and died just recently.

The film stars Blythe Danner as the family matriarch who has Alzheimer's. The family situation reaches a crisis point when she wanders out in the snow wearing only pajamas. Her daughter, portrayed by Hillary Swank, returns to her hometown to help out, at the urging of her brother, played by Michael Shannon. The siblings clash over caregiving responsibilities, and what is best for their mother and for themselves. Complicating the scenario is their father, played by Robert Forster, who refuses to consider placing his wife in a facility. 

For actors Danner and Swank, the film was particularly meaningful. Both have had personal experience caring for ill family members. Danner cared for her late husband Bruce Paltrow, and Swank, for her father.


This family dynamic will likely ring true for anyone who has faced the challenge of caring for a parent, spouse or other loved one with Alzheimer's. Among those challenges is how to pay for the extraordinary costs of long-term care that many Alzheimer's patients will eventually require. In Florida, the median cost of a private room in a long-term care facility is now over $100,000 (2018 Genworth Financial Cost of Care Survey). The attorneys of The Karp Law Firm counsel many families in this crisis, and can often help them tap into Medicaid benefits and/or Veterans Aid and Attendance benefits before losing everything to nursing home costs. 

Click below to listen to an interview with the actors discussing caregiving challenges, Alzheimer's Disease, and their roles in the film.

A Veteran With a Sky-High Mission!

All our clients have interesting life stories. Many of them are veterans. With Veterans Day around the corner, I want to share the fascinating story of one of our many clients who served with dignity and dedication. With her permission, I present to you the remarkable Bernice "Bee" Haydu.


I had the privilege of meeting Mrs. Haydu in 1994, when she and her late husband Joseph came to the Karp Law Firm for legal advice. Now 97 and two decades on from our original meeting, Mrs. Haydu remains our client and as vibrant as ever.


After graduating from high school in New Jersey in the 1930s and working as a secretary, Mrs. Haydu (nee Falk) was eager for more adventurous pursuits. Her brother was in the Army Air Corps, and she wanted to be active in the war effort, too. She took flying lessons, a fateful decision. World War II began in 1941, and there was a shortage of pilots.  At the urging of Jacqueline Cochran, the Womens Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was established. When Haydu learned the program was looking for recruits, she wasted no time in applying. Of 25,000 applicants, she was one of just 1,803 women who were accepted; and one of only 1,074 who successfully completed training.


After seven months of military training (the same as that of male cadets), she was sent to the Training Command as an Engineering Test Pilot and Utility Pilot. Among her tasks was flying and testing overhauled aircraft and ferrying military personnel from location to location across the country. Although the work of a WASP was considered non-combat, the job was not without perils. Thirty-eight women were killed during the program.


Yet even with the dangers and their dedication, the WASPs were not considered official members of the military. Haydu and her colleagues were classified as civilian volunteers, and denied the benefits afforded to military personnel. They were required to pay their own way to Texas for training as well as return flights. And when a WASP died in the line of duty, the family even had to pay to have the body sent home.


The WASPs had been led to believe that once the program disbanded, they could continue their aviation careers and would be welcomed into the military. Sadly, political opposition prevented that from happening. When the war ended, the women went back to their prewar lives. Well, most of them did. Haydu remained passionate about flying. Her post-war life included working as a flight instructor - and even marrying Joseph, an aviator also.


She took on another job, too. As the years went by Haydu increasingly set her sights on another sky-high mission: getting recognition for the WASP's contribution to the war effort, and securing veterans benefits for them, as they had been promised if the program was successful, which it was. After decades of organizing her fellow ex-WASPs, making public appeals and nonstop lobbying, her efforts bore fruit in 1977. That is the year President Jimmy Carter signed the GI Bill Improvement Act, which included a provision to award the WASPs veteran status and give them the corresponding veterans benefits.


But that was just the beginning. More recognition was in store for the WASPs, and for Haydu in particular. In 2009, Congress passed a bill that awarded the WASPs the Congressional Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor. There were about 300 surviving WASPS at that time. Haydu and several of her fellow WASPs went to Washington to mark the occasion. She was personally greeted by President Obama. She says she had the honor of actually pulling out his chair for him as he seated himself at his desk to sign the bill. In his statement, President Obama said: "The Women Airforce Service Pilots courageously answered their country's call in a time of need while blazing a trail for the brave women who have given and continue to give so much in service to the nation since. Every American should be grateful for their service, and I am honored to sign this bill to finally give them some of the hard-earned recognition they deserve."

