Emil Limpert, WWII vet and Purple Heart recipient, denied VA benefits

The Department of Veterans Affairs has denied benefits to a World War II veteran in his 90s who was wounded in combat and earned a Purple Heart, saying it does not have enough proof that he served in the military.

St. Louis native Emil Limpert submitted an application for benefits to the VA, but he was told he needed to provide more proof that he was in the military, a local Fox affiliate reported.

“I get this letter that says we can’t accept it because we’ve got no record of you being in the service,” he told Fox. “I guess I’m the unknown soldier.”

Mr. Limpert was wounded in a foxhole in the Philippines in 1944. He was patched up in the jungle and later went to a VA hospital in St. Louis to have shrapnel removed from his leg. He never applied for VA benefits for which he thinks he now may be eligible.

“I thought ’well, as long as I’m working, I’ll pay for it myself rather than argue with ’em,’” he told Fox. “Well, now I’ve got nothing left.”

Mr. Limpert and his wife live in an assisted-living facility outside St. Louis, and he says they are no longer able to support themselves.

“We got rid of our car. We got rid of our house,” he said. “I got rid of money I had in bonds and stocks, and now I need help.”

With the help of veterans group AMVETS, Mr. Limpert was able to provide plenty of documentation to support his claim to veteran status. He had his military discharge papers, a roster of those injured in the 1944 attack, and the X-ray of his leg after he returned home. He also has two Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart he earned in combat.

Mr. Limpert sent all of that information to the VA, but after two months of waiting, was told he still needed to provide more proof.

The VA said it has itself no record of his military service. Mr. Limpert is apparently one of more than 15 million veterans who had their official personnel records destroyed in a massive fire in St. Louis in 1973, an era when such records existed only on paper.

The VA letter asks for more information, including affidavits from fellow service members, most of whom are dead, or location of the hospital where he was originally treated. There wasn’t one.

“There ain’t no hospital. We were in the jungles!” said Mr. Limpert, who has turned now to Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat, for help.

On Wednesday, supporters set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to help Mr. Limpert and his wife stay in their assisted living home. So far the page has raised $680.