Veterans Turn To Online Strangers For Financial Help
When Robert Sprenger's Humvee blew up in Iraq, the Army specialist was burned black over large swatches of his body.
After the Army transported him to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, Sprenger spent months lying in his bed, wrapped in gauze, almost like a mummy.
When he was released, he moved back home with his mother to the farm town of Sleepy Eye, Minn., where they made a troubling discovery.
The government compensated him, but his mother says the money wasn't anywhere near enough to cover his family's expenses. So Sprenger and his family swallowed their pride, as a growing number of veterans have done, and went cyberbegging: They posted their story on a Web site and asked strangers to help.
"That was the most horrible-est thing," says Robert's mother, Vicky Sprenger. But she says they had no choice. "I wouldn't ever cut the Army down for any reason whatsoever," she says. "I just think ... it kind of stinks, you know, that we do have to struggle the way we do."
The Sprengers posted a profile on www.USAtogether.org, one of a new breed of Web sites that help Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. The USAtogether profile includes a small photo of Sprenger in his hospital bed, staring dazed at the camera.
"I was a gunner in a Humvee that was hit by an IED," Sprenger writes in his profile. The roadside bomb left him "burned on 40 percent of my body. One week before my injuries, my sister was diagnosed with bipolar/borderline personality disorder and put in placement. Since then, my mom lost her job. She had taken too much time off from her previous job taking care of me and my sister."
Then Sprenger asks donors for a little help — but not cash. "Our washing machine no longer works," he writes, asking for a new machine.
Sprenger didn't return NPR's phone calls, but he did allow his mother to speak for him.
Stepping In Where Government Hasn't
The government offers a huge range of benefits to disabled vets — such as disability payments, job training and subsidies to buy cars and houses. Veterans advocates say if every vet received all the benefits they're entitled to, they should be able to afford a decent quality of life. But reports have shown that many vets vets don't know about all the benefits, so they don't apply for them.
And the average vet who does apply has to wait at least six months, and sometimes years, to receive them.
Hundreds of private groups try to fill the gap — from the American Legion, founded after World War I, to newer organizations, such as Soldiers' Angels, Fallen Heroes and Community of Veterans.
Advocates hail the nonprofit groups for donating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of goods and services — from toys and clothes for veterans' children to brand-new houses designed for amputees.
Still, an entrepreneur in Silicon Valley, Dave Mahler, perceived a need for a group that helps vets in a slightly different way. Mahler cheerfully acknowledges that he knows nothing about the military. He used to work for the technology company Hewlett-Packard, then he co-founded and sold a software company for a ton of money. About a year ago, he was looking for a new project, and he had an idea on his morning commute.
He drives past a federal Veterans Affairs hospital in Palo Alto, Calif., "and have driven past it almost every day for the last 25 years, and I'd never been on the property," he says.
It suddenly struck Mahler that perhaps he could use his Web skills to help the wounded troops.
As Mahler explains it, most veterans' support groups raise money from the public. Then their leaders — not the donors — decide exactly how to spend the money and who should get the help. Mahler set up USAtogether so a donor can choose an individual vet to support.
For instance, one photo on his Web site shows soldier "Tara H." standing on a prosthetic leg. "I could use any help with one month's mortgage," she writes.
Another posting, by "Michael T.," asks for "food for our family. Our refrigerator unexpectedly died and we lost all our food."
Before they agree to post any veteran's pleas, Mahler and a colleague check the vet's military and medical records and other information to make sure the requests are legitimate.
Vicky Sprenger and her son had barely posted their request when somebody sent them a brand-new washer and dryer from Sears.
"I was so tickled, because they actually came to my house," Vicky says. "I was kind of embarrassed they had to put these brand-new washer and dryer down in my basement, but you know, I even took all my kids down there and said, 'Oh, look at this, guys — brand new!' I've never had a brand-new washer and dryer."
Vicky Sprenger has found a job at a local supermarket, working at the deli counter and doing other tasks, but she says she can't afford health insurance and hasn't been able to pay her property taxes for months. She's just sent another appeal to USAtogether.org, hoping that other donors will help her.
Peter Gaytan, the American Legion's director of national veterans affairs, says the proliferation of groups like USAtogether raises a question.