President Obama gets seated at his desk to sign the bill conferring the Congressional Medal on the WASPS. Bee Haydu (to his right) pulls out the chair for him.

Other honors have piled up, too. Haydu was on hand in 2008 for the opening of the "Fly Girls of World War II" exhibit at the Women in Military Service for America in Arlington, Virginia. She received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology in New York City. In 2012 she was inducted into the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame. And this year, she traveled to New Orleans to receive the 2018 Silver Service Award from the National World War II Museum in recognition of her work in the WASPs as well as her fight for gender equality.


Mrs. Haydu also wrote a book. "Letters Home:1944 -1945," is a compendium of the letters she wrote home while serving as a WASP. Thank goodness her mother saved them! The book may be purchased through her website.  Haydu is currently working on her second book. 


And if you're ever visiting the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, take a look around on the second floor: you'll find Mrs. Haydu's WASP uniform on display.

We thank Mrs. Haydu and all veterans for their service to the country. You can learn more about the history of the WASPs at the website of the National WASP World War II Museum in Sweetwater, Texas. 


For information about veterans Aid and Attendance benefits that can help aging and disabled veterans pay for the care they deserve, check out our web page. (The benefits program has just changed its eligibility requirements.) 

Veterans Benefits Delay Agonizing for Two Proud Marines

V.A. Aid and Attendance (officially known as Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance) is a little-know benefit available to elderly and disabled veterans who served during certain wartime periods and who can meet financial and other eligibility criteria. However, "available" does not mean "easy to get approved for." With the Veterans Administration under so much criticism these days, it is not surprising to learn that the lumbering agency moves slowly -- at times, far too slowly -- for elderly people who apply for benefits. Getting approved for Aid and Attendance benefits requires onerous paperwork and endless persistence. Cynical veterans have morbidly referred to the V.A.'s approach to processing benefits requests as Deny, Delay, And Wait Till They Die. 


This is precisely what happened to Arkansas residents Robert and Mary DeCicco. Their case was reported in a May 24, 2018 Boston Globe article. The elderly spouses, both Marine veterans, had been married over sixty years. Robert was a Korean War vet who had also survived bladder cancer, had a kidney and lung removed, and undergone a triple bypass. Their adult children were caring for them until the summer of 2017, when it became apparent they needed more intensive help than their kids could furnish. It was decided that moving to a nursing home was the best option. The DiCiccos knew it would be expensive, but their son Stephen had researched veterans aid and attendance and knew his parents qualified for benefits that would defray some of the cost. They completed the benefits application. Trusting that the government they had served would come through for them, the couple moved into a nursing home. Stephen gave his parents the initial $3,000 needed to move in. The nursing home agreed to wait on the rest of the money  until the V.A. approval came through.


But the approval did not come through. The bills kept piling up. In January 2018 the DiCiccos had no choice but to sell their modest home, at a loss. Two thirds of the sale proceeds went to cover nursing home bills. Mrs. DiCicco was heartbroken, telling her son, "That money from the house was for you kids."


Ever the proud Marines, neither Mr. or Mrs. DiCicco was about to criticize the Veterans Administration. But Mr. DiCicco was becoming increasingly anxious about the mounting debt. By March 2018, the nursing home bill had climbed to $40,000. Kim Mosley, the facility's director, repeatedly called the V.A. "I told them that these veterans could be homeless if it wasn't for our home taking them in, and that they needed to be approved very soon," she says. She recalls that Mr. DiCicco would listen to these telephone conversations from his wheelchair, disappointed each time there was no resolution - in fact, no updates or any information at all. "They were such a sweet, loving couple that we just had to help them," she said. "They didn't even have hardly any spending money." Their son Stephen also tried contacting the V.A., but encountered long holds on the phone and staff who often could not even locate his parents' files.


Finally, in March, the DiCiccos' benefits were approved. Unfortunately, that was six days too late for Mr. DiCicco. He died on March 2, 2018, at age 85, still worried about the unpaid bills. "What makes me the maddest of all is that he didn't die in peace," his son said. "It's amazing how little anyone knows or is willing to help you."  Mrs. DiCicco said, "He died waiting for it. They do everything over there to get him shot at. He paid a debt to his country, and I feel that they owed him something."


So what in the world happened? Claims for those age 85 and older are supposed to get expedited processing. V.A. officials subsequently explained that the couples' benefits were delayed because pension claims for two married veterans must be processed simultaneously; complications in validating some of Mrs. DiCicco's information had created the hold-up. "Regrettably, our efforts to establish entitlement resulted in delays," the agency said in response to the incident. "Clearly we could have done better for Mr. and Mrs. DiCicco."


