Did You Serve During Wartime? The Answer Might Surprise You!

Nov 05, 2014

By Rick Law of Law Elder Law in West Suburban Aurora, IL

Many people think the dates for “periods of war” are much narrower than they actually are. Since part of the requirements for the Aid and Attendance benefit for Veterans over age 65 require that you or your veteran spouse served 90 days of active service, at least one day of which was during a period of war, this is an important item to note. Take a look below to see if your service dates fit!

Official Dates for Periods of War:

• Mexican Border: May 9, 1916 to April 5, 1917
• World War I: April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918 / April 1, 1920 (if served in Russia)
• World War II: December 7, 1941 to December 31, 1946
• Korean War: June 27, 1950 to January 31, 1955
• Vietnam War: August 5, 1964 to May 7, 1975 / February 28, 1961 (if served in Vietnam)
• Persian Gulf War: August 2, 1990 to [date not yet determined]

Other Groups Who Qualify:

In addition to active duty vets from the armed services, these little-known groups also meet the active duty qualification for VA benefits.

If you belong to any of these groups and received a discharge by the Secretary of Defense, your service meets the active duty service requirement for benefits:

• Recipients of the Medal of Honor
• Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs)
• WWI Signal Corps Female Telephone Operators Unit
• WWI Engineer Field Clerks
• Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)
• Female clerical employees of the Quartermaster Corps serving with the American Expeditionary Forces in WWI
• Civilian employees of Pacific naval air bases who actively participated in defense of Wake Island during WWII
• Reconstruction aides and dietitians of WWI
• Male civilian ferry pilots
• Wake Island defenders from Guam
• Civilian personnel assigned to OSS secret intelligence
• Guam Combat Patrol
• Quartermaster Corps members of the Keswick crew on Corregidor during WWII
• U.S. civilians who participated in the defense of Bataan
• U.S. merchant seamen who served on block ships in support of Operation Mulberry in the WWII invasion of Normandy
• American merchant marines in oceangoing service during WWII
• Civilian Navy IFF radar technicians who served in combat areas of the Pacific during WWI
• U.S. civilians of the American Field Service who served overseas under U.S. armies and U.S. army groups in WWII
• U.S. civilian employees of American Airlines who served overseas in contract with the Air Transport Command between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
• Civilian crewmen of certain U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey vessels between 12/7/41 and 8/15/45
• Members of the American Volunteer Group (Flying Tigers) who served between 12/7/41 and 8/14/45
• U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of TWA who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
• U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
• Honorably discharged members of the American Volunteer Guard, Eritrea Service Command, between 6/21/42 and 3/31/43
• U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Northwest Airlines who served overseas between 12/14/41 and 8/14/45
• U.S. civilian female employees of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps who served in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor from 1/2/42 to 2/3/45
• U.S. civilian flight crew and aviation ground support of Braniff Airways who served overseas in the North Atlantic between 2/26/42 to 8/14/45
• Chamorro and Carolina former native police who received military training in the Donnal area of central Saipan and were placed under command of Lt. Casino of the 6th Provisional Military Police Battalion to accompany U.S. Marines on active, combat patrol from 8/19/45 to 9/2/45
• The operational Analysis Group of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, Office of Emergency Management, which served overseas with the U.S. Army Air Corps from 12/7/41 through 8/15/45
• Honorably discharged members of the Alaska Territorial Guard during WWII

If the veteran you love could use some extra money to help pay for the cost of in-home, nursing home, or assisted living care, give our office a call at 800-310-3100 or 630-585-5200. Your first consultation is absolutely free. We’ll let you know what steps you need to take, right now, to protect yourself and your family. Call now.

Sincerely,

Rick L. Law, Attorney, Estate Planner for Retirees.

Rick was named the #1 Illinois elder law estate planning attorney by Leading Lawyer Magazine. He has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, AARP Magazine, TheStreet.com, and numerous newspapers and articles. Rick is the lead attorney for Law Elder Law, LLP, focusing in Estate Planning, Guardianship, and Nursing Home Solutions. His goal is to give retirees an informed edge when it comes to dealing with an uncertain future. Get flexible retirement strategies that work during good times and bad, plus information on how you can save your home and assets from being used to pay for long term care.