Veterans groups lobbied hard for the Radiation Exposed Veterans Compensation Act, which became law May 20. ″I was fascinated, and asked the VA to reconsider a service connection for cause of death,″ Bielak said. During conversations at that time, he learned that her husband was a crew member on the Enola Gay. Shumard when she was having trouble collecting her limited benefits in 1980. I can pay some of the bills that had gotten behind,″ she said.īielak first went to bat for Mrs. He’s been fighting for the last eight years,″ Mrs. ″When I heard the good news, I almost fell to the floor. Shumard, who will receive five times the $133 a month she now gets in benefits from the VA, credits the help of Veterans of Foreign Wars member Norman Bielak.
