Iowa Vietnam Veteran is denied benefits, dies before he can prove that he fought in the war [Video]

JASPER COUNTY, Iowa (KCCI) – A Vietnam veteran from Jasper County, Iowa who recently died had never received any veteran’s benefits because there was no record of his service.

It’s been a month since Ken Van Veen passed away and was buried in a Jasper County cemetery. His family says he died frustrated thanks to one final insult from the federal government.

Lisa Van Ryswyk and her siblings lost their father after he died from stomach cancer in March. He served in Vietnam in the mid-1960s. When the 82-year-old Marine discovered he was sick last year, he reached out to the Veterans Administration for help with a disability claim. They denied the request saying they had no record of his service.

Without being recognized for what he did, his family started fighting back.

“It is a fight for these veterans to get these benefits,” said Alyssa Wilson, administrator of the Jasper County Veteran’s …