15th VVA National Convention – Reno, Nevada By Jim W. Boyd
Transcription
15th VVA National Convention – Reno, Nevada By Jim W. Boyd
Member of the Texas Community Newspaper Association “VVA Newspaper of the Year 2000, 2002 and 2003” Volume 23 Issue 2 Fall 2011 15th VVA National Convention – Reno, Nevada By Jim W. Boyd, TVVN Editor, TSC Treasurer, TSC VVA Convention Delegate TSC President Buster Newberry received the VVA Achievement Medal from VVA President John Rowan. Photo by Humberto Nevarez The Vietnam Veterans of America held its 15th biennial National Convention from August 17-20 at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel and Casino. The delegates set the organization’s course for the next two years, heard from an array of speakers, attended informational sessions, and took part in special events. VVA National Conventions are held every two years to decide on VVA priorities and to elect our national leaders. VVA is the only national veterans’ organization that operates this way, and it has proven to be a very successful formula since our founding National Convention in 1983. On Saturday, August 20 the Awards Banquet, honored Vietnam veterans and others in the arts. On Monday and Tuesday, August 15 and 16, VVA delegates began arriving in Reno to attend the 15th VVA National Convention at the Silver Legacy Resort and Casino. AVVA also held their Leadership Conference at the same time. On Tuesday evening the Silver Legacy and Nathan’s Hotdogs sponsored a “Welcome Home” party from 7-11 p.m. for the VVA Convention Delegates and AVVA Leadership members and family members. It was a build your own hot dog event and each delegate receive two tickets for free drinks. Lindsey Bloom was the MC for the evening and the main entertainment was the “Unauthorized Rolling Stone” band from San Francisco. Also Tuesday during the day was the registration of delegates, a National Board of Directors meeting, and the Conference of State Council Presidents meeting. At 9:00 a.m. Wednesday the Convention session began with the Keynote Speaker – Richard Pimentel; after his address, the delegates got down to business. The Convention Rules chair Dan Stenvold presented the rules for adoption; the Constitution committee chair Leslie DeLong presented the constitution amendments; and the Resolution committee chair Fred Elliott presented the Resolutions to be adopted. The Convention rules and constitution amendments presented were adopted. The resolutions were handed over to the committee for hearings starting at 2:30 p.m. to be brought back to the floor on Thursday. Everyone was encouraged to attend the committee hearings to give their input and make changes if necessary. Over the course of the Convention, there were 665 VVA Delegates in attendance; and for the AVVA Leadership Conference, approximately 250 AVVA members and their spouses were in attendance. Of the 665 VVA members, there were 68 from Region 7. The Regional Caucuses started at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday where the candidates came in and had a few minutes to introduce themselves, VVA NATIONAL, continued on page 5 Inside This Texas VV News ★ TSC President’s Report. . . . . 4 ★ AVVA President’s Report. . . 4 ★ VVAFT President’s Report. . 4 ★T X State Council Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 ★ Chapter News. . . . . . . . . . 9-12 ★ POW/MIA . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30 ★ Veteran Affairs. . . . . . . . 30-31 ★ Veterans Issues. . . . . . . . 32-36 ★ Membership Application. . . 35 Texas State Council Meeting Borger, Texas / June 3-5, 2011 Thursday and Friday VVA Chapter 404 was the host Chapter this time around for the state council meeting. VVA and AVVA members from Texas VVA Chapters started arriving in Borger for the Summer Meeting of the VVA Texas State Council on Thursday, June 2nd and were treated to a free rib eye steak dinner at 7:00 p.m., courtesy of the Elk Club across the street from the Holiday Inn Express where everyone was staying. Frank Phillips College just behind the hotel provided all the meeting rooms for Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas (VVAFT) on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m.; AVVA State Council was held on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m.; the VVA state council meeting was all day Saturday, as well as the awards banquet at 7 p.m. Since this is a VVA National Convention year being held in Reno, Nevada in August, there were some candidates seeking VVA National office or At-Large National Director’s positions. The Texas State Council hosted a Candidates Forum Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. at the college. They were: VVA National Secretary Barry Hagge running for the office of Vice President; VVA National Vice President; National Treasurer Larry Frazee seeking re-election to the Treasurer’s position; Region 7 Director Allen Manuel seeking re-election as VVA Region 7 Director; VVA Region 3 Director Bruce Whitaker running for the office of VVA National President; VVA Region 2 Director Fred Elliot running for the office of VVA National Vice President; VVA At-Large Director Bill Meeks running for the office of the VVA National Secretary; Tom Burke running for the office VVA National Secretary; Dennis Andras, Louisiana State Council President and Pete Peterson (Oklahoma), both running for one of the 10 At-Large Director’s positions; Richard DeLong, current At-Large Director, seeking re-election to that position. VVA 404’s Hospitality Room Chapter 404 VVA and AVVA members opened their hospitality room at noon on Friday until midnight. The Chapter proved a good spread of food and beverages for the VVA delegates, AVVA representatives and guest to enjoy. They provided beef brisket, pulled pork, fried chicken, potato salad, coleslaw, pinto beans, chips, 18 homemade pies of various flavors, homemade cookies and drinks (Coke & Pepsi products and an assortment of beer, all of which was donated to the Chapter for the hospitality room. Percilla Newberry’s mother made the 18 pies and a Chapter member made the cookies. Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas At 4:00 p.m. on Friday afternoon, the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas [VVAFT], Board of Directors met. The foundation board members, TVVN assistant editor, and guests Bruce Whitaker, Barry Hagge, Fred Elliot, TSC MEETING, continued on page 6 Left of podium, TSC Officers. Right of podium, Kathy Andras (AVVA Region 7 Director); Dennis Andras (LA State Council President); and Allen Manuel (VVA Region 7 Director). Photo by Susie Moreno 2 TEXAS Publisher Bill Meeks & Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc. 29419 Fox Run Blvd., Spring, TX 77386 Editor Jim W. Boyd P.O. Box 330245, Fort Worth, TX 76163-0245 Phone & Fax: 817-921-1904 Cell: 817-691-5577 Please call before faxing so that I can set the fax to receive. E-mail: [email protected] Assistant Editor and Photographer Susie Moreno Reporters Percilla Newberry and Lynn Kennedy Terri Sirois – Fort Bliss Public Affairs Mechanicals American Graphics & Design, Inc. 3380 S. 108th Street Greenfield, WI 53227 President: Jenny DeBack Graphic Designer: Helene Feider Composition Specialist: Ellen Imp www.agad.com Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. 8719 Colesville Road, Ste. 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone: 800-VVA-1316 Fax: 301-585-0519 Membership: Ernestine Horton Phone:1-800-882-1316 ext 115 E-mail: [email protected] http://www.vva.org VVA Membership Affairs P.O. Box 64299, Baltimore, MD 21264-4299 VVA Region 7 Director Allen Manuel 3069 Allen Manuel Rd., Villa Platte, LA 70586 Phone: 337-599-2216 Fax: 337-599-3019 E-mail: [email protected] Vietnam Veterans NEWS The Texas Vietnam Veterans News is the official publication of the VVA Texas State Council and is published by the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc.; a not-for-profit publicly supported charitable foundation. This newspaper is published three times per year as a service to the VVA Texas State Council and the Texas Vietnam Veterans and other interested organizations. All VVA members, chapters and other interested parties are invited to submit articles, pictures and opinions for publication on subjects relevant to veterans’ affairs issues. The newspaper editor reserves the right to edit for length and grammar only, and reject any material that is libelous or obscene. Texas State Council Officers: PresidentLuther (Buster) Newberry P.O. Box 1860 Fritch, TX 79036 Phone: 806-857-0409 Fax: 806-857-2261 E-mail: [email protected] SecretaryKerwin Stone P.O. Box 3891 Beaumont, TX 77705-3891 E-mail: [email protected] Mail your articles to: Texas VV News P.O. Box 330245 Fort Worth, TX 76163-0245 Phone & Fax: 817-921-1904 E-mail: [email protected] Vice PresidentDon Kennedy, Jr. P.O. Box 1182 Salado, TX 76571 Phone & Fax: 254-947-0050 E-mail: [email protected] TreasurerJim W. Boyd P.O. Box 330245 Fort Worth, TX 76163-0245 Phone 817-691-5577/817-921-1904 Fax: 817-921-1904 Please call first so fax machine can be set to receive. E-mail: [email protected] Disclaimer / Copyright Notice / Policies Disclaimer: The content of the articles in this newspaper is the sole responsibility of the authors. Placing articles in the Texas Vietnam Veterans News does not show TVVN, VVA Texas State Council or the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc., endorsement. It is provided so you may make an informed decision. Copyright Notice: This newspaper contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of veterans’ issues. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material in this newsletter is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the included information for educating themselves on veteran issues so they can better communicate with their legislators on issues affecting them. For more information, go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this newspaper for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Reproduction of Contents: The Texas Vietnam Veterans News is a copyrighted publication with all rights reserved. With the exception of individually Copyrighted portions, permission is granted to reproduce any portion of the publication AS LONG AS the Texas Vietnam Veterans News is credited as your source. FOR INDIVIDUALLY COPYRIGHTED PORTIONS, REPRODUCTION IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT OF THE EDITOR OF THE TEXAS VIETNAM VETERANS NEWS. VVA National Secretary Bill Meeks 29419 Fox Run Blvd., Spring, TX 77386 Phone & Fax: 281-353-7240 E-mail: [email protected] AVVA Region 7 Director Kathy Andras AVVA TSC Representative Marilyn Rose 4307 Winterborne Drive, Pasadena, TX 77505-4273 Phone: 281-991-1467 E-mail: [email protected] Contributions of Articles and Pictures: All articles must be submitted to the editor ONLY of the TVVN at the address listed above before the deadline. Deadlines to submit articles: (CHANGES to accommodate state council meetings in February and June) January 5th Electronic Newsletter April 5th for Spring Newspaper July 5th for Electronic Newsletter October 5th for Fall Newspaper All submissions must be the original work of the author or newspaper/magazines articles with permission to reprint provided with the article. Newspaper/magazine articles or clippings will not be accepted for publication, unless accompanied by a letter of permission to reprint from that newspaper/magazine editor. It will be the responsibility of the individual offering the work to obtain the proper permission. The articles may be type-written, on computer disk or e-mailed. If sent on computer disk, please provide using Microsoft Word or Works software only. No space will be allocated to the demeaning of fellow veterans or politicians. Photographs for publication must be relevant to the article with which they are submitted, and all pertinent information must be attached to the photograph. Subscription policy: The Texas Vietnam Veterans News does not accept subscriptions for the newspaper. It is FREE ONLY to the following: Texas VVA & AVVA Members with your paid membership. The following also receive a copy of the TVVN – VA Medical Center & Vet Center Directors in Texas, Federal & State Congressional Members; VVA National Officers, Directors and Committee Chairs; VVA State Council Presidents and other veterans organizations that have expressed an interest in receiving the newspaper. Advertisement Policy: Texas Vietnam Veterans News CANNOT run paid or political ads. On occasion TVVN, will, as a courtesy, run an ad for an organization, as long as the ads are directed at and benefit the veterans population in general and are not offering items for sale. The Newspaper will be mailed to American Graphics & Design on the 10th of the month. Mistake Policy: If you find any mistakes in this publication, please consider that the mistakes are there for a reason. We publish something for everyone, and there are always some people who are always looking for mistakes!!! Notice for Any Change of Address This notice is to inform the readers of this publication that we (VVAFT, the publisher) use the VVA National Membership Roster for the state of Texas to mail out the newspaper. VVAFT compensates the Texas State Council for the use of the membership roster for each issue printed and mailed. The roster is e-mailed to me at the beginning of each month by VVA’s membership department. Therefore, if you are not on the roster, you WILL NOT receive the newspaper when it is mailed out. I have received several changes of addresses from VVA members in Texas; however, in order to change your address, you need to submit a change of address to VVA or AVVA National’s membership department – not to me. I do not have the time to correct the newspaper mailing roster each issue, nor can I remember everyone that changes their address. You can go to www.vva.org (the National Web site) and then click on “forms” and scroll down to Membership Forms and download the “Change of Information” form, fill it out and send it back to VVA or AVVA National Membership Departments. TEXAS VV NEWS 3 Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc. Web site: www.vvaft.org Board of Directors Chairman/President William (Bill) Meeks, Jr. 29419 Fox Run Boulevard Spring, Texas 77386 281-353-6420 (Home & Fax) 713-254-1436 (Work) E-mail: [email protected] Vice-Chairman/Vice-President Don (Donnie) Kennedy, Jr. P.O. Box 1182 Salado, Texas 76571 254-947-0050 (Hm & Fax) 254-760-0793 (Cell) E-mail: [email protected] Secretary Kerwin Stone P.O. Box 3891 Beaumont, Texas 77704-3891 409-755-0300 Treasurer Jim W. Boyd P.O. Box 330245 Fort Worth, Texas 76163-0245 Phone & Fax: 817-921-1904 Cell: 817-691-5577 Please call first so fax machine can set to receive. E-mail: [email protected] Directors Greg Beck Victor Flores Al Navarro Luther Newberry Robert Rangel Dennis Thomas Hal Thompson TEXAS VVA STATE COUNCIL CHAPTERS VVA Chapter 137 P.O. Box 850251 Dallas, Texas 75185-0251 VVA Chapter 457 P.O. Box 2812 San Angelo, Texas 76902 VVA Chapter 898 P.O. Box 1111 Victoria, Texas 77902 VVA Chapter 937 P.O. Box 2771 Bryan, Texas 77805-2771 VVA Chapter 278 P.O. Box 6608 Texarkana, Texas 75505-6608 VVA Chapter 574 P.O. Box 26904 El Paso, Texas 79926-6904 VVA Chapter 910 1642 Sandalwood Drive Corpus Christi, Texas 78412 VVA Chapter 973 P.O. Box 2978 Sherman, Texas 75091 VVA Chapter 292 P.O. Box 1071 Beaumont, Texas 77704 VVA Chapter 685 P.O. Box 1162 Dickinson, Texas 77359-1162 VVA Chapter 915 P.O. Box 1364 Bastrop, Texas 78602-1364 VVA Chapter 987 P.O. Box 627 Longview, Texas 75605-0627 VVA Chapter 297 P.O. Box 33674 Amarillo, Texas 79120-3674 VVA Chapter 734 P.O. Box 2493 Conroe, Texas 77303 [email protected] VVA Chapter 920 P.O. Box 241 Denton, Texas 76241 VVA Chapter 991 P.O. Box 10 Palestine, Texas 75802 VVA Chapter 922 2323 Land Breeze Baytown, Texas 77520 VVA Chapter 1000 – Killeen P.O. Box 2130 Harker Heights, Texas 76548-2130 VVA Chapter 923 P.O. Box 1156 San Marcos, Texas 78667-1156 VVA Chapter 1009 P.O. Box 1086 Corsicana, Texas 75151-1086 VVA Chapter 929 P.O. Box 4339 Beeville, Texas 78104 VVA Chapter 1012 P.O. Box 93 Waco, Texas 76703-0093 VVA Chapter 931 P.O. Box 630785 Nacogdoches, Texas 75963-0785 VVA Chapter 1013 P.O. Box 542046 Grand Prairie, Texas 75054-2046 VVA Chapter 932 P.O. Box 130865 Tyler, Texas 75713-0865 VVA Chapter 1029 P.O. Box 82 Yorktown, Texas 78164-0082 VVA Chapter 343 P.O. Box 31036 Houston, TX 77231-1036 [email protected] VVA Chapter 348 P.O. Box 353 Orange, Texas 77630 VVA Chapter 366 c/o Daniel Medrano 355 Covina Avenue San Antonio, Texas 78218-2632 VVA Chapter 844 2200 Yarbrough Ste. B PMB #173 El Paso, Texas 79925 VVA Chapter 854 P.O. Box 143 Hallettesville, Texas 77964 VVA Chapter 856 P.O. Box 534142 Harlingen, Texas 78553-4142 VVA Chapter 379 P.O. Box 3631 Big Spring, Texas 79721-3631 VVA Chapter 863 P.O. Box 291704 Kerrville, Texas 78029-1704 VVA Chapter 404 P.O. Box 34 Fritch, TX 79036-0034 VVA Chapter 870 P.O. Box 83 Schulenburg, Texas 78956 Texas State Council Committee Chairs Audit: Don Mathews Constitution/State By-laws: Bill Meeks, Chair (343) ETABO: Al Navarro, Chair (343) Finance: Allan Hill, Chair (863) Government Affairs: John Miterko, Chair (915) Membership Affairs: Jim W. Boyd, Chair (330) Minority Affairs: James Leonard, Chair (343) Nominating Committee: Greg Beck, Chair (278) POW/MIA: Don Boling, Chair (379) PTSD: Joe Boatman, Chair (915) Public Affairs: S. J. (Buddy) Farina, Chair (685) Special Advisor: Sandra Womack (AVVA 292) Scholarship: Don Kennedy, Chair (915) Special Advisor: Percilla Newberry (AVVA 404) State Agent Orange Coordinator: John Cook State Legislative Coordinator: John Miterko (915) State Homeless Veterans Coordinator: Greg Beck (278) TSC Chapter Start-Up Coordinator: Mike Dawson (1000) Veterans Benefits: Jim Hallbauer (137) Veterans Incarcerated: Lynda Greene (AVVA 343) Special Advisor Women Veterans: Eileene Grozier, Chair (574) Special TSC Committees Chapter Subsidy Fund/Silent Auction: Special Advisor: Lynn Kennedy (AVVA 1000)/ Gina Matthews (AVVA 685) Live Auction: Special Advisor, Percilla Newberry (AVVA 404) AVVA TSC Project AMIGO: Marilyn Rose (AVVA 685)/ Nancy Smith (AVVA 920) 4 TEXAS VV NEWS Texas State Council President’s Report By Buster Newberry My Brothers and Sisters, for those of you that missed the Convention in Reno, you missed one of the best ones yet. We elected a new slate of National Officers except for John Rowan, our National President. Our own Bill Meeks was elected to the office of National Secretary and he has already hit the ground running. I know he will make us proud. Also elected were Fred Elliot, National Vice President and Wayne Reynolds, National Treasurer. As most of you know, I have had some health issues this year. I had to have another toe on my left foot amputated last month. You don’t know how much I have appreciated all of your prayers, e-mails, cards and phone calls. I don’t know what I would do without my Vietnam Veteran Family. I would also like to thank you for your prayers for my good friend from Oklahoma, Nate Washington. He is home from the hospital with a new mechanical heart and is doing well. The holiday season is quickly approaching and we will give thanks for our many blessings and celebrate the birth of our Savior. It is the time to think of those less fortunate and of our soldiers who are away from home and those who are in harm’s way. I look forward to seeing everyone in Galveston for our State Council Meeting in February. I understand that we may be seating a new Chapter from Fort Worth at the meeting. Remember, your Chapter is required to make at least one State Council Meeting a year and the next meeting will be in June in Denton. Semper Fi Buster Newberry Texas VVA Service Reps. Tamara Barker Gary J. Ivy 400 Oak Street, Suite 170 Abilene, TX 79602 (325) 674-1328 Soldiers Service Center, Building 18010 Fort Hood, TX 76544 (254) 287-3341 | Fax: (254) 288-5124 E-mail: [email protected] Willie Mae Browning 302 Millers Crossing, #4 Harker Heights, TX 76548 (254) 290-0735 John K. Cook 900 E. Park Blvd, Suite 140-B Plano, TX 75704 (972) 881-3062 Bobby Farmer 6104 Avenue Q, South Drive, Rm 132 Lubbock, TX 79412 (806) 472-3490 | Fax: (806) 472-3493 E-mail: [email protected] Francis W. Furleigh 600 59th Street, Rm 4300 Galveston, TX 77551 (409) 766-2448 | Fax: (409) 766-2294 E-mail: [email protected] Jim W. Hallbauer VAMC Dallas 4500 South Lancaster Road Dallas, TX 75216 (214) 857-1291 | Fax: (214) 462-4996 Maurice (Dick) Healy Dallas VAMC 4500 South Lancaster Road Dallas, TX 75216 (214) 857-1291 | Fax: 462-4996 Richard Hernandez, Sr. 301 Wolf Street Killeen, TX 76540 (254) 526-2767 | Fax (254) 526-2133 E-mail: [email protected] Alexander Hill Kerrville VAMC 3600 Memorial Boulevard Kerrville, TX 78028 (830) 792-2478 Lou James 1025 Colleen Drive Canyon Lake, TX 78133 (830) 899-7484 Samuel E. Keels 1901 S. Veterans Memorial Blvd CTVHCS Building, 208, Rm 119 Temple, TX 76504 (254) 743-0549 | Fax: (254) 743-1699 E-mail: [email protected] Robert Pantolja 6900 Almeda Road Houston, TX 77030 (713) 383-2740 | Fax: (713) 383-2746 E-mail: [email protected] Gary Pogrant 400 Oak Street, Suite 170 Abilene, TX 79602 (325) 674-1328 | Fax: (325) 674-1241 E-mail: [email protected] Laura L. Spain P.O. Box 1567 Decatur, TX 76234-1567 (940) 627-2470 | Fax (940) 627-3824 Larry Witthar 6010 Veterans Commission Amarillo, TX 79109 (806) 468-1883 | Fax: (806) 468-1885 E-mail: [email protected] VA Regional Office One Veterans Plaza Waco, TX 75704 (254) 299-9950 | Fax: (254) 299-9910 Trista Barnum | Sandra Covin | Jerry Goode Bernado Ramirez | James Richman Robert Symank | Jesus Torres Texas AVVA State President’s Report By Marilyn Rose It has been a very busy summer this year. It seems like all the AVVA members have been very busy working with their VVA Chapters across Texas. Our last state council meeting was held in June, which was hosted by the Borger Chapter 404. It was a long way for everyone to travel, but after that it was a BLAST. Borger did a great job on the State Council Meeting. Great FOOD, especially all the pies and everyone was treated like royalty. Thanks, Borger, for a wonderful time. Even though it was a long way to drive for the TSC meeting, we had a great turnout for the AVVA meeting. One of our speakers was Jody Pancheo, Project Jody from Wichita Falls. She is an amazing person and does a lot for Veterans. Keep up the hard work, Jody. We also had the AVVA State Election. The officers elected this time were: President – Marilyn Rose; Vice President – Percilla Newberry; Secretary – Lynn Kennedy; Treasurer – Gina Mathews. Congratulations to everyone. We are all here to help everyone. If there are any questions, please feel free to contact any one of the officers. In August the National VVA Convention and AVVA National Leadership Conference was held in Reno, Nevada. I must say, I think this was the best Convention I have ever attended. The seminars were great and lots of information was given out to everyone. I think the best seminar was the Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting. It was very informative. Chapter 685, Galveston County is going to host an Agent Orange Town Hall Meeting, which will be sometime in 2012. I think every Chapter should have one in their area. There are so many Veterans that are not even aware of what is wrong with them. They do not attend the VA Hospitals, nor belong to any organizations; some are not even aware of what is available to them. The families, children, grandchildren also need to know about Agent Orange. It was a VVA great Convention and AVVA Leadership Conference. The next AVVA National Convention and VVA Leadership Conference is in Irving, Texas and everyone should attend. Our next State Council Meeting is going to be hosted by Chapter 685, Galveston County on February 3-5, 2012. The theme is the Mardi Gras. Everyone needs to make their reservations NOW. This weekend is the week before the Mardi Gras. Reservations at the hotel need to be made before January 2, 2012, or you might not get a room. You also need to send your registration form in to us ASAP. I look forward to seeing everyone in Galveston. We are going to have a great time. Work, work, seminars, seminars, camaraderie, skits, seeing wonderful friends again and good food. So come on down to Galveston. Marilyn Rose AVVA TX State President VVAFT President’s Report By Bill Meeks, Jr. Greetings! Well, that single word brings back a few memories of something really important that will follow! This year’s financial picture has been a rocky road for nonprofits across the country. VVAFT will continue to meet our grant obligations for the remainder of the year. The foundation’s Board of Directors had to reduce our publication of the Texas VV News by one issue this year. VVAFT is preparing for the New Year with further cuts in mind to deal with the reduced revenues, and these measures will insure that we make it through these hard economic times. The 7th Annual Operation Ed-U-Cate Project deadline of June 20, 2012 will be approaching before you know it. Make sure your Chapter does not miss out on generating extra revenue this year. Each applicant must have accomplished the following contest criterion to be eligible for the final grant awards: 1) Must be in “Good Standing” with VVA, the VVA Texas State Council, State and Federal regulations; 2) Must meet the submittal deadline of on or before June 20th; 3) Must provide Chapter Web site address or three copies of their Chapter newsletter or both for evaluation; 4) Must provide a five-hundred (500) word essay on a community- or veteran-based program the Chapter has established and provide a minimum of two photos of Chapter participation in the program; and 5) The contest entry (Chapter program) must be a current event in the previous 12 months prior to the deadline on June 20th. VVAFT REPORT, continued on page 5 TEXAS VV NEWS 5 VVA NATIONAL, continued from page 1 explain why they were seeking office and answer any questions. There were seventeen (17) seeking the ten (10) At-Large Directors positions. The Region 7 Caucus was held on Wednesday night only and only those seeking a seat as an At-Large Director were invited to attend, the reason being is that Thursday afternoon there was a Conference of State Council Presidents Q & A held for those seeking to be elected as a VVA National Officer. Every officer position had more than one person on the ballot. For President it was incumbent John Rowan and Bruce Whitaker; Vice President Barry Hagge and Fred Elliot; Secretary Bill Meeks (Texas), Carol Schetrompf and Tom Burke; Treasurer Larry Frazee (incumbent) and Wayne Reynolds. The guest speakers during the Convention in order were: Mayor Paul Cashell of Reno, who welcomed everyone to Reno for the Convention; Medal of Honor recipient Paul Bucha; Jimmy Fisher, the founder of Fisher House; the Honorable Eric K. Shinseki, the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (See Bio inside the Texas Vietnam Veterans News); Cecil Roberts, President of the United Mine Workers of America; Nguyen Ba Hung, the Consulate General of Vietnam from San Francisco; and Johnnie E. Webb from the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in Hawaii. On Friday morning at 7:00 a.m., a POW/ MIA Ceremony was held from 8:00 a.m10:00 a.m., the VVA election voting was held. However, the results were not announced as there had to be a runoff election held on Saturday morning for the Secretary position between Bill Meeks and Tom Burke. The results of the election were as follows: President John Rowan – Queens, NY was elected for a fourth term; Vice President Fred Elliot – Rochester, NY (new); Secretary Bill Meeks – Spring, TX (new); and Treasurer Wayne Reynolds –Athens, AL (who had held the position several years ago). VVA President John Rowan has served since 2005 as the VVA National President VVAFT REPORT, continued from page 4 All entries will be judged by the VVAFT Board of Directors. The content of the Chapter applicant’s Web site or newsletters or both and the merit of their Chapter program will determine the final grant awards. The top two awardees will have their essay and photos published in the Texas VV News for recognition of their outstanding work. Grant Awards: 1st Place, $500; 2nd Place, $300; 3rd Place, $200; and 4th Place, $100. Postmark delivery is at 29419 Fox Run Boulevard, Spring, TX 77386 and e-mail delivery is at [email protected] Have a great holiday season and I hope to see everyone at the Galveston meeting in February! and has served as the Chairman of the Conference of State Council President, for three terms on the Board of Directors, and as president of VVA’s New York State Council. VVA Vice President Fred Elliot just completed his fourth term as Region 2 Director. His past VVA National Board service includes two terms as Director At-Large; he has chaired the Strategic Planning Committee, the Convention Resolutions Committee; the Convention Rules Committee; and the Budget Oversight Subcommittee. Elliott has also served on numerous other national committees, including as Vice Chair of the national finance committee. VVA Secretary Bill Meeks, Jr. just completed his term at an At-Large Director; has also previously served at that same position, was the current VVA National Membership Committee Chair for a great many years. Meeks has served at every elected position in VVA Chapter 343 Houston, Texas. Meeks also served several terms as the VVA Texas State Council President and was re-elected as President of the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas, Inc. last June. VVA Treasurer Wayne Reynolds served as the National Treasurer from 2001-2003, is currently serving his 13th years as President of the VVA Alabama State Council. His past VVA national service includes four years on the board of VVA’s affiliated 501-C3 charity; the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund; four years as secretary of VVA’s Conference of State Presidents; and three years as past president of VVA Chapter 511, Athens, Alabama. Reynolds has also served on the following VVA national Committees: Finance, Veterans Healthcare, PTSD and Substance Abuse, Constitution, Employment, Training & Business Opportunity (ETABO), and Veterans Affairs. Allen Manuel was re-elected as Region 7 Director as he ran unopposed. The newly elected Regional Directors are: Region 1 John Miner, VT (new); Region 2 Herb Worthington, NJ (new); Region 3 Sara McVicker, MD (new); Region 4 Bobby Barry, GA (new); Region 5 Sandie Wilson, MI (new); Region 6 John Margowski, WI (new); Region 7 Allen Manuel, LA; Region 8 Tom Owen, OR (new); and Region 9 Dick Southern, CA (re-elected). At-Large Directors: Richard DeLong, LA (re-elected from Region 7); Felix “Pete” Peterson, OK (new from Region 7); Marsha Four (re-elected); Pat Bessigano, IN (re-elected); Jerry Yamamoto, CA (re-elected); Dan Stenvold, ND (re-elected); Pastor Toro, NY (new); Jackie Rector, NY (new); Ken Holybee, CA (new); Joe Jennings, OH (new). The Awards Committee gave the VVA Achievement medal to the Texas State Council President Luther “Buster” Newberry presented by VVA President John Rowan during the general session of the Convention. At the Saturday evening Awards Banquet the following awards were presented: Johnny Rivers and Mickey Jones – Received the President’s Award of Excellence in the Arts. Rivers was honored for his big musical hits (Memphis, Maybelline, Mountain of Love and Secret Agent Man) and for the trip to Vietnam in 1966 to entertain the troops. Mickey Jones was Johnny’s drummer on that trip. Jones was honored for his musical and acting career. Diana Dell – Received the President’s Award of Excellence in Arts. Dell volunteered to go to Vietnam in 1970 as a civilian, working for the USO after the death of her brother, Sgt. Kenny Dell, who was killed in action in the Mekong Delta in November 1968. She was honored for that act of dedication and for the work she did in Vietnam as a USO program director and the host of the “USO Showtime” radio show on the Armed Forces Vietnam Network, as well as for literary accomplishments since then. Dell left Vietnam in 1972 and later worked as a freelance writer and journalist and taught Vietnam War history and journalism classes at Tampa College. She is the author of, among other works, A Saigon Party and Other Vietnam War Short Stories, and the screenplay That Year in Saigon. Vicki Lawrence – Received the President’s Award of Excellence in the Arts. An Emmy award-winning actress best known for her work on The Carol Burnett Show. She was honored for her long and distinguished show business career and for her morale-boosting 1968 trip with Johnny Grant to Vietnam to visit American troops. After The Carol Burnett Show ended, Lawrence went on to star in her own TV series, Mama’s Family, which can still be seen daily throughout most of the country. Most recently on TV, she played Miley Cyrus’s grandmother on Hanna Montana. Today, she spends much of her time on the road with her stage production, Vicki Lawrence and Mama, a two-woman show. Gloria Loring – Received the VVA President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. Loring is an acclaimed singer and entertainer who traveled to Vietnam in 1970 to entertain the troops with Bob Hope. She went on to a long, accomplished show business career as a singer, songwriter and actress. Loring recorded the chart-topping hit song, Friends and Lovers; co-wrote the television theme songs, Different Strokes and Facts of Life; and was an audience favorite on daytime TV’s Days of Our Lives. She is a spokesperson for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and author of four books for people living with diabetes; a keynote speaker for corporations and nonprofits; and one of the few artists to sing two nominated songs at the Academy Awards. Homer Hickman – Received the VVA Excellence in the Arts Award. He is best known for his highly acclaimed memoir Rocket Boys– and the movie version, October Sky. Hickman served in Vietnam from 1967-68 where, among other awards, he received the Bronze Star. Hickman left the Army after serving six years on active duty and immediately began writing, starting with magazine feature stories. He has gone on to write a dozen books. NOTICE: VVA Texas State Council Household Goods Contract ATTN: VVA Chapter President & Board of Directors Subject: Household Goods Contract and Chapter Disbursement Checks FY 2012-2013 The Texas State Council Household Goods Contract will be mailed to each Chapter in Texas that is in good standing with VVA, the Texas State Council and Texas Secretary of State on December 27, 2011. This is a change in the procedure, instead of handing it out to Chapter delegates