Law and the practice of law is not an exact science. Unfortunately Judges and attorneys get it wrong a good percentage of the time. Many times the law is flat out wrong and misused against innocent people for absolutely no legitimate reason whatsoever. For example the laws during the 1950s and 60s which required Black Americans to use separate water fountains and bathrooms from White Americans, or sit at the back of the bus, was without a doubt the most unfair misuse of law anyone can even imagine as law in today’s world. The short of the story is our laws are not always fair or right and a lot of people have suffered from the misuse of a law or case law. In fact, over the years many innocent individuals have been wrongly executed for a crime they did not commit. On the other side of the coin many guilty crooks have gotten off Scott free.
Attorneys are a very unique brand of individuals who are retained by clients to get them out of a criminal or civil violation. Although it is not taught in Law School, that a attorney can intentionally lie to enhance the possibility of getting their client off the hook, it is taught that the interpretation of words can make or break a case. In other words, the attorney may know that his client is guilty as sin, but will do or say anything to inject the power of doubt in the jury’s head to get a not guilty verdict. 
Do you remember when President Bill Clinton was questioned by Congress about the Monica Lewinsky fiasco, and President Clinton (an attorney himself) answered a question something like this; “Well, that depends on what your definition of the word “IS”, is?” This is a prime example of how an attorney thinks. That single sentence shifted the focus from the original question to the possible definitions of a single word, IS. A clever attorney can convince a jury that the color black is not really black, rather a really dark shade of white. There are a number of tricks attorneys use to get their client off the hook, including fabricating, embellishing, and even outright lying. Remember this one; “If it doesn’t fit – you must acquit.” You will not find ANY reference in ANY law book that Johnnie Cochran statement was a real law. It was a suggestive meant to cause doubt, and it worked.
Today there is a hotly contested debate going on over the way we treat veteran’s disability compensation, which is the money veterans receive if they are injured in combat or in the line of duty. Many of these individuals are missing limbs or badly burned over a large portion of their body. In other words, they are badly disfigured and difficult to look at. Many have Cancer they got from something they were exposed to, which has shortened the time they have to live. And for many others, the things that they saw or were involved in haunt them and they suffer from emotional and physical disorders that cause, nightmares, the ability to interact acceptably with others, and problems keeping a job. Many of these individuals turn to alcohol and/or drugs to hide the pain and depression.
One such disabled veteran was named Wayne Rose and he was a Vietnam War veteran who had been extremely injured and disfigured in Vietnam. Mr. Rose was a triple amputee who had lost both of his legs and one arm. The other arm was badly injured as well and he could not find any employment to supplement his only source of livelihood, his VA disability compensation. Based on his understanding of the laws protecting VA disability compensation from being taken and given to others, he refused to pay the Court ordered child support and was arrested and charged with ‘contempt of court’ by the lower Tennessee court for not paying the monthly amount the lower court ordered. He appealed his case to the State Supreme Court, who ruled against him, and his case made it all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court.
Mr. Rose based his case on Federal law which protected his disability compensation from being taken from him and he quoted USC, Title 38, formally known as §3101 which said what Wayne Rose was basing his case on. That Code is now USC, Title 38, §5301.
(1) Payments of benefits due or to become due under any law administered by the Secretary shall not be assignable except to the extent specifically authorized by law, and such payments made to, or on account of, a beneficiary shall be exempt from taxation, shall be exempt from the claim of creditors, and shall not be liable to attachment, levy, or seizure by or under any legal or equitable process whatever, either before or after receipt by the beneficiary……
……..(A) This paragraph is intended to clarify that, in any case where a beneficiary entitled to compensation, pension, or dependency and indemnity compensation enters into an agreement with another person under which agreement such other person acquires for consideration the right to receive such benefit by payment of such compensation, pension, or dependency and indemnity compensation, as the case may be, except as provided in subparagraph (B), and including deposit into a joint account from which such other person may make withdrawals, or otherwise, such agreement shall be deemed to be an assignment and is prohibited……..
Now any person that can speak and understand the English language can understand the meaning and intent of this U.S. Code. The Supreme Court Justices saw the ruling in an entirely different way. Eight out of nine of the Justices claimed that not only was Mr. Wayne Rose responsible for child support, but that his entire family, including his ex-wife were entitled to a portion of Wayne’s combat related VA disability compensation. None of the antics of the Supreme Court’s generosity was based on Congresses historical intent when writing this law and because of this unheard of ruling divorce attorneys from Maine to Hawaii started using the Rose case as the Bible on how VA disability is to be treated in divorce cases.
