An Alaska veteran is finally getting his benefits — 78 years after the 103-year-old was discharged

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A 103-year-old World War II veteran who’s been paying his medical bills out-of-pocket is finally getting his veterans benefits from the U.S. government after 78 years.

Louis Gigliotti’s caretaker says the former U.S. Army medical technician has a card from the Veteran Administration but he never realized he could use his status to access “free perks” such as health care.

Gigliotti, who goes by the nickname Jiggs, could use the help to pay for dental, hearing and vision problems as he embarks on his second century. He was honored last week by family, friends and patrons at the Alaska Veterans Museum in Anchorage, where he lives with his nephew’s family.

Melanie Carey, his nephew’s wife, has been Gigliotti’s caretaker for about a decade but only recently started helping him pay his medical bills. That’s when she realized he was paying out of his own pocket instead of going to the VA for care. She investigated with the local facility, where staff told her he’d never been there.

“OK, well, let’s fix that,” she recalls telling them.

“I don’t think he realized that when you’re a veteran, that there’s benefits to that,” Carey said. “I’m trying to catch him up with anything that you need to get fixed.”

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