HOUSTON – A Houston-area veteran who as a Marine served two tours in Iraq has been trying to convince the Department of Veterans Affairs that he is not dead.
Joe Morris received a service-related disability check for seven years but in April there was an apparent computer problem, KPRC-TV reported Tuesday.
His parents received a condolence letter from the government and he wrongly was classified as deceased as of April 1, Morris said. He spoke to government officials on April 14 to set up direct deposit after his disability check seemed to have gotten lost.
"That’s when they told me there was a computer glitch. The computer had automatically classified me as deceased. They don’t know what happened, they just said it did it on its own," Morris said.
VA benefits representatives are looking into the matter, according to KPRC. Messages left with VA media officials were not immediately returned Wednesday.
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Morris also learned that the VA wrongly notified the Social Security Administration that he died. That error showed up as Morris and his wife were in the process of buying a home.
Morris, who has relied on his wife’s credit information toward purchase of the residence, is getting his government checks again but wants the problems corrected.
"I don't want this to happen to anybody else," Morris said.
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