Let’s go back into our country’s history to determine what Congress’ intent was after the War of 1812 and the Revolutionary War. Disability Compensation awarded to our service personnel injured and disabled in combat was called “Disability Pension” at that time, and Congress wanted to insure that the tax payer’s moneys were not being stolen by unscrupulous carpetbaggers, attorneys and judges. The following excerpt from the TWENTIETH CONGRESS (1828) contradicts the Supreme Court’s claim that disability compensation belongs to a veteran’s entire family.
CHAP. LIII – An Act for the relief of certain surviving officers and soldiers of the army of the revolution. [Approved May 15, 1828]
Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That the pay allowed by this act shall, under the direction of the Secretary Treasury, be paid to the officer or soldier entitled thereto, or to their authorized attorney, as such places and days as said secretary may direct; and that no foreign officer shall be entitled to said pay, nor shall any officer or soldier receive the same, until he furnish to said secretary satisfactory evidence that he is entitled to the same conformity to the provisions of this act; and the pay allowed by this act shall not, in any way, be transferable or liable to attachment, levy, or seizure, by any legal process whatever, but shall inure WHOLLY to the personal benefit of the officer or soldier entitled to the same by this act. (Source: U.S. Congressional Record / Library of Congress) (Emphasis added)
The word “WHOLLY” in this excerpt from the above 1828 Act for Relief leaves no doubt that Congress intended for the injured veteran to maintain total control and possession of their disability compensation and these funds were not the property of any other individual ‘WHATSOEVER’. It is obvious that the Supreme Court did not do their homework, because not a single Justice referred to the Congressional Record and the history of veteran’s disability compensation/pension. Instead, it appears that the 9 Justices attempted to inject a politically correct morality judgment into a legal issue, and family attorneys have taken pieces of dialog out of context in order to produce loosely contrived case law. Every day in this country the Rose case is used to strip a combat disabled veteran’s disability compensation from severely handicap disabled veterans.
Now I don’t know if Mr. Rose is still alive, but I am asking anyone who reads this article to help me find Wayne himself, or a family member who can fill in the blanks.
The Rose case was heard in 1987, and in 1988 the VA was elevated to Cabinet level immediately under the President of the United States, and this section was added;
USC, TITLE 38, §511 DECISIONS OF THE SECRETARY; FINALITY
(a)The Secretary shall decide all questions of law and fact necessary to a decision by the Secretary under a law that affects the provision of benefits by the Secretary to veterans or the dependents or survivors of veterans. Subject to subsection (b), the decision of the Secretary as to any such question shall be final and conclusive and may not be reviewed by any other official or by any court, whether by an action in the nature of mandamus or otherwise.
In other words, Rose v. Rose was rendered moot in 1988 by the establishment of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Federal statute contained in USC, Title 38 and is the law of the land, and USC Title 38, §511 specifically states that the Secretary of the DVA is the sole controlling individual in cases involving matters and funds under the DVA’s control.
In spite of the current federal law above, divorce court attorneys and judges still use Rose v. Rose to degrade and humiliate our country’s defenders, and they are still getting away with this scam. The Department of Veterans Affairs hasn’t used a single word from the Supreme Court decision in the Rose case, nor should they ever. However, no one is enforcing USC Title 38 either, and divorce attorneys continue to use the debunked Rose case to strip disabled veterans of their disability compensation to validate alimony payments. What good is a law if it is unenforceable? And our government stands by wondering why the suicide and homeless rate among our active duty and former military personnel is 3 to 4 times higher than the national average…
[WRITER’S NOTE:] This is “Segment I” of a series of articles involving the abuse of veteran’s disability compensation by State Courts. In the following articles Mr. Beery will interview individuals who have conducted hundreds of hours and many years researching legal issues involved in military and veteran’s divorces.
[Footnote:] The opinions of the author, Jere Beery are his own, and only his. Mr. Beery is not an attorney and this article is not intended to be legal advice. However, the content of this article is based on many years of research and personal experience, and Mr. Beery’s opinion is supported by documentation and the testimony of others. To the best of his knowledge, Mr. Beery was the first person to identify how some attorneys are misusing the law to gain their clients undue moneys. Mr. Beery has spent the past 13 years researching and investigating this particular issue.