The Karp Law Firm has several V.A. - accredited attorneys on staff. When a veteran (or veteran's widow) who might qualify for aid and attendance hires us for Medicaid planning, we will submit the V.A. application as a courtesy. The V.A. prohibits lawyers for charging for help to prepare applications (although accredited attorneys may charge to handle appeals). 


The Veterans Administration needs to do better. We will see what happens now that David Shulkin no longer heads the giant agency. Privatizing services has been floated as a solution, but that idea has its critics. One thing all can agree on is that elderly veterans do not have endless months or a year to wait for their applications to be processed. Like Mr. and Mrs. DiCicco, many are in immediate or near-immediate need and must have a quicker response. 


Learn more about V.A. Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance.

Bill Gates Digs Deeper Into Alzheimer's Disease

Bill Gates has taken on a new mission: defeating Alzheimer's Disease. And he's approaching it with the same out-of-the-box thinking that led him to create Microsoft. He recently contributed $50 million of his own money (not his foundation's) to the project.

The philanthropist's father just turned 92 and is doing well, but as Gates notes, he is one of the lucky ones: Statistics show that if one makes it to age 80, the chances of developing the disease are about 50%. And Alzheimer’s is the only one of the top ten causes of death in the U.S. for which there is no effective treatment or cure. That's a fact that does not sit well with Gates' inner innovator.

After studying the tremendous emotional and financial toll the disease takes on families and society, Gates decided to plow $50 million into the Dementia Discovery Fund. The fund is a unique collaboration of industry, charity and government, based in the U.K. While most research into Alzheimer’s focuses on the two proteins which seem to be involved with Alzheimer’s, amyloid and tau, the Dementia Discovery Fund is examining other disease pathways and more unconventional treatments. Writes Gates: “We’ve seen scientific innovation turn once-guaranteed killers like HIV into chronic illnesses that can be held in check with medication. I believe we can do the same (or better) with Alzheimer’s.”

Several of his own family members succumbed to the disease. “I know how awful it is to watch people you love struggle as the disease robs them of their mental capacity,” he notes in his blog, “and there is nothing you can do about it. It feels a lot like you’re experiencing a gradual death of the person that you knew.”

Unlike Gates, most American families lack sufficient financial resources to care for loved ones affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. Many still believe that Medicare covers the cost of long-term care; discovering it does not is a frightening wake-up call for many Americans. Without generous long-term care insurance, middle class families are turning to other solutions, like Medicaid and Veterans benefits, or risking the loss of everything they've worked for.

Kudos to Bill Gates. We hope his efforts will open new “windows” into this dreaded disease, and eventually, lead to an effective cure or treatment. We really need the breakthrough.

Read Bill Gates’ blog post, Why I'm Digging Deeper Into Alzheimer's.

To read about Medicaid benefits and Veterans benefit for long-term care, click here.
 

Find out more about the Dementia Discovery Fund.

David Cassidy, 1970s teen hearthrob, suffering from dementia

Fans knew something was wrong when he could not remember the lyrics to songs he'd sung for decades. But for David Cassidy, it was a long-held fear come to fruition.

The 1970s teen heartthrob who gained fame on the Partridge Family television show, David Cassidy announced last month that he is suffering from dementia. He is no stranger to the disease. His grandfather had dementia. His mother, actress Rachel Ward, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease in 2002, passing away ten years later at age 89. In recent years the musician has become an advocate for Alzheimer's research; in 2012, he auctioned off some of his old costumes to benefit the Alzheimer's Association.

Cassidy is not shying away from discussing his diagnosis. "People don't really want to talk about it, but we need to, which is why I'm going to be speaking publicly about it," Cassidy told the Daily Mail. He will appear on the Dr. Phil show on March 1, and the March 6 issue of People will feature an interview, "My Battle with Dementia." Cassidy's last concert, capping off 49 years of touring, is scheduled for March 4 at BB Kings in New York.

Nearly 80% of dementia cases are caused by Alzheimer's Disease, but other diseases may also trigger it. For example, vascular dementia is caused by damage to the brain's blood vessels. Lewy Body dementia, which afflicted Robin Williams and radio personality Casey Kasem, is brought on by  abnormal protein deposits in the brain. Those with a family history of dementia appear to be at greater risk. It occurs mainly in older people; a 2016 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that only 3% of people between ages 65 and 74 have dementia. Although the disease is degenerative and progressive, certain habits, such as a healthy diet and exercise, may forestall the diagnosis or slow progression.

