A Houston, Texas, former Marine has found himself in the fight for his life with the Veterans Affairs Department — trying to prove he is not, in fact, dead.
Former Marine Joe Morris was classified as deceased — on April 1, or April Fool’s Day, no less — after his parents received a condolence letter from government authorities, United Press International reported.
Two months later, and his wife is still receiving them.
“My mom called me up and said, ’Hey, you’re dead.’ I said, ’No, I’m not,’ ” Mr. Morris recounted to KPRC.
Mr. Morris served two tours in Iraq and for seven years, he received a disability check from the government. In April, his check didn’t arrive, so he contacted the VA to clear up the matter.
But the VA isn’t taking his word for it that he’s alive, UPI reported. Worse is that the VA also notified the Social Security Administration that he died.
“Now it’s hard to get a loan for a home because none of the credit agencies have me as alive,” he said, UPI reported. “They have me as deceased. I want it corrected. I want somebody to let the Social Security Administration know I’m still alive. I don’t want this to happen to anybody else.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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