Although Jere Beery only served 4 years in the U.S. Navy, he has an impressive military history. Twenty seven months of that service was in the combat waters of Vietnam. His first duty station in 1965 was aboard the USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY, (LST-1167) as a Seaman. The WESTCHESTER COUNTY was involved in many operations within the combat waters of South Vietnam and received many awards and accolades for her service. The WESTCHESTER COUNTY was the recipient of 15 Battle Stars for her 19 years of service. LST-1167 was one of only 3 ships of her type to earn 15 Battle Stars (out of over 1200 LSTs built since before WWII).
Beery’s second duty station in 1967 was with the legendary PBRs of the Brown Water Navy. As a volunteer, Beery saw combat on a fairly routine basis with this elite group and their high speed patrol craft. On March 1, 1968, Beery’s patrol was ambushed by a sizeable force of NVA and Viet Cong. The boat Beery was aboard took two direct RPG hits to her starboard side badly wounding four members of the boat’s crew. Seaman Beery was the most severely wounded and not expected to live. The first RPG had exploded right where Beery was standing as he manned his 50 caliber machine gun. To this day, Beery contributes his survival to the live-saving actions of his patrol officer, LT. RICHARD GODBEHERE and his other crew members. Beery spent the next year and a half hospitalized and recovering from his wounds. THE GODBEHERE PATROL
On November 1, 1968, while Jere Beery was recuperating at NAS Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida, USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY was attacked on the My Tho river. At 03:22 in the morning two very large mines were detonated on the ship’s starboard side. 25 men were killed, 17 were ship’s crew. Several of the men killed that morning were friends and former shipmates of Beery’s. This incident has gone down in history as the greatest loss of life by the U.S. Navy in a single attack during the entire Vietnam War. USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY
In mid-1969, Jere Beery was medically retired from the Navy. His service record reflects 1 Bronze Star, 3 Purple Hearts, and 5 military campaigns in Vietnam. Beery was also rated totally and permanently disabled by the Veterans Administration.
Over the years since Vietnam, Jere Beery has attempted to do some things many thought impossible for someone with physical injuries such as his. During the early 80s, Jere Beery, as a member of the Screen Actors Guild pursued a brief career in the motion picture business as an actor. Beery landed a few small parts in a number of movies and television programs. On several occasions, to the amazement of many, Beery even executed his own stunts.
In the 1986, Jere Beery gave up his career in the movies to crusade for his fellow veterans. Since that time, veteran’s rights advocate Jere Beery has been a noted driving force in the Veteran’s Rights Movement and effort to improve services for our veterans. Beery’s efforts have been extremely well documents and many articles have been written about his quest. A few of these articles can be found on this page. You can also type the words “Jere Beery” into any search engine to find out more about Beery’s efforts. www.google.com
Jere Beery’s multifaceted story is truly an amazing one. From his survival in Vietnam, to risking additional injury executing stunts in the motion pictures, to fighting to protect the benefits earned by our troops, Jere Beery has forged his own trail and continues to amaze and baffle many.
– Place and Date of Birth: Orlando, Fl – 03/13/48
– Raised: St. Augustine, Fl
– Place & Date Enlistment: Jacksonville, Fl – 05/20/65
– Branch of service: U.S. Navy
– Highest Rate/Rank: E4/PO3/Signalman Third Class
– Duty Stations: USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY, LST-1167 and TF116, River Patrol Force, River Section – 511, (PBRs), Binh Thuy, RSVN
– Date of Discharge: 5/14/69
– Type of Discharge: Honorable, Medically Retired
– VA Rating: 100% Totally and Permanently Disabled
Military Awards and Medals:
– 1 Bronze Star – w/combat “V” Citation
– 3 Purple Hearts – (1/5/68, 2/14/68, 3/1/68)
– Vietnam Service Medal – w/1 Silver Star – (5 military campaigns in-country, RSVN)
– Republic Of Vietnam Campaign Medal – w/1960 device
– Combat Action Ribbon
– Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon
– Presidential Unit Commendation Ribbon
– National Defense Medal
– Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation – Gallantry Cross Medal Color, w/Palm
– Republic Of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation – Civil Actions Medal, First Class Color, w/Palm
Military Training:
– River Patrol Craft Training, (PBR), Mare Island, CA
– Special Weapons Training, Mare Island, CA
– J.E.S.T. (Jungle Environmental Survivor Training) – Cubi Point, Philippines
– S.E.R.E. (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape Training) – Whidbey Island, Washington State
– Vietnamese Language – Mare Island, CA.
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