Batchelder helps spouses and families of deceased veterans

Published 8:27 am Monday, June 26, 2023

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By Angela Cutrer
Star correspondent
David Batchelder likes his job so much, he’s done it twice. After leaving the first time, he realized he missed helping others, especially spouses and families of deceased veterans. All total, he has 12-13 years experience now.
It might sound like a sad job, but it’s actually the opposite. During a family’s darkest hour, Batchelder can find the light again when it comes to veteran benefits.
David Batchelder serves as the Carter County Veterans Services officer. In this capacity, Batchelder helps 30 to 40 families a week, though in-office visits and phone calls. Batchelder receives a report at the end of each year, and for 2022, Carter County helped 4,100 veterans and their families. “A lot of what I do is assist surviving families,” he said.
Batchelder retired after 20 years with the Army as an E-8 first sergeant. He was an Army brat himself, so joining up wasn’t a foreign idea to him. His father raised his family in this area and Batchelder himself thinks of Elizabethton as his home.
Batchelder said the best thing about his job is the help he can find for veterans’ spouses and families. “This office has been here something like 50 years, but I still find that a lot of folks say they didn’t know the office was here,” Batchelder said. “I think the VA (Veterans Affairs) is doing a better job getting the info out about it.” He said he hoped people might see this story and tell other veterans – and their families – about the help they can get from this office.
The worst aspect of his job is meeting so many veterans now dealing with cancers of all kinds. “It’s distressing the sheer number of vets who are dealing with cancers,” he said. “From Agent Orange to the younger vets from the mid 20s, the original Gulf War and then 1990-1991 Iraq war to the 2000s – we’re seeing a lot of cancers like prostate cancer and COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).
“We help those vets deal with navigating the VA system, which is more fulfilling than anything. We can tell them about new rules that might affect them, such as how COPD under a new law is a presumption condition, which means it could be service related, which means they can get benefits from it. That helps a lot of families who lose the veteran in their lives.”
Batchelder works closely with every entity that can help a veteran, from social workers, hospitals, doctors and the like. It’s important because those are where veterans and surviving spouses will get all-importance documentation necessary to get anything done.
“A lot of spouses are in their 70s and 80s, and they had just become used to their spouses doing everything when it came to the VA,” Batchelder explained. “Now their spouse is gone and they aren’t sure what to do. That’s where we can help.”
Luckily, the region has a VA hospital that is in the top two or three in the nation, Batchelder said. “We are lucky to have the VA facility, and we have the national cemetery. We have good mental health programs here and we are very fortunate to have the help veterans need.”
Batchelder said when he came back to work in the office about eight years ago, he knew he’d made the right decision. “It felt like this is where I’m meant to be,” he said. “I figure I’ll retire from this position.”
For more information, call 423-542-1824 or visit veterans@cartercountytn.gov.

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