at the February state council meetings. This will allow the Chapters to have at least one meeting prior to the beginning of the next Fiscal Year that starts on March 1, 2012 to review the contract and decide if the Chapter wants to participate in the program. If the Chapter wants to participate in the Household Goods Programs for FY 2012-2013, then the contract must be signed and either turned in at the Texas State Council meeting on February 4, 2012 or mailed to the State Council President on or before February 28, 2012. NO contracts will be accepted after the cutoff date unless postmarked prior to February 28, 2012. When going over the contract, your attention is directed to page two (2). This contract has had an extra paragraph included on page 2, Section II, paragraph B which relates to the check(s) that will be issued to your Chapter and to ensure the timely deposit of the financial instruments (checks). Which reads: VVA Texas State Council check(s) will be mailed to the Chapter post office box or address and it is the responsibility of the person picking up the Chapter mail to immediately make sure the check is turned over to the Chapter Treasurer for deposit. Failure to make deposits in a timely fashion will result in the state council treasurer withholding any future checks until such time as the previous check(s) have been deposited. The reason is that in the past, several Chapters have failed to CONTRACT, continued on page 7 6 TEXAS VV NEWS TSC MEETING, continued from page 1 Allen Manuel, Richard DeLong, Tom Burke, Dennis Andras, Tony Chavira (VVA 574 El Paso), Humberto Nevarez (VVA 574 El Paso) and Bill Smith (VVA 137 Dallas). Business was conducted and the four (4) Chapters that submitted packets for VVAFT Operation Ed-U-Cate were passed out to the directors to judge. You can read the 1st and 2nd place submissions elsewhere in this issue of the Texas Vietnam Veterans News. • 1st Place, $500 winner VVA Chapter 1000 Killeen/Fort Hood Area; • 2nd Place, $300 winner VVA Chapter 366 San Antonio; • 3rd Place, $200 winner VVA Chapter 937 Bryan/College Station • 4th Place, $100 winner VVA Chapter 915 Austin VVAFT also held an election for officers and board of directors. The foundation’s board of directors is staggered and are for a two-year term of office. The four officers and directors whose term of office was up were all re-elected to another term. In June 2012 the remaining directors whose term will be up will seek their position, and any VVA member is welcome to submit a letter of intent to seek one of the open director’s positions, no later than 45 days prior to the June VVAFT Board of Directors meeting. Bill Smith, VVA Chapter 137, submitted his letter of intent for this term, but unfortunately all incumbent officers and directors were re-elected. The current VVAFT Board of Directors are as follows: VVAFT Officers • President Bill Meeks - Houston Chapter 343 Secretary (2011-2013) • Vice President Don Kennedy - TSC Vice President & Killeen Chapter 1000 Treasurer (2011-2013) • Secretary Kerwin Stone - TSC Secretary & Beaumont Chapter 292 President (2011-2013) • Treasurer Jim W. Boyd (TSC Treasurer & El Paso Chapter 574 member (20112013) Board of Directors • Greg Beck – Texarkana Chapter 278 President (2011-2013) • Victor Flores – Chapter 574 Vice President (2010-2012) • Buster Newberry – TSC President & Chapter 404 Treasurer (2011-2013) • Al Navarro – Chapter 343 member (2010-2012) • Robert Rangel – El Paso Chapter 574 President (2011-2013) • Dennis Thomas –Chapter 404 Vice President (2010-2012) • Hal Thompson – Chapter 457 member (2011-2013) VVAFT had also granted AVVA Texas State Council an RFP to cover expenses to send Marilyn Rose to the AVVA National Leadership in Reno, Nevada, which also covered the registration for all four (4) AVVA State officers and lodging for two rooms for the Borger Texas State Council meeting in the amount of $1,278. Texas Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America (AVVA) The Texas AVVA State Council business meeting was also held on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. Their officers are President Marilyn Rose, Vice President Percilla Newberry, Secretary Lynda Greene and Treasurer Merle Morris. Their meeting was well attended by Chapter delegates. AVVA also held their biennial election and their President Marilyn Rose (685) and Vice President Percilla Newberry (404) were re-elected. Lynn Kennedy (1000) was elected as their new Secretary and Gina Mathews (685) was elected as their new Treasurer. AVVA Region 7 Director Kathy Andras also attended. The new VVA Advisor to the AVVA is Bill Smith, who replaces Lee Derby. AVVA Chapter Reps turned in a written report and passed them out to the AVVA Chapters in attendance. Texas State Council Meeting The TSC President Buster Newberry called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. and the Presentation of the Colors was by the Hutchinson County Joint Task Force Color Guard; the National Anthem was sung by Brian and Cloyce Kuhnert; Vice President Don Kennedy led the Pledge of Allegiance; Invocation by Myron Peterson, Chapter 404 and Victor Flores, Chapter 574 performed the POW/MIA Table Ceremony. Chapter 404 President Myron Peterson welcomed the delegates and guests to Borger and introduced Dr. Jud Hicks – President of Frank Phillips College; Jeff Brain – Mayor of Borger; Jack Barnes – America Supports You Texas; and Andres W. Welch – Director of the Thomas E. Creek VA Medical Center in Amarillo. TSC President Newberry introduced the following guests to the state council meeting in Borger: Barry Hagge, VVA National Secretary; Larry Frazee, VVA National Treasurer; Allen Manuel, VVA Region 7 Director; Dennis Andras, Louisiana State Council President; Kathy Andras, AVVA Region 7 Director; Richard DeLong, VVA National At-Large Director; Bill Meeks, VVA National At-Large Director; Fred Elliot, VVA Region 2 Director; Bruce Whitaker, VVA Region 3 Director; Tom Burke, VVA National At-Large Director; Pete Peterson, Oklahoma Chief VSO; Leslie DeLong, VVA National Constitution Committee Chair; Marilyn Rose, Texas AVVA State President and VVAFT Board of Directors. VVA At-Large Director Bill Meeks (VVAFT President); VVA At-Large Director Richard DeLong; AVVA Region 7 Directors Kathy Andras; Texas AVVA President Marilyn Rose; VVA National Constitution and Bylaws Chair Leslie DeLong; and VVAFT Board of Directors. Thirty two (32) of the thirty-six (36) Texas VVA Chapters were present. The following Chapters were absent: Chapter 297 Amarillo (unexcused); Chapter 457 San Angelo (unexcused); Chapter 844 El Paso (unexcused); Chapter 910 Corpus Christi (unexcused). President Newberry asked any newlyelected Chapter delegates to come forward to introduce themselves and take the oath of office, so they could be seated as delegates on the Texas State Council. AVVA State Council President Marilyn Rose gave her report to the VVA Texas State Council delegates. The AVVA Project A.M.I.G.O. presentation was to the Living Waters Ministries by Marilyn Rose. The Chapters present gave oral and written reports of what each Chapter has been doing since the February 2010 TSC meeting in Borger, Texas. After a break for lunch, the TSC committee reports started: • Audit Committee report – Don Mathews, committee chair, is still going through the state council’s financial records to complete the audit with the change of Treasurer last June 2010. More records were turned over to the state council in February and those are what Mathews is presently reviewing. • Constitution/By Laws Committee chair Bill Meeks turned his time over to the VVA National Constitution committee chair Leslie DeLong to go over several proposed VVA Constitutional Amendments. • ETABO – No report; Al Navarro excused absence. • Chapter Start-Up – Chair Mike Dawson; no report, absent. • Government Affairs – Chair John Mitekro discussed in detail government and legislative information at the state levels. • Homeless Veterans – Chair Greg Beck passed out a detailed report on homeless veterans. • POW/MIA – Don Boling and Greg Beck passed out a detailed report on the POW/MIA. • Membership – Chair Jim Boyd gave the total count for both VVA and AVVA in Texas per the April 30th VVA National Roster and then turned his remainder time over to Bill Meeks the VVA National Membership chair, who discussed the Election Reports and Finance Reports due dates to both VVA National and the State Council, both of which are due no later than July 15th. Allen Manuel took a head count of those delegates that are planning on attending the VVA National Convention in August. As of those delegates present at the meeting, there are 28 members of the 88 Texas authorized delegates planning on attending. • Minority Affairs – Chair James Leonard stepped down for personal family reasons and Paul Washington (Chapter 343) had been sworn in earlier in the day, but no report since he had just taken over the committee. • PTSD – Chair Joseph Boatman gave a brief report. • Public Affairs – No report. • Veterans Benefits – No report as Jim Hallbauer, the TSC Chief VSO, was still in the process of putting his office back together after a massive water pipe bursting at the Dallas VAMC. • State Agent Orange Coordinator – John Cook was not able to attend, but sent a large report of handouts with the new Chapter 137 Delegate, Mike McCullogh. • Women Veterans – Eillen Grozier was unable to attend because of family health problems, but sent a written report given by Chapter 574 President Robert Rangel. Unfinished Business • VVAFT President Bill Meeks passed out the 6th Operation Ed-U-Cate checks to those Chapters that submitted their write ups and Chapter newsletters to be judged by the VVAFT BoD. Winners are covered above under VVAFT Board of Directors meeting. Meeks passed out the 7th Operation Ed-UCate contest flyer for June 2012. • TSC Secretary Kerwin Stone stressed the importance of filing your Chapter election and financial reports in a timely fashion to both VVA National and Texas State Council. Also, the Chapters need to file the IRS Form 990N along with their financial report to VVA National. • TSC Treasurer reminded delegates that the Household Goods checks need to be turned over to the Chapter Treasurer once they return home, so they can be deposited since it is printed on the checks: “VOID after 60 Days.” • The TSC Delegates, after a serious discussion, voted to bring a motion to the floor that had been tabled at San Antonio in June 2010 to change the state council meeting dates to April and October starting in 2013. Reasons for making the changes is to separate the state council meetings by six months and not have both meetings in the first six months of the year, along with a possible Region 7 meeting in July, and either a VVA National Convention or Leadership Conference in late July or early August. The only requirement to host a state council meeting is that any Chapter chosen to host the meetings coordinate with the State President, since VVA National Board meetings are held in Silver Spring in both of those months and he/she has to attend them. New Business • TSC Secretary Kerwin Stone reminded the Chapters to make sure that their Registered Agent and Register Office are kept current with the Texas Secretary of State. Chapter elections are in April and election reports should be sent to VVA National, with a copy to the TSC Secretary. • VVA National Convention – Reno, Nevada – Region 7 Director Allen Manuel reported that all VVA National Officers are up for election and already are being contested. Also the Regional Directors and At-Large Director positions are up for election. • TSC February Meeting 2012 – host Chapter 685 Galveston, February 3-5, 2012 • TSC June Meeting 2012 – host Chapter 920 Denton, June 2012 dates to be confirmed • TSC April Meeting 2013 open TSC MEETING, continued on page 7 TEXAS VV NEWS TSC MEETING, continued from page 6 • TSC October Meeting 2013 open Scholarships – The scholarship committee passed out to the delegates and officers seven (7) scholarship applications at the beginning of the meeting and asked everyone to read them and turn in their votes by the end of the meeting. The results and checks were passed out at the Awards Banquet Saturday evening. 1st place $1,000: Rebecca Morris; 2nd place $750: Joseph Foutz; 3rd through 7th places $500 went to: Bailey Beck, Stormy Champion, Amy Castillo, Sarah Koenigh and Amber Metula. Total amount paid out to the scholarship applicants was $4,250. Silent Auction conducted during the state council meeting brought in $1,892 and the host Chapter was given a check for $946, which went to the VSO line item fund. The Coins & Pins brought in $126 for the VSO Line Item Fund. Live Auction brought in $1,580, plus a $50 donation for the scholarship fund. TSC Awards: • Friend of VVA – Sally Griffin (submitted by Borger Chapter 404) • AVVA Member of Year – Merle Morris CONTRACT, continued from page 5 (submitted by Texarkana Chapter 278) • Incarcerated Member of Year – James Sepsi (submitted by Beaumont Chapter 292) • Legislator of the Year – Leticia Van De Putte – Texas State Senator (submitted by Austin Chapter 915) • Pointman of the Year – George Wilson (submitted by Chapter 931) • President’s Award – (Friend of VVA) – Mike Mahan – M&M Vending Co. (submitted by Killeen Chapter 1000) • Boot Award – Rodney Gobert (submitted by Beaumont Chapter 292) • Heart of Patriotism – Mrs. Jan Bell – School Librarian (submitted by Borger Chapter 404) • A Certificate of Appreciation was given to the members that did not receive the award they were nominated for by their Chapters. Region 7 Director Awards: • Region 7 Chapter of Year – Dallas Chapter 137 • Region 7 Veteran of the Year – John Cook, Dallas Chapter 137 • Region 7 Pointman of the Year – Larry Poe, Galveston Chapter 685 VVA Texas State Council Meeting Galveston County Chapter 685 February 3-5, 2012 HOST HOTEL: Hilton Galveston Island 5400 Seawall Boulevard, Galveston, Texas 409-744-5000 or 1/877-425-4753 Room Block: VVA Texas State Council Room Rate: $94.00 per night + 15% tax until cutoff date January 2, 2012 REGISTRATION FORM ONE (1) Form per person, please. (Delegate/AVVA/Guests on separate registration forms, so that name tags can be made in advance.) Name:__________________________________________________________ Address:________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code:______________________________________________ Contact Number:__________________________________________________ E-mail:__________________________________________________________ Check one: Dessert: Sugar Free_____________Regular____________ VVA Delegate: ______ VVA Chapter #:______ Title:_____$40.00 per person AVVA Member:__________________________________________________ VVA Chapter #:______ 7 Chapter Rep:________________ $35.00 per person Guest ($35 per person):____________________________________________ Guest of:________________________________________________________ PROJECT A.M.I.G.O. Recipient:____________________________________ Please Make Checks Payable to: VVA Chapter 685 Mail to: Jim Rose 4307 Winterborne Drive Pasadena, TX 77505 Registration MUST BE POSTMARKED BY: January 2, 2012 Contact Persons: Jim Rose at 281-991-1467 [email protected] OR Marilyn Rose at 281-991-1467 [email protected] deposit their HHG checks from anywhere to four (4) months to a year and the checks had to be voided and new checks issued by the state council treasurer. The continued failure to deposit the checks could possibly result in the Chapter funds being redirected to the VVA Texas State Council Veterans Service Representative Program as a donation to the program by the Chapter. Next the HHG checks for those Chapters that signed and returned the contract for Fiscal Year 2011-2012 will be mailed to the Chapter around the middle of January, so that the check can be deposited and clear the Texas State Council bank before the end of the fiscal year. Then I do not have to carry over any outstanding checks into the Fiscal Year 2012-2013 which starts March 1, 2012. Since I have assumed the position of Texas State Council Treasurer, I have had to carry over checks provided to the Chapter delegates at the state council meetings that apparently were never turned over to the Chapter treasurer in a timely fashion. This also has been a problem for several Chapters that were absent and the checks were mailed to them. Since June 2010, I have had to VOID out at least nine (9) checks because they were never deposited. Six (6) of those checks were replaced once the Chapter returned the check. However, there are still three outstanding HHG checks to Chapters issued in June 2011 that have never been deposited. Going back through the records of the past treasurer and my experience since I was elected, there have been instances of the checks not being deposited until four (4) months since they were issued. One (1) instance for one Chapter was that after a year they had not deposited their last two checks. The checks were found filed away with other material in the file cabinet instead of being deposited. That is the reason under Section II that B was added. Please read the contract carefully and if your Chapter wants to participate, return it either at the state council meeting in February or mail it to the State President by the cutoff date. Jim W. Boyd Texas State Council Treasurer Texas Vietnam Veterans News Update The Texas VV News is a tool that the VVA Texas State Council, and the Vietnam Veterans Assistance Foundation of Texas (VVAFT) as publisher, uses to keep veterans and their families updated with information about Veterans Affairs. Unfortunately, with continued increases in printing and mailing costs and the poor economy, the VVAFT is forced to reduce, once again, the publication of the newspaper to a bi-annual publication with two (2) electronic newsletters in between the two (2) issues of the newspaper starting in January 2012. The Texas VV News and electronic newsletters will be available at www. VVAFT.org for viewing. You will be able to print the newsletters for distribution to Chapter members that do not have computer access. Past issues of the Texas VV News are also available on the Web site. The newsletters will also be sent out electronically (e-mail) to the Chapter delegates that the Texas State Council Secretary has on file that have provided an e-mail address to also make it available to their Chapter officers to print and distribute at meetings to those that do not have computer access. This will be in effect until the economy gets better as this move is necessary in order to allow the VVAFT to fund other obligations besides printing the newspaper. Each issue of the newspaper costs the foundation approximately $5,000 to $5,300 to publish and mail to almost 5,000 VVA and AVVA members in Texas. The public donations VVAFT receives has fallen drastically in the last three years. Three years ago the foundation was putting out four (4) issues of the newspaper at a cost of over $20,000 per year. It was reduced to three at approximately $15,000 a year to publish and mail the newspapers. Publishing and mailing the newspapers has taken a lot of our income and barely left enough since 2009 to fund other projects. VVAFT funds RFPs from the state council, which include a standing donation to the Texas State Council VSO Program for $3,000, $500 to AVVA per year, Operation Ed-U-Cate, and has been paying the TSC officers expenses to attend the state council meeting that includes lodging, registration fees and travel. This has been to help the state council out financially; however, the state council is now in better financial shape than the foundation. So another costcutting proposal by the State President that will be discussed at the VVAFT and Texas State Council Executive committee meeting in December will be for the state council to resume paying those expenses. The foundation has given out over $6,500 in donations and RFPs so far this year, with obligations of $1,250 to still pay out this year. Even though we get public donations, the foundation has steady fallen each year for the last three years; our reserve funds are almost depleted. When the economy rebounds, hopefully in the next couple of years, the VVAFT can possibly restore publication of the newspaper to at least three (3) a year. Because of the economy three years ago, we had to drop from four (4) issues to three (3); and now to two (2), plus the electronic newsletter. However, it will not be very costeffective to mail out the newsletters to the VVA membership, as postage is going up again in January 2012, as well as nonprofit mailing, and it would be counter-productive to mail it; therefore, UPDATE, continued on page 9 8 TEXAS VV NEWS Texas State Council Meeting Borger, Texas – June 2011 President Newberry addressing the Chapter Delegates at the TSC meeting in Borger. Photos by Susie Moreno Posting the Colors. Members stand, for the posting of the Colors and salute. Chapter 404 President Myron Peterson “Welcoming the Delegates” to Borger for the Texas State Council Meeting in June 2011. President Newberry swearing in the new Chapter delegates to the Texas State Council. Kathy Andras-AVVA Region 7 Director swearing in the new AVVA Texas State Council Officers elected at the Friday AVVA meeting. L-R: TSC President Newberry; LSC President Dennis Andras; and VVA Region 7 Director Allen Manuel. TSC Meeting June 2011 in Borger, Texas. TSC Meeting June 2011 in Borger, Texas. TSC Meeting June 2011 in Borger, Texas. VVA National Convention Reno, Nevada – August 2011 L-R: Jim Rose (Chapter 685 President); Jim Boyd (TSC Treasurer); Bill Meeks (newly-elected VVA National Secretary) and Buster Newberry (TSC President). Photos by Humberto Nevarez L-R: Paul Washington (Chapter 343 Delegate), Jim Boyd (TSC Treasurer), Buster Newberry (TSC President) and Myron Peterson (Chapter 404 President). A few of the 26 Texas Delegates at the VVA National Convention. Chapter 574 VVA Delegates and AVVA members Buster Newberry, Norma and Allen Manuel. Photos by Jim W. Boyd VVA National Awards Banquet. Susie Meeks, Chapter 574, Humberto Nevarez, Tony Chavira, Robert Rangel, Laura Nevarez, Terri Sirois, Kerwin Stone (TSC Secretary) and Bill Meeks (VVA National Secretary. VVA National Awards Banquet. L-R: Roy McCrary (Chapter 915 President), Bill and Nancy Smith (Chapter 137), Marilyn Rose ( AVVA State President) and Jim Rose (Chapter 685 President). Texas State Council and Chapter Delegates. TEXAS VV NEWS 9 UPDATE, continued from page 7 posting it on our Web site is the most economical means of distributing it. Other state newspapers have gone entirely to electronic means of publishing their newspapers and newsletters. VVA members have to log on to their Web sites in order to get their state newspaper or newsletters. This was necessary in order to reduce the cost of publishing and mailing them. However, even though VVAFT does already put the newspaper online on our Web site, we still plan on publishing and mailing the newspapers as we have members that do not have computer access. However, if there are VVA and AVVA members in Texas that wish to get their newspaper off the VVAFT Web site, instead of having a copy mailed to them, it would save the foundation the cost of about $1 to mail their newspaper. You can send an e-mail to me at jimwboyd@VVAFT. org and I will remove your name from the mailing rosters I submit to American Graphics & Design for each issue to be printed and mailed. CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 366 Alamo VVAFT Operation Ed-U-Cate 2011 - 2nd Place Winner VVAFT President Bill Meeks presenting Bruce Hill with a check to VVA Chapter 366 for 2nd Place in Operation Ed-UCate. Photo by Susie Moreno Attendees placing wreaths and carnations at the foot of the Memorial. Four members of VVA Chapter 366: John Rodriguez, Ruben Villafranca, Jimmie Gonzalez and Tom Ballinger. Photo by Ruby Jasso The City of San Antonio and the Fiesta Commission of San Antonio annually hold an event that honors all veterans. The event is called All Veterans Memorial Service is held in April of each year as part of Fiesta San Antonio at Veterans Plaza. The event has been held since 1989 and the Vietnam Veterans of America, Alamo Chapter 366 has been the host of the event. For many of those years due to the small size of the Chapter and lack of financial resources, the event was lacking in substance and not well attended. In 2005, the Chapter became a Participating Member Organization (PMO) of the Fiesta Commission. As a PMO, the Chapter received funds from the Fiesta Commission and this allowed the Chapter to showcase the event. Also membership in VVA 366 increased to over 100 members, which provided more volunteers. The responsibility of the Chapter in hosting the event is to coordinate the event by preparing the site, securing a speaker, Color Guard, bank and VVA Post 366 members serving as Honor Guard. a trumpet player to play Taps. The Chapter also provides wreaths and carnations for the honored guests and attendees to place at the foot of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The cost to provide these items in 2010 was over $1,500. On April 25, 2010 the largest crowd ever attended the memorial service. It was estimated that over 400 people attended the service, including veterans from WWI, Korea, Vietnam and active service men and women. Also in attendance was a contingent of South Vietnamese soldiers that fought alongside the Vietnam Veterans. The speaker was Maj. General Russell J. Czerw, US Army, Commanding General at Fort Sam Houston (2010). The General’s speech emphasized the importance of supporting the veterans and to not forget the service men and women currently serving our country. He continued to say that celebrations held on day(s) other than traditional Veterans celebrations is an excellent way to show support of the veterans. As this event has grown, so has the presence of the chapter. This event has also been a place to recruit new members. The Chapter Web site address is VVA 366 members in attendance at event. vietnamveteransofamericaalamochapter 366.com U.S. Army All-American Bowl VVA Chapter 366 members attended the U.S Army All-American Bowl held in San Antonio on January 8, 2011. The theme of the pre-game ceremony was the past, the present and the future. The past were the veterans of past wars, the current were the active service men and women, and the future were the newly-recruited. Four members of VVA 366 accepted the invitation to be part of the ceremony. Attached are a couple of pictures of the event. ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ The four Chapter 366 members standing in the ranks with other veterans and active duty with new recruits standing behind. Photo by Ruby Jasso Have a safe and Happy Holiday! 10 TEXAS VV NEWS CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 574 El Paso Memorial Day: Vietnam Veteran Honors Those Who Served Their Country By Ramón Rentería, El Paso Times Submitted to Texas VV News by Terri Sirois | Fort Bliss Public Affair Specialist El Paso County Tax Assessor-Collector Victor Flores holds the jacket he wears when he honors the nation’s prisoners of war and those missing in action. Flores pays special tribute monthly to military personnel who fought in Vietnam, often described as the most divisive war in U.S. history. Photo by Ruben R. Ramirez/El Paso Times Victor Flores refuses to let those who served their country be forgotten. “We consider ourselves lucky,” Flores said. “We came home.” For the past 10 years, Flores, a Marine Corps veteran with combat experience in South Vietnam, has been paying tribute to the nation’s prisoners of war and those missing in action. He pays special tribute to military personnel who fought in Vietnam, often described as the most divisive war in United States history – a war that claimed more than 58,000 U.S. casualties. “I felt that if there was something that I could do, then I could pay tribute to them,” he said. “And make sure people remember them always.” Every month, Flores, 61, recites what has become a traditional POW/MIA ceremony, a dinner table set with five empty chairs representing each military service branch. The symbolic tribute memorializes military men and women whose almost 40-year absence, Flores says, is too often forgotten. “We licked our wounds with family or friends who would either pamper us or tell VVA National Convention and AVVA National Leadership Conference. Chapter 574 VVA Delegates and AVVA members. Back Row: Humberto Nevarez, Tony Chavira, Robert Rangel. Front Row: Laura Nevarez and Terri Sirios. Photo by Jim W. Boyd us we were warmongers or baby killers, but at least we came home,” Flores said. “We must remember our fallen brothers and sisters who have no voice.” One version of the POW/MIA script puts the ceremony in simple perspective: “The sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice.” Flores’ day job is restricted to office work as El Paso County’s tax-assessor collector, an elected position he has occupied for almost 15 years. Not everyone knows that he routinely performs the POW/MIA tribute for veterans’ organizations across Texas and New Mexico. He was once invited to do the solemn, poignant ceremony at a National Convention in Washington, D.C. A conflict kept him from going. Flores also has paid tribute to missing war heroes at Memorial Day services at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire near Taos, New Mexico. His most treasured honor: a plaque naming him Veteran of the Year in 2010 in a fourstate area for his outstanding contribution to other veterans. Luther “Buster” Newberry, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Texas State Council, has invited Flores to do the POW/MIA ceremony at the group’s coming state meeting near Amarillo. He has seen others perform the same tribute across the United States, but has never run across anyone who puts as much passion into the ceremony as Flores. “Victor does the ceremony with such feeling and dignity. When he presents it, there’s not a dry eye in the house when he gets through,” Newberry said. “The way he presents it is from the heart. He’s the best.” Flores uses various artifacts, a Bible, a round strand of barbed wire, lemon and salt, inverted cups, a red rose, a red ribbon, a burning candle and other items symbolic of the plight of prisoners of war and servicemen and women missing in action. Flores’ downtown office is filled with Vietnam War and veterans memorabilia, pictures and medals, Marine Corps gear and caps and a giant frame – a gift from Flores’ wife, Juana, and a friend – memorializing Flores’ company commander, Marine Capt. Richard Sexton, a Pennsylvania native killed Feb. 15, 1970 in Quang Ngai Province in South Vietnam. Enemy forces exploded a booby-trapped, 500-pound bomb as Marines approached. Sexton was 26, married, the father of a daughter, and about three weeks away from rotating out of the war zone. Flores, walking about 12 feet from Capt. Sexton, was wounded in that encounter. “I lost my hearing, got my ears blown out,” he said. “Most people don’t even notice that I wear hearing aids.” Flores was 19, just out of high school, when the Army drafted him but he wound up serving with the U.S. Marine Corps. He was in South Vietnam in 1969 with the 3rd Amphibious Force attached to the 3rd Marine Division. Just a few months earlier, the Army had invaded the nearby South Vietnamese hamlet of My Lai, a suspected Viet Cong stronghold. An estimated 500 Vietnamese civilians were shot to death. The incident, later known as the My Lai Massacre, was not made public until the fall of 1969. “We had our share of contact,” Flores said. “I was a rifleman, but an infantry guy in the Marine Corps is basically a jack of all trades.” Flores ended up operating a field radio for a while. Sometimes, he was assigned to check out enemy tunnels used for stashing weapons. “I was a very thin, short individual. Maneuvering inside a small tunnel was not hard for me,” he said. Flores spent 10 months in South Vietnam. When he landed in California, on the trip back home, an elderly woman at an airport accused him of being a baby killer and a warmonger. “It just blew me away. I was expecting her to pat me on the back and thank me. After that, I felt guilty,” he said. Flores returned home shell-shocked, always ready to hit the deck upon hearing fireworks, thunder or even the cannon signaling a touchdown at football games. To this day, he cannot watch what he describes as glorified, unrealistic movies dealing with the Vietnam War. “I felt like I was always angry. I was difficult to get along with,” Flores said. “You had the nightmares, the dragons chasing you all the time.” Flores, a father of two sons and grandfather of three, still has nightmares about his war experiences in South Vietnam. “War leaves a deep scar in your mind,” Flores said. “Sometimes, for a split second I still get a whiff of what it is to smell the jungle or even the dampness of when I was in a tunnel.” Flores has no intention of abandoning the servicemen and servicewomen, who he said have been mostly forgotten by their government, sometimes by their own families. “I’m still a Marine, a patriot all the way,” he said. “As long as I can do it, I will honor them at least by remembering them.” El Pasoans listed as MIA • Michael Paul Burns, Army, Laos, July 31, 1969 • Jesus Armando Gonzalez, Army, Vietnam, April 19, 1968 • Arthur William Kerns, Army, Vietnam, Dec. 23, 1966. • Jose Jesus Gonzalez, Marines, Vietnam, June 11, 1967 • John Robert Jones, Army, Vietnam, June 5, 1971 • John Michael Shea, Marines, Vietnam, April 29, 1975 • Ronald Leonard Watson, Army, Laos, Feb. 18, 1971 • Manuel Ramirez Puentes, Army, Vietnam, March 25, 1971 Texas State Council Meeting – Borger, Texas. Victor Flores conducting the POW/MIA Table Ceremony at the beginning of the meeting. This ceremony is conducted at every Texas State Council meeting. Photo by Susie Moreno POW/MIA Recognition Day held in September 2011 at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, sponsored by VVA Chapter 915 and other veterans’ organizations. Chapter 574 members Victor Flores and Humberto Nevarez. Photo by Harold W. Leung; submitted by Humberto Nevarez POW/MIA Recognition Day held in September 2011 at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, sponsored by VVA Chapter 915 and other veterans’ organizations. Photo by Harold W. Leung; submitted by Humberto Nevarez TEXAS VV NEWS 11 CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 685 Galveston County Our Galveston County Chapter 685 of the Vietnam Veterans of America was invited by the Galveston Elks lodge to attend their activities for the wounded warriors from the Fort Worth VA system