VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - 1940 VA Hospitalization

In 1940, Grandpa Jim was living at 405 Jackson Street in Rawlins, Wyoming, with his wife, Alice, and their two sons, Robert (10) and Alfred (8). Jim & Alice married in November of 1929 in Fort Collins, Colorado, and lived at the Windmill Ranch west of Laramie until 1936, when they moved to Rawlins. My great-grandma was born and raised in Carbon County, Wyoming, (Hanna and Saratoga) and a number of her siblings lived in and around Rawlins. According to the 1940 Census, Jim was unemployed and had only worked the equivalent of 26 weeks in 1939. When I found the 1940 Census, I wasn’t sure of the reason for him being out of work. This next post sheds light on his situation during this time.

Back in 1924, the hospitalization of veterans for disability and treatment regardless of origin of the disability was first authorized. A letter has been sent to Jim on December 27, 1924, informing him that he may be eligible for these services. However, this letter was sent to him at Buena Vista, Colorado, when by this time he had left Colorado and was living in Wyoming. This letter also contains his claim number, something that he likely wasn’t aware of. By 1940, he was in need of medical assistance, and applied for hospital treatment on March 29, 1940 (the application wasn’t included in the Claims File I received). He was admitted to the VA Hospital in Cheyenne, Wyoming on April 8, 1940, where he was diagnosed with tonsilitis and neuritis (peripheral nerve inflammation).

He also filled out a statement giving information on his family, giving his marital status and the age of his youngest child (Alfred, who was then 7 years old). This form was completed in order to facilitate the claims process and to have a claims number assigned. However, the Veteran’s Administration was able to locate his claims file, which had sat dormant since 1921 at the Central Office in Washington, D.C. The Claims file was sent to Cheyenne, and his application and record of hospitalization were added to his file.

During April and May of 1940, Grandpa Jim received medical treatment at the VA Hospital in Cheyenne. He was treated for myositis (muscle inflammation), tonsilitis (his tonsils were removed) and teeth extraction. The medical record notes that he had numerous teeth missing (15 total by the time he was discharged from the hospital). He spent a total of 49 days in the VA Hospital and was discharged on May 27, 1940. 

Although this hospitalization would have helped his health, he was still struggling physically. In April of 1941, my great-grandma wrote a letter to the VA inquiring about assistance and the possibility of obtaining a pension. They responded by sending an application for disability/pension benefits for Grandpa Jim to complete. It doesn’t appear that this application was filled out as there was no copy of the application in the copy of the Claims File I received.

When my great-grandma wrote the letter to the VA in April of 1941, they had moved to 633 West Davis Street, on the south side of Rawlins. They had begun to build a home on this lot of land by this time. I remember my grandpa telling me that they got the lumber from an abandoned mill not far from town. By this time, World War II was in full swing and materials of all kinds were in short supply. According to his WWII Draft Card in 1942, Grandpa Jim had found work with Carbon County. The WWII Draft card gives his physical description: 6 feet tall and 135 pounds with brown hair and grey eyes. I suppose his physical ailments he had suffered give context to his very thin frame. A couple of years later, he was working with the Union Pacific Railroad as a car inspector. From a yearly pay stub I have, he was making about $3,600 per year with the railroad, which is nearly $45,000 per year today. He used the money that he earned into building their home.

Below are a few pictures of them at the home on Davis Street. The first two are from 1942 and are of my great-grandma and my grandpa. The third is Grandpa Jim (second from right) outside the home in 1947.

Grandpa Jim passed away in December of 1949 at the age of 55. My next post will go over the death and funeral benefits that my great-grandma received following his death.

VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - Adjusted Compensation for WWI Veterans

After being denied coverage for medical and pension benefits in 1921, there probably wasn't much to expect in the way of remuneration for serving in the Army in World War I. By this time, Grandpa Jim was perhaps looking to go elsewhere in order to support himself financially. In 1919, his father, Nathaniel, had signed over the deed to his land to his daughter, Rachel Newitt, with the expectation that she would provide for him during his lifetime. In January of 1920, she moved to Grand Junction with her family and signed over the deed to the family land to Grandpa Jim, which was then deeded back to Nathaniel because this agreement had not been honored.

