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Greenville SC: WWII Veteran Commits Suicide outside VA Clinic
May, 2008 it is now time to:
Abolish the Veterans Administration
When a World War II Vet sends a message by shooting himself in the head outside a VA clinic, it’s a sign that the Administrators and Employees at the UNITED STATES VETERAN’S ADMINISTRATION are totally out of touch with the mandate of Congress to provide support and care to American Veterans. Rather they are spending 2.5 BILLION DOLLARS on US Taxpayers Credit Cards for trips to Las Vegas, staff parties and first class seating on flights, then going back to their desk the next day and denying services and claims to Veterans. The VA is infested with corruption, unqualified minority employment contracts and ill trained arrogant employees, many of which could not even qualify to work in the private medical sector. The VA must be abolished, A simple solution that can be paid for with the current budget, is the selling off the hospitals, real estate and other assets, and the elimination of thousands of bureaucratic employees who have proven they have absolutely no concern for the welfare of our American Veterans. The veterans can be provided with Government insurance that is being used by off base military personnel and other government employees now. They can then be treated more successfully by local Doctors and Hospitals without waiting months for appointments, driving long distances to Hospitals or having to deal with arrogant, disrespectful, ill tempered and unqualified VA employees. At age 65 the Veteran could then convert to Medicare for continued local medical services. All of this can be accomplished quickly as the plans are already in place. The Veterans Administration no longer exist to provide care for Veterans, but to provide jobs for thousands of bureaucrats. It is now time to let the private medical sector provide health care for great American former servicemen and women. Abolish the Veterans Administration.
From the Greenville (SC) News on April 25:
An 89-year-old World War II veteran bought six bullets from a Greenville SC pawnshop on Thursday before fatally shooting himself outside the Augusta Rd. Veterans Clinic. Grover Cleveland Chapman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head said Greenville County Chief Deputy Coroner Mike Ellis. Chapman told his family, "No matter what I apply for at the VA, they turn me down," his daughter recalled. The next day, the World War II veteran took his own life outside the Clinic.
Harriett Chapman sees her father's April 24 death as his way of sending a message about medical care at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Mr. Chapman had recently lost two battles in a continuous struggle to claim medical benefits. "He felt like the VA turned its back on him and a lot of other veterans," Harriett Chapman said.
He learned in a phone call on the Wednesday before his death that he was going to have to travel to Columbia SC for medical tests, although he had been hoping for a waiver that would have allowed him to get the test done closer to home. More bad news came hours later when he received a letter saying he'd been denied disability. Grover Cleveland Chapman had the letter with him when he shot himself.
The “VA excuse makers” are saying that at 89 Mr. Chapman was probably senile or unstable. If that were true then it is a medical condition that they should have been aware of and provided treatment. But, knowing how the VA treats veterans with total distain and arrogance, most likely he was just tired of the bureaucratic red tape and abuse.
This is another case of a Veteran being treated by a dysfunctional bureaucracy that is incapable of serving our Veterans or changing for the better.

ABOLISH THE VETERANS ADMINISTRATION