Interview with Pete Demarkis, National Service Officer

Hello, and thank you for listening to PVA’s Audio Newsletters. I’m Victoria Deck, Digital Strategist at Paralyzed Veterans of America. After injuries prevented him from re-enlisting in the Army, Senior National Service Officer Pete Demarkis still wanted to find other ways to serve his country. That’s when a friend and fellow Veteran introduced him to the world of Veterans’ benefits. Since then, Pete has gone above and beyond to ensure that each and every Veteran he works for receives the benefits they’ve earned.

So, good morning, how are you doing today?

I’m alive and grateful, thank you for asking.

Why don’t we get started off by having you introduce yourself and what you do for PVA?

Sure. My name is Pete Demarkis. I am a Senior National Service Officer (NSO) here in the Boston area. I am at the SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) Center in West Roxbury. I do cover a number of spoke hospitals as well. I assist with the Boston Regional Office, and I cover the Providence Regional Office as well. I basically do anything an NSO would do anywhere else in the country, nothing too special there.

I would beg to differ about the special part, but we’ll get into it. First of all, maybe we can start a little bit about how you became an NSO. A lot of our listeners may not know this, but in order to become an NSO, you have to be an honorably discharged Veteran. What’s your branch?

I was in the Army and the Army National Guard. I joined on my 17^th birthday in 1999. So I served in Iraq 18 months ‘04- ‘05. I got home in November ’05. I started helping Veterans January ’06. Actually, I was going to my first VA appointment and I bumped into an individual I knew from my church. Prior to my deployment, I would go to church and met this guy there. We were buddies, but I had no idea he was a Veteran. It turns out he’s a combat Veteran as well- he was in Vietnam. From there, we got into a little discussion. I had just gotten out and had a few injuries, so reenlistment wasn’t really in my cards. So he kind of showed me the ropes of how Veterans’ services worked. It’s what he had been doing- he’d been working claims for a long time. He said it was the next best thing and he was absolutely right.

I started working with Veterans, like I said, in January 2006. You know, meeting Veterans, doing community support for a while, and I enrolled in my community college locally for an associate’s degree, and same day as I started classes there, I started working as the Veterans’ representative there as well. I organized groups. I established all the Veterans and their dependents’ education benefits. I assisted with the certifying of those benefits as well. So I assisted with all the stuff on campus. I helped organized the very first Veterans’ stand-down in [Massachusetts]. Once I finished my degree, I bowed out of that position and moved on. One of the things I noticed that stayed true throughout those couple of years was that every Veteran was asking me about claims stuff. Like, how do I get benefits or how do I get the VA to do whatever? So I spent a lot of time assisting and advocating and learning how not to get denied. It was a rough start, but I had that Vietnam Veteran of mine show me the ropes. It kind of snowballed from there. I went on to get my bachelors and masters as well.

I have continuously been involved with Veterans’ communities. I’ve been doing benefits since then. I’ve been helping with claims since ’06-’07. I’ve worked in the mental health field as a clinician. I worked with Veterans. I worked in jails. I worked with the youth in secure lockdown facilities. But serving Veterans has always been my passion and it’s always been who I am, not just what I do. Even when I was in school or working full time doing something else, I was always picking up claims and doing them on the side for Veterans, because I get it. I know how these benefits impact an individual, and how life-changing they can be at times. So, fast forward many years, I just so happened upon PVA. I admit that prior to that- I think I started in October 2019- I never heard of PVA. I heard of DAV, the VFW, all those other organizations, and I’ve done plenty of work with the VA and other organizations in the state. But as soon as I started learning about the history, I was so taken aback and wondering, how is it that I’ve never heard of PVA when they’ve done so much? So it was instantly a connection. It was people who were really interested in helping Veterans, not just people who have a job in Veterans’ Services. I got the offer, and I accepted the offer, and here we are.

That’s definitely quite the story, and we’re really glad to have you at PVA. What are some of the day-to-day tasks you do as a National Service Officer, and what does your typical day look like?

Well, it depends on the day. Typically, one of the very first things that I’ll do is I’ll log into my computer and see every claim I have pending right now. Depending on the day or month, it could be anywhere from a handful to 20-30. I just kind of run through the list in the VA system and see if there’s anything that’s changed, if there are any updates I need to make note of, if I have to follow up, if the VA made a mistake and I have to catch them on it before the final decision is issues. So I spend a little bit of my morning doing that.

I do spend a lot of my time during the days on the phone, answering phones or emails from Veterans and their families who may have issues with VA healthcare. Again, I’m an SCI NSO, so the bulk of my work should be medical facility-related.

I do also, throughout the day, talk to social workers, physicians, therapists. I maintain these relationships and these people. They reach out to me just as much as I reach out to them. So I spend a lot of time communicating and maintaining relationships with VA and medical facility staff.

I also spend a lot of my day reading through the United States Code, the CFR (Court of Federal Regulations), M-21 and directives, because even a very well-seasoned NSO will forget things from time to time or not know things and have to look at the directives or the law or whatever regulations to get those answers. Portions of my day is spent online looking at those. I also spend a lot of time building claims, researching medical backgrounds and risk factors of conditions. Like what is this condition? What does this mean? Can we link it to something else? So I spend a lot of my day catching up on medical terminology and reading through medical records of the Veterans we represent. That way, not only am I able to look up a claim, but it helps me better understand the condition, what they’re going through, how it’s linked to service or, if it’s not linked to service but me having a better understanding of it would help me better represent them… I also spend a lot of time talking to NSOs. There’s a handful of other NSOs locally, who, because of my background, might have a question or say, hey can you read this and let me know what you think? I think it’s great and extremely beneficial to have Teams or Zoom, because we’re all just a call away from each other and someone might have an expertise in one thing, but someone else could specialize in somewhere else. So it’s great we have that communication with other NSOs, because, again, we’re national and what I know and what I do over here in Boston is pretty much the same as it is anywhere else. It’s great that we have that communication.

