‘The Rating Changed His Life’

Sonia Coley remembers him well. After 24 years of service, a veteran walked into her office looking unsure. Like he shouldn’t have been there. As a VFW Accredited Service Officer, it was Coley’s job to convince him otherwise.

“He had that air about him,” Coley explained, “that so many service members do when they believe that going to sick call makes you weak, pain is part of the job and sucking it up is the only option.”

It was clear that the veteran had spent his career ignoring his injuries. Now, as Coley sat across from him, she wondered how, or even if, she could break through to him. But she’d have to find a way if she was going to secure the care and benefits he earned — and needed.

“Every time I’d ask him about another condition listed in his record, he’d deny it,” Coley recalled. “Not because it didn’t happen, but because he spent decades telling himself it didn’t matter.”

Coley is Still Serving as a VFW Accredited Service Officer to help veterans understand that the opposite is true. That their service, experiences and well-being matter deeply. And that someone’s willing to fight on their behalf to ensure they get what they deserve. But in this veteran’s case, Coley could tell that the emotional weight of the appointment was getting to be too much.

“So, I shifted gears,” she explained. “I stopped the paperwork and talked about things I remember from my own time in the military. The culture, the humor — and the expectations. Before long, I was able to break down the wall he’d built around himself.”

They tried again. This time, Coley and the veteran were able to review his entire record — all 6,000 pages of it — with the veteran acknowledging different conditions as they went. When they finished, he said, “I had no idea all of this happened to me.”

A few months later, the veteran called Coley to let her know he had been awarded a 100% disability rating by the VA.

“His voice was full of emotion,” Coley said, “because the rating changed his life. It gave him stability, health care — and the validation he never allowed himself to feel while he was in uniform.

“And I was reminded why this work matters. More than filing claims, we’re giving veterans space to acknowledge their sacrifices, so they can accept what they earned through years of selfless service.”