New Veterans Affairs director knows what he wants

Iowa’s New Commissioner of Veterans Affairs may be a relative newcomer to public service, but he knows what he wants. Pat Palmersheim says vets aren’t getting all the help they should. Palmersheim applied two years ago for an opening as director of veterans affairs in Howard County. Now, he and his wife are moving from the tiny town of Elma to the Des Moines area, as Palmersheim takes over the office at Camp Dodge. He says medical care is the biggest problem for vets, with many VA hospitals suffering backlogs as long as two years. He says World War Two vets, especially, can’t wait that long. Palmersheim would like to schedule a visit with Iowa’s congressional delegation soon.He says he’d like to discuss benefits compared with those veterans get in other states. Palmersheim himself spent two tours of duty in Vietnam as a flight engineer, from 1967 to 1975.