that were in our area for R&R. We had a good turnout of Chapter members, who I think had a good time with these young people and I believe that the wounded warriors did also. There were three Vietnam Veterans included with the group, as well as attendants from the VA. We gave them our Chapter prints drawn by Roland Castanie, an associate member of the Chapter; and also two eagle head canes carved by Jim Rice, a member of our chapter, for the two vets that needed them. One went to a member of the 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles) and he was so proud of it he would not let his attendant take it away from him for storage. He has traumatic brain injuries and he told me that the cane was the best thing that he had ever gotten and that he could wear the eagle patch on both shoulders. That should give everyone a glimpse at what is important to them. It probably goes something like this. Family, God, Unit and Country. It was wonderful to see Angie Farina having such a good time dancing to the little band that they had there. She has been in a battle of her own for awhile and is holding her own. We are praying for her. I have one more thing to say. I feel totally blessed to be surrounded by such great people in our Chapter and when Galveston County Chapter 685 calls its roll, I feel honored to have my name on it. Jim Rose, President Galveston County Chapter 685 Vietnam Veterans of America http://galvestonvva.us CHAPTER NEWS VVA Chapter 844 El Paso By J.R. Dawson, President Chapter 844 There is not a symbol on this earth more recognizable or as easily identified as the United States Flag. Old Glory means many things to all inhabitants of earth. To most people, it is a cause of pride. A symbol of freedom and to anyone who was ever military, it is our rally point. I consider it a privilege to be able to own, fly and display my U S flag. Like many Americans and patriots, I protect my flag and try to honor all the proper steps in handling my flag. Chapter 844 is quickly becoming known as “THE FLAG GUYS”. We have jumped in with both feet into the task of handling old, worn out flags and processing them into honorable, dignified retirement. Chapter 844 is closely linked to the 82nd Airborne Association. We conduct our monthly meetings at their location and several of our members are also members. We are associated with a VFW Post, where some of our members are also members. Being linked with the two groups has formed a good working agreement for all three veterans’ groups. Each group has its own special pool of possible members and many veterans find it agreeable to participate in several different veterans’ group events. We became involved with the flags because someone came to one of our meetings as a guest/visitor. On a break he asked if we had anyone who knew how to properly tri-fold a U.S. flag and if we could fold a few for some of his friends/relatives? We agreed to fold them. At the next meeting, there were several people with flags to be folded. After tri-folding as requested, we invited the quests to join us in our lunch following our meetings. Sometime later, we found a box containing some worn out flags. The box of worn out flags left behind from tri-folding was taken to the Boy Scout Council because we knew they took the worn out flags to summer camp and ceremoniously retired them. That got us started. We had picked up worn out flags at one veteran’s group location, then we VVA Chapter 844 Flag Retirement Ceremony. J. Sanchez and F. Chavez place worn flag in retirement fire. Photo submitted by J.R. Dawson VVA Chapter 844 Flag Retirement Ceremony. Seven hundred flags plus 1,000 pounds of small flags wait to be retired. Photo submitted by J.R. Dawson VVA Chapter 844, U.S. Army Troops and Post 123 honoring POW/MIAs. Photo submitted by J.R. Dawson Chapter 685 President Jim Rose explaining about the Chapter print, “On Behalf of a Grateful Nation”. Photo submitted by Jim Rose Jim Rose presented a wounded warrior with an eagle head cane that the Chapter has made and given to those veterans that need them. Photo submitted by Jim Rose Group of Wounded Warriors at the Galveston Elks Lodge. Photo submitted by Jim Rose ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ picked up flags at another veterans group because they asked us to. Soon we were acting as the area’s unofficial organization that processes worn out flags. It wasn’t long before we found notes with the owner’s names and phone numbers attached to the flags. Many donors expressed a desire to be notified of when and where their flags were being retired, as they wanted to participate in the ceremony. From that point on, it was rather like carrying something heavy and walking downhill. One step led to another, then another, etc. Since Chapter 844 does not own property, building a fire pit became a problem. We found that the VFW Post was as interested as Chapter 844 in providing “Retire by Fire” services for the community. They agreed to pay for half of the costs, if we agreed to do all the labor. The deal was struck. Then, how to design and do the actual construction became the question. You aren’t going to find plans for such a fire pit at any bookstore or anywhere online. There just isn’t anybody (other than veterans) who care about the subject. We contacted several contractors and noone thought we were serious. They would only handle a job like that at a set dollar amount per hour and no guarantee the pit would even work. The U.S. Flag Code stipulated that after burning the flags (the only recognized form of retirement) the ashes must be buried. Digging a hole and burning in the hole meant you would have to dig a hole each time you retired flags. That may be okay for the Boy Scouts, because that is their way of retiring at Summer Camp. We needed a way to conduct the ceremonies many times at the same location, over and over. That means it had to be above ground. We chose cinder blocks in a formation, which has an open back to retrieve the ashes, which meant a solid concrete bottom. The fire box would have to have a grate on top (we used Rebar laid out in a cross pattern); the fire box would also need air underneath the fire for air to allow burning. We simply turned a few cinder blocks sideways as we laid them to allow air movement. We conducted our first “Retire By Fire” on Flag Day June 14, 2010. At that event we retired over 500 flags. Our event was covered by a local TV station, the local newspaper, as well as the Ft. Bliss newspaper. We retired another 350 flags that had been collected only three weeks later (July 4, 2010). We held “Retire By Fire” ceremonies almost every month and retired over 3,000 flags total. On Flag Day, June 14, 2011, with the assistance of seven members of the 123rd BSB active duty troops from Ft. Bliss, we retired over 700 normal size flags, plus 1,000 lbs. or more of the small flags on a stick (6’ x 10’’), which formally honored servicemen graves in Ft. Bliss Cemetery. Our ceremonies honor preselected POW/ MIAs from the official list. We also honor by name a large number of fallen Vietnam Veterans buried at Ft. Bliss cemetery. Ceremonies exist for individual patriots to place a worn out flag in the fire in honor of their friend or family member. All ceremonies are conducted with dignity, honor and respect. Proper salutes, military music and formation expected and delivered. Being referred to as “THE FLAG GUYS” is taken as a real compliment. After all, we fought for our flag. Who better to see it retired with dignity? Chapter 844 Color Guard. J. Sanchez, M. Standish, J. Garcia, D. Dutton and M. Fernandez. Photo submitted by J.R. Dawson 12 TEXAS VV NEWS CHAPTER NEWS CHAPTERVVA NEWS VVA Chapter 863 Kerrville Chapter 870 Schulenburg Vietnam Veterans and Associates members of Chapter 870 Schulenburg, Texas went to the Texas State Council meeting in Borger, Texas. It was a long drive, but we had a great time and received a lot of good information to take back to the Chapter. L-R: Mary and Billy DeMent and Kathy and Daniel Kutac. Photo submitted by Kathy Kutac Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 863 getting the 2010-2011 Volunteer of the Year Award at the 89th Annual Kerrville Chamber of Commerce Banquet Awards Dinner on September 1, 2011. L-R: William Cantrell, Jack Scott, Art Modgling and Alan Hill accepting the award. Photo submitted by Art Modgling Billy DeMent (C) getting his blood pressure check at the TSC Meeting in Borger in June 2011. Photo by Susie Moreno CHAPTER NEWS Chapter 1000 Fort Hood Area ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ VVAFT’s Operation Ed-U-Cate 2011 - 1st Place Winner Since we last applied for this grant, the Chapter has been exceptionally busy as we continue to grow and become more involved in the activities in the Fort Hood Area. In the last election, the Chapter elected three new officers. These officers have been instrumental in taking the Chapter to a new level. Bill Whittaker, President; Lupe Lopez, Vice President; Pat Hidy, Secretary; Don Kennedy, Treasurer, re-elected. Thanks to Lupe Lopez the Chapter now has a Web site: www. vietnam-vet-Chapter-1000.org Chapter members participated in laying wreaths representing Vietnam Veterans at the Memorial Day Ceremony held at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery and the POW/MIA Ceremony at the Memorial located in front of the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center on Fort Hood. The Patriot Guard held their National Gathering of the Guard in Killeen and escorted the American Traveling Tribute which includes a Vietnam Wall Memorial replica. The Chapter set up a table in the vendor section with membership applications, exhibits of VVA activities and memorabilia for sale. Once again Chapter 1000 attended the Annual Retirement Day activities on Fort Hood. Members of the Chapter set up a new member booth and were successful in recruiting new members. For the second year in a row, Chapter 1000 participated in the Killeen Veterans Day Parade. This year, the parade honored the Korean veterans. Several Chapter members riding in two trucks received an enthusiastic welcome from the large crowd attending the parade. Next year our members will bring the 1963 M37 Three Quarter Ton Dodge Power Wagon, Vietnam ear truck, to the parade. Currently, the vehicle is being restored by several Chapter members. The Chapter officers and several members presented a check for $1,000 to the Commander of VFW Post 10377, Lake Belton. This money will be used for the Vietnam Veterans State Memorial that will be located on the Lt. Cooper, 1st Warrior Transition Bn Fort Hood – presented a certificate of appreciation to Bill Whitaker (VVA Chapter 1000). Members of 1st Cavalry Brigade waiting on the deck of the SRP Center for a briefing. VVAFT President Bill Meeks presented a check to Lynn Kennedy (AVVA 1000) for 1st Place in VVAFT Operation Ed-UCate at the TSC meeting in Borger. Photo by Susie Moreno Billy DeMent (C) getting his blood sugar tested at the TSC Meeting in Borger in June 2011. Photo by Susie Moreno grounds of the State Capitol in Austin. Last year the Chapter was invited to help with the Wounded Warrior Fishing Tournament held on Lake Belton. Once again, Lt. Michael Cooper of the 1st Warrior Transition Battalion asked the Chapter to support this effort. On April 8, 2011 Chapter members served coffee, fruit drinks, doughnuts and kuliches to those participating in the tournament: the soldiers and the bass club member that would be fishing with them. Lt. Cooper presented a certificate of appreciation to our Chapter president, Bill Whittaker and a Battalion Coin for Excellence to each Chapter member who came out to help with the tournament. Project: Serving Those Who Serve The project continues its mission to serve the soldiers of Fort Hood. The Soldier Readiness Center (SRP) has been extremely busy, sometimes processing 700 or more per day. We have spent about $1,000 more than we did last year, due to this increase. The Texas Military Family Foundation, which started us on the project has closed its doors and the building has been torn down. It was closed due to the fact that Julie Curtis could not effectively run it due to serious health problems. We will not be able to get needed supplies there any longer. However, we do have two organizations who contribute to the project. M&M Vending Company donates sodas and chips and the TREA Auxiliary of Killeen brings snack items once a month. These organizations help, but the majority of the items we serve come from our funds. We operate solely on donations. We have served the following units in the last several months: • III Corps troops returning from their final deployment in Iraq • 4th Sustainment Brigade going to Iraq to support 29 National Guard Units from 16 states • 4th Advise & Assist Brigade, 1st Cavalry going to Iraq which oversees the northern third of Iraq centered in Mosul. • 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment deployed (4th deployment) to Iraq to help train Iraqi police. • 36th Engineers returned from Balad, Iraq • 20th Engineers returned from Afghanistan • 1st Calvary 2nd Division Brigades Combat Team deployed to Iraq, in April • 1st Calvary Division Headquarters and 1st Air Calvary Brigade deployed in May to Afghanistan: They began processing April 12th The soldiers from these units have been so complimentary and appreciative for what we provide them. One very cold morning in February we arrived about 6:30 a.m. and were freezing cold when they came through our line. They sure did appreciate the hot coffee, hot cocoa and the food. This is why we do what we do. NEVER AGAIN WILL ONE GENERATION OF VETERANS ABANDON ANOTHER TEXAS VV NEWS 13 New Address for National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis The National Personnel Records Center has a new address: National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St Louis, MO 63138-1002. As a reminder, all retirees and Honorably Discharged veterans should ensure their family knows the location of their military Separation Document (DD Form 214). Separation Documents issued after 1969 may contain a Social Security Number, which could be used for identity theft. Storing the Separation Document in a safe deposit box may make it difficult to retrieve immediately upon the death of the retiree or honorably discharged veteran. The better storage locations are: 1. Fire safe in a secure location of the house. Be sure loved ones know the location and have a key or combination. 2. In a watertight food container (Glad, Tupperware) in the refrigerator. Most refrigerators are fire resistant. (As a bonus, everyone has a refrigerator, not everyone has a fire resistant storage box.) Be sure to inform your spouse and relatives where to locate your Separation Document and any other important papers. As a reminder, the preferred method of submitting a request to the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) is via the Internet. Please note that in some cases using a browser other than Internet Explorer may create problems with data entry. As you know, the NPRC provides copies of documents from military personnel records to authorized requesters. Our Web-based application will provide better service on these requests by eliminating our mailroom processing time. Also, since the requester will be prompted to supply all information essential for us to process the request, delays that occur when we must go back for more information will be minimized. This improved on-line request process should be used INSTEAD OF Standard Form 180 for requests from the veteran or the veteranChapters next of kin, if possible. Your assistance with this initiative will allow us, and you, to better serve the needs of our veterans. If you do not wish to use the Internet, you should use Standard Form 180. Military Record Requests Using Standard Form 180 (SF-180) Veterans or next-of-kin of deceased veterans can use the online order form at vetrecs.archives.gov (or use the SF-180). Archival requests may also be processed online (or via the SF-180). Obtain and Fill out Standard Form 180 (SF-180) or write a letter to request records. 1. How to Obtain Standard Form 180 (SF-180) to Request Military Records. There are several ways to obtain an SF-180. You can: Download and print a copy of the SF-180 in PDF format. You need access to a printer and the Adobe Acrobat Reader software (see link below). The form is a total of 3 pages. The SF-180 is formatted for letter size paper (8.5” x 11”). If your printer cannot accommodate this, select “shrink to fit” when the Adobe Acrobat Reader “Print” dialog box appears. This is also a fillable version of the SF-180. It will allow you to type the needed information into the form using your keyboard. You will still need to print, sign and mail the form. Otherwise, it works the same as stated above. 2. Mail or fax your request. Where to Return the Form: Review the tables on page 3 of SF 180 to identify the correct location of the record you need (based on branch of service, dates of separation, and type of record) send the completed form to the address identified on the table. Contact Us to order the form through the mail at National Personnel Records Center, 1 Archives Drive, St. Louis, MO 63138. Other Ways to Obtain the SF-180: • From the Department of Defense • From Federal Information Centers • From local Veterans Administration offices • From veterans Chapter service organizations The SF 180 may be photocopied as needed. Please submit a separate SF 180 for each individual whose records are being requested. Write a Letter to Request Records If you are not able to obtain a SF-180, you may still submit a request for military records. Requests must contain enough information to allow us to identify the record from among the more than 70 million on file at the NPRC. For example, if you are requesting an Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), please include as much of the following information as possible: • The veteranChapters complete name used while in service • Service number or social security number • Branch of service • Dates of service • Date and place of birth may also be helpful, especially if the service number is not known • If the request pertains to a record that may have been involved in the 1973 fire, also include: Place of discharge • Last unit of assignment • Place of entry into the service, if known. Please submit a separate request (either SF 180 or letter) for each individual whose records are being requested. Please Note: Next-of-kin (the un-remarried widow or widower, son, daughter, father, mother, brother or sister of the deceased veteran) must provide proof of death of the veteran, such as a copy of the death certificate, a letter from the funeral home or a published obituary. Additional information is required if you are requesting clinical or medical treatment records (see Federal Records) at http://www.archives.gov/veterans/ military-service-records/standardform-180.html If your request is urgent (e.g. upcoming surgery, funeral, etc.) and there is a deadline associated with your request, please provide this information in the “Comments” section of eVetRecs or in the “Purpose” section of the SF-180 and fax it to our Customer Service Team at 314-801-0764. Our goal is to complete all urgent requests within two working days. However, in some instances we can complete requests the same day if necessary. Please contact our customer service staff at 314-801-0800 if you have questions or require same day service. Due to the large number of calls we receive at this number, hold times are often long. However, once you reach a technician they will be happy to assist you with emergency service. If your burial request involves internment at a Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery, contact the National Cemetery Scheduling Office at 800-535-1117 or visit their Web site at http://www.cem.va.gov/bbene/need. asp. We work directly with the Veterans Affairs staff to obtain records to verify service for burial benefits. If the veteran is not going to be interned at a National Cemetery, the requester may fax the SF-180 or signature page from eVetRecs (including signature of the next of kin and proof of death) to the Customer Service Team at 314-801-0764. If your request involves the burial of a Marine Corps veteran, you may also contact the USMC Liaison Officer at 314-538-2344. NOTE: The 1973 Fire at the National Personnel Records Center damaged or destroyed 16-18 million Army and Air Force records that documented the service history of former military personnel discharged from 1912-1964. Although the information in many of these primary source records was either badly damaged or completely destroyed, often alternate record sources can be used to reconstruct the service of the veterans impacted by the fire. Sometimes we are able to reconstruct the service promptly using alternate records that are in our holdings, but other times we must request information from other external agencies for use in records reconstruction. In some instances, therefore, requests that involve reconstruction efforts may take several weeks to a month to complete. “NARA ensures, for the Citizen and the Public Servant, for the President and the Congress and the Courts, ready access to essential evidence.” Jane Fonda A new controversy over Oscar winner Jane Fonda’s Vietnam War activism caused the actress to come out swinging against home shopping TV network QVC on July 23, over what she described as its caving in to “extremist” pressure to cancel her appearance. In a blog posting on Showbusiness Web site TheWrap. com, Fonda wrote that she was scheduled to appear on QVC to introduce her book, “Prime Time” about aging and life cycles. But the network, Fonda wrote, reported receiving a flood of angry calls regarding her anti-war activism of the 1960s and 1970s, and it decided to cancel Fonda’s appearance. Four decades ago, the American actress angered Vietnam War supporters who gave her the nickname “Hanoi Jane” for her 1972 visit to the capital of North Vietnam at the height of the conflict. At the time, she posed for photos showing her sitting atop a Viet Cong anti-aircraft gun, and she remains an object of derision by some U.S. veterans and others. Fonda, 73, has in the past expressed regret about those images, and in her post at The Wrap she took aim at QVC and her critics. “I am, to say the least, deeply disappointed that QVC caved to this kind of insane pressure by some well-funded and organized political extremist groups,” Fonda wrote. QVC acknowledged Fonda’s appearance was canceled, but said it was because of a programming change. “It’s not unusual to have a schedule change with our shows and guests with little or no notice,” QVC spokesman Paul Capelli said in a statement. “I can’t speak to Ms. Fonda’s comments, other than to confirm that a change in scheduling resulted in her not appearing on July 23.” In 2005, Fonda was spat upon at a book signing in Kansas City, Missouri, by a man who said he was angered by her Vietnam War-era actions. “Bottom line, this has gone on far too long, this spreading of lies about me!” Fonda wrote at TheWrap.com. “…I love my country. I have never done anything to hurt my country or the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for us.” The daughter of late screen legend Henry Fonda, the actress most recently starred in 2007 film “Georgia Rule.” She won Oscars for roles in the films “Coming Home” (1978) and “Klute” (1971). QVC is a unit of Liberty Media Corp. Source: Reuters article 16 Jul 2011 ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ 14 T E X History A S onV V N E W S the Shelf: The Tet Offensive and Its Affect By Rebecca Morris – 1st Place – $1,000 Scholarship EDITORS NOTE: There were seven scholarship entries this year. 1st place received $1,000; 2nd place received $750; and 3rd through 7th received $500 each. Due to the length of the essays, only 1st and 2nd are being published as has been the standard practice by the Texas VV News staff over the years. Throughout the history of our nation there has always been a sense of pride in all that it has done. Pride in everything that is until the Vietnam War. It can easily be said that the TET Offensive that began on January 31, 1968 was a pivotal moment in the course of a war already seen as unpopular and politically motivated. The effects of this offensive led to a shockwave to all that was political and social in the United States. One of the things I notice as I browse through the great slew of books is that the Vietnam War is not recognized as a great “celebration” of U.S. Military History. Rows and rows of books shouting out from the shelves of how great and heroic the men and the battles of the Civil War, World War I and World War II were. It is there, tucked away between the pride, that you find the story of the Vietnam War; as though a symbol of how the nation as a whole once did, and still does, view the war. If you search through the aisles of history you will find books about presidents, stories of race horses, even fantastic journeys of Wild West cowboys all displayed proudly; great pictures and illustrations of the heroes of those stories be they animal or man. But, where are the stories of the Vietnam War? They are there to be sure, two small shelves of mainly small paperback books swallowed by the history of World War II; buried beneath the bragging rights of what was seen as a great victory in time for the United States. There are so many questions that beg to be asked and answered about what truly happened in Vietnam. There are so many what if’s and what could have been that one cannot help but ask, where would this war be in our history books had it gone a little differently? Searching for the answer to those questions of “how did this happen” and “what if it had ended another way”. It quickly becomes obvious that on one major issue nearly all sources tend to agree. The TET Offensive was indeed a great military victory for the United States. Though the military suffered many losses in the battles that ensured, the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese were simply not capable of out maneuvering the U.S. military and its allies. As General Tran Van Tra of the North Vietnamese army stated: “We did not correctly evaluate the specific balance of forces between ourselves and the enemy, did not fully realize that the enemy still had considerable capabilities, and that our capabilities were limited and set requirements that were beyond our actual strength.” (6). Joseph Cummins states in his book Why Some Wars Never End that it took the TET Offensive, which was a major U.S. victory to “turn the country against Vietnam.” (2). I believe in reality it was the public perception in the United States that ultimately led to defeat. One of the main reasons the public was shocked can be directly attributed to the handling of images and reports brought to them by the newspaper and television media. It was a time like no other in that respect. People had grown to trust the word of the reporters, a trust people around the globe today still hold, never taking into account the complete facts and relying only on what reporters consider a good story. The images that filled the living rooms of the public were not those of great victories American soldiers were winning, they were instead images and stories of those things deemed as cruel and inhumane. “The pictures that were coming back to the United States were causing the “horrified public” to increase calls to bring troops home.” (2) Perhaps there are two very memorable media events that came from this time of struggle that could be seen as influential in the outcome of the war. The first being that of the execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem, who was executed by the chief of the National Police, Nguyen Ngoc Loan. It was an execution shown widely throughout the media, both in print and on video, conveniently without explanation or understanding behind his punishment. Had the story been told, the public would have known that Lem had just allegedly taken part in the killing of one of Loan’s most trusted officers along with his family. (1) The second media event that caused so much public displeasure can be connected with the very popular news reporter Walter Cronkite. According to the author of Vietnam, A History, Stanley Karnow, “Walter Cronkite was the nation’s most reliable journalistic personality.” (4). When Cronkite returned to the United States from his visit to Saigon he stated publicly that instead of the official forecast of victory that it seemed ?more certain than ever that the bloody experience of Vietnam is to end in a stalemate.” (4) Cronkite’s statement came at a time when President Lyndon B. Johnson was struggling to keep the American public’s support going for the war, a take that was becoming harder and harder to do. As Kanow states in his book, the comment made by Cronkite “shocked and depressed Johnson’ (4) because he believed the statement would sway public opinion even more. What Johnson didn’t realize is that the public had already reached a point of frustration and the “Cronkite like all other journalist, was lagging behind the American public – reflecting rather than shaping its attitudes.” (4) It is hard to argue even today that the media of all types can be held partially responsible for the changes that occurred not only after the TET Offensive, but after the war itself. Reading through the few books on the war that can be found in the bookstores, one is overwhelmed with a sense of shame. The “pontiffs” tell their stories, their versions of what the war was and what it meant to the United States, rarely ever proclaiming a pride in what our soldiers sacrificed for the cause. One can’t help but notice the effect the TET Offensive and the war had on the nation. I can easily be said that once the opinion of the public has been affected, everything that is political and social in the nation will reflect those opinions. And so the experts follow suit, they tell us how the war led to President Johnson’s decision not to run for a second term, they tell us how the defeat caused some much turmoil amongst the people of the United States, but what they fail to tell us is the real story of the men and women who fought an unpopular war with nothing but a sense of duty and pride in their country. According to Great Battles, Decisive Conflicts That Have Shaped History “In an irony not lost on government to this day, the military victory counted for far less that the media defeat.” (243) Trying to answer the question of how the TET Offensive affected the nation politically and socially, and how it affected the outcome of the war, the realization cam that the real answers can only be found in those who lived through it. After 43 years there is still a sense of shame and embarrassment by those who served this Country bravely. It is reflected in the books on the shelves, and in the eyes of those soldiers who were there. The questions are answered simply by looking at the loved ones of those soldiers and the effects the war as a whole had on entire families. Being the daughter of a Vietnam Veteran, I can say that the war and the TET Offensive in particular, has never stopped having an effect on my father. Only within the last couple of years has he even been able to tell us of the horrors that he experienced during his service. What has told us is saddening, not only because of the suffering the war caused him, but also because there is a struggle for him to show pride in the fact that he was there and did a great service for our country. My father served in the U.S. Navy. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Iwo Jima (LPH-2) which was in the area of DaNang, South Vietnam at the time of the TET Offensive. Being an amphibious assault carrier they carried Marine Corps units and helicopter squadrons of the USMC. When the Tet Offensive began he told me “There was suddenly a flurry of urgent activity on board the ship.” He told of the seriousness the Marines held as they readied for their deployment, that there was “no joking or cutting up as I’d seen in their other mission preparations…We just had a sense that something big was going on. Because he was stationed on the signal bridge, my father had a 360-degree view of what was going on. The offensive left such an impression in his mind and he told me “It was one of the most horrible and tragic sights I have ever seen. The choppers were filled with body bags and wounded and dying Marines.” Feeling helpless and ashamed that he “had it so good” while other soldiers his age were being sent to such a horrible fate, he asked himself a question I am sure many other soldiers asked themselves…”Why and for What?” It was that question that my dad said gave him “a sense of abandonment” by his country as well as a feeling of “betrayal and frustration. I do not trust as I did before Vietnam.” Yes, they won the battles, but it made them question their civilian and political leaders. My father stated it best when he said, “wars are not supposed to be politically correct, limited engagement endeavors! We still have not learned that lesson.” Do we blame the media solely for this sense of shame my father and others like him have for their service? No, of course there are many other factors that play into the perception of win or lose. But, had there been less involvement by the media I can’t help but believe things truly would have been different. The Tet Offensive gave an opportunity to those who were allowed to return home, safe to their own bed and their families, to undermine those fighting the war, those who never knew from one day to the next if they would ever get to see home again. As my father so eloquently put it,”…it is ironic that the patriotic youth that went to Vietnam are the old men and women that ho longer trust the government they so faithfully served!” The horror of combat and waging war was seen by every person with access to a television, the public wanted it go away…” (5) Could it be any more obvious that our Vietnam Veterans are still suffering from the shame of that war? “During World War II and Korea there was a unity of the nation. That sense was lost in Vietnam. Anti-establishment, draft dodgers, no pride in our country, these things changed the entire outlook of America.” (5) And so our bookshelves remain empty, like the hearts of many soldiers still fighting that battle in their minds. Yes, it is too late to change the past. Some battles were lost; some were won, some perhaps even forgotten. But, it’s not too late for those who can speak out and share their stories…to write down the words that speak volumes of pride and satisfaction for a job well done. Vietnam veterans are the history alive and because of that, they can open the eyes of a nation still living in the past by writing down and celebrating your pride in your service for this country. It is to you that we say remember and share with us the real story of Vietnam so that instead of a few small shelves with only paperback books and a sense of shame we can remember and say with pride, your real history will live forever. “Lest We Forget.” Bibliography 1.Diem, Bui – In the Jaws of History. Indiana. Indiana University Press, 1999 print 2.Cummins, Joseph – Why Some Wars Never End. Massachusetts. Fair Winds Press, 2010 print 3.Jorgensen, Christer –Great Battles – Decisive Conflicts That Have Shaped History UK. Parragon, 2010 print 4.Karnow, Stanley – Vietnam A History. New York, Penguin Books, 1998 print 5.Personal Interview. 