BLAWG of Hugh D. Cox, Attorney in Greenville NC, proudly representing the disabled for rightful veterans benefits, Social Security benefits and Workers Compensation throughout  North Carolina

I am still deciding how to organize this Blog or Blawg. For the beginning, I will simply add subjects by date and hope for the best until I decide to reorganize.

2007/05/25: One of the most insightful and valuable web sites is www.vawatchdog.org personally founded and operated by Larry Scott. The web site is now the second leading web site for vet information behind the VA web site. Go to www.vawatchdog.org and listen to the audio interviews with attorneys, Richard Cohen and Ken Carpenter. Both are champions for the veteran against a hostile agency.

2007/04/21: What happened to Fort Holabird, Maryland? For everyone who served in Army Intelligence and Security branch (AIS) or Military Intelligence branch (MI) during a certain golden age, there was FORT HOLABIRD, Maryland at the corner of Holabird and Dundalk Avenues in Baltimore. In 1973, the Intelligence School and Command were moved to Fort Huachuca, Arizona. My fellow attorney and former counterintelligence officer, Bill La Croix, guided me back to where the "Bird" once stood. We were on a Pilgrimage seeking to find any relic of that era. Bill saw the classic old building first in the distance. We approached what had been the officer's club. It is the only Fort Holabird building left within an industrial park. The Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA Chapter 451) now occupy the building. A Pilgrimage can inspire old warriors to remember that which was noble, challenging, honorable, and worth living and dying for. Photos are below:

Click on the Fort Holabird aerial photo for a larger photo. Also see: http://www.answers.com/topic/fort-holabird

2007/04/14: Trusting a VA Regional Office to accept regular mail and to process the mail is unwise. Increasingly I see that veterans must send all correspondence to the Regional Office by certified mail with return receipt requested. In the past, I experienced some Winston Salem Regional Office officials deny that appeals or evidence was received until the USPS green receipt card was produced.

2007/04/03: Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Edwin R. Griffith was an faithful brother with a passion for helping disabled veterans. He was a non-attorney practitioner before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims for many years and his name appears in some published cases. His funeral at the Grace Lutheran Church in Washington, North Carolina on April 7,2007 was preceded by a surprise snow in a part of the nation where snow is rare. As soon as Rev. Carter S. Askren started his moving traditional service, the Sun appeared brilliantly through the Church stained glass window. Ed was as proud of his decorated combat military service in Korea and Vietnam and his Ph.D. as he was of his family. He is survived by three daughters who remind me of Ed's finest attributes. We will miss his love of discussion of his enthusiastic opinions.

2007/03/30: One of my articles, "A Cynical old Attorney Re-Examines Pro Bono", was published in a North Carolina Bar Association section newsletter (Practice Management, March 2007) at http://lawpracticemanagement.ncbar.org/Newsletters/Newsletters/6390.aspx . Download the file and the article is at page 4. I am deeply grateful to Susan Kaydos for her editing.

since April 10, 2007