Carlos Fernandez of local nonprofit C&P Garage helps client Sharnice Woodard file a claim last week at his office, located inside VFW Post 10281

Fernandez advocates for fellow veterans

• By ANDREW CRITCHELOW THE NEWS-ENTERPRISE

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  • Oct 25, 2021

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Since retiring from the U.S. Army in 2000, Carlos Fernandez has made it a mission to help fellow veterans receive the benefits to which they are entitled.

This pursuit was inspired by Fernandez’s own frustration navigating the paperwork and application processes required to receive his veteran benefits. For Fernandez, these benefits were a matter of life and death.

When he retired from the Army while serving at Fort Knox, Fernandez was dealing with a Hepatitis C diagnosis. By 2002, he said his doctor feared he would undergo liver failure as a result of the diagnosis.

However, Fernandez was able to alleviate his chronic infection in 2006. Throughout his time battling the disease, he did extensive research into veteran medical benefits and realized he had gradually gained an extensive knowledge.

“Sometimes you learn more than you think,” he said.

With this knowledge, Fernandez began helping fellow veterans by reviewing their medical records out of his garage at no cost.

“The whole time I was studying, reading and asking people I knew,” he said.

Originally from Lima, Peru, Fernandez and his family moved to Port Chester, New York when he was eight years old. He joined the Army in 1980, two years after graduating from high school.

Throughout his time serving in the Army, Fernandez said he served at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss in Texas, Fort Benning, Georgia and in Germany. He retired while serving as a chief instructor for the Scout Leader’s Course on Fort Knox.

In 2016, Fernandez began working with Disabled American Veterans Chapter 156 in Radcliff and served with the organization until 2020. Throughout his time with the local DAV chapter, Fernandez served as a service officer and as treasurer.

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Earlier this year, Fernandez founded local nonprofit C&P Garage, which provides a variety of no-cost services for military veterans. Working out of VFW Post 10281 in Vine Grove, Fernandez works with a team of volunteers and serves clients from around the region, along with many out-of-state clients and even some international clients.

C&P Garage offers administrative assistance for VA claims, along with support for family survivor benefits. Fernandez said the nonprofit helps process approximately 470 claims a month.

Fernandez said though he typically begins serving in-person clients at Post 10281 around noon each weekday, he typically begins taking phone calls around 7 a.m. He said sometimes he doesn’t leave the VFW post until late into the evening.

“If there’s a veteran waiting, I don’t like to leave,” he said.

Fernandez said C&P Garage typically works with around 20 to 25 clients per day. He said his role is to advocate for veterans and help them understand what benefits they can receive and how to apply for them.

“I look at it like this: We served the biggest corporation in the world and we should know what we’re entitled to,” he said.

Fernandez said C&P Garage’s services are not limited to recently-retired veterans. He said on average, the nonprofit serves five or six Vietnam veterans a week and Fernandez has even helped some World War II veterans.

In addition, C&P Garage also works with Vine Grove-based construction business 12 Bravo to provide ADA-compliant bathroom improvements for disabled veterans. Fernandez said through their work with 12 Bravo, home improvement projects always are covered by VA adaptive housing grants without any out-of-pocket expenses.

Margaret Freeman said she can personally attest to Fernandez’s commitment to helping veterans and their families. She said Fernandez has been working with her to receive family survivor benefits since the death of her husband, John, a Vietnam veteran, in 2018.

“He is a go-getter and without him, I would have stopped trying a long time ago,” Freeman said. “…Carlos knows so much and he’s such a caring person. He really works hard for people.”

Fernandez said he has stayed motivated to continue helping fellow veterans for the past 20 years because the need has never gone away.

“There’s nobody there to guide us,” he said. “What happens is a lot of people just give up and they miss out on so many benefits they are entitled to because they’re not aware.”

Andrew Critchelow can be reached at 270-505-1413 or acritchelow@thenewsenterprise.com.

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Getting to know Carlos Fernandez

Family: His wife, Maria, two daughters and three grandchildren.

Hobbies: Taking his wife out to dinner, watching movies.

Pets: One dog.

Favorite television programs: UFC fighting.

Favorite music: Jazz.

Favorite food: Peruvian cuisine.