"If the VA is meeting [its] obligations to America's veterans," he asks, "why is there a need for any other nongovernmental organizations or veterans service organizations to provide any level of assistance? If our [federal support] system were ideally able to meet all the needs, then we wouldn't have the need for these organizations springing up."
Privately, one top official at the American Legion says the fact that veterans receive so little compensation from the government and need to go cyberbegging is "pathetic." But, publicly, they echo Gaytan.
"It's heartening to see that the citizens of this country ... care enough to go to a Web site," he says, "to take the time to help returning veterans and their family. I think that's heartening as a country.
Earlier in January, the Veterans Affairs Department announced "a new partnership" to help private organizations assist veterans. The outgoing secretary, James Peake, said he'll appoint a federal employee to help private groups identify the "unmet needs" of veterans and their families. But the VA won't give them more money.
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- National Resource Directory (compiled by Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs Departments)
- AdoptAPlatoon
- Adopt-A-Soldier Now
- Adopt-a-Solider Platoon, Inc.
- Adopt A U.S. Soldier
- The American Legion
- Angels 'n Camouflage
- The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
- Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
- Operation Forever Free
- Rebuild Hope
- Soldiers' Angels
- USA Together
A few hours after Daniel Zwerdling's story aired on Morning Edition, Vicky and Robert Sprenger received some unexpected good news from the military.
A representative from the military's Traumatic Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance office called Robert and said they decided to increase how much they compensate burn victims and other injured veterans. She said Robert was now entitled to $100,000 — the maximum amount any soldier can receive — so Robert will get an additional $75,000 in the next 10 days.
A military spokesman said that the change was already in the works before the NPR broadcast and that the timing was coincidental.
RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Nearly 35,000 US soldiers have been injured in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and Robert Sprenger is one of them. After he was badly burned, he spent months in a hospital bed, and then he and his family made a troubling discovery. The military paid him compensation, yes, but it wasn't nearly enough to cover his family's expenses. So, Robert Sprenger and his family swallowed their pride and did what a growing number of veterans' families have done: They asked strangers for money on the Web. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reports.
DANIEL ZWERDLING: Robert Sprenger's mother lives in a tiny little Victorian across the street from the church. She's in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota. It's a farm town. She's not the activist type, but Vicky Sprenger is mad.
Ms. VICKY SPRENGER: It's really kind of sad what the Army does. And I shouldn't - I would never cut the Army down for any reason whatsoever, but no, I just think it's really - it kind of stinks, you know, that we do have to struggle the way we do.
ZWERDLING: And here's what Vicky and her son say they've had to do to get by: Go to your computer and get on the Web and type usatogether.org. This is one of a new breed of Web sites that's helping troops from Afghanistan and Iraq.
Ms. SPRENGER: Right down there, if you go to the home page...
ZWERDLING: There are all kinds of organizations that help vets. The American Legion has been helping them since the end of World War I. But groups like usatogether.org are different. It's not even really a group; it's basically just a Web site. It lets individual troops like Sprenger tell their story, and then it allows you to send help directly to that vet.
Ms. SPRENGER: He's probably the eighth person in the...
ZWERDLING: And there's a photo of Vicky's son lying in his hospital bed. He's wrapped in gauze, like a mummy, and he's pleading for somebody out there to help. Vicky reads the caption.
Ms. SPRENGER: OK.
(Reading) I'm Specialist Robert Sprenger, and I was wounded in Iraq. I was a gunner in a Humvee that was hit by an IED. I was burnt on 40 percent of my body. One week before my injuries, my sister was diagnosed with bipolar/borderline personality disorder and put in placement. Since then, my mom has lost her job; she had taken too much time off from her previous job taking care of me and my sister.
ZWERDLING: What do think Robert Sprenger is asking for? $10,000? $5,000? No. He's asking for a washing machine. He says, ours doesn't work anymore. Vicky keeps reading.
Ms. SPRENGER: (Reading) Due to her job situation, we have fallen behind on our monthly bills. I'm still in...
(Laughing) I'm going to start crying.
(Reading) I'm still on med hold, waiting for a discharge from the Army. When I am better I will be able to help our family.
ZWERDLING: Did you ever imagine that you would have to go begging on the Internet to raise enough money to help your injured son?
Ms. SPRENGER: And that's the most horrible-est thing.
