Navajo veteran, waiting for home, sleeps in van

Wednesday, November 7, 2007  

A Navajo veteran and his wife are sleeping in their van while they wait for funds to build them a new home.

Chester Clah, 57, is one of nine disabled Navajo veterans who received $27,000 in building materials from the state of New Mexico. But no money was appropriated for labor.

So it's up to the Navajo Nation to find money to build Clah's home. But the Vietnam veteran doesn't think help will be coming soon.

"I've been trying to get a home through the tribe for 35 years. The tribe promised every veteran would have a house, but to this day, I still don't have one," Clah tells The Farmington Daily Times.

A bill to provide $340,000 in labor funding for the veterans' homes didn't make it on the Navajo Nation Council's fall session agenda.

Get the Story:
Veteran, others wait for help to build, renovate homes (The Farmington Daily Times 11/7)