Parts of my day might be talking to NSOs, but the bulk of my day is trying to figure things out. I have a bunch of emails, voicemails, claims that are coming up, and I have to figure out what is the next step. If I had to sum up what I do with one thing it’s, “I figure it out.” This is the new issue of the day or the presenting issue of the moment, so what can we do to figure it out and move on to the next one? Because there’s well over 100 of them waiting, so I think NSOs in general, we’re really good problem solvers and we’re good at figuring things out.

Wow, it definitely sounds like you’re a jack of many trades. I know you mentioned a little bit of the legal documents you have to go through. Would you mind explaining a bit of what those are?

Let’s start with the United States Code, these are laws written and enacted by Congress. For lack of a better word, it’s pretty much the Bible of regulations and code. I wouldn’t say I spend too much time on the USC, because the CFR is kind of an interpretation of that and how the VA enacts and interprets these laws. The way it’s worded is a little easier to follow. It seems that the people on the receiving end of my email or submittal document are a little more familiar with the CFR as opposed to the USC. I will say that if I ever do have a problem with someone interpreting the CFR or go against it, I will go to that higher United States Code. Where the VBA (Veterans Benefit Administration) and the VHA (Veterans Health Administration) kind of split off is that the CFR is kind of its own blanket, but the VBA has its own handbook, the M-21, which is what the individuals who decide claims and how they operate day-to-day, which is an interpretation of the CFR, which is of course an interpretation of the USC. So it’s kind of watered down by the time it gets to VBA, but I do find it’s extremely helpful for me to know those documents because it’s their language. It does prove to be beneficial at times.

On the healthcare side, they do have their directives. I don’t think there’s anything happening at a VA hospital or clinic that doesn’t have a directive that authorizes it. Similar to the M-21, the VA healthcare staff their roles are limited by these directives. So if there’s an issue with prosthetics or an issue with this clinic or if the Veteran can’t get this piece of equipment, my first step is to read through the medical records. There’s the appointment, this is this issue the Veteran is saying, it matches up with what they’re telling me… Let me go to the directive and see what the directive says should be done. Based off of that, aligning those two together, I’ll then reach out to the physician or therapist or department and say, hey, this is what the directive says and this is what the Veteran says, what can we do to move forward? So again, a lot of that legal jargon and talk of regulations is just something is we have to do. A lot of us (I would hope all of us) are dedicated to the population and very passionate about what we do. Our first instinct is we want to fight for that Veteran and we want to get them what they want and what they need, but a lot of the time, it doesn’t match with the directive or the regulation or the law or whatever it may be. So you have to know this stuff, because you can’t go rattling every cage and shouting at every doctor you run into because they have a job as well, and it’s dictated based off of this law or regulation. Understanding those is a must in this position.

It’s definitely great you have this knowledge, because it sounds very complicated and I can see why the average Veteran would have a hard time understanding it. It’s really where the importance of a National Service Officer comes in. Let’s get into, what attracted my attention to you which was, you worked on getting this bridge named after one of the Veterans that you helped who had ALS, so that was a really fascinating and compelling story. Why don’t you get into that?

Sure. I will start off by saying, I didn’t get a bridge named after somebody.

No, of course, but you got that effort going.

I would like to think I’m that important, but I’m not. Part of our job is that research aspect. Part of what we do is establish that power of attorney or that representation. We gain access to the files and then we read through them. I will say that for myself every single Veteran I take power of attorney for, every single Veteran I represent, I go through every single page of their records because if they fell and broke their leg in basic training and they have an issue with their leg today, I would like to know because then I can get them service-connected. So it’s kind of like a regular to-do is to look through their file.

It also helps you better understand the individual you’re working with. Not every Veteran is the same. They don’t serve the same era. They don’t have the same job. If I’m talking to a retired colonel, I would like to know about it as opposed to a lower-ranking enlistee. Every NSO probably does the same thing. You go through the records to see who you’re dealing with, and what we can get linked. Something that always stands out to me is a lengthy DD-214, the Veteran’s discharge paperwork. I always look through there and see what job they had and what they do. I won’t bore you with the details of service connection and all that, but it’s important to know these things.

With the gentleman you’re referring to, as soon as I opened the DD-214, I was like woah, this isn’t your average DD-214, and I’m looking at the commendations, I’m looking at the medals, the ribbons, the time in service… this is a Veteran who served 20 years and a day. He was a higher-ranking officer. Just based off of this one document, I can tell this is a guy dedicated his life to our country and to the cause. I was just really proud I had access to it. You go down to the medals and you see a Silver Star and 36 air medals for honor and valor and merit… I’m like, I need to read more. I was taken in. I was like, I need to know this person. I sifted through all these documents and I saw what he got awards for and what he was recognized for, and it was by far one of the most amazing military records I’d ever been through. So I got an understanding of who this airman was. He’s got 900 and something combat missions in Vietnam and it was like 1400 plus hours logged for combat. It was just the story behind this man that really fascinated me. And at this point, I hadn’t communicated with his family. I didn’t know the man yet. It was just that this claim came across my desk and I was like, let me look into it.

This man, the Silver Star he got… I was in the Army, not the Air Force, so I’m probably going to butcher the terms. But this man, he was in a very small plane and it was a single… it was just a pilot. There was no crew. It was just a small, forward-operating plane. This guy was flying around in Vietnam and there was a unit of Army personnel, anywhere from 100-200 people in this unit. The citation states that there were two or three battalions of Viet Cong, our enemy at that time, and they were under fire. This amazing pilot was just in a small puddle jumper of a plane, and he kind of keeps flying low and around the battalions to draw their attention from the Army personnel. So he’s drawing fire and he keeps risking his life over and over. All the while, in one hand, he’s flying. In the other hand, he’s got this, back in the day, it was some kind of laser when you mark a target so you could come in for an air strike. So he’s drawing the fire away from Army personnel and marking the targets of where the battalions are, so they could come in for an air strike afterwards. He saved anywhere from 100-200 lives. I don’t know the exact number, but he saved many lives. This is amazing.

