Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma VA Meet With Veterans To Help With Healthcare Benefits

Green Country veterans whose health was impacted by burn pits at military bases around the world learned more about their options at an event Wednesday in Tahlequah.

The Cherokee Nation and the VA are putting an emphasis on helping them, after the government recognized that 23 different respiratory illnesses and cancers are linked to burn pit exposure.

With the PACT Act only in effect for about the last six months, the Cherokee Nation and the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs teamed up to help veterans get on track to receive their benefits.

Bob Hathaway was a Naval aviator in the Vietnam War. He said he went to 75 countries during his 28 years of service, and was exposed to defoliant sprays, and burn pits.

"We all say the same thing. The smell,” Hathaway said. “It's a unique smell that you don't forget quickly."

Hathaway said he already has "excellent healthcare" with the VA and Cherokee Nation, but came in Wednesday to get some more.

"I'm 79 now and things start wearing out,” he said.

Aside from help with the PACT Act, there were other government workers on standby, from places like the Social Security Administration.

All of the services at the Cherokee Nation Veterans Center were available to any veteran, tribal or not.

"At an event like this, we often get a lot of our widows. Our tribal widows who have been denied in the past. And they didn't have a connection. They didn't know where to go to turn to to get the answers to their questions,” Lisa Mussett, who works for the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs, said.

Cherokee Nation Deputy Principal Chief Bryan Warner said it has been a few years since they’ve hosted an event like this one.

"We did this in 2019 so it's a big thing to come back today post pandemic and start to put some things back together,” he said.

If you missed Wednesday’s event and you are a veteran looking for help, call the Cherokee Nation Veterans Center at (918) 772-4166.