Veterans Argue To Protect Benefits

WASHINGTON (AP)- Lawyers for the government argued in court Wednesday that military recruiters never were authorized to promise a lifetime of free medical care to enlistees who agreed to sign up for a 20-year hitch.

Veterans led by retired Air Force Col. George ``Bud'' Day told the appellate panel they're determined to protect benefits they assumed they had earned.

``A promise is a promise,'' said Day, who served in World War II as a Marine and Korea and Vietnam with the Air Force. In Vietnam he was a prisoner-of-war, escaped and was recaptured.

Day said legislation and recruiting manuals from as early as 1799 set out lifetime health care as a military recruiting tool for the military.

Justice Department lawyer E. Roy Hawkens cited other regulations that require Congress expressly to authorize the money before entitlements are promised.