Inside the Sampson County Agri-Exposition Center, Shelton McCallop joined some of his fellow veterans to learn more about services available to the men and women who bravely served the United States.
“A lot of veterans can’t get to some of the places they need to go as far as information is concerned,” McCallop said. “I feel real good about this.”
McCallop, a member of the Henry J. Fowler American Legion Post 319, was one of many who attended The Veterans Experience Action Center event. It began Tuesday and will conclude Thursday, Jan. 12. Veterans will have an opportunity to speak face-to-face with Veteran Affairs (VA) officials or Veterans Service officers from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today (Thursday), at the center, located at 414 Warsaw Road, Clinton.
“I’m here to get an explanation on some of the letters I received, then I’ll take it back to the post to give it some of the guys who couldn’t get here,” McCallop said while waiting for his turn.
As of Wednesday evening, more than 400 people had visited the expo center for assistance. The Sampson County Veterans Service Office and officials from service-based organizations made the event possible for residents, and others from surrounding counties. Along with the Winston-Salem VA Regional Benefit Office, some of the other organizations included the Veterans Health Administration, Community Home Care Hospice and the Fayetteville Vet Center.
Ann Knowles, director of the Sampson office, said the purpose is to connect veterans with the VA to assist with questions or concerns regarding claims or filing an appeal.
“Normally a veteran never sees VA rep, other than their local counties,” Knowles said. “This is an opportunity for them to be one-on-one and meet with people who make the decisions.”
With the assistance of representatives during the three-day event, veterans have filed for compensation for incidents which occurred during their service. Some of the possible examples presented by Knowles included body injuries; cancer due to Camp Lejeune water contamination, which occurred at the Marine Corps Base from the 1950s through the 1980s; or problems from being exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
She added that some may have filed a claim and did not receive the compensation they deserved.
“Ninety-nine percent of the time, unless they go to an appeal, they never see the VA,” Knowles said. “They afforded them the opportunity to show them how bad their ankle is or to have them look at their entire file while there and give them some help.”
Knowles said employees from the Sampson office do what they can, but VA officials are the experts.
“It’s a learning experience for all the people working, as well as the veterans, and they’re the (recipients),” Knowles said. “The veterans benefit from us working together.”
Darren Luke, a coach from the Winston-Salem VA Regional Office, shared the same sentiments.
“We’ve been doing these for a couple of years,” Luke said. “The synergy between the federal, state and local levels to support veterans is a lot better than it has been in the past.”
Luke said the Regional Office is trying to reach out to veterans throughout North Carolina who have not been contacted. Knowles said officials would like to reach those rural veterans who don’t go to the VA hospital, who don’t know the benefits they’re entitled to.
“VA is not welfare, it’s an earned entitlement,” she said. “We want to reach out to those people who have never reached out to us.”
As a veteran from the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts, Luke knows the importance of his fellow comrades receiving services.
“This is benefits they earned,” Luke said. “They raised their hand and said ‘I will defend my country.’”
For Luke, it doesn’t matter if one stayed stateside, went into a combat zone or sailed around the ocean.
“Roughly, less than 10 percent of Americans are veterans,” he said. “So that small 10 percent volunteered to stand up for the other 90.”
For veterans unable to attend the event, Knowles encouraged them to keep in touch with the Sampson County Veterans Service Office for upcoming nearby events. In the upcoming months, similar events are scheduled to occur in Wilmington and Roanoke Rapids.
“There’s veterans here from across the state,” Knowles said. “So you can go an Action Center event and get help.”
For more information regarding services, contact the Sampson County Veterans Service Office at 910-592-2862. Information is also available at www.va.gov.
