Husband\’s Death Propels Widow to Help Others

By Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

EMERALD ISLE, N.C., Sept. 30, 2009 – For the past five years, Vivianne Wersel has been fighting to improve benefits for the widows and families of fallen servicemembers.

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Vivianne Wersel, government relations committee chair for the Gold Star Wives of America, testifies before the House Veterans Affairs Committee\’s subcommittee on disability compensation and memorial affairs, Washington, D.C. Sept. 24, 2009. Wersel is the widow of Marine Corps Lt. Col. Richard Wersel, who died of heart complications a week after returning from Iraq in February 2005. DoD photo by Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden

As the government relations committee chair for the Gold Star Wives of America, Wersel has helped shed light on issues regarding financial compensation, continuing benefits for remarried military widows and overall support for survivors.
\”Surviving military spouses look to us as their link to benefit information and their voice in Congress,\” Wersel said in recent congressional testimony. \”We are the vanguards of survivor benefits, educating the public as well as elected officials on issues relating to military survivors.\” 

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