dont know if this is best to post at first, but what the heck, why not...
Dear _______________,
In May 2005 I joined the Army Nation Guard, I joined with the intention of becoming an 18Delta Special Forces Medical Sergeant. I began training September of that year, then 91W Medic school in November, Airborne school in May of ‘06, SFAS (Special Forces Assessment & Selection) prep in June, and Selection in July and August. After 11.5 months of training I failed to make selection and continue on in training. Afterwards I went back home to New Jersey to train in the Guard and become and officer.
I started school again and was anticipating beginning OCS in the New Year coming. In late January ’07, the 23rd to be precise my dad died and set my life and my family into complete despair and turmoil. I still began OCS that February and intended on completing it through and finishing a college degree. In July of that year I had an opportunity to move to Hawaii and pursue doing missions work, which I was hoping to do for a year, traveling to places around the world in need and helping people. I moved there and started the process to transfer units and get into the OCS school out there. Everything was going well the first month there and then I got a call from my sister saying mom was diagnosed with cancer. So that same day I was packed and on a military HOPS flight back to NJ to be with my mom.
I got there and life changed for the absolute worse that it had ever been. Mom was diagnosed with small cell cancer and was expected to die within the year. I was taken aback and didn’t know what to do so I prayed and hoped. I moved back home and started working as a martial arts instructor, began drilling with my old unit again, and was going day to day loving my mom and waiting for God to act and heal. My unit assigned for deployment and was scheduled to leave for training multiple times over the next few months and for good in May of that year. I told my commander that I could not go and would not leave my mom while she was sick. After many disputes and appeals my unit finally suggested that I put in for a hardship discharge so there would be no possibility of leaving my mom when she was sick with cancer. I didn’t want to but wasn’t going to risk leaving mom or getting arrested for abandoning my unit and neglecting my duty when they deployed. So I put in for hardship discharge and was granted that; and was done drilling with my unit, out of the army.
Mom died on January 22nd of 2008, one year after dad died, 16-hour difference. My family fell apart, I was a mess, life was nothing, empty and we didn’t know what to do. We had the funeral a few days later and it went well, I worked on a picture slide show and video presentation about mom to show my family at the reception. After that I didn’t know what to do, I started my own business and intended to stay in New Jersey, but my family decided to sell the house and by April the house and everything that was there my whole life was gone. I thought moving out to Colorado would be good, it wasn’t. I lived there for the summer then in the beginning of October I decided to move out to Hollywood. I was already scheduled to fly to the Philippines October 28th out of LAX airport, so I just moved here and stayed with a friend for a few weeks, went to the Philippines for a Mini Medical School working with and learning from Doctors and doing medical outreaches to indigenous tribes people on the island. I learned to deliver babies, do dental work, diagnose and prescribe drugs for patient sickness, and work somewhat with Herbal remedies to cure skin diseases.
I was over there for 2 amazing months and after I got back I spent one month in New Jersey seeing my family then came out to Hollywood and found a place to live. I spent the first few months trying to get my business going, but after a lot of trying and spending money, I didn’t make any. So summer time I renewed my EMT license and got a job working as an emergency medical technician.
I was walking by LA Film school one day and decided to stop in and see what they had to offer. Earlier that summer I thought of an idea that consumed and still consumes my passions, I want to get my own TV show doing Medical Missions, backpacking the world, having adventures, finding people in need, and getting in the resources to help, treat, and educate them. A real way of medically and economically helping people, bringing public awareness to areas much less fortunate then us, and creating an actual way for people to give money or volunteer time to a specific people group with the intent purpose to help and make a difference.
So I went in the school and took a tour and thought that this could be a place I’d be able to learn how to make my show. I spoke with an admissions rep and told her that there would be no way that I could afford this unless I had military benefits that could cover it. She had me talk to the schools VA rep and she had me fill out paperwork online; She informed me that I should be able to receive the Post 9/11 G.I. Bill which meant I would be getting $2,000 a month and full tuition benefits. I couldn’t believe it, that would be almost as much as I made working full time, but I’d be getting to go to school on top of that. I stressed that she had to be sure that she was accurate otherwise I could not go. She said that everything was ok and it would initially take a few months (3 or more) to start getting payments because the VA was so backed up.