Fast forward today, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like, wow, he was diagnosed with ALS and this is how he’s going to go… So it’s just, when you work with these conditions, you get to know what they do to people and it gets emotional sometimes, especially when you get to know a Veteran and his family and you work with them directly. It’s like man, wow, this man went through all that and it’s this unknown disease with no cure that’s going to take him out, it’s just heartbreaking every time. It compelled me to do more than file a claim.

When I talked to his spouse, she knew that he served in the Air Force. She knew that he did well. They had been married through the whole thing. But she didn’t know he had been in combat. She didn’t know he had all these decorations… She didn’t know all that. So I told her about it and I’m like, “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not going to let this go, because if you didn’t know about it and his son didn’t know about it, no one in the town he’s lived in his whole life knows about it, no one knows about it and that’s just not right.” So I just started calling around. I started with the town he lives in. I started with the local Veterans’ Officer, because every town in Massachusetts has one and I said, “hey, are you familiar with this Veteran?” And of course, they weren’t. I said, “well he’s lived in your town for years and years and years.”

Fast forward a bit, I talked with everyone I could find who had a number and I got in touch with the state representative. We just started talking and working together and I gave him the background. He agreed this was something we need to do. The representative covers that area, and he was like, “wow, we have a hero in our area, and we need to take care of him.” Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away. Not only did he get all of these awards and was an absolute war hero, but he then worked for the Pentagon and all over the country as this really high-ranking officer and rather than stay in his career working at the Pentagon, he decided to come home and work for his late father’s paper company. They’re like an office supplies company. Of course, now, with Staples and things of that nature, a small, independent office supplies company isn’t that lucrative, but it was a family business and he wanted to keep it working. He worked up there until the day he died. When ALS took his legs, he was still going to work every day in his wheelchair. That’s who this guy was. You can’t just let that go. You can’t say goodbye like that. He needs to be sent out in style. So we made the calls and had the meeting.

Recently, within the past several years, he had some bridges dedicated to some Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans who were local, and I believe were killed in action, so he was familiar with the process. He recommended it and I said, that would be great. So he’s the one who really deserves that credit. He went through all the appropriate legal and political channels to have a bridge in the Veteran’s home town named after him. Like I said, it wasn’t me, but I said that’s perfect, it’s right down the street, it’s a bridge everyone knows about. It’s not just a bridge in a side street somewhere, but it’s a main bridge in the town. I thought that would be extremely appropriate, because he spent his life there. The family was very excited about it as well.

There was some scheduling conflict around Veterans’ Day last year. The Veteran’s wife is eighty years old or something like that- she’s not in great shape, either, and elderly. She was like, “I can’t make it. Can we reschedule?” I thought it was hilarious, because the state of Massachusetts created this legislation and it had to go through the Senate and get approved. So it’s now scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. It should be coming up soon. It’s something I’m really excited about and we’re all really excited about. I wouldn’t say I had a bridge named after somebody, but I get it, someone is doing their due diligence and is like, “hey I need to make a phone call.” So from my perspective, I just made a phone call. The real honor needs to go to the Veteran, he’s the hero. I’m just thrilled that I get to be a part of that story.

The dedication for the Major Barry Allan Seidman, USAF Memorial Bridge took place May 27, 2023. Major Barry A. Seidman served for over 20 years, including 27 months in Vietnam. During his time in Vietnam, he flew 901 combat missions, and logged more than 1,400 combat hours. Barry Seidman passed away from ALS in 2021.

ALS is considered a service-connected disease for our listeners who don’t know about that.

Yep, you need a diagnosis and ninety continuous days of active service and that’s it. If someone doesn’t think they have ninety continuous days of active service, I recommend they reach out to a service officer to determine that. If you have ALS and you served, reach out to somebody.

And also, I would just like to add for listeners who don’t know, spouses are also eligible for ALS benefits too, correct?

There are a number of benefits available for dependents… Typically, I believe what you’re referring to is if a Veteran passes away from a service-connected condition, we should be able to receive a DIC, or dependents’ indemnity compensation, for that dependent, that spouse. In Massachusetts, there  are state benefits available as well and there may be state benefits available in other states as well. But yes, correct, if a Veteran passes away from any service-connected condition, they should be eligible for dependent benefits.

That’s fantastic, and I think it’s really important people know about those benefits. Is there another story you would like to share where you made a difference in the life of Veteran or a story that really sticks out to you?

No, I don’t want to share any stories, but what I would like to share is that as amazing this stuff sounds at times, it’s a job we do and it takes a very well-educated, trained person in this stuff to do it right. I do agree that these benefits are and can be life-changing for Veterans and their families. I don’t think of myself as someone who changes lives. Like anything else, you’re well-trained, you do your job and you do it well and there’s benefits that come afterwards whether that’s salary, or emotional, mental, spiritual benefits. It’s a well-paid position in that aspect. I love what I do. Again, I said it earlier, it’s who I am, it’s not what I do. I can’t join the military because I’m older, I’m beat up and I can’t just join and serve my country in that way, but I continued to serve my country afterwards. It’s the next best thing in my perspective. We, even just at PVA, we have Veterans who have served 20 years and then some, who then come into this field as well and they then continue their service. It’s the most humbling feeling at times, knowing we share that passion and that dedication. It’s, “hey, I served my country and now I serve my countrymen.” It’s an amazing job- I can barely even call it that. So when it comes to a specific story that changes someone’s life, I would prefer not to go that route. But there’s a big difference between service officers or service organizations who have a job in Veterans’ Services, and somebody who’s passionate and dedicated and takes the extra time to research or to read or to get to know that person. That’s the world of difference, and in, my opinion and my fifteen years of Veterans Services, that’s what separates PVA from others. At least so far in the three or four years I’ve been here, the people I work with and encounter at PVA are dedicated, passionate people who care about the people they serve.

Not to say other organizations aren’t like that, but I’m just saying, in my experiences so far, that’s what I’m experiencing. I think that’s what separates an NSO from someone who works as a service officer.

