Published: March 13, 2008 03:35 pm         

New Veterans Service Officer is ready to assist

Mark Daniels, newly appointed Veterans Service Officer for Cumberland County, announces that his office is prepared to assist local veterans and surviving spouses in applying for benefits and services that they may qualify for through the Veterans Administration.

According to Daniels, “Cumberland County has more than 6,500 veterans, 18 percent of its population, and many of them do not know they may qualify for veterans’ benefits or may not know how to go about filling out the necessary papers to receive benefits. The laws governing military benefits and services change from time to time, so many of our veterans are not aware they may qualify for benefits or do not know how to go about applying for the benefits they deserve. It is my responsibility as VSO to identify these veterans or veterans’ surviving spouses and assist them with the required paperwork to receive benefits that will help them rehabilitate and reintegrate into our community.”

Daniels, who served our country in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1983 through 1989, was stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, and also had tours in Asia and aboard five naval ships. His military occupational specialty was machine-gunner, but he also gained experience in administration during his term of service. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, 1st Marine Division, the Marine Division that was the first in Vietnam and the last to leave. His commanding officer was Lt. Col. James L. Jones, who later was commissioned general and became commandant of the Marine Corps and, ultimately, the allied supreme commander of NATO forces.

Daniels believes that “my experience on the line as a machine-gunner gave me incite into the problems and conditions the rank and file endured and in administration, an understanding of the administrative paperwork required by the Veterans Administration.”

Daniels said he can help surviving spouses in Cumberland County who may be eligible for the Veterans Administrations’ Improved Pension Program that is partly based on income, especially if the veteran suffered an illness that decreased the family’s income during the year of his/her death or if the veteran’s death resulted in a permanent decrease in the family’s income to the level approved by the VA.

He also is ready to assist veterans who may qualify for medical care benefits, compensations, pensions, subsidies for home loans, and/or educational benefits and services from the Veterans Administration.

In addition, Daniels can help surviving spouses apply for a "Presidential Memorial Certificate" in memory of their husband’s or wife’s service, and he can help veterans apply for duplicate Department of Defense discharge papers or duplicate medals and awards for those that have been lost.

For further information about veterans’ benefits, call 456-0090. Office hours for the Veterans Service Officer are Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays, 9 a.m. to noon. The office is at 380 Thurman Ave., behind the courthouse.