27 April 2011 6.Tra, Van Tran –Vietnam. Washington D.C. Foreign Broadcast Information Service, 1983 print TEXAS VV NEWS 15 The Effects of the TET Offensive By Joseph Foutz – 2nd Place Winner – $750 (One of last year’s scholarship winners) Today’s America is a place full of people and their ideas. It is a land where people trust and believe, love and achieve. It is, for the most part, a stable environment for people to live and thrive in. It is a country where freedoms and granted at birth, where mothers love their children and fathers love their mothers. Currently, it is a country in the throes of war. War, however, to the majority of the American population is not something that is thought about every day. It’s not a reality to them personally because they are sitting safely at home while others are doing what needs to be done. War is a distant tragedy that people groan and whine about but don’t take too seriously until something severe happens. This is not necessarily bad but it does show how desensitized and different today is compared to years ago. Years ago, the country waited anxiously for any news that wars or battles were turning in American favor and would be ended swiftly. War was not something that people tolerated easily. Granted, battles are fought way differently than thirty years ago and with less hand to hand combat but still, in any skirmish, battle or fight, lives are lost. During the Vietnam War, which many Americans did not want America to be in anyway, North Vietnamese General Vo Nguyen Giap led what came to be known as the TET Offensive, “In the early morning hours of January 31st, the first day of the Vietnamese New Year, NFL/ NVA troops and commandos attacked virtually every major town and city in South Vietnam as well as most of the important American bases and airfields.” (Colvin) and blasted America’s sense of unity and strength to rubble. “…the General launched a major surprise offensive against America and South Vietnamese forces on the eve of the lunar New Year celebrations. Province capitals throughout the country were seized, garrisons simultaneously attacked and, perhaps most shockingly, in Saigon the U.S. Embassy was invaded. The cost in North Vietnamese casualties was tremendous but the gambit produced a pivotal media disaster for the White House and the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.” (Covin) Giap seemed to have excellent insight into the problems that the war was causing for America and her people. “Was perfectly aware of the growing U.S. peace movement and of the deep divisions the war was causing in American society.” (Covin) Before even examining the crimes that Giap committed, it is a little frightening to see how much about America’s going ons that he knew. He seemed to not only know the fears of the people but also to be able to sense their ever growing unease with the Vietnam War at all. The war was not popular (war-sic) and many Americans believed that it was a dealing that the United States of America should have stayed clear from. In a sense, Giap was not only attacking the soldiers at war, but he was attacking the rest of the citizens because he knew what affect the surprise attack of the TET Offensive could have on them and what it would make them think or do. He purposely drove the already existent “anti-war” wedge deeper into the heart of the American people. “The object of attacking the cities was not so much to win in a single blow as it was to inflict a series of humiliating defeats on the Americans and to destroy the authority of the Saigon Government.” (Covin). General Giap knew that the attacks he was issuing would not be extremely devastating to his opposing armies but that the small surprise defeats would have a crushing blow on the hearts, minds and souls of those back home. Another striking characteristic of the TET Offensive is that it was launched on the Vietnamese New Year, which is supposed to be a time of peace. It was also used as a time to pay tribute to the ancestors of their past. “Tet had traditionally been a time of truce in the long war and both Hanoi and Saigon had made announcements that this year would be no different—although they disagreed about the duration.” (Covin). The fact that Giap used this small window of time to his advantage and destroy whatever semblance of peace and tranquility existed in an otherwise hostile environment proves the barbarity and savagery of his nature. Even more interesting is that Giap knew that his attacks would not be crippling or devastating to the American forces but, “It was now clear that the purpose of the attacks on the U.S. garrisons in September had been to draw out troops from the cities.” (Simkin). Giap wanted to make a show. He wanted a stage to perform on and was given one. So, he took his men, gave the orders and did exactly what he knew would be most damaging in Vietnam and back home in America. The fact that Giap’s men were able to get into the U.S. Embassy (grounds – sic) in Saigon was one of the more effective and damaging parts of the TET attack. The media effect that this attack had on the United States was disastrous because it was seen as an attack on American soil. From a military viewpoint, the TET Offensive was seen as an American victory. “During the TET Offensive the NFL lost 37,000 soldiers while the U.S. lost 2,500 men.” (Trueman). Although any loss is seen as horrible, the stark difference in numbers made the attack a victory for the American and allied forces. Once again though, the damage done to American pride was irreversible. Westmoreland, (sic the) United States military leader had been convinced that the North Vietnamese opponents did not have the manpower nor the supplies to replace those (sic) that they lost the previous year in 1967. General Vo Nguyen Giap proved him extremely wrong. The surprise affront became a turning point in the war. The surprise attack that General Giap instigated proved to the American military leaders that their enemies had inexhaustible resources. Despite military official Westmoreland exclaiming that the war was almost over and that he just needed more troops, President Johnson had lost his willingness to keep America in the fight that seemed never ending. President Johnson turned to his advisors and found them just as ready to be done with the war as he was. They asked to see that things were not going well and that the time for change and action had come. He began to try to find a solution and his chief advisors suggest a negotiated withdrawal. “President Johnson told the America people on national television that he was reducing the air-raids on North Vietnam and intended to seek a negotiated peace.” (Simkin) American pride is a hard shell on the belly of these great states we live in. Pride at all, whether it be personal, pride for your state (because we all know there is no pride bigger than Texas Pride) or pride in watching your kindergartener’s first ballet is a strong element to surviving hard times. The fact of the matter is that no matter what happens, during all times, good or bad, hard or easy, Americans and people in general have the ability to thrive and conquer those that threaten them. However, a large part of this is dependent on the feelings and stability of the person themselves. Human nature is to stand tall, take what gets thrown at you and then manage. When Giap sent his men into not only South Vietnamese cities and town but also into the very heart of U.S. power, where no enemy should be able to go, he caused a stir like no other. Metaphorically speaking, he kicked the beehive and laughed at the hum it created. America is a great beehive of activity. America is a great homeland for her children. America is a fighting animal of a country that will not back down and will not surrender when times get tough. On the contrary, America is also a loving mother who thinks to the best of her ability and does what she feels is best for her people. She is not blinded by hate, or love, or jealousy. However, she is not hard-hearted. She feels pain and sometimes that pain is unbearable. General Giap’s TET Offfensive caused a pain in America that was not easily overlooked. Change had to happen and it did. America got up, dusted off the struggles, coped and did what she felt was necessary. Rep. Isaac Passes Legislation for Veteran’s Driver’s License AUSTIN, TX – During the 82nd legislative session, Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) was successful in passing legislation that will allow veterans to add an endorsement to their Texas driver’s license. House Bill 1514 will help honorably discharged veterans of the United States Armed Forces more easily prove their status. Rep. Isaac commented, “I have many veterans in my family, and it was recently brought to my attention that they often must carry their discharge form (DD- 214) with them at all times in order to prove their status. Many businesses, organizations, and events provide certain benefits to this honorable group of citizens and it seems unnecessary that this cumbersome form is the only proof of service that they currently have. Adding a small endorsement to a veteran’s driver’s license is a common sense solution to this issue.” The bill takes effect on September 1st, but because the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will need to establish and approve rules as well develop software for the new license, it may not be available until several months later. DPS is already working on the implementation of the bill and veterans across the state are welcome to call Rep. Isaac’s office or request to join his e-mail newsletter list for updates on the progress of the license. When the development is complete, veterans will simply have to present proof of honorable service at the DPS office when they renew their license in order to have the endorsement added. Rep. Isaac continued, “My hope is that this will not only make day to day life more convenient for veterans, but also cut down on instances of fraud in which non-veterans seek benefits reserved for those who have bravely served our country. Although no license, tax exemption, or benefit can ever repay the debt owed to our veterans, I hope these efforts are a small token of appreciation for their service.” 16 TEXAS VV NEWS Supreme Court to Hear Stolen Valor Case By James Vicini, Editing by Paul Simao WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Supreme Court said on Monday that it would decide whether a federal law making it a crime to lie about being awarded a military medal or decoration violated free-speech rights. The justices agreed to review a federal appeals court ruling that struck down the “Stolen Valor Act” passed by Congress in 2006 because the law went too far in infringing on constitutional freedom-ofspeech protections. The law targets individuals who falsely claim, verbally or in writing, that they won a military decoration or medal. Violators can face up to six months in prison, or up to one year if elite awards, including the Medal of Honor, are involved. Appeals court judges who struck down the law said that if lying about a medal can be classified a crime, so can lying about one’s age or finances on Facebook or falsely telling one’s mother one does not smoke, drink, have sex or speed. The Supreme Court said it would hear an Obama administration appeal defending the law as constitutional and arguing it served an important role of protecting the integrity of the nation’s military honors system. The case involves Xavier Alvarez, who was elected to a California water board in Pomona. He introduced himself at a board meeting in 2007 and said he was a retired Marine who won the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration. Alvarez, described in court documents as a congenital liar, never received the award and never served in the military. The FBI got a recording of the meeting and Alvarez became the first person charged under the law in 2007. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to pay a $5,000 fine and perform more than 400 hours of community service at a veteran’s hospital. He then challenged the law for violating his free-speech rights. By a 2-1 vote, a U.S. appeals court based in San Francisco threw out his conviction and ruled the government cannot bar speech simply because it was factually false. It noted the misrepresentations caused no harm or danger. U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli appealed to the Supreme Court. He said the law prohibited only a narrow category of knowingly made false factual claims, lies that steal the honor and prestige associated with military medals. Jonathan Libby, a deputy federal public defender in Los Angeles who represented Alvarez, urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal because the question did not involve broad importance and the appeals court simply applied settled law. He said Alvarez made his false claim introducing himself as an elected officer at a political event, a water district meeting, and was unconstitutionally punished for political speech. Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in May to amend the law and make misrepresentations about receiving a medal or decoration a crime only if there had been intent to profit. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments in the case early next year, with a ruling likely by the end of June. The Supreme Court case is United States v. Xavier Alvarez, No. 11-210. Stolen Valor Updates William Devereaux [Source: Gloucester County Times, John Barna article 5 Aug 2011] A former state Military and Veterans Affairs official violated the terms of his probation to charges he falsified records to gain a tax exemption afforded those who served in the armed forces by continuing to work with veterans after being ordered to cease such activities, a Superior Court judge here ruled. In August Judge Irvin Snyder continued probation for William Devereaux, but warned Deveraux he would be incarcerated if another such violation occurred. Deveraux pleaded guilty in 2010 to falsifying his veteran and government records in order to receive tax exemption and benefits. Devereaux was sentenced by Snyder in April 2010 to theft by failure to make the required disposition. The terms of his sentence required Devereaux to forfeit his position with the state’s Division of Veterans’ Services and prohibited him from holding any job with the State of New Jersey. He also agreed to reimburse Laurel Springs $54,142.25 in unpaid taxes. He is serving five years of probation, during which he is banned from working with veterans in any capacity. Snyder determined Friday that Devereaux had worked with veterans in Willingboro on a volunteer basis from May to October 2010. He assisted them with claims related to requests for records, including records associated with health care and military benefits – Bill Devereaux is Bill Devereaux’s own worst enemy. Camden County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Chase said at the hearing. Devereaux, appointed director of Veterans Programs for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs by former Gov. James McGreevey, admitted to using falsified veterans’ records and other falsified state documents to wrongly claim exemption from property taxes in Laurel Springs from April 2002 to his arrest in November 2008. He falsely stated he was 100 percent permanently and totally disabled due to military service, qualifying him for property tax exemption. In fact, Veterans Affairs had stated Devereaux was only temporarily disabled and was eligible to pay property taxes. The U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of Inspector General Criminal Investigation Division is continuing an investigation into other records Devereaux is accused of falsifying – specifically military benefits forms for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in which Devereaux claimed he was a paratrooper and artilleryman, exchanged fire with enemy combatants and was involved in an incident of friendly fire. He also claimed to have been injured multiple times in Vietnam and asserted he received medals such as the Purple Heart, the Soldiers Medal and the Bronze Star with .V. device. Devereaux was never a paratrooper or artilleryman, according to court records. He served as a finance clerk in Vietnam for 4 months, 11 days in 1968. There is no record of his being injured in combat or his receiving the medals he has boasted of receiving. Robert Lawrence Deppe [Source: Lake County News, Elizabeth Larson article 23 Aug 2011] Robert Lawrence Deppe, 57, of Upper Lake CA was sentenced 23 AUG to three years in state prison for stealing hundreds of dollars from his brother-in-law and replacing the money with counterfeit bills. We gave him a pretty big break, Deputy District Attorney John Langan said of Deppe. Langan said Deppe could have faced life in prison because he was a three strikes candidate, with two previous felony first-degree burglary convictions that occurred about 20 years ago. The report on the case explained that Deppe turned himself in at the Lake County Jail on 9 FEB after an investigation began into allegations that he took money from his brother-in-law – who lived with Deppe and his wife, Lisa – as well as taking money from Lisa Deppe herself. Deppe was alleged to have taken from his brother-in-law eight $100 bills and five $20 bills and replaced them with fake bills. He also allegedly took two $100 bills from his wife’s purse, also putting fake bills in their place, according to the initial sheriff’s report. The District Attorney’s Office later charged Deppe with forgery and felony petty theft. It was about that same time that Deppe, the former post commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2015, was accused of having falsified a Vietnam service record, leading to him leaving the post. That incident was reported in the 1 MAR Edition of the RAO Bulletin. Langan said the fact that Deppe used counterfeit bills to cover the thefts showed premeditation. Deppe made a complete confession to the thefts. Lisa Deppe – who paid her brother back the stolen money – asked for leniency, and it was Langan’s understanding that she also was speaking for her brother-in-law, but found out later that the brother-in-law wasn’t asking for Robert Deppe to be given a break – It was my mistake, said Langan. He said he invited Deppe’s brother-in-law to come and make a statement to the court and lodge a complaint about the process if he had one. However, when the man addressed the court he said he was fine with the outcome. He also stated that he loved his sister but was tired of dealing with Deppe. Because of the previous convictions Judge Blum turned down probation. Deppe was immediately taken into custody and transported to the Lake County Jail. From there he will be transported to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. David Oh [Source: Military.com | by Bryant Jordan article 24 Aug 2011] Republican city council candidate David Oh claimed he was a Green Beret officer in 1988 before returning to Philly in the early 1990s and becoming a successful attorney. He leveraged his Army resume in politics, working for then-Mayor Ed Rendell and later Gov. Tom Ridge during a trade mission to South Korea. But an online watchdog group that investigates claims of Special Forces qualifications uncovered evidence that Oh was never a tab-wearing Green Beret. According to former SF Master Sgt. Jeff “JD” Hinton, Oh was authorized to wear a Green Beret while his unit supported the Special Forces, but that hardly makes him a Green Beret. “During that time [Oh was in], everyone in the unit wore the Green Beret,” Hinton said. “It was organizational headgear. That included cooks, truck drivers, lawyers, supply guys. That, however, did not make them SF cooks, SF truck drivers, SF lawyers, SF supply guys, or SF officers.” Oh is “parsing words for political gain,” said Hinton, who runs the Web site ProfessionalSoldiers.com Oh’s campaign office did not return Military.com’s calls, but the candidate has been posting apologies on his campaign Facebook page to Hinton and other SF veterans, and on SOCNET, another special operations-oriented Web site that challenged his claims. In many of his postings, he maintains that while he wore the Green Beret, he never wore the tab that only SF-qualified Soldiers may wear. In his posting to SOCNET, Oh said he was sorry for his offenses. Retired Army Brig. Gen. Bruce B. Bingham said Oh “is seriously out of order. Just because this guy served briefly as a nonqualified [detachment] commander does not give him the right to wear the beret after leaving that unit or after leaving the service when wearing his uniform, like at Veterans Day events,” said Bingham, who previously commanded the Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command (Airborne) at Fort Bragg, N.C., one of four major commands comprising the U.S. Army VALOR UPDATES, continued on page 17 TEXAS VV NEWS 17 VALOR UPDATES, continued from page 16 Special Operations Command. Even qualified Special Forces Soldiers, if reassigned to another unit, may wear the Green Beret only under certain circumstances and with the permission of his local commander, according to Bingham. Oh is the second candidate for public office this month to be called out over claims he served in the military as a Green Beret. In Florida, a retired Army Reserve colonel and U.S. Senate candidate pulled from his campaign Web site a claim that he served with Army Special Forces, including in “black ops” programs. Mike McCalister removed the claim after a group called “Stolen Valor” looked into his record and contacted his campaign and the media. McCalister also had to retract claims that he testified before Congress on national security matters. “If there was any misrepresentation, I accept responsibility,” he said 20 AUG. “Fooling individuals is relativity easy as very few people are too intimidated or would be too embarrassed to question a ‘Green Beret’ concerning his claims or credentials, especially in today’s climate,” Hinton said. “We have found that this sort of behavior continues until the individual is confronted by another, real, Special Forces Soldier.” This is what happened when an author and lecturer who long posed as a former Green Beret and expert on human trafficking encountered Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans taking his course at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in California earlier this year. William “Bill” Hillar’s claims of having been a Special Forces colonel who later unsuccessfully tried to rescue a daughter who had been kidnapped by sex slave traffickers in Asia didn’t ring true for the veterans in his class, and some of them began asking questions. Hinton began exposing the truth about Hillar on his Web site. Hillar was arrested at his Maryland home in January and pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud. Among his victims were law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, which paid him to lecture on international crime and human trafficking. He is scheduled to be sentenced next week, and Hinton has been subpoenaed to testify at the hearing. Michael Hamilton [Source: Eyewitness News 9 Greenville NC Alex Freedman article 8 Sep 2011] Man accused of impersonating a Marine Corps Colonel in court 68-yearold, Michael Hamilton, allegedly violated the Stolen Valor Act. A federal judge sentenced Michael Hamilton of Richlands, North Carolina who was convicted in APR to 16 months in prison for counts one and two (false statements and larceny of government property, respectively), six months on count three (unlawful wearing of uniform), and 12 months on count four (unlawful claim of military decorations and medals). The sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the shorter sentences will be completed while serving the longer 16-month sentences. Hamilton will be on supervised release for three years after his prison term. The judge ordered Hamilton to pay $37,635 in restitution and $235 for a special assessment fee. The judge did not impose any additional fines, stating Hamilton would not be capable of paying. Hamilton has been held at the Pitt County Jail, but will be transferred to the Butner Federal Corrections Complex. Hamilton faced up to 16 years in prison and $600,000 in fines. Authorities at Camp Lejeune began investigating the 67-year-old Hamilton after his picture showed up in the Jacksonville Daily News. Hamilton was a speaker at a Vietnam veteran ceremony where he was dressed in a Marine colonel’s uniform decorated with four Silver Stars and eight Purple Hearts. At his trial, several people testified that Hamilton had been seen at other military installations in recent years wearing high-ranking Marine uniforms. An FBI agent says Hamilton was caught at the Naval Air Station in Norfolk wearing a general’s uniform, in the summer of 2000 a Marine 2nd lieutenant saw Hamilton in San Diego at a Marine graduation in a colonel’s uniform, and in July 2007 Camp Lejeune got a call about man wearing a lieutenant general’s uniform. In that case Marines say Hamilton could not produce ID and was escorted off base. A records custodian for the Marine Corps says Hamilton was on active duty from July 1961 and April 1962 and never served in combat and was never wounded overseas. Hamilton’s own sister testified that after getting his fingers hurt at Camp Lejeune he lived at home with his parents and she could account for where he was between 1961 and 1966. It was during that time period that Hamilton said he was involved in secret operations in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Jesus M. Garcia [Source: Associated Press article, 1 Sep 2011] Jesus M. Garcia, 20, accused of posing as a wounded U.S. Army veteran who served four tours in Afghanistan will apply for accelerated rehabilitation according to his attorney Mark Sherman. Garcia, who appeared in state Superior Court on Tuesday after he was charged 16 JUN with fraudulent use of military insignia, fraudulent representation of an armed forces uniform and several counts of larceny, will also pay back about $1,200 he allegedly made while asking friends, family and the public to pay for fabricated medical procedures. If the court approves Garcia’s application for AR, he will enter a special program for first-time, nonviolent offenders that involves placing him on probation and dropping the charges after he completes the terms with no further arrests. “Let me be very clear that this case is not really about money,” Sherman said. “It’s about the egregious act of posing as a veteran.” Greenwich Police Capt. James Heavey said he suspected Garcia was a fraud in late May because Garcia’s uniform was askew. Garcia did not have his military identification card when Heavey asked him for it, Heavey said then. During an interview, Garcia said he had wanted to join the military since he was a child. Garcia failed a test to enlist and never graduated high school. Garcia posted bond and is scheduled to appear in court 6 OCT. The photo released by the Greenwich Police Department shows Jesus M. Garcia, 20, who was charged in June with larceny, fraudulent representation of Armed Force uniform, fraudulent use of military insignia and interfering with an officer after he gave a false name and date of birth. Purple Heart Veterans Foundation Purple Heart Veterans Foundation: A national group made up of veterans who received the Purple Heart medal has asked a federal judge to bar an unaffiliated Kansas nonprofit from using the Purple Heart trademark to solicit funds. The Military Order of the Purple Heart, which was founded in 1932 and chartered by Congress in 1958, filed a federal lawsuit last week against Tonganoxiebased Purple Heart Veterans Foundation, claiming trademark infringement. The Lawrence Journal-World reported that the suit accuses the foundation of using the trademark in a misleading manner, both online and in person, to collect donations. An investigation by the newspaper found that only 11 cents of every $1 donated to the foundation goes to support veterans. Foundation director Andrew Gruber said the lawsuit will probably force him to dissolve the charity because of its limited financial resources. Gruber said he wasn’t aware of the Military Order of the Purple Heart when he founded his organization in 2009, and he didn’t intend to deceive anyone with its soliciting and marketing practices. He said information brought to light by the newspaper’s investigation “kind of opened my eyes.” He said he meant well in his charity efforts, but “didn’t have the proper skills to get it done.” The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction to prevent the foundation from using the Purple Heart name and registered logos. The Kansas attorney general’s office has the authority to file a restraining order against a nonprofit if anyone involved in soliciting funds has been convicted of theft. Gruber spent six months in a Kansas prison after pleading guilty to stealing a rental car, and has been paying a fundraising company run by his brother Scott Gruber, who also has a criminal record, the newspaper reported. A spokesman for the attorney general said the office was aware of Gruber’s case, but would not comment further. Gruber also founded another nonprofit, Kids vs. Cancer, which his brother Steven Gruber operates in Texas. Andrew Gruber said he plans to transfer leadership of that group to his brother. Terry Richard Calandra [Source: NavyTimes, Rick Maze article 12 Oct 201] Terry Richard Calandra, 62, now of Belvidere, was sentenced to a year of probation 11 OCT for pretending to have won the Silver Star, the Distinguish Service Cross and two Purple Hearts for his service in Vietnam in the U.S. Army in 1969. He even enlisted the help of then-U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter to have the Silver Star upgraded to a U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor. As recently as 2008, Specter said his office was working to get the recognition for Calandra, who claimed to have grabbed a grenade to save six other soldiers during Vietnam. Calandra told agents he made up the story because .he liked how it felt to be a hero, that it boosted his ego and was an addiction. He said he was sorry for lying but proud that his story helped raise money for veterans through the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Before he made up his war stories, he had a hard time soliciting donations for flowers, memorials and help for veterans, he told authorities. Calandra told FBI investigators he was wounded twice by booby traps. He also told investigators the story about the live grenade, which he claimed to have grabbed, put in a ditch and jumped on, using his body as a shield to protect the other soldiers. He later admitted he heard about a battle on March 23, 1969, and lied about his involvement in it. He claimed he was in a morphine-induced state when a general pinned a Silver Star and Purple Heart medals to his pillow and told another officer Calandra was in line for a Medal of Honor. As far back as 1998, he and friends lobbied for him to receive the highest military honor. Specter agreed to help him win the honor in August 2008. By December 2008, he was the subject of an FBI stolen valor investigation – They came to me and handed me a box with a Silver Star in it, Calandra told The Express-Times at the time – My (Distinguished Service Cross) came to me in the mail –I have nothing to hide. He later admitted his Distinguished Service Cross is a replica he bought in a military magazine. Calandra pleaded guilty to making false statements. U.S. District Court Judge Mary A. McLaughlin ordered Calandra to serve a year of probation, pay a $500 fine and to forfeit the phony medals. “I’m shocked. I’m at a loss for words,” said retired Warren County Clerk Terry Lee, who started the local Rolling Thunder motorcycle veterans’ organization with Calandra. Lee said he worked on “many, many” veterans’ projects with Calandra, including construction of the Warren County War Memorial. “I’ve served in many ceremonies with him,” Lee said. “Hoisted a lot of MIA/POW flags with him.” Terry Calandra incarcerated for felonies, temporarily eliminating flight training as an education benefit and reducing how much the Veterans Affairs Department paid for correspondence courses. Other cuts included having veterans’ benefits start on the first day of the month following a benefit award rather than immediately, and rounding cost-of-living adjustments to the next lowest dollar. On multiple occasions, Congress has restored temporary increases in the origination fees charged on veterans’ home loans. Past deficitreduction packages also contained the first prescription drug co-payments for VALOR UPDATES, continued on page 18 18 TEXAS VV NEWS VALOR UPDATES, continued from page 17 veterans who were not being treated for service-connected causes, and reduced pensions for low-income veterans who were receiving full-time hospital or nursing home care. No dollar figures are included in the research service report. The Congressional Budget Office, another nonpartisan arm of Congress, is working on estimates for how much could be saved by reusing some of the old ideas, something that will be helpful when the deficit reduction committee begins to make decisions. The deficit reduction panel, known as the super committee, has 12 members, equally divided between Republicans and Democrats. It has until Nov. 18 to decide how to achieve the savings and until Nov. 23 to produce a formal report and legislative language covering the details of savings. Representatives of veterans’ service organization who have met with super committee members have been warned that VA will not be exempt from budget cuts, but they have not been told of any specific proposals. NC