Vets Allege Mismanagement Of Retirement Colony

Vets Allege Mismanagement Of Retirement Colony

Friday, July 25, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS Associated Press Writer

WILBURTON, Okla. (AP) — Nestled among the lush forests and mountain foothills of rural southeastern Oklahoma is a soldier's utopia, a sleepy enclave where U.S. military veterans can claim their share of the American dream for pennies on the dollar.

For 75 years, the little-known United Spanish War Veterans Colony has offered vets an acre of tax-free land for only a couple hundred dollars, allowing them to build whatever they wish and live out their days in quiet retirement. No homeowners associations, no nursing homes, no red tape.

Here, the pecan trees are the tallest things around, and wild turkeys and deer outnumber residents. Most of the roads are barely wide enough for a single car.

But a dispute brewing in the colony could threaten the peaceful, communal way of life of the 110 veterans who live here. The opening salvo: Nearly two-dozen vets have accused colony leaders of financial mismanagement, and they say residents who question the improprieties are harassed and threatened with eviction.

"They have gotten such control over the residents through fear and intimidation that if you don't keep your mouth shut, if you're a whistleblower, they want you out of there," said Gordon Landrum, a Vietnam veteran and former member of the board that governs the colony.

Things have gotten so bad, some vets are threatening to take up arms to defend themselves.

"I've got $74 in the bank, no place to go and three clips and a .45," said Paul Skaggs, who survived the Vietnam War but considers this the toughest fight of his life.

"I'm just waiting for someone to take a shot at me."

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Wouldn't be the first time someone had to get greedy and screw things up for vets. I think the guy with the .45 needs more ammo though.

Where ever there's money, and somebody that thinks they can get away with filtering off some of it and not get caught, it's going to happen. People can't be trusted in this day and age. Hate to say it, but that's the way I feel.

Too true