Living

Other Events:

• Residence: Delray Beach, Palm Beach, Florida, USA
• Residence: Between 1935 and 1993, Miramar, Broward, Florida, USA
• Residence: 1965, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA

Notes:

Sun Sentinal, January 27, 1992

Veteran`s Toughest Battle Was To Win Benefits
January 27, 1992 |By KIM MARGOLIS, Staff Writer

Doug Lloyd`s memories of the Vietnam War were vivid enough to torture him and take over his life, but not detailed enough to get him help.

The Bronze Star recipient tried for 10 years to get a service-related disability claim for his post-traumatic stress disorder. For years, he could not keep jobs, had nightmares and experienced flashbacks of killing people or seeing people killed.

But the Veterans Administration said he did not remember enough details about names of soldiers and locations of battles to prove the war caused his troubles.

According to a VA study, there are 500,000 Vietnam veterans with post- traumatic stress disorder who received no treatment. After Vietnam, Lloyd and others like him became withdrawn, depressed and had difficulty relating to others.

``God knew what a tortured man he was,`` said Lloyd`s aunt, Jean Berry.

In late December, with the help of a social worker and another Vietnam veteran, Lloyd came close to proving his claim, which could have gained him as little as $83 a month or as much as $1,620.

On Jan. 1, he left his aunt`s home, high on crack cocaine. He had been winning and losing battles with drugs and alcohol for years, but until New Year`s Day seemed to have been winning his latest battle.

After leaving home, he called friends from a pay phone behind the Plantation Albertson`s at 1181 S. University Drive.

On Jan. 6 he did not show up for a psychiatrist`s appointment. Berry was sure he would be there because he had all his documents and a new pair of pants in his duffel bag when he left home. He had asked the pastor of the First Christian Church to pray for him on the dates of his exams.

That exam was the last hurdle between him and his benefits.

On Jan. 14, his badly decomposed body was found behind Albertson`s. He was found lying on his back, with his legs crossed, as his aunt had seen him sleeping many times.

Police said his death was natural. Berry thinks he accidentally combined a deadly mix of crack and prescription drugs.

Lloyd suffered from psychogenic amnesia, meaning he could not and did not want to remember traumatic events during the war, said Pat Koritta, of Broward County Veterans Services Section, who has been working on his claim since 1989.

Recently, he had been comfortable discussing events with veteran Larry McClay, but speaking with a VA psychiatrist was too much to take.

``Every time he got a little bit of hope, they pulled the rug out from under him,`` Koritta said. ``He was scared of the exam. These were VA doctors. `What if they twist everything I say?` Doug said. Who the hell wants to be forced to remember all this stuff?``

Berry, a former schoolteacher from Davie, cared for Lloyd and his grandmother, Erma Lloyd, 93. His grandfather was Broward`s first Republican sheriff, Justice A. ``Quill`` Lloyd.

Berry, 69, said her nephew was a happy child who could get all the other children to follow him. He had a treehouse and, later, many friends at Stranahan High School.

After returning from Vietnam, he withdrew, moved to Delray Beach and did not visit family often. After his father died of cancer, Lloyd inherited the home. He got married, but the marriage lasted only a few months.

Three years ago, he moved in with Berry. He slept to avoid depression, watched television and read religious books. He got out of the house to attend a church group.

Douglas Alva Lloyd, as he always signed his name, experienced the same dead end other veterans see with their post traumatic stress disorder claims.

From 1986 to 1991, 71,159 Vietnam Veterans applied for post-traumatic stress disorder compensation and 38,891 received compensation, said Steve Petty, a VA official and member of a congressional committee studying post-traumatic stress disorder.

Lloyd did not let one denial stop him. He had filed, re-opened and re- appealed his case many times in the last decade.

The VA said he did not provide details of names and dates, calling him ``a poor historian.`` They also claimed he drank alcohol before entering the war.

In one of his filings, he said, ``I`ve been jumpy and (had) wrecked nerves ever since (the war). Nightmares. Don`t trust anybody. Feel like I don`t belong. Angre (sic) bad and hateful. I went there as a teenager and came back f----- up and (a) killer for what ... tell me!``

Friends and relatives testified about how the war changed Lloyd. Veterans` advocate Koritta found documents proving Lloyd received a Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and a Combat Infantry Badge, awards given to those who fought bravely.

The key to receiving Lloyd`s disability claim came when Koritta obtained Army reports describing what happened in his unit, the 101st Airborne Division, during his tour. They proved he was involved in ground fighting.

Petty admitted there are problems with the compensation process, including psychological exams done by cardiologists or interns, lack of interviews by social workers and bias that post-traumatic stress disorder is not a legitimate health problem.

Koritta called Lloyd ``a real sweetheart`` who sent her flowers and a note when she was hospitalized. He always smiled and wore his cap.

``It`s not like we were bosom buddies, but it was senseless,`` Koritta said.

Douglas married Marnell, Kathleen Ann about 1977. Kathleen (daughter of Marnell, Dennis and Hanley, Mary G) was born on 7 Oct 1957 in San Diego, San Diego, California, USA; died on 29 Jul 2009 in Knoxville, Knox, Tennessee, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Residence: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, USA
• Residence: Fulton, Georgia
• Residence: 1920, Luce Township, Spencer, Indiana, USA; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Son
• Residence: 1930, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA
• Residence: 1930, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head of House: Son
• Residence: 1945, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA
• Residence: 1954, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA

Notes:

Birth:
born on farm

Alva married Living [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Dennis married Hanley, Mary G. Mary was born on 20 May 1931 in Rhode Island, USA; died on 12 Oct 2013 in Sevier County, Tennessee, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Residence: Spencer, Indiana, USA; Military Marital Status: Single
• Residence: 1900, Luce, Spencer, Indiana, USA; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head: Son
• Residence: 1920, Luce, Spencer, Indiana, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head
• Residence: 1930, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head
• Residence: 1935, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA
• Residence: 1940, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Head
• Residence: 1945, Broward, Florida, USA; Precinct 7

Justice married Sanders, Erma Marie on 1 Dec 1917 in Vanderburgh, Indiana. Erma (daughter of Sanders, Samuel Curtis and Tongate, Louise Ann) was born on 7 Jun 1898 in Hatfield, Spencer, Indiana, USA; died on 2 Dec 1995 in Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events:

• Residence: 1900, Luce, Spencer, Indiana, USA; Marital Status: Single; Relation to Head: Daughter
• Residence: 1910, Luce, Spencer, Indiana, USA
• Residence: 1920, Luce, Spencer, Indiana, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Wife
• Residence: 1930, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Wife
• Residence: 1935, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA
• Residence: 1940, Fort Lauderdale, Broward, Florida, USA; Marital Status: Married; Relation to Head of House: Wife