Dual Veteran Families New Website & Capitol Hill Round Table on 29 June

Thank you for signing our petition in the past year--and please pass the word that we have a website up and running, along with a DC round table taking place on the 70th anniversary of the War Orphans Educational Assistance Act of 1956!  That is now the Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance program, known to many of us as "Chapter 35" (of Title 38 of the U.S. Code).

We did good work on Capitol Hill on October 8, 2025, the 17th anniversary of the 2008 Osman v. Peake precedential 3-0 decision that holds a dual eligible Chapter 35 child student can use two sets of these crucial benefits concurrently.  Veterans from as far away as California, Texas and South Carolina joined us.

For those close to Washington who are themselves dual and can join us later this month, better yet with child students who should be able to use benefits each veteran parent earned, we will have buttons, car magnets, several dozen T-shirts, and plenty of stickers on hand.  Being visible is important; if all goes well we'll also have some members of the media there too.

Thank you again for your support; all veterans need VA to follow settled case law and the Constitution, while taking from teenagers, some orphans or Gold Star kids, this way is deeply wrong.  We are waiting to hear how the decision in Davis v. Collins at the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims goes--after Brian Osman it has taken almost 18 years for another dual eligible child student, Michael Davis, to stand up to VA.  Unfortunately, VA is fighting him by claiming that because it does not pay more in SMC (special monthly compensation) for a lost or nonfuntional pair of reproductive organs, it should not have to follow Osman and provide two sets of Chapter 35, even through two deceased parents who served the nation in uniform.

You really can't make this stuff up--but you can fight it.  The next generation deserves it. 

You can always reach out to ch35dualveteranfamilies@gmail.com with questions or find us on Facebook at VA Chapter 35 Dual Veteran Families; getting this fixed is crucial.