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Between February 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975, more than 6 million Vietnam-era veterans were separated from military service. This unprecedented influx of veterans into the system not only affected the VA home loan program, it also stretched the very fabric of our nation.
It became obvious to those responsible for taking care of our soldiers that the veterans returning from the Vietnam War were going to need much more than a VA home loan to reenter the society they had left when entering the service. For one thing, advances in battlefield treatment of the wounded and the ability to quickly transport them back to America meant that there was an unprecedented number who survived their injuries. There were over 300,000 veterans with disabilities connected to military service by 1972. Much of the emphasis shifted from programs meant to provide access to VA Loans and educational assistance to caring for these soldiers who had returned with disabilities.
In 1971, Congress approved a mortgage life insurance program for severely disabled veterans – especially those who received grants for housing adapted to accommodate their disabilities. Initially, the insurance covered veteran home loan mortgages up to a maximum of $30,000. This limit continued to increase, reaching $90,000 in 1992. In 2006, the maximum number of grants for adaptive housing increased from one to three, recognizing that medical and technological changes in treatment and the success ratio were allowing veterans with service related disabilities to live longer and more productive lives.
Another result of the Vietnam-era was the adoption of new measures to bring benefits to the attention of all these new veterans. Assistance centers were established in cities across the nation to assist recently separated service members. In 1967, the VA took the unprecedented measure of assigning representatives to duty in Vietnam to assist these soldiers before they were discharged. The VA continues to lead the way in providing for our veterans through innovative programs such as the VA home loan and many others. |
