Veteran pays kindness forward

MALDEN - A local veteran was recognized for assisting a veteran's widow in Okanogan County by Congress members during Malden's Town Council on Tuesday, June 11.

Veterans aid for Rep. Dan Newhouse Hank Cramer and Veteran's Aide for Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Doug Huff presented Malden resident Mark Butler letters of appreciation from both members of congress at the town council meeting.

In a letter to the town of Malden, Cramer requested a spot on the agenda to recognize Butler for generous assistance he gave to a struggling Veteran's Widow.

"Mark Butler is a disabled veteran who has suffered several illnesses as a result of Agent Orange exposure during his Army service," Cramer said in the letter.

Cramer states that during the Babb Road fire, Butler lost his home and possessions to the wildfire with no insurance to cover the loss. "He was still struggling to get the Veterans Administration to acknowledge his illnesses' link to Agent Orange, and to provide him a pension," Cramer wrote, noting that the West Anabaptist Ministries volunteers were able to build a new home in Malden for Butler and his son.

Butler contacted Cramer a few months ago to share that the Veterans Affairs finally acknowledged his Agent Orange illnesses, Cramer said, adding that Butler had said he was now financially secure.

"He told me that since he can't repay the people who helped him in his time of need, he wanted to 'pay it forward' by helping other veterans who might be in distress," Cramer wrote.

Cramer told Butler that he was working with a veteran's widow in Okanogan County whose husband died of exactly the same Agent Orange illnesses that Butler had, to find out that they had worked in the same geographic location.

The widow is struggling with the Veterans Affairs to acknowledge the illnesses and award her survivor's benefits, Cramer wrote, adding that the widow had been behind on her house payments, with danger of foreclosure that would have left her and her grandchildren homeless. "That very day, Mark Butler sent her a cashier's check by overnight to prevent the foreclosure," Cramer wrote.

"This is a stunning example of a man showing gratitude for the help provided to him in his own time of need, by turning around and repaying that favor by giving help in the nick of time to a complete stranger," Cramer wrote.