By Peter The Great
A decorated Vietnam veteran has returned his medals in protest of an alimony decree by a civil court judge. Scott Cameron is one of 300,000 wounded vets of the Vietnam war Mr. Cameron is permanently disabled and unemployed, yet the judge ordered him to pay his ex-wife $500 per month in alimony.
“My ex-wife didn’t serve in Vietnam, I did. She wasn’t forced to killed people, I was. She wasn’t the one severely wounded, I was. She didn’t experience the pain I did. She doesn’t have the disfiguring scars I do. She doesn’t have to take the long list of medications I do, and she will probably out live me because of all of this. My ex-wife is not entitled to any of my combat related disability benefits. My veteran’s disability compensation belongs to me, and only me, and no one is going to take it from me,” said Scott Cameron of Duluth, Minnesota.
In protest to this immoral and unlawful decree, Mr. Cameron has returned his Purple Heart and Bronze Star to congress in protest.
A member of Operation Firing For Effect’s AREA 5301, a group of disabled veterans currently protesting the use of veteran’s disability compensation as “income” in a divorce settlement and divided with an ex-spouse. WWW.AREA5301.NET
OFFE National Chairman Gene Simes states that Scott Cameron’s disability compensation is protected by a federal law which was written over 175 years ago. Simes said civil courts are routinely violating the absolute protection of veteran’s benefits from attachment as stated in; USC, Title 38, § 5301. Nonassignability and exempt status of benefits, (a) (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.
In an effort to avoid arrest for contempt for non-payment of the decree, Mr. Cameron has left the U.S. OFFE states that currently there are 153 cases of 5301 abuse in the U.S., and to date 9 members of OFFE have been jailed for refusing to give up their disability payments to their ex-wives.
It is hoped that these men, who honorably served and were granted disability for their war wounds, will be able to stop this abuse. Further that when won, this crack in the door of a man being able to keep what is his, will spread to other areas of financial freedom for men, including the ability to keep the fruit of his labors.
