they often can help folks or point her to someone who CAN help

Casualty Assistance Office. OR HQ DA CASUALTY OPERATIONS CENTER,1-800-626-3317. One of her grown kids should have some power of attorney so they can take care of her needs to be able to take with people. Make several copies of the death certificate.

I was looking in my Echoes that the Army sends out every so often. Here is a number she can call

DEERS 1-800-538-9552

This place handles ID cards records in cases of death. She will need to make sure she knows to have his social security number. (Everything is done by the sponsors social security number)

There was a time when the military provided someone to help assist widows. I know in my mother's case they did. But in my mother-in-law case no. Her age she shouldn't have problems.

She will be covered by Medicare and Tricare for Life. Have her call the DEERS office. They will really be helpful.

By the way the funeral home let's the military know that a veteran dies. At least here in my rural area they do.

Once you notify Casualty office they will call fianance and accounting office. I hope she has alittle nest egg. Because it takes time for her check to come.

Well god bless her and I hope this has been helpful.

Also, if he was retired, he should have been getting a check each month via direct deposit. At the time of his death, that check should have been stopped (by advising DFAS of the member's passing and providing a death certificate) and her annuity (assuming he was enrolled in the Survivor Benefit Plan) started.

Funeral homes are usually pretty good at assisting with much of that death benefit stuff--it might not hurt for the poster to check with them and see if they filed any paperwork for the burial/headstone or grave marker.

was retired. But I did provide a couple of numbers. Hopefully they will take our advice.

I had to go to the VA hospital where they had 3 advocates/liaisons who did nothing but help vets with their paperwork. They told me what to bring (paperwork) and filled the proper forms out while I was present, then mailed it in for me. By their presenting the paperwork, the process went much more smoothly because they edited everything/checked the paperwork for any missing information that might slow down the acceptance. It wasn't even a month and I was good to go. Benefits were retroactive. My guy was either with the VFW or American Legion, I can't recall.

Good luck to her.

They are the only service organization mandated by congress to have a permanent office at every VA hospital. The other are there, too, but not on a full-time basis like the DAV.

First thing is gather up every issued scrap of paper her husband kept. His service time and dates, rank, branch, component, combat if any, all this and more has a bearing on benefits and the process.

As another poster mentioned if he was retired, rather than honorably discharged, he's already in the system. Or if he applied for and received any veteran's benefits or assistance, he's in system. That will help get the wheels turning.

Contact VA.

beginning to the end.

that was one of the most important papers they asked for. Lucky my dad was good at keeping everything he had. He was in the old Army Air Corp then switch to the Air Force. I wish they still had aides to help out. I know when my father-in-law died they didn't have them any longer. But we already knew what to do. The funeral home informed the military that he died. We had to wait to get the death certificates because you really can't do anything before that. Lucky we had prepared for our own papers to be ready when the time comes.

I KNEW I could count on you to help me and my friend.

It is shameful they did not respond the first time, it would be inexcuseable if they fail a second time. If she does not get a response in a week, pm me the location (including cross street) of the post in question, and I will make contact for her.

If so, there's often a Retiree Activities Office at the installation (they are sometimes co-located with personnel offices, or situated nearby personnel/admin spaces)--they may be able to either help her, or direct her to a place where she can get decent and reliable help.

If her husband is a retiree, they will most definitely be able to assist her, and many offices, if they're well enough staffed, will help vets/family members who are not retirees as well. If they are short-handed, they'll know who, nearby, is best equipped to provide reliable help and follow-through. I'd suggest that as the first phone call, if you haven't sorted her out yet and there's a base within a reasonable distance from her location.

Tell her to dig through her husband's papers and come up with his DD214 (discharge certificate, it's a rather dull looking form, actually) as well as his death certificate--she'll want to have those handy to get the process started. Make a few copies of each for her if you can--always handy to have extras.

You're a good friend.