Justices refuse to hear veterans' benefits case Dick Gaines
Jun 03, 2003 04:02 PDT
The Washington Times
www.washingtontimes.com
Justices refuse to hear veterans' benefits case
By Frank J. Murray
Published June 3, 2003
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The Supreme Court ended a legal battle by battalions of aging World War
II and Korea retirees yesterday, leaving them without the lifetime free
medical care recruiters promised them when they signed up.
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Without comment on the merits, justices refused to consider overturning
last year's decision against the veterans by the full Federal Circuit
Court of Appeals, which was sympathetic and advised the veterans to seek
help in Congress.
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The military promised recruits who entered the service from 1941 through
1956 that those who served for 20 years would be eligible for free
medical care in military hospitals the rest of their lives. But Congress
never approved such benefits, and the Pentagon stopped providing the
care in 1995.
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Government attorneys told the high court that simply reimbursing past
medical expenses for 1.5 million retirees would cost $15 billion. That
would not include the cost of future care for the retirees.
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Thousands of the veterans who were promised medical care die each week.
The lead plaintiff in the case died March 30 at age 76.
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Retired Air Force Lt. Col. William O. Schism had filed the Supreme Court
appeal and was lead petitioner in the case, Schism v. the United States.
Yesterday, the court granted the motion by his only child, Mary Jane
Short, to substitute her name, then denied the plea to hear the dispute.
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"It's a sad day for World War II-Korea era warriors who gave their all
but have been rejected by their government," said George E. Day of Fort
Walton Beach, Fla., attorney for the Schisms, retired Lt. Col. Robert
Reinlie, and an unnamed generation of veterans in similar situations.
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"After 20 years of care in military hospitals, my wife and I were kicked
out and forced to rely on Medicare," Col. Reinlie, a veteran of the Army
and Air Force, said yesterday. "This is not what I was promised when I
pledged to serve my country for 20 years. I'm astonished that at the age
of 82 years I must continue to fight for the medical care I earned."
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Mr. Day — an Air Force retiree, Medal of Honor recipient and former
fighter pilot who was imprisoned in Vietnam — said yesterday that he
will turn to getting Congress to pay those bills. His efforts included
cartoon billboards in the Washington area and a rally at the Capitol.
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"There already is a bill pending in the House and a bill in the Senate.
I will be putting my focus on getting those passed into law," Mr. Day
said from Salt Lake City in an interview in which the ever-optimistic
veteran predicted passage against all odds.
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"What that will accomplish will basically be to make health care free.
What I would be looking for initially would be to first fix the matter
of having to pay for free care, and secondly see if I can get some
retroactive compensation out of Congress for these people who already
have given so much," Mr. Day said.
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The Federal Circuit Court in its Nov. 8 ruling last year expressed
sympathy for the veterans' plight but said the judges "can do no more
than hope Congress will make good on the promises made in good faith."
Congress did take steps last year to absorb some health costs for older
veterans but stopped short of the demands in Schism v. the United
States.
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The lawsuit was based on the military's promise to young recruits that
medical benefits would be paid for those who stayed in the service for
20 years. Superiors authorized the promises, apparently unaware they
were not backed by the legislation required to spend money.
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Free health benefits were provided until the Pentagon halted coverage in
1995 for those older than 65 and eligible for Medicare, whose coverage
is less complete than what the veterans were promised. Some bought
supplemental insurance policies. Others paid out of their pockets.
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Mr. Day pursued the lawsuit demanding that the military make good.
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"It is not enough to hold parades or tie yellow ribbons," said a legal
brief filed by the Military Officers Association of America in support
of the appeal. "We must honor their commitment and sacrifice by assuring
that the government honors its commitments to them."
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In his Supreme Court brief, Mr. Day cited the war in Iraq as an example
of the sacrifices made by veterans.
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Troops in Iraq "are going for five days with no sleep, getting shot at,
having to shoot at people.
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"It gives people a realistic understanding of why you make those kinds
of promises to make up for the low pay," he said.
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In other actions yesterday, the high court:
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Unanimously vacated a $1.6 million award that Twentieth Century Fox Film
Corp. won from Dastar Corp. — which Fox accused of using its TV
production of the "Crusade in Europe" series, 26 installments based on
Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower's World War II memoirs. The opinion
written by Justice Antonin Scalia said federal law doesn't require
credit in Dastar's "Campaigns in Europe" for edited material no longer
under copyright from someone else's production. Justice Stephen G.
Breyer recused himself.
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Voted 7-2 that usury lawsuits against national banks may only be brought
in federal courts. That was a victory for Beneficial National Bank,
which said claims by 26 Alabama consumers who said interest rates for
income-tax-refund loans from Beneficial through H&R Block exceeded legal
limits.
    •
Turned away a plea from Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines, the
nation's third- and fourth-largest passenger carriers, to bar passengers
from joining together in an antitrust case seeking $1.5 billion for
overcharging on some routes. The airlines say triple damages in such
cases could cost them $4.4 billion.
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Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.
R.W. "Dick" Gaines
GySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-72
Gunny G's Old Salt Marines Tavern
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/dickg/gunny.html
R.W. "Dick" Gaines
GySgt USMC (Ret.)
1952-72
Gunny G's Old Salt Marines Tavern
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