#MiddleburyCT #Veterans
VETERANS POST
By Freddy Groves
In a matter of weeks, we’ll have a new year when, ideally, we’ll have more control over our lives. Here are two things we can all do to start with a clean slate.
Clean out your medicine cabinet. Pull out expired drugs (both prescription and over the counter) and go on a hunt for a location to drop them off. Some towns have only one drug disposal day per year, but other towns keep a machine in their police department to drop off drugs anytime. Ask if your local Department of Veterans Affairs medical facility has disposal. Or you can go to apps.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/pubdispsearch to search for a controlled substance public disposal location near you. Whatever you do, don’t put them down the sink or toilet.
Organize your military files and information. If the worst should suddenly happen to you, don’t add to your relatives’ grief by making them dig for your information or wonder what your final wishes would be.
Here are some of the things you’ll need to gather up:
- Your DD214 or service equivalent. If you don’t have one on hand, send for it.
- Your birth certificate.
- Your final will. If you don’t have one, now is the time to make an appointment for January with an attorney. Call the nearest military base and ask for Legal Aid to see if you qualify for a free will.
- Any life insurance policies, copies of marriage certificates and divorce decrees, and a list of all the places you served while on active duty along with the dates.
Download or send away for the following:
- Application for United States Flag for Burial Purposes (VA Form 27-2008)
- Claim for One Sum Payment Government Life Insurance (VA Form 29-4125e)
- Application for Standard Government Headstone or Marker (VA Form 40-1330)
Print out the Federal Benefits for Veterans Dependents and Survivors book or send away for it by calling the VA (800-827-1000) and add that to your stack.
Once you’ve gathered all this information (a box on a closet shelf will be enough), make sure someone knows where it is. Remember: Once it’s done, it’s done.
© 2022 King Features Synd., Inc.
