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Vet says VA lost his files, not helping him get benefits

A central Florida veteran who served two tours in Iraq and says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, said he is stuck waiting for help from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

He is one of about 500,000 veterans caught up in a backlog of those waiting for decisions to be made about their benefits. Sgt. James Northcote received a letter from the VA telling him the paperwork he submitted in January 2013 as part of a claim had been lost by October of that year. Northcote served 13 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and did tours of duty in Iraq in 2003 and 2006.

Raw: Vet discusses problems with VA and benefits

He said he had close calls with roadside bombs and mortar blasts, and received a combat action ribbon for his service.

Now he says he has spent four years trying to get education benefits from the VA so he can attend Embry-Riddle's Homeland Security Program.

"All I wanted was to go to college, finish my degree and be the best person I possibly can," Northcote said.

He said his first claim was denied because the VA examiner did not believe he served in combat, based on the information in his file at the time.

Northcote said it took an attorney to help him gather the needed paperwork to prove his service to his own government.

Now he said that case is sitting in a pile at the VA, as part of a backlog that attorney Christie Bhageloe finds disturbing.

"He has such a strong case. It should be so obvious to them that he deserves his benefits," Bhageloe said.

Northcote's second claim, that the VA lost the papers in October 2013, is also sitting in limbo, five months after he submitted his paperwork for the second time.

"I just want an answer. I don't care what they find. I just want an answer," Northcote said.

Northcote said he feels like his life is on hold while he waits for an answer.



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