I will say one more thing. There are times where our efforts are met with a denial or our first shot didn’t work out. There are a lot of service officers and organizations who are quick to throw that denial into an appeals process that can take years. That’s not the best approach. I think a really good service officer knows that dedication is dedication. You got to put the time and effort into these claims and what we do. Don’t accept defeat. The VA makes mistakes, right? If we put the time and effort into getting to know someone and their story and the VA makes a mistake or doesn’t grant the benefit that we’re seeking, keep pushing, keep fighting. There’s plenty of tools and resources and routes we can go before we send that Veteran and their family, who needs something, to a lengthy uphill appeal process or just accepting a denial. I think that’s also something that separates someone in service organizations. Again, someone who does this as a job and someone who cares about what they do. I work with many of them.

I can definitely this is something that you’re passionate about, and I really appreciate that. I think it’s important to have people who care in the field, so I just wanted to go ahead and thank you for that. I just wanted… I’ll rephrase my question a little bit, is there a moment that sticks with you that you would like to share?

Again, emotionally, spiritually, however you want to put it, it is a very lucrative position. I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to make calls regularly to tell someone their benefit has been granted. On my worst days, when I’m stressed out, the VA is making mistakes or whatever it might be, and I’m really looking at my position as a job today, it’s really taxing, I’m really stressed out and then I see a claim has been granted and I get to make that call. Someone who was getting zero yesterday, and now they’re getting $9,000,$10,000 a month. Their homes, they’re getting $100,000 to adapt their homes, $24,000 to buy a vehicle and have it adapted. Your family will be okay, so on and so forth… that call right there is the second reason I do what I do. It’s the biggest payout is being able to know that we did it. I get to make those calls regularly, and I’m grateful for that. That’s what sticks out the most to me. I will toot my horn a little bit and say it’s because I’m a good at what I do. I will occasionally reach out to a different employee or a staff member at the VA who assisted me and ask them to make that call for me, because I know how much it means to me and I know how much it would mean to someone else who is dedicated in their field and don’t get that opportunity regularly. So again, I’ll toot my horn a little bit to say I make enough of those calls to share them, and there’s no better feeling.

On the opposite side of that, the hardest part about what we do is making that call to someone, despite all of our efforts, the work that we put in, it’s just not there, they’re not going to get that $9,000 a month or whatever. You’re not getting all the vehicles and adaptive equipment and whatnot. So on the other side of that, it’s extremely challenging to have to call the person and say that. I try to find something else I can do for that person instead before I make that call, like, “Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that, but here’s what we came up with.” Sometimes, that’s not there either, and that’s why I’m appreciative, I have the background I do and the experiences I do, so they can be like, “Hey man, I know you tried.” It’s really important to make these connections and build these relationships.

Honestly, I think you deserve more than to “toot your own horn a little bit”, because it definitely sounds like you’re definitely able to do a lot for the people you serve. For people who do need to reach out to you or another national service officer, how can someone get in contact?

PVA has a website. There are links on there that will connect you with your national service officer. I have national service officers in Brockton VA Medical Center and the West Roxbury VA Medical Center. I can be reached at peted@pva.org. Personally, I represent Veterans basically around New England. We have service officers around the country. I think the easiest way is to look for a national service officer in your area or ask your VA staff, “Is there a PVA rep around?” I know if you ask a question in this area, they’ll give you my name and number. I imagine it’s the same everywhere else.

I know you touched a little bit on self-care and I think it’s important to end on that note.

Absolutely.

What you like to do when you’re not working, or for fun?

I absolutely agree, self-care is crazy important, especially if you’re in the field of service. I picture myself sometimes as a bridge for people to get from one end to the other, and at times, as a bridge, you can feel walked all over, so you have to, in order to maintain a positive relationship with yourself and the population you serve, you have to put gas in the tank. I will say that I’m not the greatest at following that. I do try. It’s kind of like a who I am thing. I need to take the time to remind myself, even if I’m not actually doing “self-care”, I take a moment to say, “Man, you really need to take some self-care. You need to take a day off” or something like that. So even that helps.

Personally, it has been increasingly difficult. Lately, I do have a three year old, who is ten handfuls but the absolute love of my life, best thing that’s ever happened to me. Being a dad is a job, but it’s also refreshing and fuel for my fire to put down what I’m doing and the service that I’m providing to just be with my son. I also am a musician. Well, I don’t want to say a musician, but I play music. I have a bunch of guitars, monitors, keyboards. I like to make music. At one point in time, I was building a motorcycle. It hasn’t been touched in a few years, but it’s a hobby. I do work around the house. It is work, but it takes my mind off of work work.

I try to find moments in my days to do something. If it’s getting up and going for a walk, getting out of my office, taking my mask off and going outside, that’s self-care. Taking that five minutes, like I said, to think about doing something for yourself is self-care.

It is the most important thing in what we do, because I don’t mean to sound cliché, you can’t help others if you don’t help yourself. At some point or another, your cup’s going to overflow. You’re going to run out of gas. So you have to find moments, daily, to take care of yourself. Some days, I’m working remote, and it’s 2:00 and I go, “It’s 2:00, I have to go brush my teeth!” I’m supposed to sign on at 8, I signed on at 5, let me brush my teeth and get a coffee. We have to take care of ourselves, because we have a really important job to do and I promise you, no one is out there doing it. My music, second to my family time, is my primary out.

Awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today! I’m really appreciative of the work that you do and I think you’re a little modest. I think you deserve a little bit more recognition.

Fine, I’m the greatest NSO in the whole planet.

There it is, woo hoo!

No really, I appreciate you taking the time to speak and it’s great.

You can find more information about our Veterans’ Benefits program under the Veterans Services tab of our website. You can also reach out to our National Field Office at 866-734-0857, or find a national service officer using the National Service Office locator on our website. Thank you so much for joining us today, Pete!

