Medford Veteran Honored for #StillServing Community

Medford veteran Jess Turnbough is being honored for dedication to country and community in the VFW #StillServing campaign. The national Veterans of Foreign Wars #StillServing (vfw.org/stillserving) campaign recognizes veterans who continue to serve in their community after the military.

A U.S. Army paratrooper, after the military Turnbough continued to serve her country working at the Department of Veteran Affairs Office of General Counsel in Seattle. Now retired, she continues to serve veterans by putting her VA expertise to work for them. She writes benefits claims for friends, family and strangers who ask and are willing to put in the effort required.

Turnbough’s own experience trying to get benefits drove her decision to offer this service. For help with her claim, she turned to the VFW where the service officer worked with her extensively to explain the reality of how the process works. The VFW officer retired so Turnbough set out to apply for benefits on her own.

Her first attempt resulted in zero percent benefits coverage. Turnbough tried again multiple times and, after seven years of struggling, finally got approved for 100 percent benefits coverage. It was then that she decided to use her hard-won experience to help others navigate the complexities of the process and avoid the issues she experienced.

VFW is pleased to honor Turnbough for #StillServing and invites all veterans to share their stories at vfw.org/stillserving.