Gold Star Wives of America

Congressionally chartered veterans service organization founded in 1945 for the surviving spouses of service members who died on active duty or from a service-connected disability. Provides peer support among surviving spouses, VA-accredited assistance with survivor benefit claims including Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, and sustained legislative advocacy on survivor benefits — most prominently the long campaign against the Survivor Benefit Plan and DIC offset known as the widows tax. Testifies annually before the joint House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committee VSO hearing, one of the few survivor-focused organizations with that standing.

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