MSI Sister Diaries: Gwyneth Holladay
In the beginning of April 2010, Randy died. At that time I sent a death certificate to the VA reporting the situation so they would stop sending the allowance I was receiving for him. I thought I had done the right thing & all was right with the world 😊.
In January of 2011 a letter came addressed to Randy. It was on VA letterhead so I opened it. I letter said condolences on the death of Gwyneth Holladay, and explained that Randy was sent my entire disability payment as a mistake & he now had to pay it all back.
I called the VA explaining I was very much alive & it was Randy who had passed. The gentleman on the phone was very confused. He couldn’t seem to grasp that my husband wasn’t the Veteran. That my payments were cut off & what did I want.
This went on for a month. I still had 4 boys and I depended on my disability checks for the house payment, etc. By then I had written notice I was dead & no longer qualified for disability money.
This is when I called my congressman. He started making inquiries about the situation. In all the people I had spoken too, he was the first to understand I,the Veteran, was very much alive & my(dependent) husband was gone. Finally someone recognized “this men’s Army” did have women in it!
It took 6 months but I finally received an apology & my back pay (minus the dependent allowance). It took the VA a few more years to get the idea of accommodating for female Veterans. But they do much better now.
One of the most important parts of a community, a sisterhood, and a strong and unbreakable friendship is the mutual exchange of stories and experiences. There are many experiences that are unique to who women Veterans are, what they have endured, and survived.
The Military Sisterhood Initiative's goal is to build a community that fights together, laughs together, cries together, and heals together; therefore, we have taken the initiative to tell the stories of women Veterans through our Sister Diaries.
To learn more and to join the Sisterhood, visit www.militarysisterhoodinitiative.org.