Hello, and thank you for listening to PVA’s Audio Newsletters. I’m Victoria Deck, Digital Strategist at Paralyzed Veterans of America. After injuries prevented him from re-enlisting in the Army, Senior National Service Officer Pete Demarkis still wanted to find other ways to serve his country. That’s when a friend and fellow Veteran introduced him to the world of Veterans’ benefits. Since then, Pete has gone above and beyond to ensure that each and every Veteran he works for receives the benefits they’ve earned.

So, good morning, how are you doing today?

I’m alive and grateful, thank you for asking.

Why don’t we get started off by having you introduce yourself and what you do for PVA?

Sure. My name is Pete Demarkis. I am a Senior National Service Officer (NSO) here in the Boston area. I am at the SCI (Spinal Cord Injury) Center in West Roxbury. I do cover a number of spoke hospitals as well. I assist with the Boston Regional Office, and I cover the Providence Regional Office as well. I basically do anything an NSO would do anywhere else in the country, nothing too special there.

I would beg to differ about the special part, but we’ll get into it. First of all, maybe we can start a little bit about how you became an NSO. A lot of our listeners may not know this, but in order to become an NSO, you have to be an honorably discharged Veteran. What’s your branch?

I was in the Army and the Army National Guard. I joined on my 17^th birthday in 1999. So I served in Iraq 18 months ‘04- ‘05. I got home in November ’05. I started helping Veterans January ’06. Actually, I was going to my first VA appointment and I bumped into an individual I knew from my church. Prior to my deployment, I would go to church and met this guy there. We were buddies, but I had no idea he was a Veteran. It turns out he’s a combat Veteran as well- he was in Vietnam. From there, we got into a little discussion. I had just gotten out and had a few injuries, so reenlistment wasn’t really in my cards. So he kind of showed me the ropes of how Veterans’ services worked. It’s what he had been doing- he’d been working claims for a long time. He said it was the next best thing and he was absolutely right.

I started working with Veterans, like I said, in January 2006. You know, meeting Veterans, doing community support for a while, and I enrolled in my community college locally for an associate’s degree, and same day as I started classes there, I started working as the Veterans’ representative there as well. I organized groups. I established all the Veterans and their dependents’ education benefits. I assisted with the certifying of those benefits as well. So I assisted with all the stuff on campus. I helped organized the very first Veterans’ stand-down in [Massachusetts]. Once I finished my degree, I bowed out of that position and moved on. One of the things I noticed that stayed true throughout those couple of years was that every Veteran was asking me about claims stuff. Like, how do I get benefits or how do I get the VA to do whatever? So I spent a lot of time assisting and advocating and learning how not to get denied. It was a rough start, but I had that Vietnam Veteran of mine show me the ropes. It kind of snowballed from there. I went on to get my bachelors and masters as well.

I have continuously been involved with Veterans’ communities. I’ve been doing benefits since then. I’ve been helping with claims since ’06-’07. I’ve worked in the mental health field as a clinician. I worked with Veterans. I worked in jails. I worked with the youth in secure lockdown facilities. But serving Veterans has always been my passion and it’s always been who I am, not just what I do. Even when I was in school or working full time doing something else, I was always picking up claims and doing them on the side for Veterans, because I get it. I know how these benefits impact an individual, and how life-changing they can be at times. So, fast forward many years, I just so happened upon PVA. I admit that prior to that- I think I started in October 2019- I never heard of PVA. I heard of DAV, the VFW, all those other organizations, and I’ve done plenty of work with the VA and other organizations in the state. But as soon as I started learning about the history, I was so taken aback and wondering, how is it that I’ve never heard of PVA when they’ve done so much? So it was instantly a connection. It was people who were really interested in helping Veterans, not just people who have a job in Veterans’ Services. I got the offer, and I accepted the offer, and here we are.

That’s definitely quite the story, and we’re really glad to have you at PVA. What are some of the day-to-day tasks you do as a National Service Officer, and what does your typical day look like?

Well, it depends on the day. Typically, one of the very first things that I’ll do is I’ll log into my computer and see every claim I have pending right now. Depending on the day or month, it could be anywhere from a handful to 20-30. I just kind of run through the list in the VA system and see if there’s anything that’s changed, if there are any updates I need to make note of, if I have to follow up, if the VA made a mistake and I have to catch them on it before the final decision is issues. So I spend a little bit of my morning doing that.

I do spend a lot of my time during the days on the phone, answering phones or emails from Veterans and their families who may have issues with VA healthcare. Again, I’m an SCI NSO, so the bulk of my work should be medical facility-related.

I do also, throughout the day, talk to social workers, physicians, therapists. I maintain these relationships and these people. They reach out to me just as much as I reach out to them. So I spend a lot of time communicating and maintaining relationships with VA and medical facility staff.

I also spend a lot of my day reading through the United States Code, the CFR (Court of Federal Regulations), M-21 and directives, because even a very well-seasoned NSO will forget things from time to time or not know things and have to look at the directives or the law or whatever regulations to get those answers. Portions of my day is spent online looking at those. I also spend a lot of time building claims, researching medical backgrounds and risk factors of conditions. Like what is this condition? What does this mean? Can we link it to something else? So I spend a lot of my day catching up on medical terminology and reading through medical records of the Veterans we represent. That way, not only am I able to look up a claim, but it helps me better understand the condition, what they’re going through, how it’s linked to service or, if it’s not linked to service but me having a better understanding of it would help me better represent them… I also spend a lot of time talking to NSOs. There’s a handful of other NSOs locally, who, because of my background, might have a question or say, hey can you read this and let me know what you think? I think it’s great and extremely beneficial to have Teams or Zoom, because we’re all just a call away from each other and someone might have an expertise in one thing, but someone else could specialize in somewhere else. So it’s great we have that communication with other NSOs, because, again, we’re national and what I know and what I do over here in Boston is pretty much the same as it is anywhere else. It’s great that we have that communication.

