Shawano County Veterans Service Officer Zak Zuehlsdorf knows there are veterans not collecting the benefits to which they are due. He intends to do something about that.
“In the six months that I’ve been in this office, I see that there’s a need for veterans to connect with other veterans,” he said. “American Legions are great. VFWs are great. All the veterans organizations in our county are wonderful, but veterans a lot of times feel like they get alienated, because they don’t want to go to a bar setting. Every veteran likes food.”
To that end, Zuehlsdorf and his office will begin to host a free quarterly breakfast for veterans. The first one will be at 8 a.m. Oct. 22 at Farm Inn on Main, 123 N. Main St., Shawano.
The breakfasts will follow the example of Ron Christianson, CVSO in Oconto County.
The free breakfast will be provided for up 50 veterans, but Zuehlsdorf said reservations through his office are a must. To reserve, call 715-526-9183.
Zuehlsdorf will make introductory comments, followed by a few comments from the breakfast sponsor, Twig’s Beverage.
“A lot of people that are going to be in this first one are veterans that I’ve worked with already,” Zuehlsdorf said. “But I want those veterans to spread the gospel. I want them to come out of this saying, ‘I need to go find another veteran that needs help like I needed help.’
“That goal is one conversation can change everything. That is my mantra for this. That is my building block.”
Many veterans don’t know what benefits they qualify for, and some have the mistaken belief they don’t qualify or shouldn’t take the benefit as some other vet needs or deserves it more.
Zuehlsdorf said they are not at education events and don’t have social media.
“There’s a ton of them that I get like that,” he said. “They almost want to minimize their service to our country, and they want to compare themselves to somebody else that went over there and lost an arm, lost a limb, lost whatever.”
There are about 2,900 veterans in Shawano County.
“Our last draft of veterans was the Vietnam War,” Zuehlsdorf said.
Many of those veterans now in the 70s and 80s. They are slowly dying off and not being replaced at the same rate.
Under the umbrella of the Veterans Administration are three spokes in which the CVSO is involved. There’s death and burial benefits; compensation, education and pension; and health care.
The death and burial spoke support for families when a veterans dies and to ensure they get any benefits due them.
The compensation, education and pension is the most prominent one for the county veterans office.
“That is our bread and butter, specifically the compensation,” Zuehlsdorf said.
As for healthcare, Zuehlsdorf and his staff help veterans make connections with clinics and healthcare options so they can navigate within that system.
“They do a great job in the healthcare system taking care of veterans,” he said. “They’re fantastic.”
Zuehlsdorf spent 25 years in the Army as an infantryman, so he can relate to the veterans he assists.
Some conversations begin with the veteran realizing they are eligible for some compensation, and they sign up for one benefit. Future discussions then lead to more benefits.
“I think that’s the best part of my job, is to understand people,” Zuehlsdorf said.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