Academy Head Suspected of Posing as Vietnam Vet By Mike Baker, Associated Press – Thu Apr 7, 2011 OAK RIDGE, N.C. – Well before he became commandant of North Carolina’s only military boarding academy, William Northrop regaled people with stories of serving in the jungles of Vietnam – how he was wounded in battle, how some comrades committed suicide, how he used amphetamines on patrol. But his war stories may be pure fiction. There is no record Northrop ever served in the military, let alone Vietnam. Northrop, 66, left as commandant at Oak Ridge Military Academy last fall after just a few months on the job, the same day a parent formally asked school officials to look into his background. He refused to discuss his past or explain the discrepancies in his record to an Associated Press reporter. The academy’s president would not discuss Northrop’s background either. If his claim of wartime service proves false, it will be the latest and one of the most audacious to emerge in recent years, and comes as the courts grapple with the constitutionality of a 2006 federal law that makes it a crime to pose as a war hero. The academy, with an enrollment of about 125, had hired Northrop to oversee the cadets even though there had been long-standing suspicions about him, including a 1998 book on military impostors, “Stolen Valor,” that pronounced Northrop a “pretender.” Northrop claimed in a 1992 book profiling veterans that he served as a Special Forces officer in Vietnam and Laos and also saw duty with the Israeli military. He provided intimate stories about life in the war zone and told the author of “Saigon to Jerusalem” that the experience still haunted him. Oak Ridge’s archives, which Northrop helped develop, likewise say he served with the Army in Vietnam. A photo on the Oak Ridge Web site shows Northrop in fatigues, boots and a dark beret. In response to a request from the AP, the National Archives said it could find no record of Northrop’s military service after extensive searches and a check with the FBI. The National Archives manages a big records center for those who served in the military, and even provides basic details on those who took part in covert operations. Northrop’s account of being wounded in the February 1968 battle of Lang Vei also doesn’t match military records. Official accounts said 24 Americans were involved and 10 were killed. Northrop isn’t named in those accounts, nor is he on a roster of Special Forces personnel from that time. “He’s lying. The whole thing is a lie,” said Paul R. Longgrear, 67, who was in the Lang Vei battle. Longgrear said he was a little angry and repulsed while reading Northrop’s account of Lang Vei from “Saigon to Jerusalem,” written by Eric Lee. The Israel Defense Forces also couldn’t confirm any record of Northrop, and “Stolen Valor,” by B.G. Burkett and Glenna Whitley, cited numerous inaccuracies in Northrop’s war stories and his supposed service record. Northrop told an AP reporter that he left Oak Ridge to work on a business opportunity, not because of any questions about his credentials. “I’m not running for president. I’m not explaining anything,” he said. He warned a reporter to “be careful.” Oak Ridge, a college preparatory school about 100 miles northwest of Raleigh that was founded in 1852 and bills itself as the second-oldest military academy in the country, has struggled recently. A few years ago, it was unable to pay its employees or its creditors. And a coach resigned last month after the Securities and Exchange Commission accused him of diverting money for his own use. Cuyler McKnight, who was Oak Ridge president when Northrop was hired, said Northrop was working as a volunteer in the academy’s archives office when the two met in 2009. By the middle of 2010, the academy needed a commandant, and McKnight thought Northrop, a 1962 graduate, would be good for the job because he clearly cared for the school. McKnight said he learned of concerns about Northrop’s background only after he left as president in September. The current president, David Johnson, said in a note to parents that he accepted Northrop’s resignation Oct. 26, and touted improvements Northrop made to the campus. In an interview, Johnson said he was unaware of any worries about Northrop’s background before or after the commandant’s departure. However, Lori Yon, whose 17-year-old son attended Oak Ridge, said she sent a hand-delivered letter to Johnson on the day of Northrop’s departure asking for an investigation. She had been looking into the commandant’s history after she found encounters with him to be volatile and bizarre. One time, she said, he flew into a tirade after she informed him about her son’s back injury. Yon has since taken her son out of the academy. Northrop told a reporter that Yon was spreading nonsense about him and said her son just “couldn’t cut it.” School officials have refused to say whether they are investigating Northrop. Recently he was a guest speaker at a student ceremony, according to two people who attended. They spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears of retribution from school leaders. Jim Shields, who has an 18-year-old son at Oak Ridge, said Northrop typically wore civilian clothes on campus. But on one September afternoon, Shields saw Northrop wearing an Army uniform with captain’s bars, patches for Rangers and Special Forces, and three full rows of service ribbons. Congress passed a law that makes it illegal to falsely claim to have been awarded medals or other decorations from the U.S. military. A federal court last year deemed the law unconstitutional, saying it infringes on free speech. The case – involving Rick Strandlof, who was arrested in 2009 after claiming he was wounded in Iraq as a Marine and received the Purple Heart and Silver Star – is now before an appeals court. Host of the show, “Deadliest Warrior” Robert Daly [Source: Military.com News, Bryant Jordan article 14 Oct 2011] The host of the show “Deadliest Warrior” – a TV series that pits warriors of different eras against each other – has resigned over lying about his purported Green Beret background. Robert Daly, a former imagery specialist assigned to an intelligence unit at the Presidio in Monterey, Calif., claimed online in May to “having been in the Special Forces.” In an 11 OCT mea culpa (i.e. a Latin phrase that translates into English as “my mistake” or “my fault”) to ProfessionalSoldiers.com, a Web site run by a former Special Forces master sergeant, Daly said he served as an intelligence analyst for the 12th Special Forces Group from 1991 to 1994, but was not a Green Beret. “While I wore the [Green Beret] as part of my uniform, I utterly regret that I have misrepresented my role by creating the impression that I was a ‘Green Beret,’ ” Daly wrote. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for the Green Berets and my fellow servicemen, and I respectfully apologize to the Special Forces community.” In the same posting Daly said he was resigning as studio head of Pipeworks Software, which produces “Deadliest Warrior,” and would no longer host the program. Pipeworks did not respond to Military.com’s request for comment. The new host for “Deadliest Warriors” will be Richard “Mack” Machowicz, a former Navy SEAL and current host of “Future Weapons,” according to an announcement on Spike TV’s Web site. Spike carries both shows as original programming. The same web page also continues to refer to Daly as a “former Green Beret.” Hinton told Military.com, “Robert Daly had no doubt to the validly of his ‘Green Beret’ claims, neither did Professionalsoldiers.com. There is no debate, no gray area. Being referred to as a ‘Green Beret’ is analogous to being pregnant. You either are or you are not.” Daly is not the first veteran who served in a Special Forces unit to later promote himself as a Green Beret. In Philadelphia, city council candidate David Oh claimed in campaign literature to having been a Green Beret. Oh ended up making an online apology to the Special Forces community via the Web site Socnet. com. Hinton has become the bane of phony Green Berets and Navy SEALs, exposing numerous fakes by getting their publicly available records through Freedom of Information Act requests and using his own network in the Special Forces. In August Hinton testified before a Maryland judge prior to the sentencing of William G. “Bill” Hillar, who for years passed himself off as a former Special Forces colonel and expert in international sex trafficking. Hillar taught classes on the subjects at the Monterey Institute of International Studies, and conducted paid lectures to law enforcement groups and agencies. Among his victims was the FBI. Hillar was sentenced to 21 months in jail for wire fraud after admitting that an e-mail he sent to the University of Oregon to apply for work included fraudulent information about his military background and experience. “All I do is expose them,” Hinton said. “Ninety-nine percent of the time someone else ‘finds’ them and then asks that poser questions.” Once a skeptic asks “Is this guy for real?” he said, “That’s the last words for a poseur.” TEXAS VV NEWS 19 Tic Toc, Tic Toc… Will Congress Run Out the Clock? By Ed Mattson - Military Affairs Examiner - October 31, 2011 Description: How will COLA be reflected by the Super Committee? When Congress returned from its summer recess and the joint select committee charged with reducing the deficit began its work in earnest, the news media, in an effort to take the pressure off the President and the wasteful Congress of 2008-2009, focused all the attention on the Super Committee. In the constant battle to bolster the administration we continue to see a biased slant regarding anything to do with President Obama in most news publications. This includes now blaming all of Washington’s budget ills on a “do nothing Congress” and a “bunch of Republicans intent on blocking all budget ideas”, when in fact our real budgetary problems which have been building for years, were compounded by the current administration. What we really have had since 2008 is a “do everything” President and a complicit Congress. While many Americans are beginning to catch on, most still don’t get it. With COLA (Cost of Living Increase Adjustment) now becoming part of the Beltway conversation, we must become engaged. According to a 2011 Pew Research Poll, we still have the majority of Americans that are either, dense, stupid, ignorant, or simply don’t care as long as they keep getting free goodies from Washington. How else can one explain that only 43% of Americans know that John Boehner (Republican) is the Speaker of the House, and that 40% of the total US energy comes from coal (many were thinking “green energy”). Additionally, only 38% of Americans realize that Republicans only control the House of Representative - one half of Congress which makes up only 1/3 of the ability to enact laws, and didn’t realize that Democrats control 2/3 of the government with the Senate and Presidency. Yet more than one half know the founder of Facebook (Zuckerberg) and 91% of Americans know Lady Gaga or lyrics to her music. This brings us around to what is needed to be discussed today… “The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)”; what it is, how and when it will be applied, to whom, is it fair, how is calculated, and how it will affect the Super Committee’s task of cutting the budget by $1.3 trillion dollars. It’s a big task and will take more than one brief article or sound bite. What is COLA? COLA is not to be confused with the Consumer Price Index (CPI), but is used to adjust the CPI during inflationary times. You’ve heard the old expression, “the dollar ain’t what it used to be”. That refers to the fact that the purchasing power of the dollar has been diminished by inflationary factors such as government spending, national debt, wage and salary increases, improved productivity in the workforce, and other factors beyond the control of the citizenry. The cost of living is a certain standard used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) as a baseline from which to weigh the purchasing power of the dollar. The CPI is a cost-of-living index and reflects changes in the prices of goods and services, such as food and clothing that are directly purchased in the marketplace. A complete cost-of-living index would go beyond this to also take into account changes governmental or environmental factors that affect consumers’ well-being and spending habits. The treatment of public goods, such as safety and education, health, water quality, and crime are needed to provide a complete cost-of-living framework. COLA is used as a factor to balance the changes in the CPI. Is the CPI accurate? Only you can be the judge of that question. Ask yourself, as in the case of the current assessment of CPI needing an upward adjustment of 3.6% (COLA). Does that 3.6% really cover the increased cost in that 10-pound bag of potatoes which was $3.97 two years ago and now costs $4.97? Does it reflect the latest increase in healthcare insurance, the cost of gasoline, the increasing price of eggs, and the increase cost for school services provided to your children? In short can you still make it on your pay check? The CPI does not include investment items, such as stocks, bonds, real estate (how’s the value of your home these days) , and life insurance. (These items relate to savings and not to day-to-day consumption expenses.) In other words, when the government thought it would be nice if “everyone should be able to own a home”, whether they could afford it or not, and looked the other way while credit applications were falsified causing the entire mortgage market to collapse, your retirement plans were probably severely altered as your net worth plummeted. Not a penny is covered in the CPI. The CRI is supposed to include analysis of costs involving the following normal and customarily purchased goods and services: • FOOD AND BEVERAGES (breakfast cereal, milk, coffee, chicken, wine, full service meals, snacks) • HOUSING (rent of primary residence, owners’ equivalent rent, fuel oil, bedroom furniture) • APPAREL (men’s shirts and sweaters, women’s dresses, jewelry) • TRANSPORTATION (new vehicles, airline fares, gasoline, motor vehicle insurance) • MEDICAL CARE (prescription drugs and medical supplies, physicians’ services, eyeglasses and eye care, hospital services) • RECREATION (televisions, toys, pets and pet products, sports equipment, admissions); • EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION (college tuition, postage, telephone services, computer software and accessories); • OTHER GOODS AND SERVICES (tobacco and smoking products, haircuts and other personal services, funeral expenses). Now that we understand more about the CPI and COLA, how, and when is COLA applied, and who benefits from the automatic adjustment in salaries and wages. Over the last couple of decades, most public workers (you know, those who work in local, state, and federal jobs), unions, and yes, even our elected representative benefited from COLA increases. Many of those in the private sector workplace INCLUDING the business owners did not. Most importantly, those who really need the inflationary adjustment are those living on Social Security and Veterans, both disabled and those living on retirement benefit (mostly those who retired as “enlisted military”). The current crowd down occupying Wall Street, are protesting inequities in the Capitalistic system. They are quick to point out facts and figures to justify why they, in many instances, are protesting rather than working. Unfortunately the old axiom, “liars figure and figures lie”, still holds true. One of the greatest myths being perpetuated is that the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Unfortunately, most don’t have a clue as to what’s going on and many are simply being manipulated by those wanting to destroy what made America Great. The real crux of the protest is money…and the anger at those that have more than those doing the protesting…class envy and warfare is the consistent theme that prevails. The New York Times called it “Soaring Poverty Casts Spotlight on ‘Lost Decade’” in a recent article. It is true that if we look at entry level wage earners, THE LOWER BRACKET, it is still based mainly on minimal wage earners. The MIDDLE CLASS BRACKET (those making $48,000 up to a little over $66,000), UPPER MIDDLE INCOME BRACKET (those making up to $100,000 to $135,000) , and those who the protester consider RICH. The class warfare being waged today has many Americans believing those in the RICH category got there by ill-gotten means, not by higher education, hard work, and putting capital at risk. The problem with such numbers and those who simply throw them around is that no thought is given that the fact that people move in and out of the different brackets constantly. In an editorial in Investor’s Business Daily last year, Thomas Sowell made this powerful insightful comment about the issue (emphasis added below): Only by focusing on the income brackets, instead of the actual people moving between those brackets, have the intelligentsia and political elite been able to verbally create a “problem” for which a “solution” is necessary (i.e. government interference in the free market). They have created a powerful vision of “classes” with “disparities” and “inequities” in income, caused by “barriers” created by “society” (the capitalistic, free-market system). “But the routine rise of millions of people out of the lowest brackets over time makes a mockery of the “barriers” assumed by many, if not most, of the intelligentsia” (this includes those in the news media). With the knowledge that we will always need an entry level LOWER INCOME BRACKET as a place where those without education, critical skills, part time employees, and those just entering the job force will have a place to start, it is no wonder that the income in that bracket is fairly static. Most in that category have a desire to move up the income brackets, and most do. One certainly can’t expect businesses to pay wages disproportionate to skill levels, or there simply would be no place for workers to get a starting job. The LOWER INCOME BRACKET, while not always a direct beneficiary to COLA adjustments, often gets a boost in the minimum wage rate, by legislation enacted by Congress. This by the way, is always seen later affecting the next COLA adjustment as the cost for minimum wage worker’s wages is reflected in the cost to harvest, manufacture, deliver, and service, for the marketplace. The beauty of the free market and capitalistic system in general, is that the free movement between the income brackets is, in most cases, a result of hard work and entrepreneurial reward. In short, those believing in free enterprise, make their own COLA by improving their education, working longer hours, or creating new products and services. This is why people gravitate to the US for its opportunities. The need for COLA, however, is to provide for those who have are held captive in a system where there are no alternatives and see their income diminished from government policies, natural disasters, fluctuating supplies, all beyond their control…those on fixed incomes. I believe this is part of the true “safety net” that a civil society should support. How Will COLA be reflected by the Super Committee? [Source:http://www.examiner.com/ military-affairs-in-national/tic-toc-tictoc-will-congress-run-out-the-clock?] ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ 20 TEXAS VV NEWS 21,000 Nonprofit Organizations in Texas Lose Tax-Exempt Status By Darren Barbee | Star Telegram Starting in the late 1980s, with sometimes brutal politics simmering in Colleyville, residents of that community – some of them enemies – came together to have a barbecue. Over the years, the Colleyville Bar-B-Q Cook-Off Association, a nonprofit, went on to raise $178,000 for a community center and library, co-founder Lynn Bural said. “It soothed over the ills that were so bad,” Bural said. Then somewhere along the line, someone didn’t file the right papers. The organization ran into a little trouble. The grills grew cold. Now the organization is basically dead after the IRS yanked its tax-exempt status in a sweeping move that eliminated 275,000 organizations that failed to follow the rules. Targeted organizations had not filed annual reports for three consecutive years. The IRS says the vast majority of the organizations were defunct, but it also announced special steps to help any existing organizations apply for reinstatement of their tax-exempt status. In Texas, more than 21,400 nonprofits are no longer tax-exempt. Barry Silverberg, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations, said Texas had about 100,000 tax-exempt organizations, including 72,000 nonprofits classified as 501(c)(3), which made donations to them tax-deductible. The nonprofit status of more than 14,100 of those organizations was revoked, leaving roughly 58,000, Silverberg said. About 2,070 advocacy groups, for which donations were not tax-deductible, also lost their exemption. Silverberg said the IRS is simply clearing away a multitude of deadwood. “This is not a story of the big bad IRS. If it was, believe me, we would be” up in arms, he said. “Really the IRS is doing its job and cleaning up.” Across the state, well-known organizations to lose their exemptions included roughly 160 American Legion posts, about 110 Knights of Columbus organizations and 100 League of United Latin American Citizens councils. It’s unclear to what extent that dents those organizations’ overall ranks. Defunct organizations in Tarrant County include Furever Friends, Original King Kids of America and Forgotten Children. An organization called Southside Church of Christ Educational Foundation, founded in 1997 at 1800 Park Place Ave. in Fort Worth, was also axed. Officials at Southside Church of Christ on Hemphill Street hadn’t heard of it. For the past several years, the IRS has tried to prod tens of thousands of organizations nationwide to file required financial reports. It mailed more than 1 million notices to organizations that had not done so. And, last year, the IRS published a list of at-risk groups and gave smaller organizations an extra five months to comply. The requirement to file information was part of a law enacted in 2006. In October, Silverberg expected about 28,000 Texas organizations to lose their status. However, about 6,000 organizations apparently took steps to adjust their status with the IRS. Texas saw “roughly a 19 to 20 percent reduction in number of 501(c)(3)s in the state,” he said. Still, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said the agency realizes that some legitimate organizations, especially small ones, may be unaware of their filing requirement. “We are taking additional steps for these groups to maintain their tax-exempt status without jeopardizing their operations or harming their donors,” he said in a news release. The IRS said reinstatement, including retroactive reinstatement, is possible. Small organizations may regain their taxexempt status retroactive to the date of revocation and pay a reduced application fee of $100. More information is available at www.irs.gov In Colleyville, the brisket goes on. In place of the old barbecue association, this April the new Colleyville Bar-B-Q Cook Off, benefiting Special Olympics Texas, held its 10th annual rib fest. About $20,000 went to the Special Olympics, said Charlie Hall of Hall’s Grocery & Farmers Outlet. “We struggled,” he said, “but this year was our biggest year to give.” Retiring of the Last Huey…The End of a Vietnam Era Icon This is the speech given at Fort Rucker when they retired the last Huey: CW4 Lawrence Castagneto, 17 May 2011. As a Vietnam Veteran Army Aviator, I would like to thank everyone for coming to this special occasion, on this to be honest…very sad day, the end of a era. An era that has spanned over 50 years. The retirement of this grand old lady “OUR MOTHER”…the Huey. I would like to thank, MG Crutchfield for allowing me to speak at this event and try to convey in my own inadequate, meager way…what this aircraft means to me and so many other Vietnam veterans. First a few facts: It was 48 years ago this month that the first Huey arrived in Vietnam with units that were to become part of the 145th and the 13th Combat Aviation Battalions; both units assigned here at Ft Rucker today. While in Vietnam, the Huey flew approximately 7,457,000 combat assault sorties; 3,952,000 attack or gunship sorties and 3,548,000 cargo supply sorties. That comes to over 15 million sorties flown over the paddies and jungles of Nam , not to include the millions of sorties flown all over the world and other combat zones since then…what a amazing journey…I am honored and humbled to have been a small part of that journey. To those in the crowd that have had the honor to fly, crew, or ride this magnificent machine in combat, we are the chosen few, the lucky ones. They understand what this aircraft means, and how hard it is for me to describe my feelings about her as a Vietnam combat pilot…for she is alive…has a life of her own, and has been a lifelong friend. How do I break down in a few minutes a 42 year love affair, she is as much a part of me, and to so many others…as the blood that flows through our veins. Try to imagine all those touched over the years…by the shadow of her blades. Other aircraft can fly overhead and some will look up and some may not; or even recognize what they see but, when a Huey flies over everyone looks up and everyone knows who she is…young or old all over the world she connects with all. To those that rode her into combat… the sound of those blades causes our heart beat to rise…and breaths to quicken…in anticipation of seeing that beautiful machine fly overhead and the feeling of comfort she brings. No other aircraft in the history of aviation evokes the emotional response the Huey does…combat veteran’s or not…she is recognized all around the world by young and old, she is the ICON of the Vietnam war, U.S. Army Aviation, and the U.S. Army. Over 5 decades of service she carried Army Aviation on her back, from bird dogs and piston powered helicopters with a secondary support mission, to the force multiplier combat arm that Army Aviation is today. Even the young aviators of today, that are mainly Apache pilot’s, Blackhawk pilot’s, etc., that have had a chance to fly her will tell you there is no greater feeling, honor, or thrill then to be blessed with the opportunity to ride her thru the sky…they may love there Apaches and Blackhawks, but they will say there is no aircraft like flying the Huey “it is special”. There are two kinds of helicopter pilots: those that have flown the Huey and those that wish they could have. The intense feelings generated for this aircraft are not just from the flight crews but, also from those who rode in back… into and out of the “devils caldron”. As paraphrased here from “Gods own lunatics”, Joe Galloway’s tribute to the Huey and her flight crews and other Infantry veterans comments: Is there anyone here today who does not thrill to the sound of those Huey blades?? That familiar whop-whop-whop is the soundtrack of our war…the lullaby of our younger days it is burned in to our brains and our hearts. To those who spent their time in Nam as a grunt, know that noise was always a great comfort. Even today when I hear it, I stop…catch my breath…and search the sky for a glimpse of the mighty eagle. To the pilots and crews of that wonderful machine…we loved you, we loved that machine. No matter how bad things were…if we called…you came…down through the hail of green tracers and other visible signs of a real bad day off to a bad start. I can still hear the sound of those blades churning the fiery sky. To us you seemed beyond brave and fearless…Down you would come to us in the middle of battle in those flimsy thin-skin-chariots…into the storm of fire and hell…we feared for you, we were awed by you. We thought of you and that beautiful bird as “God’s own lunatics”…and wondered…who are these men and this machine and where do they come from…Have to be “God’s Angels”. So with that I say to her, that beautiful lady sitting out there, from me and all my lucky brothers, that were given the honor to serve their country, and the privilege of flying this great lady in skies of Vietnam . Thank you for the memories…thank you for always being there…thank you for always bringing us home regardless of how beat up and shot up you were. Thank You!!!! You will never be forgotten, we loved you then…we love you now…and will love you till our last breath. And as the sun sets today, if you listen quietly and closely you will hear that faint wop wop wop of our mother speaking to all her children past and present who rode her into history in a blaze of glory she will be saying to them: I am here. I will always be here with you. I am at peace and so should you be. TEXAS VV NEWS 21 Vietnam War Military History Anniversaries Aug 04 1964 - Vietnam: The U.S.S. Maddox and Turner Joy exchange fire with North Vietnamese patrol boats. Aug 07 1964 - Vietnam: Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, allowing the president to use unlimited military force to prevent attacks on U.S. forces. Aug 11 1972 - Vietnam: The last U.S. ground forces withdraw from Vietnam. Aug 12 1969 - Vietnam: American installations at Quan-Loi come under Viet Cong attack. Aug 14 1973 - Vietnam: The United States ends the “secret” bombing of Cambodia. Sep 04 1967 - Vietnam: Operation Swift begins: U.S. Marines engage the North Vietnamese in battle in the Que Son Valley. Sep 11 1965 - Vietnam: The 1st Cavalry Division of the United States Army arrives in country. Sep 16 1972 - Vietnam: South Vietnamese troops recapture Quang Tri province in South Vietnam from the North Vietnamese Army. Sep 16 1967 - Vietnam: Siege of Con Thien Began. Sep 18 1964 - Vietnam: North Vietnamese Army begins infiltration of South Vietnam. Sep 18 1964 - Vietnam: U.S. destroyers’ fire on hostile targets. Sep 20 1965 - Vietnam: Seven U.S. planes are downed in one day. Sep 21 1961 - Maiden flight of the CH-47 Chinook transportation helicopter. Oct 05 1965 - Korea: U.S. forces in Saigon receive permission to use tear gas Oct 05 1966 - Vietnam: Hanoi insists the United States must end its bombings before peace talks can begin. Oct 08 1968 - Vietnam: U.S. forces in launch Operation Sealord, an attack on North Vietnamese supply lines and base areas in the Mekong Delta. Oct 21 1967 - Vietnam: The “March on the Pentagon,” protesting American involvement draws 50,000 protesters. Oct 22 1972 - Oct 22 1972 - Vietnam: The 5-1/2 month Operation Linebreaker I bombing of North Vietnam ended. Bombing resumed as Linebreaker II from 18 to 29 DEC. Oct 23 1965 - Vietnam War: The 1st Air Cavalry Division launch a new operation, seeking to destroy North Vietnamese forces in Pleiku in the Central Highlands. Oct 31 1968 - Vietnam: The bombing of North Vietnam is halted by the United States. Oct 31 1971 - Vietnam: Saigon begins the release of 1,938 Hanoi POW’s. Nov 01 1968 - Vietnam: President Lyndon B. Johnson calls a halt to bombing in Vietnam, hoping this will lead to progress at the Paris peace talks. Nov 03 1967 - Vietnam: The Battle of Dak To 3-11 NOV. Nov 04 1967 - Vietnam: American troops broke a North Vietnamese 6 day assault at Loc Ninh, near the Cambodian border. Nov 11 1970 - Vietnam: U.S. Army Special Forces raid the Son Tay prison camp in North Vietnam but find no prisoners. Nov 12 1969 - Vietnam: My Lai Massacre - Independent investigative journalist Seymour Hersh breaks the My Lai story. Nov 13 1982 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C. after a march to its site by thousands of Vietnam War veterans. Nov 14 1961 - Vietnam: President Kennedy increases the number of American advisors in Vietnam from 1,000 to 16,000. Nov 14 1965 - Vietnam: Battle of Chu Pon-ia Drang River. U.S. 1st Calvary fought North Vietnamese regulars 14-17. The second battle was fought by ARVN Airborne Brigade 18-26 NOV. Nov 15 1969 - Vietnam: A quarter of a million anti-War demonstrators march in Washington, D.C. Vietnam Military Trivia 1. What South Vietnamese decoration was issued to almost all US soldiers in Vietnam? 2. For a period of time the RVN government awarded their highest gallantry award posthumously to any enlisted and NCO US soldier killed in action. What award was this? 3. On the RVN Campaign Medal there is something odd about its ribbon device. What is it? 4. It’s 1969. You’ve just completed your first tour in Vietnam with the Army and wear your ribbons on your dress as you head home. Which of the following ribbons would you NOT expect to have on your jacket - RVN Campaign Medal, Soldier’s Medal, Vietnam Campaign Medal, or National Defense Service Medal? 5. For your exceptional service as colonel in Vietnam the ARVN awarded you this very prestigious medal. But when you first see it you think it’s kind of a joke; the thing has a plaited ribbon on a jagged background, tassels, and a rosette. What was it? 6. What was the main problem with US soldiers being awarded the RVN Wound Medal? 7. There were Bronze and Silver Star Medals awarded to service personnel during the conflict. Was there something like a Gold Star medal? 8. Of the 246 Vietnam War Medal of Honor recipients, which of the following groups received three - Canadians, Colonels, Chaplains, or Conscientious Objectors? 9. Of the Air Force Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Aerial Achievement Medal, and Air Medal which could not possibly have been awarded to a superb pilot during the Vietnam War? 10. More than 3 million US servicemen served in the Vietnam War, of which more than 150,000 were wounded. Approximately how many Purple Hearts were awarded? Answers 1. The Gallantry Cross Unit Citation was extensively awarded to foreign troops by the government of the RVN. By 1974 it was decided to award it retroactively to any American Army unit involved in the Vietnam Conflict between 1961 and 1974, and therefore the soldiers. 2. The Military Medal was modeled after the French Médaille Militaire, which could also only be awarded to enlisted men (and sometimes senior generals) for distinguished service. Reasoning that any man dying for the cause of the RVN made them a hero it was decided to award all of them this prestigious award. However, with the increased numbers of US troops in Vietnam, and corresponding higher number of KIAs, the number of bestowals soared, and the policy was abandoned. 3. The “1960-” device was supposed to show the start and end year of the conflict, the latter to be engraved upon victory. As the RVN lost and ceased to exist the field was left empty, with only “1960- on the scroll. 