It's a modern-day catch 22: Thanks to medical advancements, we are living longer. But because we're living longer, we are more likely to experience chronic disease. And it's not only a medical problem: Increasing numbers of families now struggle with the cost of a loved one's long-term care. Although there is no cure yet for dementia, there may be a solution to the financial dilemma it can create. You may be able to tap into Medicaid benefits without "spending down" and losing your nest egg to nursing home costs. And if you are a veteran or the widow of a veteran, you may under certain circumstances qualify for VA Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance.  Contact our firm for assistance from our Florida Bar Certified Elder Law Attorneys. 

Veterans Aid and Attendance Benefits: Look-Back Period Likely On the Way

This blog's followers know that in January 2015 the Veterans Administration proposed several changes to the eligibility requirements for Improved Pension with Aid and Attendance. These are benefits available to elderly and disabled veterans who have served during wartime periods and who need help paying for at-home help, assisted living or nursing home expenses. Spouses and widows may qualify under certain circumstances, too. Read details about these benefits and current eligibility requirements here.

Among the most significant of the proposed changes is the establishment of a look-back period on asset transfers. Currently, the asset limit is $80,000, with no look-back period and no penalties for asset transfers. The V.A.'s final ruling has been delayed while veterans groups and other advocacy groups weigh in on the proposal. Now, it's widely expected that a look-back period will be announced and become operational sometime after May 2017. Both a five year look-back on asset transfers (which is what Medicaid long-term care benefits currently impose) and a three-year look-back have been discussed.

With this change in the works, it would be to your advantage to apply for Veterans Aid and Attendance benefits before the look-back is imposed. Several of The Karp Law Firm's lawyers, myself included, are V.A.-accredited and can help you develop a plan that best takes advantage of any V.A. benefits, and coordinates with Medicaid benefits that may be available to you or your loved one. 

By the way, V.A. Aid and Attendance pension rates are pegged to the Social Security Cost of Living Index. Due to the recent COLA increase, pension rates have also increased, albeit by just a few dollars. The new rates took effect December 1, 2016 and also appear on our website here.

Veterans Choice Program falls short of the mark

Our veterans have not always gotten what they deserve from our nation. With Memorial Day here, it's time to recommit ourselves to doing a better job.

The Veterans Aid and Attendance program provides disabled and elderly veterans financial help to cover the cost of at-home care, assisted living or nursing home care. In our experience, too many veterans do not know that the program exists. Among those who do know, too many wrongfully believe they are not eligible because they do not have a service-connected disability. 

Aid and Attendance is only one of a myriad of Veterans Administration health-related programs. Unfortunately, applicants often experience so much stress and frustration getting access to benefits that the process becomes, well, almost like fighting a war. No doubt the V.A. has its heart in the right place But it is a vast, lumbering bureaucracy that falls short more often than it should.

Take, for example, the Veterans Choice Program I told you about in 2014. Veterans Choice was introduced to shorten the horrifyingly long wait times veterans experienced trying to get medical care from the V.A. Under the program, a veteran could receive care from a private medical provider, at V.A. expense, if the veteran (1) faced a wait time of over 30 days, or (2) had a medical issue that required timely attention, or (3) lived more than 40 miles from a V.A. health facility.

Simple idea, right? As it turns out, deceptively simple. The program has been plagued by problems since inception. A recent NPR article notes that wait times have actually increased. Veterans and medical providers alike are still struggling to understand the program. Providers have difficulty getting authorized to provide care, and are not compensated by the V.A. in a timely fashion. According to a February 2016 report in Military Times, many veterans using the Choice program have even seen their credit scores compromised when unpaid providers go after them for payment.  

Critics attribute the problems to the fact that the V.A., under enormous pressure to lessen wait times, put together the complex $10 billion dollar program so quickly - about nine months. Not a small amount of blame is also pinned on TriWest and HealthNet, the two private contractors to which the V.A. outsourced day-to-day responsibility for administering the program. 

In short, the V.A. Choice program has not proved to be the solution that veterans, Congress and the V.A. expected it to be. As Senator John Tester of Montana, one of the program's proponents, has said, "Bottom line is the Choice program is broken. We need to fix it and we need to fix it as soon as possible." On March 3 Tester introduced a fix: Senate Bill 2633, the "Improving Veterans Access to Care in the Community Act." The proposed law would allow the V.A.'s own community care programs to be consolidated into one program, with streamlined and consistent rules. Proponents of the bill believe that would solve many of the original program's flaws. You can read the text of the bill here. 

