DAV aids ex-POW's ailing widow.

His family didn't know what to expect. "Missing in action" is all they heard from the War Department. He'd married his wife Bonnie while on furlough. And although no good news came home to Knoxville, Tenn., she shared every letter with her mother-in-law.

So when 21-year-old Joseph W. "J.W." Burnett returned from World War II in October 1945, the whole community turned out to celebrate. He'd arrived home ahead of the letters announcing his release from a German prisoner of war camp.

J.W. had enlisted in the Army in April of 1943, and by Christmas the following year, he'd been taken prisoner. He spent nearly six months in captivity before being released on VE Day. He was honorably discharged from service just five months later.

"Mother told me that she didn't know if she would ever hear from daddy again, but she kept those feelings to herself--especially around granny. The night he came back, they were at church and word got to mother that daddy was on his way home. The whole revival showed up. Over 400 people came and the family never went to bed," said Margie Monday Massey, the Burnetts' daughter.

Still, as the celebrations faded and life on the home front returned to normal, J.W. bore a heavy load that he--like many in his generation--chose to carry alone.

"If daddy talked about his service time, he'd tell funny stories. But he never really told us anything about being in prison or how he was treated as a prisoner," said Margie.

But J.W. couldn't always harness the emotional turmoil within. On one occasion, according to Margie, he strangled his wife while dreaming he had a German soldier by the throat who was trying to kill him.

"That scared him. Daddy was typically a very easygoing person. Everyone looked up to my dad as a hero, but he never bragged about anything. He had two Purple Hearts and had received medals from General Eisenhower. But I can see where it would probably be very painful to talk about the things that happened," Margie recalls.

Toward the end of his life, J.W. began recognizing the toll the war had taken. But his own service-connected anxiety stood in the way of his treatment. The VA recognized service connection for frostbite on both feet, a duodenal ulcer and an anxiety disorder.

"I never knew if he was hurting; he just kept everything inside. And asking for help was very difficult for daddy. He was appreciative for what he did get (from the VA), but he felt like what he got was just a drop in the bucket. If that's all they were willing to do, he said he didn't want their money," recalls Margie.

The VA tried to contact the aging veteran, but frustrated, he didn't answer their letters.

On Dec. 14, 2003, 58 years and one week after being captured in the war, Joseph W. Burnett died of lung cancer. At the time, he was receiving a VA disability compensation rating of 10 percent--just $104 a month.

After his death, his widow, Bonnie Burnett, struggled. A breast cancer survivor, she had fought her own disability while continuing to work into her twilight years. But her husband's death and late retirement hit her hard. In January 2005, the family learned Bonnie was in the first stages of dementia. She needed help and was receiving a non-widow's pension. Her daughter Margie contacted DAV.

National Service Officer Bryan Held, of the Nashville DAV Service Office, was given permission to review Burnett's claim.

"I was shocked. Every case we represent is important, but there was something particularly disheartening about seeing a POW's widow in need of care," Held recalls. "There was nothing we could do to help Mr. Burnett, but I would do everything in my power to help his family."

After a thorough review of Burnett's file, Held said he believed the veteran might have been entitled to a higher disability rating for anxiety related to post-traumatic stress disorder. He saw where Burnett had difficulty quitting smoking, and concluded that his anxiety may have prevented Burnett from dropping the habit which eventually led to his death.

As an attorney-in-fact for the Burnett family, Held contacted a VA physician. In the doctor's medical opinion, Burnett's service-connected anxiety disorder with denial and avoidance contributed to his death because it contributed to his inability to quit smoking and to avoid seeking medical treatment after he was diagnosed with cancer.

It was more likely than not, according to the doctor, that denial and avoidance--common coping mechanisms among ex-prisoners of war--contributed to a late diagnosis of cancer and contributed to or hastened the veteran's death.

As the surviving spouse of a veteran whose death was connected to service, Bonnie Burnett was entitled to dependency and indemnity compensation (DIC), as well as aid and attendance because of her own illness.

"This has increased her income tremendously," Margie says of her mother. "She can afford her medications. She can get the prescriptions her insurance didn't cover. And she has a nurse who stays with her while we're at work."

Without the adjustment, the whole of Bonnie's social security income and VA benefits would not have covered her medical expenses.

"The DAV is a wonderful organization," said Margie. "I know that it is his job what [NSO Held] does, but I also felt he went far beyond the call of duty in this case. It was a tremendous amount of work, but it has helped mother a tremendous amount."

"Dad would be pleased to know that mother wouldn't have to worry about if she had enough money to pay for her medicines and that she didn't have to depend on her children to supply her with things she'd like to have," Margie said.

"We're here for the veterans, to be sure, but DAV's service also extends to their families and survivors. In some cases, the only way we can truly honor the sacrifices a veteran makes is by ensuring his or her family is cared for," said National Service Director Randy Reese.

For more information on survivors' benefits and assistance with filing a claim with the VA, contact the nearest DAV National Service Office.