I just read an article about a young pilot who was shot down in VietNam in 1966. His wife was pregnant at the time. For years she waited and prayed he would be found alive. In 1983 his remains were returned to the US and he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. My question is: Does this woman and her daughter qualify for compensation dating from 1966 to 1983? And for the wife will she qualify to receive widow benefits unless or until she remarries? I'm just curious.
She gets all benefits as if he was still alive up until the time he is officially declared dead. At that time she gets his SGLI (servicemembers life insurance), and she and her daughter get a pension. Now the pension for the wife ends when she remarries. The pension for the daughter ends when she turns 18, or is extended to age 23 if she is attending college. However, the spouse pension is also based upon income. The more the surviving spouse makes, the less the pension. http://www.benefits.va.gov/pension/spousepen.asp And being declared dead can take a long time if it is suspected they are captured. Scott Speicher was shot down over Iraq in 1991, and he was carried as "Missing In Action - Possibly Captured" until his remains were discovered in 2006. In that time he was promoted Lieutenant Commander to Captain.
Mushroom, thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. I'm very happy to hear she and her daughter were taken care of. In case you are wondering, I read this lady's story in this month's issue of AARP. They have a great article in there about the VietNam War.