In 1917, before his induction into the Army, Jim, along with his brother Dwight, had purchased a 160-acre ranch right next to their father's land for $1,200. Jim assigned his brother power of attorney to act for him while he was overseas. When Jim returned in 1919, their ranch was in debt, and no way for them to pay off their debts. Dwight signed over his interest in their land to Grandpa Jim in January of 1920 and left Colorado, leaving Jim to resolve matters. Jim ended up selling the land to R.B. Griffith in June of 1920, who paid off the debts that had been incurred. Jim and Nathaniel had also entered into an agreement with each other regarding water rights to their land in 1919. They basically agreed that if Jim didn't farm the land they were on in 1920, the water rights that had been conveyed to Jim would be conveyed back to Nathaniel, which is what happened.

By 1924, Jim had left Colorado and had gone to Rawlins, Wyoming. Nathaniel was still in Buena Vista, but now pretty much left by himself, each of his children having left the family farm and ranch. Nathaniel had run for local office in Buena Vista as Justice of the Peace in 1924, and was elected to the office after winning a tie breaker, so he finally had some source of income (I have a post that goes into more detail on Nathaniel's running for Justice of the Peace, and in particular, his election in 1924). Nathaniel would pass away in the town of Salida (30 miles south of Buena Vista) in April of 1926. Two of his daughters, Rachel and Ann, and a son, Ed, attended his funeral.

In November of 1924, Grandpa Jim had applied for the adjusted compensation for service in the army during World War I. Below is a copy of the application for adjusted compensation. Part of this application was included in the Claims File I recently received, although it appears that the first and third pages of this application were not included in the copy of the file I received (I just reached out to the FOIA Officer at the VA who processed my request to let them know that these pages are missing, but given that it took three years to receive a copy of the file, I doubt I will receive any acknowledgment of my notice that these pages are missing). Based on the information I have already found on Grandpa Jim, I was able to recreate the missing pages. 

The application gives details on his military service (again, I had to recreate part of this form from information I already have found on Grandpa Jim - I have the adjusted compensation form for his sister's step-son, Keith Newitt, who was in the Navy in WWI, which gave me the template to recreate the missing pages). On page two of the application, Jim lists his sister, Ann Graham, as his beneficiary. She was living with her husband, George Earl Graham, and their daughter, Virginia, in Salida, Colorado in 1924. They had moved to Salida earlier in 1924. They would move to Colorado Springs by 1926. Along with his signature, page two also has his fingerprints on the form as an additional form of positive identification. By this time, he was living in Rawlins, Wyoming when he completed and sent in his application.

As a side note, my great-grandma, Alice Lemoine, was living in the town of Alcova, some 90 miles northeast of Rawlins (35 miles southwest of Casper) with her first husband, Charles Grundy, who was a sheep rancher. They would later separate and she would go to Laramie. From what I understand, she and Grandpa Jim met in Laramie before her divorce from her first husband in 1929.

The Adjusted Compensation Act was approved by Congress in May of 1924. Some of the terms are as follows: upon completion and receipt of the application, each applicant was issued an 'Adjusted Service Certificate', which was issued on January 1, 1925 and to be paid at 125% of the total value on the applicant's birthday in 1945. The total value of the Adjusted Service Certificate awarded to Grandpa Jim was $848. Applicants were also able to take out loans against the total value of the Adjusted Service Certificate, which he did. His first loan was dated November 15, 1928 for $118.32. His second loan was dated September 5, 1931 for $312.08. At the time of his first loan, he was living in Rawlins, Wyoming. When he took out his second loan, he was living on the Windmill Ranch west of Laramie, Wyoming, with my great-grandma and my grandpa, who had been born a year earlier.

When the Adjusted Compensation Act was enacted in 1924, there was no forethought as to how economic conditions would change. With the economic depression of the 1930's, a change was needed in this act to provide veterans with the money that was to be due them. In 1936, Congress passed the Adjusted Compensation Payment Act, which replaced the Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 and provided for immediate payment of the adjusted compensation in bonds of $50.00. Grandpa Jim still had $417.60 due him and he received the payment as soon as he was able to do so. It is very likely he cashed the bonds he received and used the money for him and his family. Below is the 1936 application for payment of funds that were due him.

In looking at the timing of his receipt of these funds, it is likely he used the money to take his family to San Francisco to see his sister, Frances, who lived out there (I have the pictures from their trip to San Francisco from this time). Later in 1936, Jim and his family would move to Rawlins, where they would live. 

Life in Rawlins would be an improvement over the past years in Buena Vista and Laramie, but there would still be challenges ahead. My next post will look at some of those challenges that he faced.

VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - Application for Disability and Benefits

Navigating one's way through military service isn't always easy. Just as difficult (perhaps even more so) is navigating one's way to obtaining benefits for disability that may have been incurred during one's military service. In 1920 and 1921, Grandpa Jim went through the process of applying for benefits and coverage for treatment through the Bureau of War Risk Insurance (a precursor to the VA).

On August 18, 1920, Jim went to Dr. Victor B. Ayers, an Army Doctor from Buena Vista, Colorado, for a physical examination. His physical examination found the following: he had 20/30 vision (Grandpa Jim did wear glasses later in life), normal hearing, and normal blood pressure and pulse. His breathing indicated that he had bronchitis, and he had dental problems. In particular, caries in several of his teeth and two molars that were removed during his time in the Army. The physical examination also indicates that he contracted influenza in September and October of 1918 while en route to France.

There is something unusual about this part of the Claims File. There are two physical examinations dated August 18, 1920. One is for James Robert Dodge, and the other one is for one Robert Dodge. The physical examination for James Robert Dodge indicates all the health findings and issues mentioned above. The physical examination for Robert Dodge indicates many of the same things, but also indicates cardiac issues, which is something that Grandpa Jim never claimed. In looking at the monthly rosters for Company F, 9th Infantry Regiment, there are two Dodge's that served at the same time from November 1918 until April of 1919; James Robert Dodge (my ancestor), and Robert L. Dodge, who served in the Army from September 1917 until October of 1919. This Robert L. Dodge went to France in April of 1918 and returned home in June of 1919. The physical examination for Robert Dodge lists a different Claim number (305573), while the physical examination for James Robert Dodge has Claim number 305573 crossed out and the correct Claim number 497003 stamped on the physical examination form. It is very likely that the person who transcribed the physical examination form mixed up these two people as they both served in the same Company and Regiment at the same time.

It is also important to note that the Claim Number for Grandpa Jim, 497003, issued in 1920, would be used on all future claims applications and forms for the next sixty-nine years (until 1989).

On October 16, 1920, the Compensation and Insurance Claims Division requested additional information for James Robert Dodge from the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. The form lists all the correct identifying information for Grandpa Jim. The form (on the back) indicated that there was no record of disability and that there were no medical records found for James Robert Dodge. A copy of the form is shown below.

On November 12, 1920, Jim underwent a dental examination by Dr. Earl Harrington in Leadville, Colorado. The dental examination show that one his lower molars had been extracted, but he does not remember when the extraction took place. The dental examination indicated that several of his teeth needed treatment ranging from filling in cavities to root canals. The dental examination and request for dental compensation was submitted to the United States Public Health Service. 

Along with this request, he submitted an Application for Person Disabled in and Discharged from Service. This application was dated February 12, 1921. The disability he claims are his teeth and deafness in his right ear (something which was not examined previously). This application also gives his history of work before and after his military service. He worked as a farm hand earning $35 a month during 1917 and 1918. He also lists one of his employers before his service as the Colorado Midland Railroad, for whom he worked for only and and one-half months (he would later work for the Union Pacific during the 1940's).

His application also lists his occupation since being discharged from military service. He was working as a farm hand in Buena Vista and earning $35 per month. At this time, he was single and had no children. The application also states that his father, Nathaniel T. Dodge (listed as N.T. Dodge), was dependent on him for financial support and that he provided $15 to $20 per month to his father. He states that he tried to make an allotment of his pay to be sent home to his mother while in the military but it was not allowed. My previous post talks about how his mother was supposed to have received an allotment of $15 per month, but that did not happen. The Application is shown below.

On March 14, 1921, Jim received bad news. He was not entitled to receive compensation for his dental treatment. The dental disability, he was told, was less than 10% (meaning that he was less than 10% disabled because of his dental ailment) and that his dental problems were not connected to his military service. On March 21, 1921, he was asked to provide additional medical evidence that his disability was related to his military service, including an affidavit from someone he had served with indicating the circumstances in which his disability began as well as additional medical evidence. On July 7, 1921, his claim was disallowed for failure to prosecute his claim. It appears that after March of 1921, he realized that he would have to take care of his dental issues without any financial assistance and didn't pursue the matter any further. It isn't known if he received the dental care that he needed.

I can't imagine how frustrating this experience must have been for Grandpa Jim; going through the process of gathering information and filling out the needed forms to get some assistance only to be turned down. The only bonus or additional compensation he had received was a $60 bonus and travel pay for $12.88 from Cheyenne to Buena Vista that was paid to him when he was discharged in 1919. In 1924, that would change. My next post will look at the adjusted compensation that he would apply for in 1924, as well as payment of this compensation in 1936.

