War hero now faces bureaucratic jungle

Press, 19 July 1983, Page 10

War hero now faces bureaucratic jungle

By MIKE ROYKO, “Chicago Sun-Times” (through NZPA) Is Roy Benavidez a freeloader? Is he lazy? The people at Social Security apparently think so. They want to cut off his disability cheque because they believe he’s capable of holding a job. Mr Benavidez, aged 47, a Texan says that they’re wrong. He says that he has too many physical problems to work regularly. He hurts when he stands, he hurts when he sits down, he hurts if he tries to lift something. How did he get so many aches and pains? It started in 1965, while he was walking through a jungle in Vietnam. He stepped on a land-mine.

He was such a mess that he spent nine months in a hospital. The Army was going to discharge him, but he had been in the Army for nine years and liked it. He asked for a chance to work himself into good enough shape to stay in. “There was betting going on among some of the guys on whether I’d even walk again. After physical therapy, I walked out of there with only a slight limp.” He not only walked, but he wound up as a member of the Green Berets. And in 1968 he was back in Vietnam.

One day, some members of his unit were trapped by enemy fire a few miles from their camp. Sergeant Benavidez jumped into a helicopter — without being asked — and joined in a rescue attempt. "It was too dangerous to land right where our men were because the enemy was only 30 feet away. So we came down about 100 yards away. “I ran about 20 feet away when I got a bullet in the leg. I was down for a few seconds, but my fear kept me going.” Despite the bullet, he kept running. Then a grenade went .mf in front of him. lodged in his face. But he kept moving

toward the trapped men. When he got to them, he started dragging or carrying the wounded back to the chopper. As he did this, another bullet slammed into his back. And another burst of fire killed the helicopter pilot and gunner. That meant that he and the others were trapped. He ordered them back into the jungle and waited for help to arrive. At this stage, he had a bullet in his leg, another in his back, and shrapnel wounds in his face and the front of his body. Hours passed and shots kept ringing out. And yet another bullet hit his thigh. Several helicopters tried to come in for them. But they were driven back by the gun-fire. Finally a chopper made it down. Amazingly Sergeant Benavidez was still on his feet. And still in charge. He barked orders at the wounded men, some of whom said that they couldn’t move. "Get up! You don’t have a right to die. Move!” And despite his own wounds, he again dragged wounded men to the helicopter. As he did this, a North Vietnamese soldier ran up behind him and slammed a rifle butt to his head.

The soldier then charged at him with his bayonet. Sergeant Benavidez grabbed it. His hands were terribly slashed.

But he managed to pull out his knife and killed the soldier, Moments later, he spotted two more enemies moving toward'the chopper. He picked up a rifle and killed both of them. Then, after making sure there were no wounded left behind, he climbed aboard the chopper.and passed out. He came to as a doctor was looking at him. He heard the doctor say: “There’s nothing I can do for him.

“He was talking about me. I spit at him. hurt before. I wou!d\survive.” i. ..

And he did. He was in hospital for a year, but he lived. He even stayed in the Army for another eight years. For his heroism, he received the Distinguished Service Cross, And, although it took a while, in 1981 President Ronald Reagan pinned the Congressional Medal of Honour on his shirt. But he was never the same physically. “All my injuries finally caught up with me,” he said. And in 1976 he retired on an 80 per cent medical disability. He also began drawing Social Security disability payments. But now the Social Security bureaucrats are reviewing their files to see if some of those receiving disability cheques can work. And Mr Benavidez was stunned when he received a letter saying he would be removed from the rolls. “I went to my doctor and to one of their doctors. They both said there wasn’t a chance in hell that I could ever work full-time. And they told the agency that. “But even after that, I got more letters telling me to see this doctor and that doctor. They all said the same thing, that I was unfit. But the agency wouldn’t listen.

“They wanted to stop my benefits immediately. But I appealed. Then they had a hearing and they told me to go see another doctor.” The bureaucratic merry-go-round is still whirling. Months have passed, but Mr Benavidez still doesn’t know that the decision is going to be.

“I think they want to discourage me so 111 give up the fight. I can’t believe this. What they’re doing is calling the Army and its senior medical corps liars.” In effect they are also calling him a liar. When Mr Reagan gave Mr Benavidez his medal, be made a lovely speech about Mr Benavidez and other Vietnam veterans, saying: “It’s time to show our pride in them and to thank them.” Some thanks.