Sunday, May 5, 2024
Cil Boehmer, widow of U.S. Army veteran Rick Boehmer.
Celia “Cil” Boehmer’s account of what happened to her late husband Rick, a veteran of the U.S. Army, differs somewhat from that of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
She blames the Dallas VA for burying him as “unclaimed/abandoned/indigent” without her knowledge, consent, or presence at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery when she was desperately trying to come up with the money to honor his final wishes.
Rick, 76 and a private first class during the Vietnam War era, wanted to be cremated and his ashes spread in the Ruby Mountains of Nevada where he used to hunt with his son, Cil said.
In a letter to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, whose office inquired about the situation, Stephen R. Holt, executive medical director for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, VA North Texas Health Care System, wrote that there had been “ample time” for Cil “to claim the Veteran’s remains, pay for the cremation, and take possession of the Veteran’s cremains.”
Cil said she did not know when she was pleading for more time that there are several organizations that help with such matters.
She also said she did not know that her husband had been buried on Feb. 16 until she was informed by a staffer in U.S. Rep. August Pfluger’s office on Feb. 23, the day that would have marked her 37th wedding anniversary.
The widow’s anger isn’t just over the burial/cremation debacle, though.
Cil said that her husband died of COVID-19, and that he apparently contracted it when he was moved from the Dallas Community Living Center, a VA nursing home, into the main Dallas VA Medical Center for an MRI. He was in the main hospital for a couple of weeks, the widow said.
Rick, born Richard Gale Boehmer, was high risk because he suffered from interstitial lung disease brought on by rheumatoid arthritis and had a long history of pneumonia, Cil said. He had been dependent on oxygen for years.
Rick also was diagnosed with Barrett’s esophagus, his widow stated. He lost 35-40 pounds because he couldn’t swallow and was given a feeding tube. About a year after the Barrett’s diagnosis, cancer was found in his esophagus, she said.
Cil stated that due to COVID-19 precautions at the Community Living Center, she and her husband were together for a total of just four hours during his seven-month stay.
She said that immediately upon his return to the CLC, he tested posted for COVID — an indicator that his move to the main hospital had proved deadly.
“Negligence was the method, COVID was the weapon, DEATH was the result,” she wrote in a letter to Holt.
Things were made even worse when instead of receiving her husband’s personal effects, Cil said that the belongings of another deceased veteran were shipped to her.
The whole episode was distressing, but there was a bright side. After Cil shared her story on social media, the public responded with messages of kindness and support. Also, she said she was treated kindly by Cruz’s and Pfluger’s staffers, and Mel Birdwell, wife of state Sen. Brian Birdwell, reached out to her after reading her post on Facebook.
Local veterans groups got involved and will hold an honoring ceremony for Rick at 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 11, at Riley Stephens VFW Post 7835.
Vincent Schwalbe, adjutant for that VFW Post, is partnering with Ken Lobo, newly elected adjutant of American Legion Post 491, on the special ceremony.
Lobo told the Hood County News that Cil will be presented a flag at the observance, a ritual that did not occur when her husband was put in the ground at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.
The flag will be something for Cil to cherish, just as she treasures the memory of when she and Rick met decades ago when she was tending bar in Nevada, and he was “built like Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
The flag will also be a reminder that there are people who truly do care about America’s veterans.
