WAR HERO FILES LAWSUIT OVER VETERAN BENEFITS

A Congressional Medal of Honor recipient is taking on the government with the hopes of restoring free medical care for retired military veterans.

Retired Air Force Col. George Day said that from the 1930s until recent years the military had promised lifetime medical care to recruits who served 20 years or more. Day, a former pilot and prisoner of war, said the government is breaking that promise.

"It is one of those incredible bureaucratic outrages where the government is basically putting the guys who won World War II and Korea at risk in their old age," Day said. "It's a very un-American thing to do."

The 71-year-old Day, who according to the Air Force is the most decorated combat soldier since Gen. Douglass McArthur, practices law in Florida.

In July, he filed a class action lawsuit against the government in federal court on behalf of all retired veterans. He was spreading the word of his endeavor in Southeast Missouri last week while visiting friends in the area.

It is not yet determined when the suit, filed in Pensacola, Fla., district court, will go to trial.

In the lawsuit, Day contends the government committed breach of contract, age discrimination and taking property without due process by denying military retirees promised medical care and forcing them to purchase Medicare and supplementary policies.

Day said government cutbacks have led to the elimination of medical benefits to veterans age 65 and older.

The case, Day said, will affect 1 million veterans and an equal number of dependents. If successful, he said the suit could cost the government $6 billion.

Military pay has traditionally been low with lifetime medical care being a prime recruiting draw.

"The only thing to make a military career desirable was the pension and medical benefits," Day said.

Without that care, military retirees are forced to pay for services obtained in the civilian marketplace at market price.

More than 1,500 military retirees have already signed on to the suit, and Day is seeking as many more as wish to join. Interested individuals can call toll free at 1-800-972-6275 for more information.

Day is also in the process of building a war chest to fight the legal battle. Officers who wish to join the suit are asked to contribute $100 while enlisted men are asked to give $50.

Day is not charging his normal fee but expects other costs in the case to be formidable.

After serving for three years as an enlisted man in the Marine Corps during World War II, Day went to school and earned his law degree.

His career in law, however, would have to wait. In 1951, he was called up for service with the Air Force in the Korean War. He became a pilot and remained in the service until 1976.

On Aug. 16, 1967, Day was shot down while flying a mission during the Vietnam War.

Badly wounded with dislocated knee and an arm broken in three places, Day was captured by enemy forces within minutes.

Despite his injuries, he managed to escape and made his way across the Demilitarized Zone into South Vietnam. However, he was shot and recaptured. He spent the next 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war in Hanoi.

He received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his escape effort and wrote the book "Return With Honor" about his ordeal as a POW.