Robbery Try By Viet Hero Laid to Illness

Thank you my friend SFC William Farrell that the " Veterans Administration has ruled that Medal of Honor winner Sgt. Dwight H. Johnson, shot to death in 1971 in an apparent robbery attempt here was mentally incompetent at the time, the result of his military service."

I am thankful this widow Katrina, is entitled to the same veterans benefits of about $300 a month she would have received had her husband been killed in combat. Since this is retroactive to July, 1974 it seems his widow will be entitled to about $150k. Hopefully she will receive most of this veterans benefits and attorneys will waive their funds.

"As a result of the ruling, Johnson's widow, Katrina, is entitled to the same veterans benefits of about $300 a month she would have received had her husband been killed in combat.
The Washington-based Veterans Board of Appeals ruled earlier this month Johnson suffered a mental breakdown, after returning from Vietnam in 1968, receiving the Medal of Honor, and re-enlisting as an Army recruiter.
"He began to feel helpless and not in control of the situation," the three-member board said. "He began to feel that he was being made a fool of, being used, becoming a freak in a side-show, and he felt that he could not trust anyone."
For what the Army called a "magnificent display of courage" while killing a dozen Vietnamese soldiers during a January, 1968, ambush in Vietnam' Central Highlands, it recommended Johnson for the Congressional Medal of Honor the same year. He was Detroit's only Vietnam war Medal of Honor winner and Michigan's first black to receive the nation's highest military honor.
After Johnson received the award, the Army talked him into re-enlisting to recruit other Michigan men. He was required to make public appearances that forced him to relive the very moments of his life he most wanted to forget, according to James Pellegrini, of the Detroit Office of the Disabled American Veterans, who led a two-year battle on behalf of Johnson's widow to get full veteran's benefits.
"He was exposed to a white middleclass society and used by it - exploited," Pellegrini said.
Referring to Johnson's experience as a recruiter, the board said, "He felt ill-prepared for and uneasy about public speeches and appearances. He constantly had to relive the battle and consequent death of his buddies."
According to the VA board's findings, Johnson, at the time of the apparent robbery attempt of Detroit Liquor store, was "completely confused, bitter, distrustful and depressed, and his feelings of inadequacy and helplessness were so overwhelming that he could no longer make a rational decision."
A Detroit psychiatrist, Dr. Bruce Danto, in written testimony before the board, speculated that Johnson's apparent criminal behavior "was an effort to get himself killed."
The benefits are retroactive to July, 1974, when Mrs. Johnson first filed her appeal."


FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. CPL Dave Hoover SGT Mark Halmrast SPC Margaret Higgins SrA Christopher Wright PO1 William "Chip" Nagel

Heart breaking. But I can see why they wanted him to re enlist. They tried that with my mom when she had a nervous break down from the sheriffs Dept. Put them somewhere else and see if that doesn’t make it all go away. But ignore the medical facts. Some times the specialists don’t always know what’s best.
Thank you for sharing SFC William Farrell

Thank you for the share William.