4. The Soldier’s Medal was rather rarely awarded for non-combat acts of heroism, in contrast to combat medals such as the Bronze Star Medal or the Commendation Medal with Valor Device. 5. Distinguished Service Order 1st Class. While it was based on ancient Vietnamese vestments for successful military commanders, given to them by the Emperor as a token of appreciation, it stands out as one of the most peculiar medal designs in modern history. 6. They were not allowed to wear it on their uniforms. While some may have thought that it brings them bad luck, Army regulations did not allow for the Wound Medal to be worn on the uniform, as the Purple Heart was the equivalent American decoration, and it was thus considered a needless redundancy. 7. Yes, in North Vietnam. The Gold Star was (and is) the highest decoration of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, modeled after the Soviet Gold Star Medal. There is no connection to the American Bronze and Silver Star. 8. Three. Vincent R. Capodanno, Angelo J. Liteky and Charles J. Watters. William A. Jones III were the only full-bird colonels to receive the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. Conscientious objector Thomas Bennett received it while serving as a medic, as did Canadian Peter C. Lemon as an infantryman. 9. Aerial Achievement Medal. It was created in 1988, well after the Vietnam War had ended. It is arguably one of the worst-looking American medals ever designed. Approximately 350,000. 10. Servicemen could receive multiple awards of the Purple Heart for multiple instances of wounding. However, the figure for physical wounds dwarfs in comparison to the 830,000 soldiers who were left with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to the mental wounds they received in Vietnam. Social Security Administration Death Reporting [Source: Southtown Star Susan Demar Lafferty article 5 Aug 2011] Editor’s Note: This has already happened to one of our VVA members in Killeen. Thousands of Americans are mistakenly reported dead every year by the Social Security Administration or other federal agencies. And Illinois has one of the highest rates of making such grave mistakes, according to a recent report by Scripps Howard News Service. Names of the alleged dead are listed in a massive Death Master File. database maintained by the SSA. Research of the database by Scripps Howard’s Thomas Hargrove found the deaths of 31,931 Americans were listed in error. The government makes about 14,000 such errors every year – or about one for every 200 death reports – because of inadvertent keying errors. by federal workers, according to SSA spokesman Mark Hinkle. That would mean about 400,000 people have been falsely declared dead since 1980, when the Death Master File was created at the request of U.S. business interests who wanted the records to reduce consumer fraud. While the SSA authorizes the use of the database as a death verification tool, it is noted on a U.S. Department of Commerce website that contains the official file that the SSA cannot guarantee its accuracy. SSA doesn’t always know why mistakes are made. It’s a larger issue than just our agency, said Doug Nguyen, SSA’s deputy regional communications director in Chicago. Several agencies other than the SSA submit death reports that might make it to the Death Master File. It’s usually human typing errors entered into our system from another system, Nguyen said. We do not verify the accuracy of every death record. The Social Security number was never meant to be the identifying piece of information it has evolved into, he said. Unfortunately, he said, errors also can occur in recording the date of birth, date of death or the deceased’s name or address. Death reports also are provided by individuals, funeral parlors, nursing homes, state and federal agencies such as Medicare, the VA, railroad retirement plans, the Department of Defense and Department of Commerce, and other agencies that pay federal benefits, Nguyen said. All go into the Death Master File, which records 90 million deceased Americans. The information is used not only by agencies that pay federal benefits but to determine eligibility and prevent fraud for bank loans, credit cards and SOCIAL SECURITY, continued on page 22 22 TEXAS VV NEWS SOCIAL SECURITY, continued from page 21 insurance coverage. We make it clear that our death records are not perfect and may be incomplete, or rarely, include information about individuals who are alive, he said. Out of 2 million deaths reported every year, the error rate is about 0.5 percent, he said. But if you are in that half of 1 percent, it feels like 100 percent, Nguyen said. When his agency discovers incorrect information, it moves as quickly as possible. to correct it, he said. The agency requires current identification and signed statements from the person – not birth certificates. This all helps, but it’s one piece of the puzzle, he said. SSA also has to track the mistake down to the source that reported the death and follow the chain of records in reverse. It takes time to untangle, he said. Mistakes usually are discovered when someone calls about a late check. But many of the walking dead. in the Scripps Howard report said their deaths. were discovered while shopping for a cell phone, applying for a student loan, mortgage or bank account, or renting an apartment. SSA Death Reporting [Source: Money Talks Sandra Parker article 12 Sep 2011] According to an audit performed by the Office of the Inspector General in April of 2011, Social Security’s Death Master File, which is used by many private companies from banks to insurance companies – is rife with errors. An erroneous death entry is caused by: • An incorrect report, • A death match with another agency that has received an incorrect report, • An erroneous return by the financial institution with a reason code of death, or • An input error at SSA Once the erroneous death is on one of SSA’s systems, it is propagated to other SSA and Medicare/Medicaid systems. Of the approximately 2.8 million death reports the Social Security Administration receives per year, about 14,000 – or one in every 200 deaths – are incorrectly entered into its Death Master File, which contains the Social Security numbers, names, birth dates, death dates, zip codes and last-known residences of more than 87 million deceased Americans. That averages out to 38 life-altering mistakes a day. Not only can a mistake in the Death Master File cause your bank and credit accounts to be frozen, it can stop Social Security benefits payments – and even result in the publication of your personal information, which can lead to identity theft once the bad guys figure out you’re still alive. How does this happen? The Social Security Administration sells your personal identifying information –Social Security number, date of birth, etc. – to the Department of Commerce’s National Technical Information Services, which in turn makes it available to its customers, which can be anyone. This practice is designed to thwart criminal activity by notifying financial institutions as well as federal, state, and local governments of your death. And it works fine – at least if the person being reported as dead is. If you’re still alive and kicking, however, anyone willing to pay for a subscription can download all the information they need to steal your identity. So if you discover that the Social Security Administration has accidentally killed you off, here’s the convoluted and timeconsuming process to undo it – it’s the government, after all. • Drive to the federal government: While you were pronounced dead via computer, you can only revive yourself in person. So contact your local Social Security Administration office as soon as you can. (Here’s how to find yours.) Go there in person and show a photo ID. The office will then launch an investigation. • Drive to the county government: From there, drive down to the keeper of your county’s vital records. In many cases, that’s the Public Health Department. Ask to file an amended death certificate.. That requires you to fill out an affidavit and file it with the county registrar. That’s what Blevins did, and it was relatively easy. For $7 and a few hours of my time, I was able to order a copy of my death certificate, complete the amendment affidavit, and file it with the Health Department, she says. • Get on the phone: Call your creditors and bank to re-establish your existence. Your best bet here is to contact as many of these companies as you can in person, Blevins says. This gives them the opportunity to validate your identity via photo ID and other security measures.. Some establishments may require you to wait until the Social Security Administration updates your record in the Master Death File before they can reinstate your accounts. This was the toughest step for me, Blevins says. I ended up taking a day off from work in order to go to my bank. Not only did I have to present my photo ID, but I had to show them a copy of my amended death certificate as well. • Get online: Dispute any inaccuracies with the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). Since the credit bureaus are required to validate your existence, you’ll need to wait until the SSA has updated your record before submitting your disputes. Thanks to the online dispute process, I was able to submit my corrections online, Blevins says. However, it took eight weeks for the bureaus to get everything straightened back out.. For more information regarding the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File, visit https://secure.ssa.gov/ apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202408700 Marines…You Can’t Top ‘Em Submitted by Paul Sutton, USMC SSgt 61-69 I like the fact that if you are a selfdeclared enemy of America, Running into a Marine outfit in combat is your worst nightmare...and that your health record is either about to get a lot thicker, or be closed out entirely. I like the fact that Marines are steadfast and consistent in everything they do... regardless of whether you agree with them or not. I like the fact that Marines view the term ‘politically correct’ with nothing but pure disdain. I like the fact that Marines stand tall and rigid in their actions, thoughts, and deeds when others bend with the direction of the wind and are as confused as a dog looking at a ceiling fan. I like the fact that each and every Marine considers the honor and legacy of The Corps as his personal and sacred trust to protect and defend. I like the fact that most civilians don’t have a clue what makes us tick and that’s not a bad thing. Because if they did, it would probably scare the Hell out of them. I like the fact that others say they want to be like us, but don’t have what it takes in the Pain-Gain-Pride department to make it happen. I like the fact that the Marines came into being in a bar, named Tun Tavern and that Marines still gather in pubs, bars and slop chutes to share sea stories and hot scoop. I like the fact that Marines do not consider it a coincidence that there are 24 hours in a day and 24 beers in a case… Because Marines know there is a reason for everything that happens. I like our motto... SEMPER FIDELIS, And the fact that we don’t shed it when the going gets tough, the battlefield gets deadly or when we hang up our Uniform for the last time. I like the fact that Marines take care of each other... In combat and time of Peace. I like the fact that Marines know the difference between ‘Chicken Salad’ and ‘Chicken Shit’ and aren’t afraid to call either for What it is. I like the fact that the people of America hold Marines in the highest esteem and that they know that they can count on us to locate, close with, and destroy those who would harm them. I like the fact that people think we are cocky.... Yet we know that we have confidence in everything we do and the fact that they don’t know the taste of that makes them look at us as if we are arrogant. I like that fact that we know the taste of freedom and would give our very Lives for it. And that it is a taste the protected will ever know. I like the fact that Ronald Reagan said... ‘Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference... Marines don’t have that problem!’ I like the fact that we are brothers to the end…And that no matter what happens in life, we know that we have one another’s ‘six’. I like the fact that an elected member of congress felt compelled to publicly accuse the Marine Corps of being ‘radical and extreme’. And I Also like the fact that our Commandant informed that member of congress that she was absolutely correct and that he passed on his thanks for the Compliment. I like the fact that Marine leaders - of every rank - know that issuing every man and woman a black beret - or polkadotted boxer shorts for that matter - does absolutely nothing to promote morale, fighting spirit or combat effectiveness. I like the fact that Marines are Marines first... Regardless of age, race, creed, color, sex, and national origin, or how long they served, their former rank, or what goals they achieve in life. I like Marines...and I love the fact that I am humbled to walk among the ranks of other Marines. I like the fact that you always know where you stand with a Marine. With Marines, there is no middle ground or gray area. There are only Missions, Objectives and Facts. In closing…if you aren’t a Marine, the next best thing is to have a Marine for a husband, wife, and father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, best friend, or friend. SAEPE EXPERTUS, SEMPER FIDELIS, FRATRES AETERNI (Often Tested, Always Faithful, Brothers Forever) Are Marines Dangerous or Extreme? [Anonymous] There have been some people who, in ignorance have referred to Marines as extremists, and more than a little dangerous. To his credit, former Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Charles Krulak has said in our defense: “Citizens from all walks of life have donned the Marine Corps uniform and gone to war to defend this great nation, never to return. Honor, courage and commitment are not extreme. From a personal viewpoint, I never knew a Marine who was only a little dangerous. Most of us seemed to be a lot dangerous. That, I believe is supposed to be the idea.” Are Marines Extremist? I personally believe I am a Marine until the day I die, at which time I become a dead Marine; I believe in God, Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, the Marine Corps and its creed of Honor, Courage and Commitment, Country, Mom and Apple Pie, and I apologize to no one for assigning God His rightful place; I believe that Marines draw the Guard Duty in Heaven, because the Marine Corps Hymn says so; I believe the Bible to be the finest book ever written, containing the very words of God, with the Marine Corps Guidebook coming in a close second; I believe that Marines in service today are my direct descendants via the Warrior Spirit; CAN’T TOP ‘EM, continued on page 23 TEXAS VV NEWS 23 CAN’T TOP ‘EM, continued from page 22 I believe only two types of people exist within our nations military; Marines, and those who wished they were; I believe that the Marines in service today are the finest Marines who have ever served our country; I believe that Lewis (Chesty) Puller was the greatest American who ever lived, with former Commandant Charles Krulak a close second, and former Secretary of the Navy James Webb (the most decorated Marine of the Vietnam War) coming in third with General Peter Pace, the only Marine to ever serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff right on his heels. I believe that Duty is a Right; I believe that Service to our country is a God-given opportunity; I believe that Patriotism is Duty, not to be taken lightly; I believe in the Brotherhood of the Marine Corps. We, as Marines believe in the Freedom of the American citizen, and have proved it, tens of thousands of times. Are United States Marines extremists? The Chief of Naval Operations would never be called a Sailor. The General of the Army would never be called a Soldier. The Chief of Staff of the Air Force would never be called an Airman. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is PROUD to be called: Marine. I admit: I am old and gray, and I no longer move as fast as I once did. My active duty service is long behind me; but the memory of those fellow Marines with whom I served is as fresh today as it was so many years ago. Yes, Marines will always be extreme! We know no other way to live, to serve, to pay back our country for what we have and for what we have earned. And what we have earned is a title. A name. A right. We have earned, by the service, the sacrifice and the blood of our brothers, the right to be forever known as: UNITED STATES MARINES. The Title It Cannot be Inherited, Nor Can it Ever Be Purchased. You or No One Alive Can Buy It for Any Price. It is Impossible to Rent and It Can Not be Lent You Alone and Our Own Have Earned It, With Your Sweat, Blood and Lives. You Own It Forever. The Title: “United States Marine” SEMPER FIDELIS Semper Fidelis “Esprit de corps”, an unhelpful French phrase that means exactly what it looks like – the spirit of the Corps…but what is that spirit? and where does it come from? The Marine Corps is the only branch of the U.S. Armed Forces that recruits people specifically to Fight. The Army emphasizes personal development (an Army of One), the Navy promises fun (let the journey begin), the Air Force offers security (its a great way of life). Missing from all the advertisements is the hard fact that a soldier’s life is to suffer and perhaps to die for his people and take lives at the risk of his/her own. Even the thematic music of the services reflects this evasion. The Army’s Caisson Song describes a pleasant country outing. Over hill and dale, lacking only a picnic basket. Anchors Aweigh…the Navy’s celebration of the joys of sailing could have been penned by Jimmy Buffet. The Air Force song is a lyric poem of blue skies and engine thrust. All is joyful, and invigorating, and safe. There are no land mines in the dales nor snipers behind the hills, no submarines or cruise missiles threaten the ocean jaunt, no bandits are lurking in the wild blue yonder. The Marines’ Hymn, by contrast, is all combat. “We fight our Country’s battles,” “First to fight for right and freedom,” “We have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun,” “In many a strife we have fought for life and never lost our nerve.” The choice is made clear. You may join the Army to go to adventure training, or join the Navy to go to Bangkok , or join the Air Force to go to computer school. You join the Marine Corps to go to War! But the mere act of signing the enlistment contract confers no status in the Corps. The Army recruit is told from his first minute in uniform that “you’re in the Army now, soldier”. The Navy and Air Force enlistees are sailors or airmen as soon as they get off the bus at the training center. The new arrival at Marine Corps boot camp is called a recruit, or worse, (a lot worse), but never a MARINE. Not yet, maybe never. He or she must earn the right to claim the title of UNITED STATES MARINE, and failure returns you to civilian life without hesitation or ceremony. Recruit Platoon 2210 at San Diego , California trained from October through December of 1968. In Viet Nam the Marines were taking two hundred casualties a week and the major rainy season and Operation Meade River had not even begun yet Drill Instructors had no qualms about winnowing out almost a quarter of their 112 recruits, graduating 81. Note that this was postenlistment attrition. Every one of those 31 who were dropped had been passed by the recruiters as fit for service. But they failed the test of Boot Camp! Not necessarily for physical reasons. At least two were outstanding high school athletes for whom the calisthenics and running were child’s play. The cause of their failure was not in the biceps nor the legs, but in the spirit. They had lacked the will to endure the mental and emotional strain so they would not be Marines. Heavy commitments and high casualties not withstanding, the Corps reserves the right to pick and choose. History classes in boot camp? Stop a soldier on the street and ask him to name a battle of World War One. Pick a sailor at random and ask for a description of the epic fight of the Bon Home Richard. Ask an airman who Major Thomas McGuire was and what is named after him. I am not carping and there is no sheer in this criticism. All of the services have glorious traditions but no one teaches the young soldier, sailor or airman what his uniform means and why he should be proud of it. But ask a Marine about World War One and you will hear of the wheat field at Belleau Wood and the courage of the Fourth Marine Brigade comprised of the Fifth and Sixth Marines. Faced with an enemy of superior numbers entrenched in tangled forest undergrowth the Marines received an order to attack that even the charitable cannot call ill-advised. It was insane. Artillery support was absent and air support hadn’t been invented yet. Even so the Brigade charged German machine guns with only bayonets, grenades, and an indomitable fighting spirit. A bandy-legged little barrel of a Gunnery Sergeant, Daniel J. Daly, rallied his company with a shout, “Come on you sons a bitches, do you want to live forever?” He took out three machine guns himself. French liaison-officers hardened though they were by four years of trench bound slaughter were shocked as the Marines charged across the open wheat field under a blazing sun directly into the teeth of enemy fire. Their action was so anachronistic on the twentieth-century field of battle that they might as well have been swinging cutlasses. But the enemy was only human. The Boche could not stand up to the onslaught. So the Marines took Belleau Wood . The Germans, those that survived, thereafter referred to the Marines as “Tuefel Hunden” (Devil Dogs) and the French in tribute renamed the woods “Bois de la Brigade de Marine” (Woods of the Brigade of Marines). Every Marine knows this story and dozens more. We are taught them in boot camp as a regular part of the curriculum. Every Marine will always be taught them! You can learn to don a gas mask anytime, even on the plane in route to the war zone, but before you can wear the Eagle, Globe and Anchor and claim the title United States Marine you must first know about the Marines who made that emblem and title meaningful. So long as you can march and shoot and revere the legacy of the Corps you can take your place in line. And that line is as unified in spirit as in purpose. A soldier wears branch of service insignia on his collar, metal shoulder pins and cloth sleeve patches to identify his unit. Sailors wear a rating badge that identifies what they do for the Navy. Marines wear only the Eagle, Globe and Anchor together with personal ribbons and their CHERISHED marksmanship badges. They know why the uniforms are the colors they are and what each color means. There is nothing on a Marine’s uniform to indicate what he or she does nor what unit the Marine belongs to. You cannot tell by looking at a Marine whether you are seeing a truck driver, a computer programmer or a machine gunner or a cook or a baker. The Marine is amorphous, even anonymous, by conscious design. The Marine is a Marine. Every Marine is a rifleman first and foremost, a Marine first, last and Always! You may serve a four-year enlistment or even a twenty plus year career without seeing action but if the word is given you’ll charge across that Wheatfield! Whether a Marine has been schooled in automated supply or automotive mechanics or aviation electronics or whatever is immaterial. Those things are secondary – the Corps does them because it must. The modern battle requires the technical appliances and since the enemy has them so do we. But no Marine boasts mastery of them. Our pride is in our marksmanship, our discipline, and our membership in a fraternity of courage and sacrifice. “For the honor of the fallen, for the glory of the dead”, Edgar Guest wrote of Belleau Wood. “The living line of courage kept the faith and moved ahead.” They are all gone now, those Marines who made a French farmer’s little Wheatfield into one of the most enduring of Marine Corps legends. Many of them did not survive the day and eight long decades have claimed the rest. But their actions are immortal. The Corps remembers them and honors what they did and so they live forever. Dan Daly’s shouted challenge takes on its true meaning - if you lie in the trenches you may survive for now, but someday you may die and no one will care. If you charge the guns you may die in the next two minutes, but you will be one of the immortals. All Marines die in either the red flash of battle or the white cold of the nursing home. In the vigor of youth or the infirmity of age all will eventually die but the Marine Corps lives on. Every Marine who ever lived is living still, in the Marines who claim the title today. It is that sense of belonging to something that will outlive our own mortality, which gives people a light to live by and a flame to mark their passing. Passed on to a Marine from another Marine and to his friends! SEMPER FIDELIS!!! 24 TEXAS VV NEWS Heroes of the Vietnam Generation By James Webb The rapidly disappearing cohort of Americans that endured the Great Depression and then fought World War II is receiving quite a send-off from the leading lights of the so-called 60s generation. Tom Brokaw has published two oral histories of “The Greatest Generation” that feature ordinary people doing their duty and suggest that such conduct was historically unique. Chris Matthews of “Hardball” is fond of writing columns praising the Navy service of his father while castigating his own baby boomer generation for its alleged softness and lack of struggle. William Bennett gave a startling condescending speech at the Naval Academy a few years ago comparing the heroism of the “D-Day Generation” to the d rugs-and-sex nihilism of the “Woodstock Generation.” And Steven Spielberg, in promoting his film “Saving Private Ryan,” was careful to justify his portrayals of soldiers in action based on the supposedly unique nature of World War II. An irony is at work here. Lest we forget, the World War II generation now being lionized also brought us the Vietnam War, a conflict which today’s most conspicuous voices by and large opposed, and in which few of them served. The “best and brightest” of the Vietnam age group once made headlines by castigating their parents for bringing about the war in which they would not fight, which has become the war they refuse to remember. Pundits back then invented a term for this animus: the “generation gap.” Long, plaintive articles and even books were written examining its manifestations. Campus leaders, who claimed precocious wisdom through the magical process of reading a few controversial books, urged fellow baby boomers not to trust anyone over 30. Their elders who had survived the Depression and fought the largest war in history were looked down upon as shallow, materialistic, and out of touch. Those of us who grew up on the other side of the picket line from that era’s counter-culture can’t help but feel a little leery of this sudden gush of appreciation for our elders from the leading lights of the old counter-culture. Then and now, the national conversation has proceeded from the dubious assumption that those who came of age during Vietnam are a unified generation in the same sense as their parents were, and thus are capable of being spoken for through these fickle elites. In truth, the “ Vietnam generation” is a misnomer. Those who came of age during that war are permanently divided by different reactions to a whole range of counter-cultural agendas, and nothing divides them more deeply than the personal ramifications of the war itself. The sizable portion of the Vietnam age group who declined to support the counter-cultural agenda, and especially the men and women who opted to serve in the military during the Vietnam War, are quite different from their peers who for decades have claimed to speak for them. In fact, they are much like the World War II generation itself. For them, Woodstock was a side show, college protestors were spoiled brats who would have benefited from having to work a few jobs in order to pay their tuition, and Vietnam represented not an intellectual exercise in draft avoidance, or protest marches but a battlefield that was just as brutal as those their fathers faced in World War II and Korea. Few who served during Vietnam ever complained of a generation gap. The men who fought World War II were their heroes and role models. They honored their father’s service by emulating it, and largely agreed with their father’s wisdom in attempting to stop Communism’s reach in Southeast Asia The most accurate poll of their attitudes (Harris, 1980) showed that 91 percent were glad they’d served their country, 74 percent enjoyed their time in the service, and 89 percent agreed with the statement that “our troops were asked to fight in a war which our political leaders in Washington would not let them win.” And most importantly, the castigation they received upon returning home was not from the World War II generation, but from the very elites in their age group who supposedly spoke for them. Nine million men served in the military during Vietnam War, three million of whom went to the Vietnam Theater. Contrary to popular mythology, two-thirds of these were volunteers, and 73 percent of those who died were volunteers. While some attention has been paid recently to the plight of our prisoners of war, most of whom were pilots; there has been little recognition of how brutal the war was for those who fought it on the ground. Dropped onto the enemy’s terrain 12,000 miles away from home, America’s citizen-soldiers performed with a tenacity and quality that may never be truly understood. Those who believe the war was fought incompletely on a tactical level should consider Hanoi’s recent admission that 1.4 million of its soldiers died on the battlefield, compared to 58,000 total U.S. dead. Those who believe that it was a “dirty little war” where the bombs did all the work might contemplate that this was the most costly war the U.S. Marine Corps has ever fought-five times as many dead as World War I, three times as many dead as in Korea, and more total killed and wounded than in all of World War II. Significantly, these sacrifices were being made at a time the United States was deeply divided over our effort in Vietnam. The baby-boom generation had cracked apart along class lines as America ‘s young men were making difficult, lifeor-death choices about serving. The better academic institutions became focal points for vitriolic protest against the war, with few of their graduates going into the military. Harvard College, which had lost 691 alumni in World War II, lost a total of 12 men in Vietnam from the classes of 1962 through 1972 combined. Those classes at Princeton lost six, at MIT two. The media turned ever more hostile. And frequently the reward for a young man’s having gone through the trauma of combat was to be greeted by his peers with studied indifference or outright hostility. What is a hero? My heroes are the young men who faced the issues of war and possible death, and then weighed those concerns against obligations to their country. Citizen-soldiers who interrupted their personal and professional lives at their most formative stage, in the timeless phrase of the Confederate Memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, “not for fame or reward, not for place or for rank, but in simple obedience to duty, as they understood it.” Who suffered loneliness, disease, and wounds with an often-contagious elan. And who deserve a far better place in history than that now offered t hem by the so-called spokesman of our so-called generation. Mr. Brokaw, Mr. Matthews, Mr. Bennett, Mr. Spielberg, meet my Marines. 