Parts of my day might be talking to NSOs, but the bulk of my day is trying to figure things out. I have a bunch of emails, voicemails, claims that are coming up, and I have to figure out what is the next step. If I had to sum up what I do with one thing it’s, “I figure it out.” This is the new issue of the day or the presenting issue of the moment, so what can we do to figure it out and move on to the next one? Because there’s well over 100 of them waiting, so I think NSOs in general, we’re really good problem solvers and we’re good at figuring things out.

Wow, it definitely sounds like you’re a jack of many trades. I know you mentioned a little bit of the legal documents you have to go through. Would you mind explaining a bit of what those are?

Let’s start with the United States Code, these are laws written and enacted by Congress. For lack of a better word, it’s pretty much the Bible of regulations and code. I wouldn’t say I spend too much time on the USC, because the CFR is kind of an interpretation of that and how the VA enacts and interprets these laws. The way it’s worded is a little easier to follow. It seems that the people on the receiving end of my email or submittal document are a little more familiar with the CFR as opposed to the USC. I will say that if I ever do have a problem with someone interpreting the CFR or go against it, I will go to that higher United States Code. Where the VBA (Veterans Benefit Administration) and the VHA (Veterans Health Administration) kind of split off is that the CFR is kind of its own blanket, but the VBA has its own handbook, the M-21, which is what the individuals who decide claims and how they operate day-to-day, which is an interpretation of the CFR, which is of course an interpretation of the USC. So it’s kind of watered down by the time it gets to VBA, but I do find it’s extremely helpful for me to know those documents because it’s their language. It does prove to be beneficial at times.

On the healthcare side, they do have their directives. I don’t think there’s anything happening at a VA hospital or clinic that doesn’t have a directive that authorizes it. Similar to the M-21, the VA healthcare staff their roles are limited by these directives. So if there’s an issue with prosthetics or an issue with this clinic or if the Veteran can’t get this piece of equipment, my first step is to read through the medical records. There’s the appointment, this is this issue the Veteran is saying, it matches up with what they’re telling me… Let me go to the directive and see what the directive says should be done. Based off of that, aligning those two together, I’ll then reach out to the physician or therapist or department and say, hey, this is what the directive says and this is what the Veteran says, what can we do to move forward? So again, a lot of that legal jargon and talk of regulations is just something is we have to do. A lot of us (I would hope all of us) are dedicated to the population and very passionate about what we do. Our first instinct is we want to fight for that Veteran and we want to get them what they want and what they need, but a lot of the time, it doesn’t match with the directive or the regulation or the law or whatever it may be. So you have to know this stuff, because you can’t go rattling every cage and shouting at every doctor you run into because they have a job as well, and it’s dictated based off of this law or regulation. Understanding those is a must in this position.

It’s definitely great you have this knowledge, because it sounds very complicated and I can see why the average Veteran would have a hard time understanding it. It’s really where the importance of a National Service Officer comes in. Let’s get into, what attracted my attention to you which was, you worked on getting this bridge named after one of the Veterans that you helped who had ALS, so that was a really fascinating and compelling story. Why don’t you get into that?

Sure. I will start off by saying, I didn’t get a bridge named after somebody.

No, of course, but you got that effort going.

I would like to think I’m that important, but I’m not. Part of our job is that research aspect. Part of what we do is establish that power of attorney or that representation. We gain access to the files and then we read through them. I will say that for myself every single Veteran I take power of attorney for, every single Veteran I represent, I go through every single page of their records because if they fell and broke their leg in basic training and they have an issue with their leg today, I would like to know because then I can get them service-connected. So it’s kind of like a regular to-do is to look through their file.

It also helps you better understand the individual you’re working with. Not every Veteran is the same. They don’t serve the same era. They don’t have the same job. If I’m talking to a retired colonel, I would like to know about it as opposed to a lower-ranking enlistee. Every NSO probably does the same thing. You go through the records to see who you’re dealing with, and what we can get linked. Something that always stands out to me is a lengthy DD-214, the Veteran’s discharge paperwork. I always look through there and see what job they had and what they do. I won’t bore you with the details of service connection and all that, but it’s important to know these things.

With the gentleman you’re referring to, as soon as I opened the DD-214, I was like woah, this isn’t your average DD-214, and I’m looking at the commendations, I’m looking at the medals, the ribbons, the time in service… this is a Veteran who served 20 years and a day. He was a higher-ranking officer. Just based off of this one document, I can tell this is a guy dedicated his life to our country and to the cause. I was just really proud I had access to it. You go down to the medals and you see a Silver Star and 36 air medals for honor and valor and merit… I’m like, I need to read more. I was taken in. I was like, I need to know this person. I sifted through all these documents and I saw what he got awards for and what he was recognized for, and it was by far one of the most amazing military records I’d ever been through. So I got an understanding of who this airman was. He’s got 900 and something combat missions in Vietnam and it was like 1400 plus hours logged for combat. It was just the story behind this man that really fascinated me. And at this point, I hadn’t communicated with his family. I didn’t know the man yet. It was just that this claim came across my desk and I was like, let me look into it.

This man, the Silver Star he got… I was in the Army, not the Air Force, so I’m probably going to butcher the terms. But this man, he was in a very small plane and it was a single… it was just a pilot. There was no crew. It was just a small, forward-operating plane. This guy was flying around in Vietnam and there was a unit of Army personnel, anywhere from 100-200 people in this unit. The citation states that there were two or three battalions of Viet Cong, our enemy at that time, and they were under fire. This amazing pilot was just in a small puddle jumper of a plane, and he kind of keeps flying low and around the battalions to draw their attention from the Army personnel. So he’s drawing fire and he keeps risking his life over and over. All the while, in one hand, he’s flying. In the other hand, he’s got this, back in the day, it was some kind of laser when you mark a target so you could come in for an air strike. So he’s drawing the fire away from Army personnel and marking the targets of where the battalions are, so they could come in for an air strike afterwards. He saved anywhere from 100-200 lives. I don’t know the exact number, but he saved many lives. This is amazing.

