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tax trouble--important notices from both the IRS and this Court
have failed to reach him, and the accrual of interest led a small
tax debt to grow into a large one. In an effort to win abatement
of that interest, he filed a petition in this Court; representing
himself, he agreed to stipulations that would amount to conceding
his case. Pro bono counsel have now entered an appearance on his
behalf, and they have moved to relieve him of this stipulation
and have the case proceed to a reasonable settlement or trial on
the merits.
Background
Lovenguth enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in January 1969
when he was only 17. He fought as a helicopter gunner in
Vietnam, receiving a Combat Action Ribbon and Air Medal. In
1971, however, he was discharged after developing severe
psychological problems, since diagnosed as posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). A return to civilian life did not cure him.
Though he seems to have earned some income in 1988 and 1989,1 by
1990 his illness overwhelmed him and he became homeless for
several months before being involuntarily hospitalized. It was
during his hospitalization that he was diagnosed as having PTSD,
which led the VA to classify him as a 100-percent service-
1 The IRS has long since destroyed its records on Lovenguth
for those years, leaving behind only the notices of deficiency
that it sent him and the record of the assessments that they led
to.
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