1969 was an odd year to be in Vietnam. Second only to 1968 in terms of American casualties, it was the year made famous by Hamburger Hill, as well as the gut-wrenching Life cover story showing pictures of 242 Americans who had been killed in one average week of fighting. Back home, it was the year of Woodstock, and of numerous anti-war rallies that culminated in the Moratorium march on Washington . The My Lai massacre hit the papers and was seized upon by the anti-war movement as the emblematic moment of the war. Lyndon Johnson left Washington in utter humiliation. Richard Nixon entered the scene, destined for an even worse fate. In the An Hoa Basin southwest of Danang, the Fifth Marine Regiment was in its third year of continuous combat operation s. Combat is an unpredictable and inexact environment, but we were well led. As a rifle platoon and company commander, I served under a succession of three regimental commanders who had cut their teeth in World War II, and four different battalion commanders, three of whom had seen combat in Korea. The company commanders were typically captains on their second combat tour in Vietnam, or young first lieutenants like myself who were given companies after many months of “bush time” as platoon commanders in the Basin’s tough and unforgiving environs. The Basin was one of the most heavily contested areas in Vietnam, its torn, cratered earth offering every sort of wartime possibility. In the mountains just to the west, not far from the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the North Vietnamese Army operated an infantry division from an area called Base Area 112. In the valleys of the Basin, main-force Viet Cong battalions whose ranks were 80 percent North Vietnamese Army regulars moved against the Americans every day. Local Viet Cong units sniped and harassed. Ridgelines and paddy dikes were laced with sophisticated booby traps of every size, from a hand grenade to a 250pound bomb. The villages sat in the rice paddies and tree lines like individual fortresses, crisscrossed with the trenches and spider holes, their homes sporting bunkers capable of surviving direct hits from large-caliber artillery shells. The Viet Cong infrastructure was intricate and permeating. Except for the old and the very young, villagers who did not side with the Communists had either been killed or driven out to the government controlled enclaves near Danang. In the rifle companies, we spent the endless months patrolling ridgelines and villages and mountains, far away from any notion of tents, barbed wire, hot food, or electricity. Luxuries were limited to what would fit inside one’s pack, which after a few “humps” usually boiled down to letter-writing material, towel, soap, toothbrush, poncho liner, and a small transistor radio. We moved through the boiling heat with 60 pounds of weapons and gear, causing a typical Marine to drop 20 percent of his body weight while in the bush. When we stopped we dug chest-deep fighting holes and slit trenches for toilets. We slept on the ground under makeshift poncho hootches, and when it rained we usually took our hootches down because wet ponchos shined under illumination flares, making great targets. Sleep itself was fitful, never more than an hour or two at a stretch for months at a time as we mixed daytime patrolling with night-time ambushes, listening posts, foxhole duty, and radio watches. Ringworm, hookworm, malaria, and dysentery were common, as was trench foot when the monsoons came. Respite was rotating back to the mud-filled regimental combat base at An Hoa for four or five days, where rocket and mortar attacks were frequent and our troops manned defensive bunkers at night. Which makes it kind of hard to get excited about tales of Woodstock, or camping at the Vineyard during summer break. We had been told while training that Marine officers in the rifle companies had an 85 percent probability of being killed or wounded, and the experience of “Dying Delta,” as our company was known, bore that out. Of the officers in the bush when I arrived, our company commander was wounded, the weapons platoon commander wounded, the first platoon commander was killed, the second platoon commander was wounded twice, and I, commanding the third platoon, fared no better. Two of my original threesquad leaders were killed, and the third shot in the stomach. My platoon sergeant was severely wounded, as was my right guide. By the time I left, my platoon I had gone through six radio operators, five of them casualties. These figures were hardly unique; in fact, they were typical. Many other units; for instance, those who fought the hill battles around Khe Sanh, or were with the famed Walking Dead of the Ninth Marine Regiment, or were in the battle of Hue HEROES, continued on page 25 TEXAS VV NEWS 25 HEROES, continued from page 24 City or at Dai Do, had it far worse. When I remember those days and the very young men who spent them with me, I am continually amazed, for these were mostly recent civilians barely out of high school, called up from the cities and the farms to do their year in hell and then return. Visions haunt me every day, not of the nightmares of war but of the steady consistency with which my Marines faced their responsibilities, and of how uncomplaining most of them were in the face of constant danger. The salty, battle-hardened 20-year-olds teaching green 19-year-olds the intricate lessons of the hostile battlefield. The unerring skill of the young squad leaders as we moved through unfamiliar villages and weed-choked trails in the black of night. The quick certainty when a fellow Marine was wounded and needed help. Their willingness to risk their lives to save other Marines in peril. To this day it stuns me that their own countrymen have so completely missed the story of their service, lost in the bitter confusion of the war itself. Like every military unit throughout history we had occasional laggards, cowards, and complainers. But in the aggregate, these Marines were the finest people I have ever been around. It has been my privilege to keep up with many of them over the years since we all came home. One finds in them very little bitterness about the war in which they fought. The most common regret, almost to a man, is that they were not able to do more for each other and for the people they came to help. It would be redundant to say that I would trust my life to these men. Because I already have, in more ways than I can ever recount. I am alive today because of their quiet, unaffected heroism. Such valor epitomizes the conduct of Americans at war from the first days of our existence. That the boomer elites can canonize this sort of conduct in our fathers’ generation while ignoring it in our own is more than simple oversight. It is a conscious, continuing travesty. Former Secretary of the Navy James Webb was awarded the Navy Cross, Silver Star, and Bronze Star medals for heroism as a Marine in Vietnam. His novels include The Emperor’s General and Fields of Fire. Diabetes Update [Source: MedPage Today John Gever Article 7 Oct 2011] The FDA has approved a fixeddose combination tablet that combines the diabetes drug sitagliptin with simvastatin, under the brand name Juvisync. It’s the first product with drugs for diabetes and high cholesterol in a single pill, the agency. Sitagliptin is a DPP-4 inhibitor sold as Januvia, first approved in 2006 as an adjunct to diet and exercise. Simvastatin (Zocor) is one of the most popular statin drugs for reducing total and LDL cholesterol. In the short term, the combination product will come in three strengths, all with 100 mg of sitagliptin and 10, 20, or 40 mg of simvstatin. The FDA advised physicians to consider other drugs that patients may be taking when deciding which strength to prescribe. The FDA noted that statins can exacerbate hyperglycemia in patients with type 2 diabetes. “This risk appears very small and is outweighed by the benefits of statins for reducing heart disease in diabetes,” the agency said. “However, the prescribing information for Juvisync will inform doctors of this possible side effect. The company will also be required to conduct a postmarketing clinical trial comparing the glucose lowering ability of sitagliptin alone compared to sitagliptin given with simvastatin.” Common side effects associated with the combination include upper respiratory infections, rhinitis, sore throat, headache, muscle and stomach pain, constipation, and nausea. The product’s retail price has not yet been disclosed. US Panel Says No to Prostate Screening for Healthy Men By Gardiner Harris – October 6, 2011 Healthy men should no longer receive a P.S.A. blood test to screen for prostate cancer because the test does not save lives overall and often leads to more tests and treatments that needlessly cause pain, impotence and incontinence in many, a key government health panel has decided. The draft recommendation, by the United States Preventive Services Task Force and due for official release next week, is based on the results of five well-controlled clinical trials and could substantially change the care given to men 50 and older. There are 44 million such men in the United States, and 33 million of them have already had a P.S.A. test – sometimes without their knowledge – during routine physicals. The task force’s recommendations are followed by most medical groups. Two years ago the task force recommended that women in their 40s should no longer get routine mammograms, setting off a firestorm of controversy. The recommendation to avoid the P.S.A. test is even more forceful and applies to healthy men of all ages. “Unfortunately, the evidence now shows that this test does not save men’s lives,” said Dr. Virginia Moyer, a professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine and chairwoman of the task force. “This test cannot tell the difference between cancers that will and will not affect a man during his natural lifetime. We need to find one that does.” But advocates for those with prostate cancer promised to fight the recommendation. Baseball’s Joe Torre, the financier Michael Milken and Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor, are among tens of thousands of men who believe a P.S.A. test saved their lives. The task force can also expect resistance from some drug makers and doctors. Treating men with high P.S.A. levels has become a lucrative business. Some in Congress have criticized previous decisions by the task force as akin to rationing, although the task force does not consider cost in its recommendations. “We’re disappointed,” said Thomas Kirk, of Us TOO, the nation’s largest advocacy group for prostate cancer survivors. “The bottom line is that this is the best test we have, and the answer can’t be, ‘Don’t get tested.’ “ But that is exactly what the task force is recommending. There is no evidence that a digital rectal exam or ultrasound are effective, either. “There are no reliable signs or symptoms of prostate cancer,” said Dr. Timothy J. Wilt, a member of the task force and a professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota. Frequency and urgency of urinating are poor indicators of disease, since the cause is often benign. The P.S.A. test, routinely given to men 50 and older, measures a protein – prostate-specific antigen – that is released by prostate cells, and there is little doubt that it helps identify the presence of cancerous cells in the prostate. But a vast majority of men with such cells never suffer ill effects because their cancer is usually slow-growing. Even for men who do have fast-growing cancer, the P.S.A. test may not save them since there is no proven benefit to earlier treatment of such invasive disease. As the P.S.A. test has grown in popularity, the devastating consequences of the biopsies and treatments that often flow from the test have become increasingly apparent. From 1986 through 2005, one million men received surgery, radiation therapy or both who would not have been treated without a P.S.A. test, according to the task force. Among them, at least 5,000 died soon after surgery and 10,000 to 70,000 suffered serious complications. Half had persistent blood in their semen, and 200,000 to 300,000 suffered impotence, incontinence or both. As a result of these complications, the man who developed the test, Dr. Richard J. Ablin, has called its widespread use a “public health disaster.” One in six men in the United States will eventually be found to have prostate cancer, making it the second most common form of cancer in men after skin cancer. An estimated 32,050 men died of prostate cancer last year and 217,730 men received the diagnosis. The disease is rare before age 50, and most deaths occur after age 75. Not knowing what is going on with one’s prostate may be the best course, since few men live happily with the knowledge that one of their organs is cancerous. Autopsy studies show that a third of men ages 40 to 60 have prostate cancer, a share that grows to three-fourths after age 85. P.S.A. testing is most common in men over 70, and it is in that group that it is the most dangerous since such men usually have cancerous prostate cells but benefit the least from surgery and radiation. Some doctors treat patients who have high P.S.A. levels with drugs that block male hormones, although there is no convincing evidence that these drugs are helpful in localized prostate cancer and they often result in impotence, breast enlargement and hot flashes. Of the trials conducted to assess the value of P.S.A. testing, the two largest were conducted in Europe and the United States. Both “demonstrate that if any benefit does exist, it is very small after 10 years,” according to the task force’s draft recommendation statement. The European trial had 182,000 men from seven countries who either got P.S.A. testing or did not. When measured across all of the men in the study, P.S.A. testing did not cut death rates in nine years of follow-up. But in men ages 55 to 69, there was a very slight improvement in mortality. The American trial, with 76,693 men, found that P.S.A. testing did not cut death rates after 10 years. Dr. Eric Klein of the Cleveland Clinic, an expert in prostate cancer, said he disagreed with the task force’s recommendations. Citing the European trial, he said “I think there’s a substantial amount of evidence from randomized clinical trials that show that among younger men, under 65, screening saves lives.” The task force’s recommendations apply only to healthy men without symptoms. The group did not consider whether the test is appropriate in men who already have suspicious symptoms or those who have already been treated for the disease. The recommendations will be open to public comment next week before they are finalized. Recommendations of the task force often determine whether federal health programs like Medicare and private health plans envisioned under the health reform law pay fully for a test. But legislation already requires Medicare to pay for P.S.A. testing no matter what the task force recommends. Still, the recommendations will most likely be greeted with trepidation by the Obama administration, which has faced charges from Republicans that it supports rationing of health care services, which have been politically effective, regardless of the facts. After the task force’s recommendation against routine mammograms for women under 50, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sibelius announced that the government would continue to pay for the test for women in their 40s. On Thursday, the administration announced with great fanfare that as DIABETES, continued on page 26 26 TEXAS VV NEWS DIABETES, continued from page 25 a result of the health reform law, more people with Medicare were getting free preventive services like mammograms. Dr. Michael Rawlins, chairman of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence in Britain, said he was given a P.S.A. test several years ago without his knowledge. He then had a biopsy, which turned out to be negative. But if cancer had been detected, he would have faced an awful choice, he said: “Would I want to have it removed, or would I have gone for watchful waiting with all the anxieties of that?” He said he no longer gets the test. But Dan Zenka, a spokesman for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, said a high P.S.A. test result eventually led him to have his prostate removed, a procedure that led to the discovery that cancer had spread to his lymph nodes. His organization supports widespread P.S.A. testing. “I can tell you it saved my life,” he said. VA Claim Filing [Source: NavyTimes Rick Maze article 20 Jul 2011] A seemingly simple idea – to have the Veterans Affairs Department send out emails to speed up notifications to veterans that their disability claims have been received has drawn complaints from major veterans groups that say the idea would be more expedient but not necessarily fair. Representatives of Veterans of Foreign Wars and Disabled American, testifying 30 JUL before a House subcommittee about H.R.2383, the Modernizing Notice to Claimants Act, said they are concerned that veterans may be hurt by the bill, which would authorize electronic communication instead of regular mail to provide notice that VA has received a claim and has begun to process it. The problem for them isn’t the electronic notice, but how people often deal with email and what rights they might be waiving if the notice isn’t clear and veterans don’t read the fine print. Jeffrey Hall, DAV’s assistant national legislative director, said veterans now receive a detailed and individualized notice from the VA that includes a form giving consent for VA to help obtain private medical records that might support a claim, requests for specific information to help process the claim and a record of what steps have been taken so far. It also asks for crucial information to support a claim, and provides legal notice of VA’s duty to help a veteran. At the hearing of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s oversight and investigations panel, Hall said he worries that electronic messages will be less detailed and more generic, and may not be fully read because the Internet is an environment where users have become accustomed to checking the box on license and other disclaimer agreements without first reading them. Ryan Gallucci, VFW’s deputy national legislative service director, had similar concerns. One of his worries is that veterans might read the message and believe they have to collect their own medical evidence while waiving VA’s duty to help. Under this proposal, veterans may spend weeks and months collecting their medical evidence based on VA’s encouragement to veterans to collect their own records,. he said. This will negatively affect veterans by making their effective date later. Hall said it is possible that veterans could end up with lower disability rates because those filing electronic claims and getting electronic replies may be less likely to seek the help of veterans service officers, who understand the VA system and how to get the maximum benefit. Even so, both Hall and Gallucci like the general idea of VA communicating electronically with veterans, with Gallucci noting that. many veterans conduct business via email and Web-based portals. But for this specific purpose, Hall said electronic notification may end up becoming a tool to cut the disability claims backlog, but in a way that leaves veterans with something less than their full benefits. The only way to reduce the backlog is to create a system designed to get claims done right the first time, not just get them done quickly,. Hall said. As such, we believe that notice should be sent by the most effective means, not simply the most expeditious means. For many veterans, that may well be by way of electronic communication. Others may strongly prefer written communication. Thomas Murphy, VA’s compensation service director, said electronic notification. would significantly enhance. efficiency and. provide increased flexibility, and has the potential to. significantly shorten overall claim development time. Some technical changes are sought by the VA in the bill, but Murphy said the VA. fully supports. the measure. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, chairman of the oversight and investigations subcommittee, is the bill’s sponsor. The bill was subsequently amended, approved, and passed on to the HVAC for consideration. VA Appeals [Source: http://www. uscourts.cavc.gov Jun 2011] The United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims is a national court of record, established under Article I of the Constitution of the United States. The Court has exclusive jurisdiction to provide judicial review of final decisions by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, an entity within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Court provides veterans an impartial judicial forum for review of administrative decisions by the Board of Veterans’ Appeals that are adverse to the veteran-appellant’s claim of entitlement to benefits for service-connected disabilities, survivor benefits and other benefits such as education payments and waiver of indebtedness. In furtherance of its mission, the Court also seeks to help ensure that all veterans have equal access to the Court and to promote public trust and confidence in the Court. Whether or not you have someone to represent you, if you disagree with the final decision of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA) and want to appeal to the Court, you must file a notice of appeal with the Court within 120 days after the date the Board mailed a copy of its final decision. The starting day is the date which is stamped on the front of the Board’s decision. If you do not appeal to the Court or file a motion for reconsideration with the Chairman of the Board within 120 calendar days from the date that the Board’s decision was mailed to you, the Board’s decision becomes final and the Court may not have jurisdiction to hear your appeal. A Notice of Appeal is considered received by the Court on the date of a legible postmark if it is properly addressed and sent by the U.S. Postal Service or the date it is actually received by the Court if it is sent by means other than the U.S. Postal Service or faxed. Filing a motion for reconsideration with the Board within 120 days of its original decision stops the clock on your time to file an appeal with the Court. If you do file a motion for reconsideration with the Chairman and the Chairman denies your motion, the time to file an appeal with the Court begins again, and you must file a written Notice of Appeal with the Court within 120 days from the date of the Chairman’s letter denying the motion for reconsideration (set out in a letter). You do not need a lawyer to file the appeal. Steps to file Go to the Court’s Web site and review the procedures and requirements for filing an appeal. The site is http://www.uscourts. cavc.gov/about/how_to_appeal/ HowtoAppealWithoutHowtoFile.cfm Complete the Court’s Form 1”Notice of Appeal” and send it to the Court. See additional information below regarding mailing of Notice of Appeal. The form can be completed on online and downloaded at http://www.uscourts.cavc.gov/ documents/NOA_Consent_CombinedForm.pdf Submit the one-time $50 fee to file, OR ask the Court to waive the fee by filing the Court’s Form 4 Declaration of Financial Hardship. The form can be completed on online and downloaded at http://www. uscourts.cavc.gov/documents/Form04_DofFH_-_FORM-RE1.pdf. If you do not have computer access both forms can be requested from the court at the address below; or the Pro Bono Program can send them to you. If time is running out and you cannot get these forms, you may simply print your name, current address, and telephone number on a piece of paper and write: I want to appeal my BVA decision dated ___________. Then sign your name. Don’t forget the 120-day deadline for filing. Mail, hand deliver, or fax the completed form(s) or your letter to: Clerk of Court, US Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, 625 Indiana Avenue, N.W., Suite 900, Washington, DC 20004 Tel: (202) 501-5970 FAX (202) 501-5848. If you fax your Notice of Appeal, you must mail the filing fee or Declaration of Financial Hardship so that the Court receives it not later than 14 days after the fax was sent. You should also contact the Court to confirm receipt of the Notice of Appeal as the Court is not responsible for faxes that are not received. Self-represented appellants may file a Declaration of Financial Hardship with a Notice of Appeal by submitting those forms to esubmission@uscourts. cavc.gov. You should keep evidence of the date on which you sent the Notice of Appeal. SEND YOUR NOTICE OF APPEAL FORM DIRECTLY TO THE COURT. DO NOT SEND IT TO THE VA OR THE PRO BONO PROGRAM! [NOTE: It is very important to use the Court’s complete address, including. Suite 900. VA also has an office at 625 Indiana Avenue, and if the Postal Service delivers your appeal to VA instead of to the Court, you can lose your case before you even get a chance to tell the Court your side of the matter. A notice of appeal will still be considered to be on time even if the Court does not receive it within the 120-day deadline IF you mailed it to the Court’s correct address AND it contains a legible U.S. Postal Service postmark dated within the 120-day time limit. Regular, first class mail is fine. You do not need to send it express mail, priority mail, or certified mail. (Note that a Federal Express, UPS or other delivery service date stamp, or foreign postal service postmark, does not count, and if you send your Notice of Appeal in any of these ways, the date the Court actually receives your Notice of Appeal will be your filing date.) There are two parties to every appeal to the Court. You will always be the. appellant. in the case, while the opponent in every appeal is the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. The Secretary will always be referred to as the appellee. You can only appeal a final BVA decision that denied some or all of your requests for benefits.] ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ TEXAS VV NEWS 27 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Some interesting and sobering items about the Vietnam Wall. There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010. The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties. The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth, Mass., listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965. There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall. 39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger. The largest age group, 8,283 were just 19 years old 33,103 were 18 years old. 12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old. 5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old. One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old. 997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam. 1,448 soldiers were killed on their last scheduled day in Vietnam. 31 sets of brothers are on the Wall. Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons. 54 soldiers on the Wall attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia. 8 Women are on the Wall – nursing the wounded. 244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall. Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons. West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall. The Marines of Morenci, AZ – In the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home. The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 – 245 deaths. The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 – 2,415 casualties were incurred Five Names Are Added to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial • Sgt. Henry L. Aderholt, U.S. Army • ETR2 Richard Lewis Daniels, U.S. Navy • BT3 Peter Otto Holcomb, U.S. Navy • SPC Charles J. Sabatier, U.S. Army • SPC Charles Robert Vest, U.S. Army In addition, the designation symbols for eight others were changed as well. These refer to the symbols that appear beside each name on The Wall. A cross denotes “missing in action;” a diamond is for “killed in action.” When an individual’s remains are found and positively identified, the symbol is changed to a diamond. VVMF held a ceremony at The Wall on May 8 to unveil one of the names, that of Charles J. Sabatier. Among the speakers were Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who presented Sabatier’s family with an award last year for his work in fighting for accommodations for the disabled, and Sabatier’s widow, Peggy Griffin. The five new names will be read for the first time during the Memorial Day Observance at The Wall on May 30. This brings the total number of names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to 58,272. VVMF Begins Soil Testing on Education Center Site Geotechnical and soil testing, the first step in the construction process for the Education Center at The Wall, began in late April and will continue for several weeks. The work is being done by Schnabel Engineering of West Chester, Pa., and is supervised by Tishman Construction Corp., the construction manager for the Education Center. VVMF President Jan Scruggs and other organization officials have been spending time on the site surveying the progress and talking to those involved. Veteran Charities Updates Veterans call it disgraceful. Former state Sen. Dan Gelber wants to make it a felony. The problem, men dressed in military fatigues at intersections and grocery stores, soliciting donations for veterans. Real military vets say nonveterans dressed in fatigues are fooling the public into donating money. Senate Bill 1824 - which earned a 10-0 vote in the committee - would make it a felony to misrepresent oneself as a veteran or member of the U.S. Armed forces in order to collect donations from the public. In many of Florida’s major cities, paid solicitors asking motorists and shoppers for contributions, are dressed in military combat uniforms and stationed on street corners and at retail stores. This is a critical first step toward passage, and I thank my colleagues for joining me in standing up for our veterans all across Florida,” Gelber said. “The unanimous vote just goes to show that impersonating our veterans for personal enrichment won’t be tolerated.” The bill next heads to the senate criminal justice committee for a hearing. “Why do they need to wear the uniform? We are furious,” Don Rickard, Treasurer of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 133, told Miami TV Channel 10’s reporter Jeff Weinsier. “It galls me. Words can’t describe it,” said Harry Ahrens with The Veterans of Foreign Wars. “Do you get any money? How much money do you get?” Weinsier asked “Brian,” a non-veteran who was wearing fatigues and soliciting on Hillsboro Boulevard and Federal Highway for an organization called Veterans in Need Foundation. “Sir, I have no comment,” the man replied. Weinsier asked Josh Riley, the Chief Operating Officer for the foundation, how much money collected actually goes to veterans. “We don’t have a figure to give to the public at this time,” Riley said. An internet check revealed Veterans In Need Foundation located at 2303 W Mcnab Road, Pompano Beach, FL 33069 Tel: (954) 941-1919 is a private company categorized under Veterans’ and Military Organizations. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of $81,000 and employs a staff of approximately 3. [Source:.html article 15 Mar 2010 & VFW Post 2391 Incident report 25 Jul 2011] U.S. Navy Veterans Association The final months of the U.S. Navy Veterans Association were marked by frantic attempts to fend off reporters and investigators who suspected the charity was a fraud. Though it had reported raising nearly $100 million to assist veterans, the nonprofit’s directors were nonexistent, its headquarters nothing more than mail drops. Run out of a dilapidated duplex in Ybor City, a historic neighborhood in Tampa, Flor but soliciting donations nationwide, the group sent much of its money to politicians, not needy veterans. Under scrutiny in the spring of 2010, the Navy Veterans stonewalled subpoenas and scrambled to survive. But as spring turned to summer, the group’s leader, a scruffy 60-something who called himself Commander Bobby Thompson, vanished from view. The last two board members resigned. The group’s tricked-out pickup was sold. Private investigators and a PR person were hired. Those and other details about the waning days of the Navy Veterans are contained in documents released as part of ongoing investigations into the group, which so far have sent a Hillsborough County woman to prison and made Thompson a wanted fugitive. Also detailed in the documents: how by July 2010, even the Navy Veterans’ long-time lawyer Helen Mac Murray had severed her relationship with the group and gone to the authorities with serious accusations of wrongdoing. For more than six months the Navy Veterans’ general counsel, had been fielding queries from the media, including one seemingly easy request: Prove that dozens of directors and officers exist. Of 85 officers listed for the group, only one could be found: Thompson. In her affidavit to Florida officials, Mac Murray urged quick action to secure the Navy Veterans’ documents at Contreras’ home. Florida and federal officials took nearly a month to act on her tip. By the time authorities seized documents from the Clair-Mel home of one of Thompson’s associates, some records already had been shredded. Florida’s criminal investigation into the Navy Veterans is ongoing, but its civil action has been closed. With Thompson a fugitive, state officials say, there is no one to sue. Ohio officials, who estimate their state’s residents were bilked for more than $2 million by the Navy Veterans, have been the most aggressive in their prosecution of the case. Last month one of Thompson’s volunteers, Blanca Contreras, was sentenced to five years in an Ohio prison after pleading guilty to aggravated theft and money laundering. In a separate civil action, Ohio investigators continue to hunt for clues that could lead to Thompson, who was last seen at an ATM in New York City on June 16, 2010. [Source: St. Petersburg Times Kris Hundley and John Martin article 4 Sep 2011] 28 TEXAS VV NEWS POW/MIA News Update [Source: Washington Post Steve Vogel article 24 Jul 2011] A coalition of groups representing veterans and the families of missing U.S. service members has accused the Defense Department of undercutting a joint U.S.