Windfall Brightens Veteran's Future
TED BENSON/THE MODESTO BEE
January 1, 2003 Posted: 06:50:13 AM PST
By MOLLY DUGAN
BEE STAFF WRITER
CERES -- Charles Crandall did not expect a happy new year.
His health problems -- diabetes, kidney failure, epilepsy, ulcers -- have been getting worse. His right leg is amputated and he uses a wheelchair.
He also was about to be evicted from the two- bedroom apartment where he lives with his daughter and two grandchildren.
Then a couple of days ago a letter arrived that changed his life.
Crandall, 53, an Army driver who said he was exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War, has been surviving on veteran's disability payments of $413 per month.
In March, he went to the Veterans Administration office in Modesto to help a friend apply for disability. While he was there, he discovered that he was entitled to receive up to $2,536 a month.
What he did not realize was that the federal government owned him back pay from the time he went on full disability in 1991.
The Veterans Administration not only upped his monthly income, but is going to send him $228,000 to compensate for the money he was owed but did not receive.
Now instead of worrying about whether he will have a place to live, he is looking forward to buying his first home.
"It's a late Christmas present," Crandall said. "I fought for my country, and I appreciate what they're doing for me."
Crandall and his daughter, Kay, had gotten behind on the rent. She works, but did not earn enough to pay for his care and handle their other bills. They were due to be evicted Tuesday.
She said the windfall has put her mind at ease, knowing that her father will have enough to care for himself.
"It makes me feel good because he needs it. He's never owned anything in his life, and now he can actually buy something," she said. "He just needs it to make himself feel good again."
Despite his problems, Crandall delivered flower arrangements and drove a cab until his health declined rapidly in 1991.
He is not the least bit bitter that he struggled to survive for so long after eight years in the Army. He said he is glad to have served in the war and is grateful for the Veterans Administration.
Served two tours in Vietnam
Crandall joined the Army in May 1967 and left for Vietnam the following year. He served two tours in Vietnam and was later stationed in Germany and at Fort Lewis, Wash.
He still has nightmares about the Vietnam War and only talks about his service occasionally, his daughter said.
The father of four and grandfather of eight lived independently until about a year and a half ago, when he moved in with his daughter in Ceres. He had spent about eight years in Ceres, then briefly moved to southern California before coming back.
Though his daughter was happy to have him home, Crandall has been cramped into a small apartment with his daughter and two granddaughters, ages 4 and 10.
Meanwhile, Crandall's financial woes grew worse. He has used check cashing businesses, which have high interest rates, to get enough money to make it through the month, and his credit card debt has skyrocketed.
His daughter said he still needs someone to care for him, because his health continues to deteriorate.
But now, Crandall is looking to buy a van with a wheelchair lift with his first check, about $54,000. The remainder is to be sent to his bank over the next few months.
"It's going to help me a lot," he said.
Bee staff writer Molly Dugan can be reached at 239-2152 or
mdugan@modbee.com.