WASHINGTON — Declaring that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was "doing the right thing," VA officials announced an approximately $500,000 settlement Sept. 12 of a disability compensation claim dating back to 1961, which involved a 93-year-old World War II Veteran from New Mexico.

The case, Archuleta v. Wilkie (Docket No. 17-1404), filed in the U. S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, focused on a Women's Army Corps Veteran, Josephine T. Archuleta, who was denied entitlement for disability compensation tied to service connection for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from a claim she originally filed in 1961.

"VA is doing the right thing by settling this decades-old case with this 93-year-old Veteran," said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. "This decision underscores President Trump's commitment to taking care of this nation's Veterans, and also reinforces my personal priority and pledge to improve customer service for all Veterans."

Although the Board of Veterans' Appeals awarded Archuleta service connection for PTSD in May 2011, effective November 18, 2003, she and her attorney appealed the "effective date" of the award, requesting that it date back to 1961 when she originally filed for disability compensation. However, VA agreed on an effective date of April 11, 1980, the date on which PTSD was added to the VA disability rating schedule.

The effective date issue was the subject of several Board decisions before final settlement Sept. 12.