Veterans' Benefits

People who are acquainted with me know if they want to start a spirited "discussion", all they have to do is say something about the cushy benefits veterans are "given" at taxpayer expense.  After my retirement from the Army, I quickly found I needed to maintain full time employment as long as I was interested in luxuries such as regular meals and indoor plumbing.  I discovered once I was on the outside of the military healthcare system, access became more difficult and more frustrating as those care providers I had served with left because of their own retirements or PCS moves.  Within a very few years, I had to find other health insurance, and what the military provided served only as a secondary source of coverage.

With this as background, I was pleasantly surprised by a benefit the state of Texas affords some of its veterans.  In recent years, specialty license plates have become a popular means for states to raise revenue.  Charities and colleges each have their special plate advertising their cause or team for a price.  I knew that Texas, at little or no cost, provided some of these plates to select groups of deserving individuals, such as winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor and those who earned a Purple Heart. 

About a year ago, I was driving around FT Hood and spotted a plate I had not seen before...one with an image of a Legion of Merit medal emblazoned upon it.  I checked the TxDMV website, and sure enough, if I was willing to fill out some paperwork and find a copy of my DD214, a set of plates with what my Lovely Bride calls my "pretty medal" could be mine.  There was something about paying registration fees, so I assumed I would have to pay my usual annual fee for the privilege of using these nifty reminders of my military service.  Last week the anniversary of my getting these plates was approaching, so I was not surprised to receive a renewal notice in the mail one day.  On opening the notice, I was startled to see there was no renewal fee listed.  The next time I was in town, I found my way into the county tax office to try to rectify whatever error had been made, only to be told that there was no error...there really was no annual renewal fee for holders of the Legion of Merit.

Revisiting the TxDMV website revealed that there are a large number of plates available, allowing almost all veterans to demonstrate pride in their service to their country.  Some are completely free, some have a one time charge for acquiring the plates, and others have an annual fee on top of the annual registration fee.  What they all do is convey the message that you have honorably served your country and are proud of having done it!

 Texas DMV Military & Veteran License Plates