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Show WWII vets victims of 50 year old hoax WWII Vets 1 I ATTENTION l WORLD WAR I' VETS wmmMm SOCIAL SECURE NUMBER . g I SERIAL NUMBER FSERV,CE Z- I DATE OF SERVICE I SINCERELY, j By SCOTT SUMMERILL World War II vets have been the target of a stupendous hoax for almost 50 years, and though the originator is still not known, stories of how and why the hoax was started have reached folklore status. According to a flier that has appeared ap-peared in newspapers, advertisers, magazines and is posted on bulletin boards across the nation, a bill was passed by Congress that would pay WWII veterans a dividend of 55 or 65 cents per $1,000 of their GI insurance in-surance for each month of service. The flier then asks for information informa-tion from the vet, and gives a return address for the VA Regional Office & Insurance Center in Pennsylvania. Penn-sylvania. Unfortunately, the address is the only thing real on the entire form. Keith Cap 1 an, an insurance specialist at the VA office in Pennsylvania, Penn-sylvania, said the form turns up every year, and while the VA has tried to track down and stop the almost infectious spread, they have been unsuccessful so far. "Most people know when they call that it's probably a hoax," he said. 'But they figure what the heck. We don't pay out dividends on that basis. Dividends are only available to people who are still insured in-sured with us." Cap Ian said the VA is flooded with phone calls and letters each time the epidemic makes its rounds. Officials at the Salt Lake City VA office said they, too, get a lot of calls about the sham. One of the counselors at the Salt Lake City office said the form began circulating about 15 years after someone got upset at the VA and decided to cause trouble. Still another version of how the deception began came from one of Utah's U.S. Congressman' constituency consti-tuency specialists, who wishes to remain anonymous. According to the specialist, the form first appeared in an Eastern newspaper about four years ago. He believes it was an attempt by an insurance in-surance company to develop a mailing mail-ing list of prospective customers. He said the VA has contacted the company and requested they stop the practice, but to no avail. The VA has not corroborated the story. Paul Croke, the editor of the "Spotlight," a weekly newspaper published in Washington, D.C., was one of the thousands of publishers taken in by the hoax. His paper unwittingly un-wittingly published the form believing believ-ing it was on the level. "We're really embarrassed about it," he said. "It was brought to me by one of my superiors, and we printed it without checking first. We ran a retraction in the next issue." Apparently, Croke's superior had obtained the form in a small local advertiser. The "Spotlight" is distributed nationally, so the form found another avenue from which to branch out. Since the publication ran, Croke said he has heard reports of the form being circulated as far back as the 1 940s. "I guess there really was such a bill introduced back then," he said. "This was just a way to try and goad the legislature into passing it." During the investigation, each source had a different and equally amazing story of how the fallacy began and why. The only thing all parties are in agreement on is that it is a complete hoax. Whichever story veterans like the most is fine, said one VA official. "They can even make up their own. But, please tell them to stop sending in the forms and calling. It's not real." However the hoax got started, whatever the reason was, however long it's been going on, one thing's for sure if the people responsible are still alive, they must be getting a kick about all this. They may even be proud. After all, it's not easy to reach legendary status in your own lifetime. |