VA Claims File for James Robert Dodge - War Risk Insurance

After three years (Yes...Three Years!), I finally received the VA Claims File for my great-grandpa, Jim Dodge. There are more than 250 scanned images from his VA Claims File. These documents range from applications forms to letters of inquiry to forms verifying income. Grandpa Jim's Claims File begins in 1918 with his enlistment and ends in 1989 following the passing of my great-grandma. In looking through the File, I have decided to split up his File over several posts so as to not overwhelm anyone who reads or follows this blog (as well as not overwhelming myself trying to share 70 years worth of information on my family).

This first post will look at the War Risk Insurance application from 1918. War Risk Insurance was enacted by Congress in October of 1917 and provided for members of the military and their families to receive financial compensation in the event of death or disability. The maximum amount of life insurance each member of the military could purchase was $10,000.00 (the minimum was $1,000). Those who applied for War Risk Insurance had to pay a small premium per $1,000 purchased, which premium was deducted from their monthly pay (the premium was less than one dollar for each $1,000 in insurance purchased). This insurance was administered through the U.S. Treasury Department.

Grandpa Jim was inducted (drafted) into the Army on August 6, 1918 at Salida, Colorado. He was then sent to Fort Logan, Colorado (Southwest of Denver), for acceptance into the Army. He arrived there the next day, August 7th. While there, he was assigned to the 19th Company of the General Service Infantry. Also, he applied for War Risk Insurance. The application lists his name, age, date of birth, current home address, and date of enlistment. He applied for $10,000 in insurance coverage and named his mother, Fannie H. Dodge, as the beneficiary. He signed and dated the application. Below is the image of the War Risk Insurance application.

Two days later, he was shipped off to Camp MacArthur in Waco, Texas for basic training, arriving there on August 11th. He was there until September 16th, when he was sent to Hoboken, New Jersey, to board the US Army Transport President Grant to France. The Transport left on September 23th and arrived in France on October 7th. Grandpa Jim was then assigned to Co. C, 162nd Infantry Regiment to continue basic training at Contres, France. Through the month of October and into November, he was assigned to this training Regiment and did not see combat. However, in late November, he was transferred to Company F, 9th Infantry Regiment and was part of the first American occupying forces to enter Germany, where he was stationed until his return to the States in late July of 1919. He arrived back at Hoboken on August 1, 1919 aboard the US Army Transport Princess Matoika and was sent over to Camp Merritt, New Jersey. On August 9, 1919, he was transferred (along with 168 other soldiers to various camps for discharge - according to the morning reports) to Fort D.A. Russell in Cheyenne, Wyoming for discharge. He was discharged from Fort D.A. Russell at Cheyenne, Wyoming, on August 16, 1919.

Following application for insurance, a certificate was issued and sent to the beneficiary. From the file, it appears that this took some time to happen. In January of 1919, his father, Nathaniel, wrote the Treasury Department to inquire about the insurance certificate. He was informed by letter dated February 4, 1919, that the certificate of insurance had recently been issued and sent to Fannie. Nathaniel also inquired about a monthly allotment to Fannie in the amount of $15.00. It appears that this allotment may have been denied as Fannie had her husband, as well as other children, at home to help provide for her.

Fannie passed away on May 11, 1919 in Buena Vista, while Grandpa Jim was serving with the American Army of Occupation in Germany. Fannie was 63 years old. From what has been passed down to me, this sad news followed Grandpa Jim home. I don't know when this news would have caught up to him, or if he didn't find out until after he came home just a few months later in August. As a side note, Fannie was a young girl when her father, John B. Stevens, enlisted in the Union Army in 1862 (and re-enlisted in 1864) and fought in the Civil War. I can't imagine what Fannie must have felt, with her father having gone off to war, to see her son also march off to war in 1918, and also not knowing that August 6, 1918 would be the last time they would see each other. Any letters that were written between Grandpa Jim and his family have long since been lost, so there is no record of what would have been shared during time overseas.

Following his discharge from the Army on August 16, 1919, a Notice of Discharge was sent to the Treasury Department, which oversaw the Bureau of War Risk Insurance. This Notice lists much of the same information that was on the Insurance Application. The Notice also lists his monthly premium that he paid, which was $6.60 per month. The Notice also lists his date of enlistment as August 15, 1919. This is likely the date he arrived at Fort D.A. Russell from Camp Merritt, New Jersey. Below is the image of the Notice of Discharge.

