Georgetown County Veterans Affairs Office

Every South Carolina county has a veterans' affairs officer under section 25-11-40 (see the South Carolina entry on county veterans affairs officers). In Georgetown County the County Council, not the legislative delegation, makes that appointment: the Code's editor's note records that by a resolution of August 13, 1996 the Council accepted "the responsibility and authority for making the appointments" formerly made by the delegation. What the office does. The county's page: "To assist veterans and their dependents in filing applications to determine their basic eligibility and conditions of benefits entitlement as administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. This includes research, preparation, development, presentation and prosecution of claims submitted to the VA Regional Office in Columbia, SC, or the Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, D.C. Though state-mandated, the local VA Office is county-funded." It also helps with applications to review a discharge or correct military records, visits VA hospitals, nursing homes and veterans' homes, helps surviving spouses of military and civil service retirees file for annuities, has the applications for a VA home loan Certificate of Eligibility, gives education benefit information, "Schedules hospital appointments and assists in re-ordering prescriptions", and "Schedules transportation to VA Medical Center, Charleston, SC., for appointments, as well as compensation and pension (C&P) examination". It does not decide eligibility, pay out money, find jobs, or help an estranged or separated spouse with the distribution of a veteran's benefit. The office keeps county service records back to the 1920s, more than 15,000 veterans. Its FAQs. Appointments are needed ("Do I need an appointment? Yes."). The office can help get a copy of the DD-214. It defines a veteran as one "released or discharged under conditions other than dishonorable", and puts claims at nine to twelve months on average. On the property tax exemption it says "Only Veterans that are rated as 100% Permanent and Total are eligible for this benefit"; the statute's test is functional and also reaches a veteran paid at the total rate for individual unemployability (see the South Carolina entry), so ask the office about the certificate either way. Where and who. 537 Lafayette Circle, Georgetown, SC 29440 (mail: P.O. Box 421270, Georgetown, SC 29442); 843-545-3330, fax 843-545-3312; Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Veterans Service Officer Paige B. Sawyer III, an Army veteran named in September 2025, and Assistant Veterans Service Officer Patricia Walton. The county's FY2027 budget gives the office $150,640 and adds a permanent part-time clerk (posted October 9, 2026).