A fire that destroyed military records in St. Louis more than four decades ago is forcing a Nassau County woman to fight for her late husband's veterans benefits.
Linda Parsons told NBC 4 New York that she has been frustrated in her attempts to prove her late husband Norman served in the U.S. Army.
"The answer comes back time and again -- you don’t have proof," she said. "Are they questioning my honesty?"
Parsons said that without the financial benefits, it will be difficult to remain in her home in Sea Cliff, where her husband served as mayor. Norman Parsons died in 2013 at the age of 81.
She is seeking military benefits for her husband's two years of service.
The problem: She doesn’t have his discharge paper, a key document needed to prove he was a soldier.
The discharge paper, like those of more than 16 million servicemen, were lost in a 1971 fire at the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis.
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Parsons has provided the military other information, including her husband’s dog tags, to no avail.
"Because of that fire, I am being punished," she said.
Veterans advocates say Linda Parsons’ fight is neither new nor unique. Thousands of veterans they say have been fighting the federal government for years over records lost in that St Louis fire.
Rep. Steve Israel (D.–Huntington) plans to help Parsons and others receive the benefits they deserve. He is calling on the Department of Defense to reevaluate the type of evidence that can be used to prove a person’s record of service.
