Veteran. Founder. Fighter.
That path led to HadIt.com — and it’s why we’re still here, nearly 30 years later.
Why I Started HadIt
It was a hot day for Northern California as I walked out of the VA mental health building after my weekly check-in. I headed over to the Vietnam Veterans of America service officer’s office, where a handwritten sign promised he’d be “back by 3:30.”
By 4:30, I was still waiting. Steaming. Tired. Frustrated. I’d already waited two hours for a prescription. All I wanted was for someone — anyone — to answer a few simple questions.
I left that day thinking, there’s got to be a better way.
So I built one.
The Mission
HadIt.com was created by a veteran, for veterans. What started in 1997 as a handful of web pages has grown into one of the longest-running online communities for VA disability claims support.
If you’re filing for the first time, stuck in appeal hell, or just trying to understand what the VA just sent you — you belong here. We don’t gatekeep information. We don’t make promises we can’t keep. And we sure as hell don’t give up on our own.
Some people find sanctuary in silence.
I found it in telling the truth — out loud, and online.
HadIt.com became a sacred space not just for me, but for thousands of others trying to survive the system. If you’re still searching for yours, keep going. It’s closer than you think.
Milestones
- 1997 – HadIt.com Official Launch
- 1998 – Forums added to support veteran-to-veteran help
- 2000s – Grew entirely by word of mouth
- 2011 – Featured in The Economist:
A Hard Homecoming - 2025 – Celebrating 28 years of grassroots VA claims support
About Me
- U.S. Navy Veteran
- VA Claims Advocate for over 25 years
- Founder of HadIt.com
- Writer at Tbird’s Quiet Fight
- Believer in truth-telling, persistence, and community-driven change
“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”
— Joseph Campbell
Want to Know More?
If you want to understand the full story — the raw, unfiltered version of how this all began — read
Diary of a Mad Sailor
on my Substack, Tbird’s Quiet Fight. It’s where I write about the battles behind the battles — the ones you don’t see in VA paperwork.