The Veterans Law Review recently published an article on the origins of the modern veterans benefits system, now codified in Title 38. It is an informative article for those with a vested interest in understanding how a claim before the Department of Veteran Affairs [hereinafter “VA”] is adjudicated, the often-cited “backlog”, or anyone dealing with statutory/regulatory interpretation.
The article, which can be accessed at James D. Ridgway, Recovering an Institutional Memory: The Origins of the Modern Veterans’ Benefits System from 1914 to 1958, 5 Veterans L. Rev. 1 (2013), also documents how periods of war in our Nation’s history have been the driving force for change in the VA system of adjudication.