A Matter of Trust:

Volunteer relishes role in securing benefits for retirees, widows

By SSgt. Dan Neely
51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
Editor, MiG Alley Flyer

Judging by the contents of his tiny Osan Air Base office – a desk, a few chairs, a computer and not much else – you might think John "Jack" Terwiel isn’t up to much. But for nearly 2,000 people throughout the Korean peninsula, he’s up to a world of good.

Terwiel is director of Osan’s Retiree Activities Office, an element of the 51st Mission Support Squadron. He’s held this volunteer position since January 1998. While that might not sound like a long time, just ask the 1,400 retirees and nearly 200 widows he’s helped. He’s covered a lot of territory and worked extraordinary hours, but he’s quick to say he’s not about to fold his tent any time soon.

"I love what I do, because it helps people, and because it needs to be done," Terwiel said. "It’s a challenge every day, and every day there’s something else that needs to be done – someone else that needs to be helped, and someplace else that’s not adequately supporting the retirees and widows living in Korea."

Terwiel, an Air Force retiree himself, retired in 1981 after 23 years of active duty service – 13 as an enlisted "admin" troop and Russian linguist and 10 as a commissioned officer in the intelligence field. With that kind of background, it makes sense he has an eye for detail and the administrative resourcefulness to win the paperwork battles for his clients from all branches of service, many of whom contact him with staggering casualty assistance and survivor benefits problems.

"My biggest challenge is trying to help people understand that the benefits agencies, such as the Veterans Administration, are just overwhelmed, and trying to explain why the benefits can’t start right away," Terwiel said. "For the wife of the volunteer in Seoul I replaced, it took 18 months for her first check to come through."

The New York native doesn’t have a staff to help him, but his Korean wife, Punee, volunteers most of her days serving as his assistant. Typically she works to ease the language barrier problems many local widows face when dealing with government agencies, or translates copies of her husband’s quarterly newsletter "Still Serving in Korea."

Terwiel writes, edits, publishes and distributes it to retirees throughout Korea and to all Retired Activities Offices worldwide.

The Terwiels also work together to produce a quarterly Korean-language newsletter for U.S. military widows living on the peninsula. These newsletters provide readers a wide range of no-nonsense, informative updates on subjects such as medical care, pay matters – including cost-of-living adjustments – voting assistance and a lot more.

Terwiel even established an RAO link on the Osan AB Web site. With no prior knowledge of Web site production, Terwiel made quick work of teaching himself all the intricacies from the ground up. Today he has a highly interactive Web-based avenue with which to help customers here and abroad.

Another impressive point about Terwiel is the fact he’s the only U.S. military RAO in Korea. Knowing he couldn’t be everywhere at once, he took the initiative to cultivate a network of retirees at installations across the peninsula that serve as his eyes and ears out in the field.

"I have retirees in Taegu, Pusan, Kwangju, Kunsan and Camp Casey, and they’ve advertised their presence via the newsletters," Terwiel said. "In many cases it eliminates the need for people to come see me. We can deal via fax or e-mail through these contacts."

But don’t expect him to live in his office either. The Terwiels fund their own routine travels to Seoul on the second Tuesday of each month where they meet with widows in the new Army Community Services Center. There, they answer questions and help solve problems the widows encounter with survivor benefits and a host of other retirement-specific matters.

Another big challenge Terwiel faces involves developing trust, especially when dealing with the widows.

"The one problem I saw with the widows when I started doing this was that they were very wary of who they could trust," Terwiel explained, "If some people learn they’re getting money from the U.S. government, they’re thinking, ‘Ah, an easy mark!’ The important thing is to establish trust … it’s something that they wouldn’t easily do with active duty people. They know me now, and they know my wife – they know we’re not out to get anything from them."

That level of trust was amply illustrated in a unique level of assistance he provided for a widow living on the Korean east coast.

"Her benefits were going direct deposit to the credit union, but she was too sick to travel, then got snowed in," Terwiel recalled. "She didn’t have enough money to live on, so I met with the credit union management staff and worked out a plan, whereby I would write a letter for her, authorizing me to make a $7,500 withdrawal. She signed the letter, returned it to the credit union, and they worked it through their headquarters to authorize the withdrawal.

"She let me take out $7,500 of her money without ever meeting me," Terwiel continued. "I gave it to my wife, who deposited it in the widow’s Korean bank account. When the snow melted and her health came back we met at Yongsan’s legal office, and she gave me a power of attorney."

Talking to any of his acquaintances gives a quick glimpse of Terwiel’s above-and-beyond approach to customer service.

"I know him from the paperwork I did for a Junior ROTC instructor who passed away in Bangkok (Thailand)," said Minja Sumner, secretary at Pusan American School. "He’s been a big help and very efficient with all the paperwork for the survivor. I’ve never met him – I’ve only talked to him on the phone, but he’s a good guy, a really nice man."

"He provides a great service to retirees, dependents and widowed dependents," said Crispin Romero, manager at USA Federal Credit Union in Taegu. "It’s really a thankless job – nobody pays you for it – but he’s there for these people, helping them out with the system that they don’t know about.

"He provides one hell of a service," Crispin said. "I try to help him out with the paperwork down here, and he does the major legwork because he knows the connections and can get things done, get results. Can’t live without him."