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Woman, 87, still gets monthly $73 VA pension from father's Civil War service

Report: She's last person with Civil War pension
Woman, 87, still gets monthly $73 VA pension from father's Civil War service
Posted at 7:05 AM, Aug 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-08-25 10:05:10-04

More than 150 years after it ended, the Civil War still directly impacts one woman's life.

Irene Triplett, 87, is the last person still receiving a monthly pension for Civil War service from the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to USA Today.

Triplett, who reportedly lived in North Carolina as of 2014, collects a check for $73.13 every month because of her father's service as a Confederate soldier.

According to USA Today, Triplett's father Moses Triplett died in 1938 but not before marrying Elida Triplett, a woman that was about 50 years younger than him, who would be Irene Triplett's mother.

Triplett's continuing pension is the lasting result of then-President Abraham Lincoln's call for the American government to provide care for veterans on both sides of the Civil War.

Clint Davis is a reporter for the Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @MrClintDavis. Keep up to date with the latest news by following @ScrippsNational on Twitter.