I began classes and loved it, the school is great and I’m learning quite a bit, but since no money came in I had to keep on working my EMT job whenever I could which wasn’t that often. Big problem is that I can’t work on days when I have school. So Bills began piling up and rent became a habitually late thing to pay, which my landlord is not happy with. I actually got an eviction notice in October because I was late on Septembers rent and didn’t have enough to pay Octobers. That’s when I found out from another veteran in my class that the VA was giving $3,000 advances because they were so late on payments and all we had to do was go down there and they check your records and pay the advance. I went down the next day and waited for a couple of hours, they called me in, checked my records, and wrote me a check for $3,000. I went to my bank and had them immediately write me a check to cover the 3 months rent, got home and gave it to my landlord so I didn’t get evicted and was a month ahead on rent now. Really saved my butt from becoming homeless.
The next few months of school were good, learned a bunch and had a day or two off a week to work my ambulance job to make rent money. In January we were working on a set learning different crew jobs and doing quite a bit. Then one day I heard about a huge earthquake that happened in Haiti and killed a lot of people, I didn’t understand the magnitude of it until I watched videos on youtube showing the utter destruction. It hit my heart hard, I wanted to go down there and help, I was talking with a cinematography teacher on day after class and told him what I wanted to do for a medical mission tv show and he told me something that really influenced and inspired me. He said “Mike, if I were you and I wanted to do what you hope to do to help people and make a show, I’d stop right now and figure out how I could get down there, go and do your medical stuff and film everything you can.” As soon as he said that I asked myself, why aren’t I there? I have the training and skills and a camcorder, why don’t I go?
So I called a contact I had, a guy who runs a medical group called Medical Mission Adventures (www.MMAdventures.org) and he said they were already looking into heading there in a few weeks. So I decided to take off of school for a month and head over there to do what I could to Love and help hurting and sick people however I could. I raised money through my church and whoever else donated, still that wasn’t enough so I worked as much as I could the week before we left and went over there from Feb 6th – Feb 21st, in Haiti I met many amazing people from all over the world that were there to give of themselves and help without receiving anything in return. The Haitian people, for people that lost so much, their loved ones, spouses, children, babies, parents, friends, the Haitians were an amazing people full of praise to God and thanksgiving for all the world that was coming to help. I have never seen such a strong people in my life thus far.
When I got home from Haiti I began to see how costly the trip really was, I’d taken 11 hours of footage and need to do something with it, make a documentary to show what its like there, to show what’s needed and inspire people to help. But I didn’t even have enough money to buy an external hard drive to get the footage on. I was able to pay rent late again but after that got hit with $400 in over draft fees from my bank. I’ve been trying to work to pay off bills and pay rent which I’m currently late on yet, and I am working but not enough to pay everything owed.
I just found out that I’m not getting my Post 9/11 VA Benefits, no $2,000 a month and no full tuition coverage, and got a few letters already from the VA stating I owe them the $3,000 I got as an advance back in October. I’ve spoken with the schools new VA reps and they ‘ve told me that I am not entitled to the Post 9/11 GI Bill instead I’d be getting another one where the VA pays me directly and in turn I have to take that and pay the school tuition directly. I should have a large back pay waiting for me I just have no idea where it is or how to get it. I’m talking with a recruiter now to find out about going back into service and seeing if that would take care of school and financial problems. I may become an officer and train more in media and documentaries. Yet as of right now I owe a lot of money, have not gotten any back pay from the VA, and do not have enough to cover mere rent and bills.
I am asking the VA to drop any debts held against me and to please help me figure out how to get any monies I have in waiting. I’ve gotten nothing but different information from every source I’ve spoken to and do not know what I’m supposed to do. I cannot afford to be delinquent on debts and be kicked out of my apartment, yesterday I was told by a man working at the Los Angeles VA that I had to write a letter and send it into the VA and have someone from there call me back so I could actually speak with somebody who knows what they’re talking about and help me out. Please do call me at 732-261-2895, anytime, and if I can’t speak or am unable to pick up please leave a message with your number and contact information to call you back directly. I appreciate you taking time to read this and hope that it helps you help me.
Thank you,
Mike Antonucci
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