Mr. DAVE MAHLER (Founder and President, USA Together): Well, it's - I think it's important for this population of injured service members not to be a hidden population.
ZWERDLING: That's the man who created this Web site, USA Together. His name is Dave Mahler, and he says he doesn't know anything about the military. He's a venture capitalist in Silicon Valley. He sold a software company, he made a ton of money, and about a year ago, he was looking for a new project.
Mr. MAHLER: I drive past a VA hospital, and have driven past it, you know, almost every day for the last 25 years, and I've never been on the property. I was in between some projects, and wanted to do something to help this group.
ZWERDLING: So, one day, he looked up the VA spokesperson. He asked her out for coffee. It was very Silicon Valley. They got together at a Starbucks, and Mahler said, how can I help?
Mr. MAHLER: This public affairs officer told me that occasionally she's able to get a story in the local newspaper and community people would reach out to help that individual. But it doesn't help the next ones in line behind them. And so, I thought it was interesting that people seem to want to help, but they didn't know who or how.
ZWERDLING: Actually, the government offers a huge range of benefits to disabled vets, like disability payments and job training, like subsidies to buy cars and houses. But studies show that a lot of vets don't know about those benefits, so they don't apply for them, and the average vet who does apply has to wait months or sometimes years to get them. So, hundreds of private groups try to fill the gap, like Soldiers' Angels or Community of Veterans or the American Legion. And Mahler says they do a great job, but he wanted his Web site to help people in a slightly different way.
Most groups raise money from people like you, and then the group decides how to spend it. Instead, Mahler set up USA Together so you can choose the individual vet you want to support. Look at his Web site. You want to help a soldier named Tara? She's standing on a prosthetic leg, and she writes, I could use any help with one month's mortgage. Mahler reads some of the other postings.
(Soundbite of typing)
Mr. MAHLER: The next one from Michael T. is: food for our family. Our refrigerator unexpectedly died and we lost all of our food. The next one is Michael H. from Army that says, you know, I need a sleeper sofa. We live in a small, two-bedroom apartment, as it's all we can afford in the area. Currently the boys and our daughters are all in the same room.
ZWERDLING: And of course, Vicky Sprenger and her son sent their story to the Web site. Mahler's colleague checked out their information. They asked for military and medical records, that kind of thing. And the posting had barely gone up when somebody sent the Sprengers a brand new washer and dryer from Sears.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. SPRENGER: I was so tickled because they actually came to my house. I was kind of embarrassed that they had to put these brand new washer and dryer down in my basement, but you know, I even took all my kids down there and said, oh, look at this, you guys, brand new.
(Soundbite of laughter)
Ms. SPRENGER: I've never had a brand new washer and dryer, and so that was really nice of them.
ZWERDLING: Here's what puzzles me. BJ was in Iraq; he got seriously injured. I think most people would assume, didn't the government pay him all kinds of money?
Ms. SPRENGER: No, not at all, uh-huh. They gave him $25,000. But if you think about all he went through in the last two years, $25,000 isn't anything.
ZWERDLING: And that raises a question.
Mr. PETER GAYTAN (Director, Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Division, American Legion): The question has to be asked, if VA is meeting their obligations to America's veterans, why is there a need for any other nongovernmental organizations or veterans' service organizations to provide any level of assistance?
ZWERDLING: That's Peter Gaytan. He's one of the directors of the American Legion. They're the granddaddy of veterans' groups. Gaytan says he has mixed feelings about the explosion of Web sites like USA Together.
Mr. GAYTAN: If our system were ideally able to meet all the needs, then we wouldn't have the need for these organizations springing up. But it's heartening to see that the citizens of this country, they care enough to go to a Web site, to take the time to help a returning veteran and their family. I think that's heartening as a country.
ZWERDLING: Just before they left office, the Bush administration announced a new program at the Department of Veterans' Affairs. The VA is going to appoint a federal employee to work with private, nonprofit groups across the country. The VA won't give them money, but the VA's press release says it will help them identify the unmet needs of veterans and their families. Nonprofit groups say they've already been doing that for years. Daniel Zwerdling, NPR News.
MONTAGNE: And if you'd like to find out about the different groups that help veterans, we've got a list at our Web site, npr.org.
(Soundbite of music)
MONTAGNE: This is NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
