Sparrow

Petitioner Nan Reynolds Sparrow, as the guardian of the estate of Denis William Drew, a minor, seeks a writ of mandate to compel the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide her son Denis William Drew with the educational benefits which are authorized by sections 890-899 of the Military and Veterans Code.

There is no dispute as to the facts. Denis William Drew is the child of a deceased veteran. His guardian is receiving dependency and indemnity compensation for Denis William Drew and his sister. Denis applied to the Department of Veterans Affairs for educational benefits starting with the beginning of the 1959 fall term of the University of California. The department refused upon the ground that section 896.1 of the Military and Veterans Code, which became effective September 18, 1959, provides that no dependent of a veteran shall be eligible to receive the benefits of this article during the time he shall be entitled to receive federal educational benefits under public law 634 of the Eighty-fourth Congress. Public law 634 was given the title “War Orphans Educational Assistance Act.” The statute has now been codified in title 38 of the United States Code. (See §§ 1701-1768.)…