Fast forward today, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like, wow, he was diagnosed with ALS and this is how he’s going to go… So it’s just, when you work with these conditions, you get to know what they do to people and it gets emotional sometimes, especially when you get to know a Veteran and his family and you work with them directly. It’s like man, wow, this man went through all that and it’s this unknown disease with no cure that’s going to take him out, it’s just heartbreaking every time. It compelled me to do more than file a claim.

When I talked to his spouse, she knew that he served in the Air Force. She knew that he did well. They had been married through the whole thing. But she didn’t know he had been in combat. She didn’t know he had all these decorations… She didn’t know all that. So I told her about it and I’m like, “I’m going to be honest with you, I’m not going to let this go, because if you didn’t know about it and his son didn’t know about it, no one in the town he’s lived in his whole life knows about it, no one knows about it and that’s just not right.” So I just started calling around. I started with the town he lives in. I started with the local Veterans’ Officer, because every town in Massachusetts has one and I said, “hey, are you familiar with this Veteran?” And of course, they weren’t. I said, “well he’s lived in your town for years and years and years.”

Fast forward a bit, I talked with everyone I could find who had a number and I got in touch with the state representative. We just started talking and working together and I gave him the background. He agreed this was something we need to do. The representative covers that area, and he was like, “wow, we have a hero in our area, and we need to take care of him.” Unfortunately, the Veteran passed away. Not only did he get all of these awards and was an absolute war hero, but he then worked for the Pentagon and all over the country as this really high-ranking officer and rather than stay in his career working at the Pentagon, he decided to come home and work for his late father’s paper company. They’re like an office supplies company. Of course, now, with Staples and things of that nature, a small, independent office supplies company isn’t that lucrative, but it was a family business and he wanted to keep it working. He worked up there until the day he died. When ALS took his legs, he was still going to work every day in his wheelchair. That’s who this guy was. You can’t just let that go. You can’t say goodbye like that. He needs to be sent out in style. So we made the calls and had the meeting.

Recently, within the past several years, he had some bridges dedicated to some Iraq/Afghanistan Veterans who were local, and I believe were killed in action, so he was familiar with the process. He recommended it and I said, that would be great. So he’s the one who really deserves that credit. He went through all the appropriate legal and political channels to have a bridge in the Veteran’s home town named after him. Like I said, it wasn’t me, but I said that’s perfect, it’s right down the street, it’s a bridge everyone knows about. It’s not just a bridge in a side street somewhere, but it’s a main bridge in the town. I thought that would be extremely appropriate, because he spent his life there. The family was very excited about it as well.

There was some scheduling conflict around Veterans’ Day last year. The Veteran’s wife is eighty years old or something like that- she’s not in great shape, either, and elderly. She was like, “I can’t make it. Can we reschedule?” I thought it was hilarious, because the state of Massachusetts created this legislation and it had to go through the Senate and get approved. So it’s now scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. It should be coming up soon. It’s something I’m really excited about and we’re all really excited about. I wouldn’t say I had a bridge named after somebody, but I get it, someone is doing their due diligence and is like, “hey I need to make a phone call.” So from my perspective, I just made a phone call. The real honor needs to go to the Veteran, he’s the hero. I’m just thrilled that I get to be a part of that story.

The dedication for the Major Barry Allan Seidman, USAF Memorial Bridge took place May 27, 2023. Major Barry A. Seidman served for over 20 years, including 27 months in Vietnam. During his time in Vietnam, he flew 901 combat missions, and logged more than 1,400 combat hours. Barry Seidman passed away from ALS in 2021.

ALS is considered a service-connected disease for our listeners who don’t know about that.

Yep, you need a diagnosis and ninety continuous days of active service and that’s it. If someone doesn’t think they have ninety continuous days of active service, I recommend they reach out to a service officer to determine that. If you have ALS and you served, reach out to somebody.

And also, I would just like to add for listeners who don’t know, spouses are also eligible for ALS benefits too, correct?

There are a number of benefits available for dependents… Typically, I believe what you’re referring to is if a Veteran passes away from a service-connected condition, we should be able to receive a DIC, or dependents’ indemnity compensation, for that dependent, that spouse. In Massachusetts, there  are state benefits available as well and there may be state benefits available in other states as well. But yes, correct, if a Veteran passes away from any service-connected condition, they should be eligible for dependent benefits.

That’s fantastic, and I think it’s really important people know about those benefits. Is there another story you would like to share where you made a difference in the life of Veteran or a story that really sticks out to you?

No, I don’t want to share any stories, but what I would like to share is that as amazing this stuff sounds at times, it’s a job we do and it takes a very well-educated, trained person in this stuff to do it right. I do agree that these benefits are and can be life-changing for Veterans and their families. I don’t think of myself as someone who changes lives. Like anything else, you’re well-trained, you do your job and you do it well and there’s benefits that come afterwards whether that’s salary, or emotional, mental, spiritual benefits. It’s a well-paid position in that aspect. I love what I do. Again, I said it earlier, it’s who I am, it’s not what I do. I can’t join the military because I’m older, I’m beat up and I can’t just join and serve my country in that way, but I continued to serve my country afterwards. It’s the next best thing in my perspective. We, even just at PVA, we have Veterans who have served 20 years and then some, who then come into this field as well and they then continue their service. It’s the most humbling feeling at times, knowing we share that passion and that dedication. It’s, “hey, I served my country and now I serve my countrymen.” It’s an amazing job- I can barely even call it that. So when it comes to a specific story that changes someone’s life, I would prefer not to go that route. But there’s a big difference between service officers or service organizations who have a job in Veterans’ Services, and somebody who’s passionate and dedicated and takes the extra time to research or to read or to get to know that person. That’s the world of difference, and in, my opinion and my fifteen years of Veterans Services, that’s what separates PVA from others. At least so far in the three or four years I’ve been here, the people I work with and encounter at PVA are dedicated, passionate people who care about the people they serve.

Not to say other organizations aren’t like that, but I’m just saying, in my experiences so far, that’s what I’m experiencing. I think that’s what separates an NSO from someone who works as a service officer.

