On Sunday, a veteran from the same Marine division as Robert E. Lee wrote him a check for $500. Dozens of other veterans offered to give all they could – $5, $20, $50 – to help the destitute Vietnam vet buy food and pay his back rent.
A representative of the Disabled American Veterans promised to walk his application for benefits through the process so the 60-year-old Denver man who lost his voice to cancer – presumably caused by Agent Orange exposure – won’t be left homeless while he awaits his due from the VA.
Lee, whose story appeared in my Sunday column, is so touched by the concern he can hardly talk about it. “I never meant for this to happen,” he said. “I just got between a rock and a hard place.”
His case is far from rare.
Along with calls and e-mails from readers eager to help have come endless requests for assistance from people stranded in the same bureaucratic swamp.
One Vietnam vet has been waiting a year for his application for disability benefits to be processed. Another got fired from his job after seeking counseling when images from the war in Iraq triggered incapacitating flashbacks from the post-traumatic stress disorder he still battles nearly 40 years after leaving Vietnam.
A veteran with an artificial voice box called pleading for help. “We’re all in the same boat,” he huffed into the phone.
That vets recognize that they are in this together surely was obvious at Lee’s eviction hearing Monday.
His landlord, Isaias “Ike” Trujillo Sr., is an 83-year-old World War II veteran, living on $700 a month in Social Security. Recent health problems have drained his stamina as well as his bank account.
His son, Jose G. Trujillo, took no pleasure in notifying Lee of the eviction, but he said his dad couldn’t afford to keep paying utilities and taxes on the house with no rent payments coming.
Jose is a Marine who served in Panama.
As they sat across the little table in the court mediation room, they shared powerful bonds and ultimately reached out to one another.
“This is breaking my dad’s heart just to be here,” said Jose, who struggled to keep his own emotions in check.
Lee never contested the charge that he owes Ike Trujillo money. He wanted to pay him all along, he told me. “But you can’t get blood from a stone.”
Now, with the help of a network of veterans, he said he hopes to get his finances straight within a matter of weeks. He agreed to vacate the little house in southwest Denver by May 25 and pay the $3,709 he owes in back rent and court costs by June 30.
“You’ll get every dime I owe you,” he said. “I never had anything bad to say about Ike. I apologize.”
Jose Trujillo was pleased with the settlement, but worried that Lee might not be able to fulfill his promise.
“I’m a disabled vet too,” he said, “and I have no confidence in the VA.”
Jim Hudson, a Vietnam vet, said he expects to get Lee’s application processed by June 30 with the assistance of U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter’s office and the disabled veterans’ group. Hudson is helping Lee assemble his medical records, including surgery and treatment records, to complete his application.
“We’re trying to expedite it,” he said. “We’re getting close.”
Then Hudson looked across the table at Ike, who leaned into his cane as he signed the settlement.
“You know, Isaias, we’re all vets. We’re all human beings. We’re all in the same boat.
“You might be able to supplement your income with a pension. I think with your service record, you may be entitled to that.
“I’m going to the DAV anyway,” he said, “so I’ll pick up the form for you and bring it to your house.”
Mike Collins, another vet who’s assisting Lee, reassured Ike as well. “Lee wants to pay what he owes and if we have to pass the hat at every VFW in the state, I promise you you’ll get the money,” said the Vietnam vet disabled by cancer from Agent Orange.
Then he pressed the artificial voicebox to his neck and made a familiar vow.
“Semper fi,” he said. “Semper fi.”
Contributions for Lee are being accepted at VFW Post 5061, 5220 W. Warren Ave., Denver, CO 80227.
Diane Carman’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. Reach her at 303-954-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.
