After completing two honorable tours of duty, fighting in four separate campaigns in Vietnam, and earning an Air Medal with Valor Device for heroism, John Doe1 was given an Undesirable Discharge after he began threatening and striking other soldiers in 1973.2 He was later diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). As a result of his Undesirable Discharge, he can be denied government employment and cut off from benefits, such as disability compensation, health benefits, education benefits, a military burial, and benefits for surviving family members.3 Veterans like Mr. Doe have struggled to cope not only with their war wounds but also with the shame of a bad discharge. As one journalist observed, "'Bad paper' vets will not be honored on Veterans Day . . . . [They] have been largely forgotten and ignored by the military and veterans organizations."4
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Originally published by the Yale Law Journal March, 2014
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