Austin Joseph Holliday Private Papers

This collection of three articles chronicles Austin Joseph Holliday’s attempts to receive service-connected total and permanent disability from the Veterans’ Administration for an illness that occurred during World War I. The plaintiff Holliday, a black WWI veteran, based his prayer for compensation under U.S. Judicial Code, Section 145, March 3, 1887, c—359, 1, 24 Stat. 505 and the World War Veterans Act 1924 in pursuant to Part I of Veterans Regulations Number I, as amended in the Economy Act, Public Law Number 2, 73rd Congress, March 20, 1933 on War Times Rates, etc. Austin Holliday filed a petition in the United States Court of Claims on August 2nd, 1949, File Number 49226. The court made its decision on the Defendant’s Demurrer on November 7, 1949 and dismissed his petition. Holliday then wrote an Appeal To The United States President and Congress.

In his petition, Holliday speaks in detail of the illnesses he is facing since his service in the war, including a dilatated aorta; psyconeurosis from close shell detonations on various battle fronts--which led to hysteria, hallucination, forgetfulness and seizures; colitis, hemorrhoids, lost hearing, and other aggravated physical symptoms. Holliday describes symptoms of PTSD before it was an official term, then named as "shell shock." He reiterates and gets into greater detail of the exact cause of his issues in his appeal, along with naming five additional WWI and WWII veterans who have suffered similar and additional complaints from sustained battle injuries and have yet to receive all or some of their entitled claims.