WWII veteran denied move to California

Posted 2015-06-04 18:01 by Grunt Report with 0 comments

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – He survived the attack at Pearl Harbor and the battle of Iwo Jima, and now George Vandersluis wants to go home.

But California state law and Veterans Affairs policy is keeping him from doing that.

Vandersluis grew up in Minneapolis but moved away during World War II to join the Marines. He eventually settled in California where he and his wife raised their two sons in Fresno. His children are now married and have children of their own.

The 99-year-old veteran spent time in a VA facility in Hastings and now is in Minneapolis.

“As far as I’m concerned, he has had excellent care here and in Hastings. It’s just that now we want to get him back home, the VA system won’t accept him,” said his daughter-in-law, Roxanne Schatzlein Vandersluis.

Schatzlein Vandersluis, who is visiting from California, said Tuesday the new veterans’ home in Fresno won’t allow him to get on a waiting list until he’s been a resident for six months. The story was first reported by the Hastings Star Gazette.

“Right is right. There’s no reason you should deny me that. I spent more years there than I have here,” he told KARE 11.

Vandersluis was in his early 20’s when he left his home in Minneapolis to join the Marines. Not only is he a World War II veteran, but one of the few still alive who survived the attacks at Pearl Harbor. He’s one of an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 who are still living.

“I was aboard a light cruiser,” he said of the attack. “The USS Honolulu.”

Eight years ago, he suffered a heart attack. And since his family said there was no VA facility close to home, he came to Minnesota where his older sister still lived.

“She was a wonderful person,” he said. “I think that was the main reason I stayed back here.”

But last fall, at nearly 101 years old, she passed away.

Now he wants to return to Fresno to be closer to his children and grandchildren.

“I think basically, I want back there because of the kids,” he said.

He will need to be at a facility that has skilled nursing, according to his family. They said an administrator at the care facility in Fresno told them not to apply because he didn’t meet the residency requirements.

“This is ridiculous. He’s live there practically his whole entire life,” she said.

A spokesperson for Gov. Mark Dayton said they applaud Vandersluis’s service and said the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is looking into the issue. A spokesperson confirmed they were working to find a resolution.

And Congressman Tim Walz’s staff is also checking to see if anything can be done. Walz serves on the House Committee for Veterans Affairs.

In an emailed statement to KARE 11, Paul Sullivan, a spokesperson for the California Department of Veterans Affairs wrote:

“California salutes George Vandersluis and his honorable service to our nation during the opening hours of World War II. State law requires our Veterans to be California residents prior to admittance into one of our Homes. CalVet is comforted in knowing George is getting the outstanding care and support he needs at the Minneapolis Veterans Home.”