Rally Tomorrow to Support Terminally Ill Vet

I just recieved an email informing me of a rally that will take place from 11-2at 8350 Fair Oaks Blvd Carmichael, Ca. 95608. This rally is in support of GaryLee Price, a Vietnam Veteran who lives in Sacramento. Gary has terminal cancedue to Agent Orange exposure and will only has a few months to live. I think weshould show our support and use our meeting time to go to the rally. What doeseveryone think?
Link to Gary's Story:
https://www.help-veterans.org/donation/index/program/deny

Below is the press release:

Veterans Administration Denys Claim of Vet Dying from Agent Orange ExposureLos Angeles, CA - June 18, 2009 – After a year of stalling, the VeteransAdministration has denied the benefits claim of Garry Lee Price, a VietnamVeteran dying of cancer, which VA doctors have told him was caused by hisexposure to Agent Orange.The Veterans Administration, the health services side of the organization,determined on April 24, 2008 that Garry's cancer was caused by his exposure toAgent Orange while serving in Vietnam. Garry is dying in a hospice inSacramento. He has a tumor the size of a softball growing out of the side of hisneck.Garry's terminal status, instead of spurring the administration to expedite hisclaim, gave them an extra reason to stall. And they did. For years, "deny,deny, until they die," has been a common refrain among the Veteran community todescribe what they see as the Veterans Administration's unspoken policy ofdragging their feet on claims processing until the Veteran applying dies. Then,the claim doesn't have to be paid. Garry and his wife Bonnie are the latestvictims of this policy. Video of Garry and Bonnie Price telling their story canbe seen at www.denydeny.org.When Gary dies, his widow will be faced with appealing the claim and restartinga process that could take years, while grieving over his loss. Due to hismedical condition, Garry has been unable to work for the last two years. Thefamily has had to sell most of their belongings to live. It is urgent thatGarry's benefits be awarded before his family suffers any more.The Veterans Administration's website states that Agent Orange related claimstake an average of 204 days, or about 7 months to process. It also states thattheir goal is to speed the processing of these claims to 74 days. Garry firstvisited the VA with completed disability claim forms in June 2008, after twoheart attacks and his cancer had kept him from earning income for almost a year.He was told that day by a VA claims representative that, since he was terminal,he should not bother applying, because the processing time would take longerthan he had to live. Discouraged, Garry left with the forms still in his hand.Garry sought help from the National Veterans Foundation who helped him file hisclaim, and in October 2008, mailed in the paperwork to the VA. In December 2008he received a form letter stating that his claim had been received. He was toldjust this week his claim was denied, one year after he first walked it into theVA offices.Garry Lee Price volunteered for the U.S. Army in November 1966 and served 2years 7 months and 4 days in the military, most of that time in Vietnam. He wasattached to a Special Forces unit and worked transporting sensitive documentsthrough areas with heavy Agent Orange spraying.He received an honorable discharge with the rank of Sergeant on June 17, 1969. During his service, he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, VietnamCampaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Vietnam Service Medal and Army CommendationMedal.The frustrating irony is that the medical side of the Veterans Administrationhas already determined Garry's terminal cancer is service-connected, and thatthe benefits side still denied Garry's claim. This is something that theNational Veterans Foundation has seen many times before in their work assistingVeterans in crisis. "It's like the left hand doesn't know, or really care, whatthe right hand is doing," says National Veterans Foundation President andFounder Shad Meshad. "The issue here is that, if the VA paid all the claimsthat are rightfully due, they'd go broke."Garry Lee Price served his country. He served overseas during war and, there,he was exposed to dangerous chemicals by his own people, chemicals that willprematurely take his life, possibly in the next few days. But the VeteransAdministration, following a policy of "deny, deny, until they die," doesn't seemto care enough to expedite his claim.How many more Garry Price type tragedies have to happen before the VA serves theneeds of those heroes who have guaranteed our freedom with their blood?