Rep. Hall, standing, with Dawson and daughter, Juanita

PURDYS - One more war veteran is getting the pension and healthcare relief he deserves today, thanks to the efforts of Congressman John Hall.

Army veteran James Dawson, 88, received a check in the amount of $15,500 in back pension benefits, and will receive $1,500 per month for the rest of his life for his service.

Dawson, now a resident at the Salem Hills Rehabilitation Center, was drafted to the Army at the age of 21, and spent most of his time in New Zealand and Burma, where he helped build the Burma Wall.  Since then, the Westchester County native has been building scaffolding and driving trucks as a Teamster before he retired because of back problems.

Dawson comes from a military family; he has family members that have served the United States since the Civil War.  He is a man of few words, but did speak of some of his experience as a young soldier.

 “We used to travel over the Burma Road; we could see the Himalayan Mountains.  We marched through the streets into the northern part of India, and I’m just thankful to be here with all you good folks.”

Eleven months ago his daughter Juanita Dawson applied for benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs, and experienced first-hand just how tough it is to simply “get what he deserved.”

“I can’t believe it took us that long,” Juanita said at Salem Hills Monday.  “This shouldn’t be happening.  I wish every other veteran who’s just trying to get what they deserve the best of luck.”

Hall was contacted by Juanita and her brother James, named after their father, almost a year ago to help them in their efforts.

“In Mr. Dawson’s case, it’s good for me to be able to say, as a staff, that we were able to do this, and help soldiers like Mr. Dawson get his due, but it’s a bad thing that we have to do it.  This should be done by the VA automatically.”

Hall’s newest bill, The Claims Modernization Act, passed unanimously by the House this summer, calls for a more streamlined VA healthcare process.  Hall said the new system is very similar to that of private healthcare industry practices.

“When you go to a doctor, you give him your card, he calls the insurance company, verifies the coverage, and he knows within minutes whether or not you are covered.  That’s the way we want the VA system to be, simple, yet effective.”