(OVERLAND PARK, KAN.) – Congressman Dennis Moore (Third District-KS) met with Moses Cruse, an 81 year old WW II veteran, on Monday to discuss his military service and the benefits he was recently awarded through the VA, thanks to the efforts of Congressman Moore and Cruse’s attorneys at Armstrong Teasdale, LLP. Cruse’s claim for service-related disability benefits had been pending since 2000.

“I consider it a privilege to help our veterans get the benefits they deserve for their dedication and sacrifice,” Moore said. “Mr. Cruse served our country with honor and he deserves the benefits he earned during that service.”

Mr. Moses Cruse served in the U.S. Army's 388th Engineer (Segregated) Battalion from 1942 to 1944. The battalion was sent from Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, to Canada's Northwest Territories to work on the CANOL (Canadian Oil) Project, which included the building of the ALCAN Highway. Today, Cruse lives with a hip condition that he suffered after being run over by an Army truck while building the road. Unfortunately, his claim for VA benefits was repeatedly denied because records of his military service and hospitalization have never been found.

The law firm of Armstrong Teasdale, LLP, contacted Moore's office to request assistance with Mr. Cruse's longstanding VA disability case. Together, they were able to locate microfilm records of Cruse’s absences from duty due to injuries, as well as his post-service VA treatment records. That evidence, along with repeated inquiries to the Wichita VA Regional Office, resulted in an award of service-related disability benefits for Cruse and dependent benefits for his wife, Fannie, retroactive to the year 2000, when the claim was originally filed.

“In times of crisis, our nation looks to the men and women of the armed forces,” Moore said. “They have never hesitated in answering our nation's call. We must do all that we can to fulfill the healthcare commitments we made to our servicemen and women."

After the Japanese invasion of Pearl Harbor and the Aleutian Islands, ground transportation and access to the oil fields of the Mackenzie River near the Arctic Circle became vital, in case the Japanese closed shipping lanes for Canadian oil. The CANOL (Canadian Oil) Project was approved in 1942 and two Army Engineer battalions were sent to Alaska and the Northwest Territories to begin building a road connecting the two areas, resulting in the now famous ALCAN Highway. Unfortunately, the men in these battalions suffered not only from the frigid winter weather conditions, but from the undersupply of basic items such as food, shelter, recordkeeping, and medical care.