‘Not in line of duty’ ruling left soldier’s family without benefits
Much of Ms. Venetz’s concern about what happened the day her husband died has been validated by a second informal investigation — conducted at her urging — by the Army Special Forces.
That investigation, known as a 15-6, showed that on Jan. 27, 2011, the night before he died, Sgt. Venetz had sought medical attention for pain in his leg from a shrapnel injury, severe headaches from an IED blast and trouble swallowing due to a MRSA infection in his lungs.
The 15-6 investigation, which was released in April 2012, determined that due to a lack of medical records — including what medications he may have been prescribed — and missing pages from the autopsy, the case should be re-evaluated.
Army public affairs specialist Tatjana Christian said Ms. Venetz has a six-year window to file an appeal of the Army’s “not in the line of duty” ruling. She said, “It would be inappropriate for us to comment until that process is closed.”
Ms. Venetz said she has filed two appeals and has received letters in each instance stating her husband’s death was still considered “not in the line of duty.” She said the attorney recently appointed by the Army to represent her has been helpful in navigating the process of a third appeal.
“I’ve had a lot of people reaching out to me,” Ms. Venetz said, crediting the CBS report with bringing national attention to her family’s situation. “People just do not understand how it’s being considered not in the line of duty.”
Ms. Venetz said she has no reason to believe her husband, who was looking forward to coming home on leave when she spoke with him in the days before his death, would have ended his own life. She also said she did not know him to use drugs.
“He was due to come home that weekend because he was going to Jumpmaster School,” she said. “That’s something you are drug-tested for. Something he was chosen for.”
Ms. Venetz said her husband’s fourth deployment definitely took a toll, but she believes he was taking things in stride.
“They had lost people, one of his friends lost both his legs, Anthony was shot,” she said. “They had hardly any food or water a lot of the time. But I don’t think he was dealing with things in a bad way. He got up and he did what he had to do.”
Ms. Venetz has gained support from her late husband’s fellow soldiers on a Facebook page she created called Justice for SFC Venetz. The page, which she updates frequently with tales of her husband’s heroism and his love for family, has more than 2,100 followers. The men he served with describe him as a good soldier whose family deserves the benefits they’ve been denied. Many of those same men have written letters of support for his family’s appeal.
Ms. Venetz said the tragedy assistance program, TAPS, to which she first reached out about two years ago, has been instrumental in helping the family as it works to have the Army’s decision overturned.
“Service men and -women who serve our country have an expectation that their families will be cared for,” said Ms. Neilberger-Miller of TAPS. “And the military takes significant steps to make sure [soldiers] have their affairs in order before they are deployed.”
Ms. Neiberger-Miller said a “not in the line of duty” ruling is extremely rare for a soldier, particularly a Green Beret, who dies during deployment. She said the benefits awarded to the families of fallen soldiers “do not replace a spouse or a father, but they help families rebuild their lives.”
“These benefits can often be enough for a family to live modestly on,” she said.
The Venetz family was living in North Carolina at the time of Sgt. Venetz’s death but has since relocated to San Antonio, Texas.
Ultimately, Ms. Venetz said, she wants the Army to reverse its decision to help her provide the best life possible for her children — and to clear her husband’s name
“My children deserve to be proud of their dad,” she said.