I imagine managing one's way through military service isn't easy. Managing one's way through the process of applying for benefits following military service isn't easy either, which is what we will look at in the next post.

Morning Reports for David Nemetzky - Prison Mess of Presidio of San Francisco, California: Jan & Feb 1918

Morning Report for the Prison Mess of Presidio of San Francisco: January 1918. David Nemetzky was confined on January 23, 1918, following charges being filed against him for misappropriation of Army goods.

 

Morning Report for the Prison Mess of Presidio of San Francisco: February 1918. David Nemetzky was released from confinement on February 22, 1918, the day after being tried by a general court martial and being acquitted of the charges.

Fold3.com is in the process of publishing the morning reports for the Army from 1912-1939. I just found these two morning reports on fold3.com for David Nemetzky from his time at the Presidio of San Francisco, California (just my second find for him in these records - this series of records is being added to daily). He was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco from May of 1914 to June of 1916, and again from April of 1917 to March of 1918. These morning reports are from January & February of 1918, when he was imprisoned at the Presidio Guard House. When I found the Army Monthly Reports (1912-1939) on Family Search in November & December of 2019 (which are now being indexed and will be published in the upcoming months - I have indexed a total of 41 monthly reports for David Nemetzky, including 15 from when he was at the Presidio), I was surprised to find that he had faced a general court martial in February of 1918. 

I was able to obtain a copy of the general court martial (minus one very important page) from the National Archives in St. Louis in March of 2020 (right before COVID shut down their services). A couple of months ago, the National Archives reopened and I (finally) obtained the missing page from the National Archives. Reading through the general court martial transcript (unlike the 1904 & 1912 general court martial transcripts, this transcript was 100 pages), he was falsely accused of misappropriating goods intended for the US Army; in particular, he was accused of misappropriating food, including butter, eggs and a turkey. 

It turned out that he was picking up the groceries for a local San Francisco lady while he was out purchasing food for the Hospital mess (kitchen). He was falsely accused of misappropriating the food he purchased for the Army and giving it to this lady. These false charges were maliciously invented by a subordinate non-commissioned officer (known as a troublemaker) as well as a couple of the cooks who went along with this subordinate NCO. At this time, David Nemetzky was a Sergeant First Class and was the ranking NCO over the soldiers who proffered these false accusations. (To explain, a Sergeant First Class during WWI only had one rocker underneath the Sergeant chevrons. The rank system in the US Army was reorganized in 1920, which would make this rank the equivalent of a Staff Sergeant today).

By January of 1918, he was aware of the trouble that was brewing and openly packaged and took with him ten pounds of butter off base in order to 'show' those around him that he was 'illicitly absconding' with military property. He (of course) brought the butter back later that day and put it back where it came from. He was charged with five counts of misappropriation of military property and tried by general court martial on February 21, 1918. The lady for whom he picked up and delivered groceries testified for the prosecution, which did not go well for them. She was very clear in her testimony that she only received items that she had sent for and asked him to pick up for him. Both cooks who testified for the prosecution gave different details (and different stories) as to the circumstances of each of the occurrences in which the misappropriations were alleged to have happened. The subordinate NCO (who also testified for the prosecution) was shown to harbor animosity against David Nemetzky due to the simple fact that he wasn't in charge of the Hospital mess.

Several local merchants that he had transacted business with testified for the defense. Each testified that their dealings with David Nemetzky was above board and done in complete honesty. He testified on his own behalf and explained the circumstances under which he worked and that even though he picked up this local lady's groceries (the word groceries was not used anywhere in the transcript), he always made sure that everything he purchased for the Army was put to use for the Army and that none of what he purchased was ever misappropriated. He also explained that the subordinate NCO was a bad influence within the organization. The missing page I mentioned earlier was a huge reveal that explained that one of the cooks involved in 'corroborating' the false charges had been unduly influenced, likely by the subordinate NCO. He was found not guilty on all counts, but was warned to not intermingle Army business with personal business. He was released from confinement the next day and allowed to resume his duties. 

Below is a copy of the order approving his acquittal. The order details the charges and the conclusion of the general court martial. As I mentioned, the transcript is 100 pages long. I have typed up the transcript and posted it on Family Search.

General Court Martial Order 154 - March 25, 1918