Jul 01, 2019
WASHINGTON – The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is proud to announce the selection of Terry “Mike” Eshenbaugh as the VFW Accredited Service Representative of the Year.
Eshenbaugh, who is employed by the Texas Veterans Commission as the VFW Department of Texas service officer, is an integral part of the VFW’s worldwide network of more than 2,100 accredited service officers who last year helped more than 526,000 veterans to recoup $8.3 billion in earned disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Accredited means VA accreditation, which allows VFW Service Officers to assist and file VA claims on behalf of veterans and transitioning service members, as well as to provide representation before the Board of Veterans Appeals if needed. The support is free to all honorably discharged veterans and is a continuation of the VFW’s “service to others” mission that the organization began one century ago after returning World War I veterans faced the same government neglect as the VFW’s forefathers encountered two decades earlier.
Mike’s selection as the top VFW Service Officer was based on his great service work and for his extracurricular activities in the Houston metropolitan area,” said VFW National Commander B.J. Lawrence.
“Not only is he enabling 4,700 veterans to annually receive more than $80 million in disability compensation, Mike is also training VFW Post service officers to be more knowledgeable advisers, helping veterans needing financial assistance, using his criminal justice background to assist at the local veterans’ court, and he helped rescue many residents who were left stranded by the flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey,” said Lawrence. “Mike is making a difference every day in his community, and I look forward to presenting him his well-earned award at the VFW’s 120th National Convention in Orlando, Fla., in three weeks.”
Eshenbaugh is a medically-discharged veteran who served nine years in the Army, to include service in Bosnia and Southwest Asia. He is a member of VFW Post 4709 in Conroe, Texas.