Carl Kirkwood gave up much for his country. Now the 90-year-old World War II veteran wants something in return.

Kirkwood, a resident of Riverside Apartments, said he sustained frost-bitten feet and fingers while serving with the 200th Field Artillery. That battalion traveled with the 73rd Brigade of the First Army and participated in the Battle of the Bulge Dec. 16, 1944, through Jan. 25, 1945.

This decisive battle, fought by more than a million Allied and German troops on the German-Belgium border, hastened the end of the war in Europe. It was fought during what has been called one of the coldest winters on record.

Kirkwood said his frostbitten feet now cause him severe pain.

Learning his service record made him eligible for compensation for his frozen foot disability, Kirkwood applied to Veterans Affairs on Jan. 30, 2006.

But his claim was denied.

“I’ve done everything that they’ve asked me to do, but it’s never enough,” the South New Castle Borough native said.

Adding to his frustration, he said, is that claims of former New Castle resident Lester “John” Jenkins, whose case was transferred to the VA in San Diego, and Ray Carter in Mississippi — both Kirkwood’s comrades-in-arms through the war — have been approved.

If his combat-related cold injury claim is approved, Kirkwood could become eligible for veterans benefits, including free medical care and compensation retroactive to the date his claim was filed. Those benefits have been provided through the VA since October 1996.

RECORD WOES

Kirkwood’s problems include missing military records. As a result of a fire at the National Records Office in St. Louis in the 1970s, the Army said it has no evidence that he served in combat from Jan. 13, 1941, to Sept. 6, 1945.

Kirkwood said he doesn’t understand what difference an archive fire makes because his military history is included on his honorable discharge papers.

But without his records available, Kirkwood solicited Jenkins — first sergeant of the unit — to write a letter on his behalf, as he had for Jenkins.

“My letter (for Jenkins) was considered testimony,” Kirkwood said. “But they called his a “buddy letter” meaning that he was my buddy since we served together and he’d say anything for me.”