By next Memorial Day - preferably much, much sooner - I want to be able to report that our veterans have a Choice program that really works for them. They deserve it!

WASP veterans win another war

The Women Airforce Service Pilots helped the United States win World War II. More than half a century later, they have won another battle.

As I told you in February, the WASPs flew many non-combat missions, freeing up male pilots for combat.  WASPs flew every type of military plane, tested out newly overhauled aircraft, and transported personnel and equipment. Thirty-eight women perished in service to the country. Notwithstanding their contributions, these brave women were classified as civilians during the war. It was not until 1977 that they were officially recognized as veterans, a status which also gave them the right to have their ashes placed in Arlington National Cemetery. That is a final honor many WASP's and their families feel they deserve.

Unfortunately, in 2015, Army policy changed and deceased WASPs could no longer be inurned at Arlington. The policy change did not sit well with the WASPs, who began fighting for the policy to be reversed. An online petition got more than 178,000 signatures.

Now the WASPs can claim another victory: Congress just passed a bill that will restore the WASPs' right to have their ashes placed in the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery. The bill is expected to be signed by President Obama. How fitting that we are honoring these women just as Memorial Day approaches, when we remember with reverence and gratitude all our deceased war veterans. 

Veterans are entitled to all kinds of benefits, which as it should be. Elderly and disabled veterans and their widows may be eligible for Aid and Attendance benefits to help cover the cost of nursing home care, assisted living or home care. Click here for more information.

Veterans Administration says no, again, to Blue Water Veterans

In April 2015 the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to review its policy with regard to "Blue Water Veterans." As noted in my 2011 post, Blue Water veterans are navy personnel who served off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War, but whose boots did not touch the ground or who worked on ships that did not enter inland waterways. For years, Blue Water veterans have been denied benefits under the Agent Orange Act of 1991, despite their contention that they were exposed to the herbicide via sea water used aboard ships for cooking, drinking, laundering, etc. Agent Orange has been associated with a variety of ailments, including cancer, heart disease, birth defects and neurological problems.

In February 2016, citing a lack of conclusive evidence linking ailments among Blue Water Veterans to Agent Orange, the V.A. said it was standing by its existing policy. You can read the V.A.'s newest fact sheet as it related to Blue Water Veterans and Agent Orange here.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) has backed the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act that would give these veterans access to benefits. "Young sailors risked their lives during the Vietnam War, unaware that decades later, they and their children and grandchildren would still feel the toxic effects of exposure," he said in response to the recent ruling. "Veterans who served offshore and in the harbors of Vietnam were exposed and deserve the presumption of service connection for Agent Orange-related disease."

Despite this most recent setback, Blue Water Veterans and their advocates say they will continue to push for benefits under the Agent Orange Act of 1991.

Our WASP's are veterans, too!

One of my longstanding clients proudly served as a WASP - a member of the Women Service Airforce Pilot corps  - during World War II. She and more than a thousand other women flew and tested military aircraft, towed gunnery targets and transported military personnel around the country, thereby freeing up male pilots for combat missions. Although their roles were considered to be non-combat, 38 WASP's died in the line of duty.

Despite their bravery and sacrifice, the military regarded the WASPs as  civilians, not bonafide military personnel. When the WASP's were disbanded right before the war ended, these women returned home without any of the benefits afforded to other G.I.'s:  No medical benefits. No gold stars. No military funerals. The military did not even pay to ship home the bodies of the 38 WASP's who perished.

For decades, the WASP's fought to be recognized as military veterans. Finally, in 1977, President Carter recognized them as such. And in 2002, they got the right to have their ashes interred at Arlington National Cemetery.

Today, there are 138 living WASPs. Unfortunately, these brave women, my client included, were dealt another blow last year, when then-Secretary of the Army John McHugh reversed policy, saying WASP's would no longer be permitted to have their ashes interred at Arlington. He indicated that Arlington is running out of space, and that the WASP's were not considered military personnel during the actual course of the war.

In response, a bill has been introduced in both the House and the Senate that would restore the WASP's right to be inurned in Arlington. One of the bill's sponsors, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) has said: "If they were good enough to fly for our country, risk their lives and earn the Congressional gold medal, they should be good enough to be laid to rest at Arlington Cemetery. This legislation will right this wrong."

I agree. If you do, too, please let your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives know you want them to support the bill, formally known as the "Women's Air Forces Service Pilot Arlington Inurnment Restoration Act." You can read the text of the bill here. Find and contact your Senators here and your Representative here.
 
Read the fascinating history of the WASP's  here.