I will say one more thing. There are times where our efforts are met with a denial or our first shot didn’t work out. There are a lot of service officers and organizations who are quick to throw that denial into an appeals process that can take years. That’s not the best approach. I think a really good service officer knows that dedication is dedication. You got to put the time and effort into these claims and what we do. Don’t accept defeat. The VA makes mistakes, right? If we put the time and effort into getting to know someone and their story and the VA makes a mistake or doesn’t grant the benefit that we’re seeking, keep pushing, keep fighting. There’s plenty of tools and resources and routes we can go before we send that Veteran and their family, who needs something, to a lengthy uphill appeal process or just accepting a denial. I think that’s also something that separates someone in service organizations. Again, someone who does this as a job and someone who cares about what they do. I work with many of them.

I can definitely this is something that you’re passionate about, and I really appreciate that. I think it’s important to have people who care in the field, so I just wanted to go ahead and thank you for that. I just wanted… I’ll rephrase my question a little bit, is there a moment that sticks with you that you would like to share?

Again, emotionally, spiritually, however you want to put it, it is a very lucrative position. I am extremely lucky to have the opportunity to make calls regularly to tell someone their benefit has been granted. On my worst days, when I’m stressed out, the VA is making mistakes or whatever it might be, and I’m really looking at my position as a job today, it’s really taxing, I’m really stressed out and then I see a claim has been granted and I get to make that call. Someone who was getting zero yesterday, and now they’re getting $9,000,$10,000 a month. Their homes, they’re getting $100,000 to adapt their homes, $24,000 to buy a vehicle and have it adapted. Your family will be okay, so on and so forth… that call right there is the second reason I do what I do. It’s the biggest payout is being able to know that we did it. I get to make those calls regularly, and I’m grateful for that. That’s what sticks out the most to me. I will toot my horn a little bit and say it’s because I’m a good at what I do. I will occasionally reach out to a different employee or a staff member at the VA who assisted me and ask them to make that call for me, because I know how much it means to me and I know how much it would mean to someone else who is dedicated in their field and don’t get that opportunity regularly. So again, I’ll toot my horn a little bit to say I make enough of those calls to share them, and there’s no better feeling.

On the opposite side of that, the hardest part about what we do is making that call to someone, despite all of our efforts, the work that we put in, it’s just not there, they’re not going to get that $9,000 a month or whatever. You’re not getting all the vehicles and adaptive equipment and whatnot. So on the other side of that, it’s extremely challenging to have to call the person and say that. I try to find something else I can do for that person instead before I make that call, like, “Unfortunately, we’re not able to do that, but here’s what we came up with.” Sometimes, that’s not there either, and that’s why I’m appreciative, I have the background I do and the experiences I do, so they can be like, “Hey man, I know you tried.” It’s really important to make these connections and build these relationships.

Honestly, I think you deserve more than to “toot your own horn a little bit”, because it definitely sounds like you’re definitely able to do a lot for the people you serve. For people who do need to reach out to you or another national service officer, how can someone get in contact?

PVA has a website. There are links on there that will connect you with your national service officer. I have national service officers in Brockton VA Medical Center and the West Roxbury VA Medical Center. I can be reached at peted@pva.org. Personally, I represent Veterans basically around New England. We have service officers around the country. I think the easiest way is to look for a national service officer in your area or ask your VA staff, “Is there a PVA rep around?” I know if you ask a question in this area, they’ll give you my name and number. I imagine it’s the same everywhere else.

I know you touched a little bit on self-care and I think it’s important to end on that note.

Absolutely.

What you like to do when you’re not working, or for fun?

I absolutely agree, self-care is crazy important, especially if you’re in the field of service. I picture myself sometimes as a bridge for people to get from one end to the other, and at times, as a bridge, you can feel walked all over, so you have to, in order to maintain a positive relationship with yourself and the population you serve, you have to put gas in the tank. I will say that I’m not the greatest at following that. I do try. It’s kind of like a who I am thing. I need to take the time to remind myself, even if I’m not actually doing “self-care”, I take a moment to say, “Man, you really need to take some self-care. You need to take a day off” or something like that. So even that helps.

Personally, it has been increasingly difficult. Lately, I do have a three year old, who is ten handfuls but the absolute love of my life, best thing that’s ever happened to me. Being a dad is a job, but it’s also refreshing and fuel for my fire to put down what I’m doing and the service that I’m providing to just be with my son. I also am a musician. Well, I don’t want to say a musician, but I play music. I have a bunch of guitars, monitors, keyboards. I like to make music. At one point in time, I was building a motorcycle. It hasn’t been touched in a few years, but it’s a hobby. I do work around the house. It is work, but it takes my mind off of work work.

I try to find moments in my days to do something. If it’s getting up and going for a walk, getting out of my office, taking my mask off and going outside, that’s self-care. Taking that five minutes, like I said, to think about doing something for yourself is self-care.

It is the most important thing in what we do, because I don’t mean to sound cliché, you can’t help others if you don’t help yourself. At some point or another, your cup’s going to overflow. You’re going to run out of gas. So you have to find moments, daily, to take care of yourself. Some days, I’m working remote, and it’s 2:00 and I go, “It’s 2:00, I have to go brush my teeth!” I’m supposed to sign on at 8, I signed on at 5, let me brush my teeth and get a coffee. We have to take care of ourselves, because we have a really important job to do and I promise you, no one is out there doing it. My music, second to my family time, is my primary out.

Awesome, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me today! I’m really appreciative of the work that you do and I think you’re a little modest. I think you deserve a little bit more recognition.

Fine, I’m the greatest NSO in the whole planet.

There it is, woo hoo!

No really, I appreciate you taking the time to speak and it’s great.

You can find more information about our Veterans’ Benefits program under the Veterans Services tab of our website. You can also reach out to our National Field Office at 866-734-0857, or find a national service officer using the National Service Office locator on our website. Thank you so much for joining us today, Pete!