-Russian program that seeks answers to the fate of Americans who disappeared behind the Iron Curtain. The U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, established in 1992, has given investigators from the United States access to Russia’s central military archives and opportunities to interview potential eyewitnesses about U.S. service members who may have perished in the former Soviet Union or the territory of its allies during World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War. After nine months of broken promises, we cannot sit quietly and allow senior officials in the Department of Defense to redirect funding, transfer researchers and linguists and jeopardize any possibility of mission success for the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs,. the coalition stated in an editorial released this month. The issue was addressed 22 JUL at the National League of POW/MIA Families national meeting in Crystal City, but Defense Department officials attending the conference did not satisfy concerns raised by the veterans groups, according to Ann Mills-Griffiths, executive director of the league. .Other than to say the overall accounting mission will continue to do the most with what it has, their responses did not answer our questions or shed any new light into the direction [the Defense Department] may be taking,. said Joe Davis, spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, one of the groups that signed the editorial. In a 29 JUN memo shortly before leaving office, Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates directed .a reassessment of what is minimally required. to increase the capacity of the POW/MIA accounting community. .Our concern is very much about the undercutting of the Joint Commission,. Air Force Maj. Carie Parker, a spokeswoman for the Defense POW/ Missing Personnel Office, said Friday that the Pentagon is working with the National Security Council .to ensure that the department provides the appropriate support to the commission.. No funding to support the commission has been cut .to date,. said Parker, adding that she was unaware of plans to do so. .The mission continues,. she said. Parker noted that funding for the division that supports the commission has increased 14 percent over the last six years. She said that while two research analysts in the division have been transferred to a new World War II section, they are .doing the same exact job.. The veterans’ coalition editorial said that a failure to fully support the commission .will make it nearly impossible for our government to locate information and/or remains to help determine the fates of hundreds, if not thousands, of Americans who may have perished in the former Soviet Union or in the lands of their allies during World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Cold War.. Other groups signing the editorial include the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Vietnam Veterans of America, Marine Corps League, American Veterans and Jewish War Veterans of the U.S.A. The number of service members or civilians missing and unaccounted for include 78,000 from World War II, 8,000 from Korea, 1,680 from Vietnam, 120 from the Cold War, and one each from Iraq and Afghanistan. Remember our POWs in Iraq and Afghanistan – Spec. Ahmed Altaie and Pvt. Bowe Bergdahl. Father of Bowe Bergdahl Breaks His Silence On Friday May 6th Robert Bergdahl, father of POW Bowe Bergdahl posted a video on YouTube seeking the release of his son. The following comes from an ABC News Report By Avin Patel. The father of Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. soldier to be held in captivity by the Taliban, released a statement on YouTube Friday pleading for the safe release of his son in the wake of the U.S. killing of Osama bin Laden. “Our son is being exploited. It is past time for Bowe and the others to come home,” said Robert Bergdahl in a video statement posted on-line. In the three-minute message, he addresses the Pakistani military and thanked the Taliban commanders holding his son. “Strangely, to some, we must also thank those who have cared for our son for almost 2 years,” said Bergdahl. “We understand the rationale the Islamic Emirate has made through videos… our son’s safe return will only heighten public awareness of this.” He asked the Pakistani Army, which has been fighting the Taliban in the border region, to help secure his son’s release. “Our family knows the high price that has been paid by your men in the Army and Frontier Corps. We give our condolences and thanks to the families of those who have fallen for Pakistan.” The video is the first public statement by Bowe Bergdahl’s father since the Army private first class was captured…. The statement follows a video released by the Taliban earlier in the week featuring a 10 second clip of Bowe Bergdahl being blindfolded and led away by his captors. The appearance is the fifth time the Idahoborn U.S. soldier, now 25, has been seen since he was captured in June of 2009 along the Afghan-Pakistani border. Army spokesman Colonel Thomas Collins said that officials were studying the video and could not confirm if the shots were new or different than what had been released in previous videos. Obama Statement on Missing Servicemen One day after Navy Seals successfully completed the mission to get Bin Laden, President Obama awarded posthumously the Congressional Medal of Honor to two soldiers from the Korean War. They are Private First Class Anthony Kaho’ohanohano and Private First Class Henry Svehla. Both gave their lives to assure the survival of their fellow soldiers. Of the two Pvt. Svehla remains unaccounted for. “That’s a wound in the heart of his family that has never been fully healed,” said President Obama. “It’s also a reminder that, as a nation, we must never forget those who didn’t come home, are missing in action, who were taken prisoner of war – and we must never stop trying to bring them back to their families.” Words are nice but actions speak louder. While remains recovery operation move forward at a brisk pace, the issue of surviving POWs receives no action. Admissions of capture and “survival into captivity” by former enemies are ignored. If someone “survived into captivity,” the odds of recovering their remains from a loss location are minimal, unless the Vietnamese salted the recovery site. So, why does JPAC continue to search loss locations for men the Vietnamese told us “survived into captivity?” With Friends Like This, Who Need Enemies The Afghan government of President Hamid Karzai deliberately sabotaged U.S. efforts to negotiate the release of POW Bowe Bergdhal. On August 29th the Associated Press reported the breakdown of negotiations with the Taliban. The following is excerpted from the AP article by Kathy Gannon and Anne Gearan. Direct U.S. talks with the Taliban had evolved to a substantive negotiation before Afghan officials, nervous that the secret and independent talks would undercut President Hamid Karzai, scuttled them. “Featured prominently in the talks was the whereabouts and eventual release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl of Hailey, Idaho, who was captured more than two years ago in eastern Afghanistan , according to a senior Western diplomat in the region and a childhood friend of the Taliban negotiator, Tayyab Aga. The U.S. negotiators asked Aga what could be done to gain Bergdahl’s release. The discussion did not get into specifics but Aga discussed the release of Afghan prisoners at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba and in Afghanistan at Bagram Air Field. A senior U.S. official acknowledged that the talks imploded because of the leak and that Aga, while alive, had disappeared. The U.S. will continue to pursue talks, the official said. Current and former U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the talks. The talks were deliberately revealed by someone in the presidential palace, where Karzai’s office is located, said a Western and an Afghan official. The reason was Karzai’s animosity toward the U.S. and fear that any agreement Washington brokered would undermine his authority, they said. From the Archives – Another Reason We Need H.Res 111 Documents and memos found in the records of the Senate Select Committee on POW/ MIA Affairs continues to amaze us. Some add context to documents already in hand. Others offer new avenues of investigation. Some leave us shaking our heads and wondering; why would they suggest this if they didn’t have some type of evidence? One such document, dated July 1, 1992, is an internal email written by committee investigator Harold “Nick” Nicklas. Addressed to Committee Chief of Staff, Frances Zwenig, the email offers a list of suggested questions for the Vietnamese. Among the questions posed are two suggesting the committee had information the events occurred. The first question is: “We believe (sic) you sent a B-52 crew to the Soviet Union for debriefing and they were returned to your control? Our intelligence also reports flights to the Soviet Union of small groups of American electronic warfare officers in questioning American Prisoners. How did your cooperation work?” Comment – Both the Vietnamese and Russians deny Soviet involvement with American Prisoners of War in Southeast Asia . Claiming the Soviets only observed interrogations submitting any questions for the American’s to the Vietnamese, who would ask the question. Yet, we know the Vietnamese gave Cuban interrogators POW/MIA, continued on page 29 TEXAS VV NEWS 29 POW/MIA, continued from page 28 unlimited access to a limited group of POWs. It is hard to believe the Soviets who supplied the North Vietnamese with aircraft and anti-missile sites were not given access to POWs, while the Cuban who provided far less support had unlimited access. The second question of interest reads: “We believe you sent an F111 and its crew downed by Chinese 37mm antiaircraft fire to China for exploitation and debriefing? Please tell who was sent and when they returned to your control. Why did they not return with Homecoming?” Comment – While there is no information on this F111, we do have the words of former POW John Alpers who believes his initial interview determined his fate sending him to Hanoi rather than China or the former Soviet Union . In a letter, dated November 7, 1991 addressed to Committee Chairman John Kerry, Alpers described this first interview saying: “I and my pilot were captured immediately and taken toward Hanoi . Sometime in the middle of that first night we disembarked the truck we had been riding in and were handcuffed to a tree. I was then taken alone into a structure and made to sit on a stool. My blindfold was removed and I found myself in front of a table behind which were sitting four oriental men in civilian clothes. The one who conducted my interrogation was tall, slim and used impeccable English. A prolonged effort was made to get me to discuss certain elements of my mission, aircraft, base and combat leadership chain-of-command. I also remember numerous questions directed at my own general level of military knowledge, as well as other questions which tired to elicit comment from me about specific technical knowledge of equipment and tactics which I might possess.” Alpers continued saying: “I have for the past 18 years thought that this interrogation was intended by the enemy to accomplish two things: First, to ascertain my general level of physical well-being (people with major and/or disfiguring wounds almost never turned up in the Hanoi prison system), and; second, whether I might have certain military information that could be of immediate use to the Hanoi war effort.” In closing Alpers wrote; “I can now better understand another possible reason for all the interest in my technical knowledge. The possibility I might have “special talents” of use to Red China and the Soviet Union.” “I and my pilot managed to get through that “screening” process and were subsequently taken on to the Hanoi Hilton. I now believe that other captives either “failed the physical” and were disposed of, or were diverted from Hanoi and taken north through Red China to Russia so that the communists could try to exploit certain “special talents.” By the way, I felt then and still do now that my chief interrogator that night was Chinese, not North Vietnamese. Also that this relatively important person was not in a dilapidated building out in the boonies of North Vietnam in the middle of the night just my accident. This interrogation seemed to be an on-going process. My inquisitors were there when we arrived. They were waiting for us, not us being made to wait for them.” A Voice from the Grave When Russian General Dmitri Volkogonov, the first Russian co-chair of the U.S./Russian Joint POW/MIA Commission, passed away in December 1995, he left his personal papers to our Library of Congress. Found among is papers, in 1998, was General Volkogonov account of his efforts to help resolve the fate of American POWs. Volkogonov wrote: “I am not certain that we have fully clarified everything. I know that quite a few documents were destroyed. However, one document, probably sensational, is still in storage. I have a copy of it. Its content is as follows: at the end of the 1960s the KGB (external foreign intelligence) was given the task of “delivering informed Americans to the USSR for intelligence gathering purposes.” When I found this sensational paper in a “special pouch,” I immediately went to Y. M. Primakov (Director of Foreign Intelligence). He called in his people. They brought in a copy of this project signed; it seems to me, by Semichastny (I will explain). For a long time, there was a search underway to find traces of this task. These, the traces, as I had expected “were not found.” They said that the task had not been accomplished. So how did this happen in fact? The regime was such that one could speculate on the wildest of variants. This remained a secret, which I could not penetrate. I also did not report this to my much-esteemed Ambassador, M. Toon. I am speaking about this now in the hope that these notes will make it into my book Reflections.” General Volkogonov’s notes continued: “History, especially Soviet history, is full of secrets, and very often evil. With the exception of this incident, I can say that I have done something in order to raise the mysterious curtain from them.” On November 9th, 1998, in an article by Bill Gertz, the Washington Times broke the story of the document’s existence. According to the article, “ Moscow is refusing to turn over a secret KGB document suggesting captured Americans were taken to the Soviet Union in the late 1960s for “intelligence-gathering purposes...” The article continued, “The Russian government has told U.S. officials the plan was never carried out, and Moscow recently turned down U.S. government requests to study the intelligence document, saying it is classified and will not be released. “Never Carried Out” During the Vietnam War, the Soviets provided North Vietnam with advisors, troops, supplies, munitions, and aircraft. U.S. airmen were routinely dodging SAM missiles and destroying their launch sites. These were the same SAM missile sites defending the former Soviet Union . Who doesn’t think the Soviets had a passing interest in the technology that could easily destroy their defenses and the men who operated that technology? Were the Soviets pouring millions of rubles into the North Vietnamese war effort with no expectation for a return on their investment? Hardly! It is naïve of anyone to believe that the Soviets and Chinese had no interest in the technical abilities of American POWs. It is equally naïve to believe these two nations would not want some form of repayment for their support of the Hanoi government, the officials said.” U.S. Funds $1 Million Project to Identify Remains of Vietnamese War Dead As funded, the project was designed to assist in the identification of North Vietnamese, Viet Cong and South Vietnamese war dead. This humanitarian effort would help account for Vietnamese MIA’s, both allies and enemy. The problem, the Vietnamese refuse to consider the identification of South Vietnamese soldiers as part of the program. As reported by Bill Bartel of The Virginian-Pilot, U.S. Sen. Jim Webb wants the federal government to suspend funding for a project in Vietnam to identify that country’s missing war dead because of concerns the effort only focuses on deceased soldiers who fought against the United States . Webb, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, requested that the U.S. Agency for International Development suspend the $1 million program until agency officials provide assurances that the money is being used to identify fallen soldiers from both the communist and anti-communist armed forces. “This project must ensure fair treatment to MIAs from the North Vietnamese Army, the Viet Cong, and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam,” Webb said in a prepared statement. “However, according to information provided to my office, discussions between USAID and the Vietnamese government indicate that former ARVN soldiers are not counted by the Vietnamese government as among the missing, and therefore are not included in this project.” “As a result, if U.S. assistance were to go forward now, it would only go toward identifying fallen soldiers on the Communist side of this long and tragic war,” Webb said. “That should not be the case for reasons of fairness, justice, and national reconciliation.” Vietnam government officials have said they want to identify about 650,000 North Vietnam Army and Viet Cong fighters who are buried in government cemeteries or are still missing, Webb said. But the government also needs to find a still unknown number of missing South Vietnamese troops that fought with U.S. forces, he said. The senator, who visited Vietnam as part of an official Asian tour last month, said he saw that the Binh An Cemetery, the largest burial ground for South Vietnamese troops killed in combat, was being neglected and in need of repair. When asked about Webb’s request, a USAID spokesperson said the agency is “committed to begin the process of recovering and identifying remains on both sides of the conflict to help bring closure to millions of Vietnamese families who don’t know the fate of missing loved ones.” The Vietnam Embassy in Washington did not respond to The Virginian-Pilot’s requests for comment. POW Torture MOH George Everett “Bud” Daye George Everett .Bud. Day (born February 24, 1925) is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and Command Pilot who served during the Vietnam War. He is an American Hero and is often cited as being the most decorated U.S. Service member since General Douglas MacArthur, having received some seventy decorations, a majority for actions in combat. Day is a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Bud Day has certain specific comments about the actions of our current commander-inchief based on his personal experiences. You the reader can decide on their relevance to the chaos and dangers in the world today. This extract of Col. Day’s story reinforces his credentials as an expert in what real torture is about: Let me inform him what real torture is about. I got shot down over N Vietnam in 1967. I was a Squadron. Commander. After I returned in 1973, after five years of punishing torture, I published 2 books that dealt a lot with real torture in Hanoi. I was put through a mock execution because I would not respond to the Communist interrogators. Exhausted, they pistol whipped me on the head. A couple of days later, I was hung by my feet all day. I escaped the prison into the jungles with no food and little water. A couple of weeks later, I got shot and recaptured. Being shot was OK…what happened afterwards was not. They marched me to Vinh…put me in the rope trick; that trick almost pulled my arms out of the sockets. Then, they beat me on the head with a little wooden rod until my eyes were swelled shut, and my unshot, unbroken hand was beaten to a pulp. The next day hung me by the arms… rebroke my right wrist…wiped out the nerves in my arms that control the hands, and my fingers rolled up into a ball. I was only left with the slightest movement of my left forefinger. So I started answering the torturing asses with some incredible lies. The frustrated Commie gooks then sent me to Hanoi strapped to a barrel of gas in the back of a truck. Now in the Hanoi Hilton (our name for the horrible prison) I was once again placed kneeling on my knees before they did the shoulder rope trick on me again. Following my no response, I was beaten severely by a big fool. When that failed, they strapped me with leg irons onto a bed in Heartbreak Hotel. I spent much of my ‘out of leg iron’ time held in a kneeling position. There was so much kneeling –hands up at Zoo. In the middle of this arduous process, I took some really bad beatings for refusing to condemn Lyndon Johnson. Following several more inescapable kneeling events. I could see my knee bones through kneeling holes in my skin. Once there was a prisoner escape from the annex to the Zoo. I was the Senior Officer of a large building… because of escape…they started a mass torture of all commanders. I think it was July 7, 1969…they started beating me with a car fan belt. In the first 2 days POW/MIA, continued on page 30 30 TEXAS VV NEWS POW/MIA, continued from page 29 I took over 300 strokes…then stopped counting because I never thought I would live through it. They continued day-night torture to get me to confess to a non-existent part in the escape. This went on for at least 3 days. On my knees…fan belting…cut open my scrotum with one fan belt stroke. Opened up both knee skin holes again with my kneecaps showing. My fanny looked like hamburger…I could not lie on my back, even with the leg irons on me. They tortured me into admitting that I was in on the escape…and that my two roommates knew about it. The next day I denied the lie. They commenced torturing me again with 3- 6- or 9 strokes of the fan belt every day from about July 11 or 12 to 14 October 1969. I continued to refuse to lie about my roommates again. Now, the point of this is that our elected officials have declared to the world that we (U.S.) are a bunch of torturers…thus it will be OK to torture us next time when they catch us…because that is what the U.S. does. These officials think that pouring a little water on someone’s face, or hanging a pair of women’s pants over an Arab’s head is TORTURE. I just talked to MOH holder Leo Thorsness, who was also in my squadron in jail… as was John McCain…and we agree that McCain does not speak for the POW group when he claims that Al Ghraib was torture…or that water boarding, which has no after-effect, is torture. If it got the Arab to cough up the story about how he planned the attack on the twin towers in NYC…Hurrah for the guy who poured the water! Editors Note: I have paraphrased and softened a few of Col. Days’ comments on this subject. Those who want to know his EXACT words regarding his feelings about our official’s position on this subject can read them at http://www.veteransnewsnow. com/2011/10/18/medal-of-honor-winnercol-bud-day-american-hero/ [Source: Veterans News Now Tom Dillman article 18 Oct 2011] VETERAN AFFAIRS VA Homeless Veterans Update As part of its drive to end homelessness among Veterans by 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs is launching a nationwide outreach initiative, “Make the Call,” to spread the message about its special programs to help homeless Veterans and their families to 28 communities across the nation in October. “Those who have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. Shinseki noted that 28 communities – from Atlanta to Hawaii – will host special programs this fall highlighting local services for homeless Veterans, their families and those at risk of becoming homeless. “Working with our partners in state and local government, the non-profit and the private sectors, we can restore our homeless Veterans and their families to the lives of dignity they’ve earned,” Shinseki added. This fiscal year, VA expects to spend $3.4 billion to provide health care to homeless Veterans and $800 million in specialized homeless programs. The latest studies say more than 75,000 Veterans are homeless on a typical night, and about 135,000 spend at least one night a year in a homeless shelter. VA is encouraging family, friends and citizens in the community to “Make the Call” and help prevent and end homelessness among Veterans. Since March 2010, VA has offered a toll-free telephone number, staffed around the clock by trained professionals, to help homeless Veterans, their families and at-risk people. The number is 877-4AID-VET (or 877-4243838). Recently, VA has transformed its efforts in the fight against homelessness. It is changing from a program focus upon temporary, shelter-based services, to prevention, employment, permanent housing, and help to families and Veterans at risk of becoming homeless. The special awareness and outreach programs in the 28 selected communities are in: Alaska - Anchorage, Oct. 12 Arizona - Phoenix, Oct. 18-19 California - San Francisco, Oct. 19; Los Angeles and San Diego, Oct. 12 Colorado - Denver, Oct. 14 District of Columbia - Oct. 14 Florida - Miami, Oct. 21 Georgia - Atlanta, Oct. 29 Hawaii - Kauai, Oct. 14; Oahu, Oct. 17 Illinois - Chicago, Oct. 12 Louisiana - New Orleans, Oct. 22 Massachusetts -Boston, Oct. 20 Michigan - Detroit, Oct. 12 Missouri - St. Louis, Oct. 17 Montana - Billings, Oct. 11 Nevada - Las Vegas, Oct. 6 New York - Canandaigua, Oct. 12; New York Harbor, Oct. 21 North Carolina - Fayetteville, Oct. 12 Ohio - Cleveland, Oct. 12 Pennsylvania - Lebanon, Oct. 12 South Dakota - Sioux Falls, Oct. 12 Tennessee - Memphis, Oct. 11 Texas - Houston, Oct. 20; Dallas, Oct. 18 Washington - Seattle, Oct. 12 VA Homeless Vets Update [Source: Reuters Molly O’Toole article 15 Jul 2011] The number of homeless veterans on any given night has dropped by over 55,000, the Department of Veterans Affairs said on 15 JUL, due in part to programs like the $46.2 million announced 14 JUL to provide permanent housing for 6,790 homeless veterans. Despite a still-stagnant economy and increased troop drawdowns leading to potentially higher numbers of homeless veterans, VA Deputy Press Secretary Drew Brookie said the number of veterans that are homeless each night has dropped from an estimated 131,000 in 2009 to 75,700 as of June this year. But continued pressure on this targeted group makes funding fundamental to the Obama Administration’s goal of ending veteran homelessness by 2015, according to Anne Oliva, director of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s homeless office. “It’s a critical time,” Oliva told Reuters. “We have veterans that are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan that are potentially becoming homeless in higher numbers than they have in the past. This new influx of people...we want to try and get in front of it.” The $46.2 million will go to public housing agencies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. “We’re reducing the time it takes to get veterans into homes,” Brookie told Reuters. The funding is part of the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program. HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan and VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced the grants Thursday morning. They are the first of two rounds of funding that will allocate the $50 million appropriated to fight veteran homelessness in Fiscal Year 2011. Participating veterans in the HUDVASH program generally contribute no more than 30 percent of their income toward rental of privately owned housing, according to the HUD. The program is coordinated by HUD, the VA and local housing authorities. “Now we know what works,” Oliva said. “This is the time; we have the resources…having one veteran homeless is too many.” VA Women Vet Programs [VA News Release 13 Oct 2011] The Department of Veterans Affairs is taking its internal culture-change message to the public with a new video about the vital role women play in the military and the importance of providing women Veterans with high quality health care. VA’s Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group recently completed a 60-second public service announcement (PSA) that challenges viewers to rethink pre-conceived notions about women Veterans. This video features images of women in service to our country: they drive supply trucks, participate in reconnaissance missions, walk safety patrols, and operate helicopter machine guns. “When these brave women complete their service and become Veterans, we want them to know that VA is there to meet their health care needs,” said Dr. Patricia Hayes, Chief Consultant of the VA’s Women Veterans Health Strategic Health Care Group. “At the same time, we want the public to recognize the contributions of women Veterans and the benefits they have earned through their service to the Nation.” The PSA is available for viewing on YouTube at http://www. youtube.com/watch?feature=player_ profilepage&v=BOP5DCgjxPE and at http://www.va.gov. Broadcast organizations interested in obtaining a broadcast-quality version of the PSA should contact VA’s Office of Public Affairs (202-461-7600). The number of women using VA has doubled in the past decade, and that increase is expected to continue into the next decade. More than half of the women using VA health care have a service-connected disability. These range from combat PTSD to missing limbs. The PSA gives a sampling of the serviceconnected disabilities women Veterans must cope with on a daily basis. The PSA was developed for nationwide release from a new employee orientation video – available at http://www.womenshealth. va.gov – created as part of VA’s ongoing efforts to change its culture to be more understanding and accommodating of women Veterans and honor the important service they have given our country. “VA’s goal is to provide the highest quality care for every Veteran, regardless of gender. Part of this initiative has been educating staff so they understand and appreciate that it is their job to make sure VET PROGRAMS, continued on page 31 TEXAS VV NEWS 31 VET PROGRAMS, continued from page 30 women Veterans receive the best care anywhere,” said Hayes. In addition to new employee orientation, VA is spreading its cultureof-change message to current employees through posters, conferences, and e-mail messaging. VA health care providers are all given the opportunity to participate in a ground-breaking mini-residency program in Women’s Health for Veterans. This program has already educated more than 1,100 VA providers on the latest knowledge in gender-specific health care. For more information about VA programs and services for women Veterans, visit: http://www.va.gov/womenvet and http://www.womenshealth.va.gov Veterans Affairs Addresses Growing Demand of Women Needing Care By Chris Vaughn | Fort Worth Star Telegram Roughly 6,000 female veterans in Dallas-Fort Worth get medical care from Veterans Affairs. They represent 6 percent of the patients in the Fort Worth outpatient clinic and Dallas hospital, but the trend is definitely heading north. The VA expects to serve 18,000 North Texas women within five to 10 years, in part because Texas has the second-most female veterans of any state. The growing number of female veterans, including many with combat experience and some with debilitating injuries, has led the Veterans Affairs Department to re-engineer some of its services to a population that was largely unfamiliar to the VA system in the past. The Fort Worth outpatient clinic, for example, opened a women’s clinic, led by a female internist, in its new building last fall and has integrated cervical exams, mammography and sexual trauma therapy into its clinical options. “Certainly there is demand,” said Assistant VA Secretary L. Tammy Duckworth. “For the first time in our nation’s history, we have combat veterans giving birth. We have found that women veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan use the VA at far higher rates than any other demographic group. We’ve come a long way in the last two years. We have a lot more work to do, but we’ve made tremendous progress.” Duckworth, 43, herself is Exhibit A of the changing face of the warrior and veteran. She flew UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in the Illinois National Guard and was grievously wounded in Iraq in 2004 when a rocket-propelled grenade struck the cockpit. She had both legs amputated and lost partial use of one arm. She was in North Texas last week for a national VA conference on equal employment and spoke with the StarTelegram for about 40 minutes. More on the Agenda Duckworth and her boss, VA Secretary and retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, make a point of asking about women’s programs as they visit VA facilities, occasionally dragging a hesitant local director along on the issue, she said. “More than once I’ve embarrassed someone at a VA health clinic, especially when I first came on board,” Duckworth said. “I’ve put hospital directors on the hot seat. It’s about personally reaching out and communicating our dead seriousness that this is an important issue.” For all the good the VA is accomplishing in ramping up women’s access to care, retired Air Force Col. Kim Olson of Weatherford would like it to happen faster. Olson, executive director of the nonprofit Grace After Fire, characterizes the VA as “great, but it’s such a huge bureaucracy that it’s difficult to move quickly.” “If the VA still takes the stance of ‘build it and they will come,’ they will never get the numbers,” said Olson, who receives VA care. “They’ve got to build a rock-solid outreach program with this generation. If you take that old VA approach and wait, these young women will never try the VA. The VA needs to step it up. These women need help yesterday.” Vicki Fulwiley, a Navy veteran who lives in Fort Worth, illustrates that point. She only found out about the clinic a month ago, after having been told about it through the Texas Workforce Commission. “I didn’t even know this was here,” she said. Average Age Lower Fourteen percent of the activeduty military and 17 percent of the National Guard and reserves are women. Although they are still barred from infantry and armor jobs, they are far from strictly rear-echelon support personnel. In Iraq and Afghanistan, 140 women have died, compared with eight during the Vietnam War. Within the VA system this startling dichotomy reflects the times: The average male veteran who receives care is in his early 60s; the average age of female veterans is close to 40. Some of those women want separate entrances and waiting areas for their clinics. Others, like Duckworth, would prefer to be in the mix with men. She said the VA is trying to listen to women as they make their wishes known. She said the VA has hired a women’s health coordinator at every location nationwide to “advocate, listen and coordinate” care. The Fort Worth clinic handles many gender-specific tests and exams in-house but contracts out for obstetrics services to civilian providers. “We used to get three [pregnancies] a quarter, but I’ve had three this week,” said Kim Rice, a registered nurse who is the acting women’s program manager. “When the veterans are young like those we’re getting now, they’re continuing their families.” Group Therapy One of the biggest differences between the genders may well be in Post-Traumatic Stress. A VA Office of Inspector General report in January discovered that women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are more likely to be diagnosed with mentalhealth conditions than men, yet men are far more likely to receive financial benefits for those problems. Because of the overwhelming demand for counseling and a shortage of therapists, the VA conducts much of its therapy in group sessions. But Olson said that won’t work for many women. “I’m painting in generalizations, but group therapy doesn’t work for women,” she said. “You think a woman is going to go into a room full of men and say, ‘Hi, I’m Sally and I ran over a child trying to get out of the kill zone.’ Women veterans want one-onone counseling, not to mention that it usually takes a woman an hour to get to the point of her problem. Therapy needs to be different for gals.” Duckworth said female veterans can ask to see a female therapist, attend a women-only group session or, in some cases, request to be seen by a civilian provider paid by the VA. “The key is listening and providing those services and understanding that it may be different,” she said. “It’s about being flexible. We don’t want women to walk through the doors and turn on their heels and leave. Because once they leave, it’s 10 times more difficult to get them to come through a second time.” The VA outpatient clinic in Fort Worth is at 2201 SE Loop 820. For information on eligibility, call 817-730-0133. For information on women’s programs, go to www.publichealth.va.gov/ womenshealth Grace After Fire is a nonprofit that seeks to help female veterans get connected with one another and with professional services. More information can be found at www.graceafterfire.org By the Numbers The number of women using VA healthcare in North Texas was 4,859 in fiscal 2008. Through March this year, the number is 6,091. VA Death Pension Widows of veterans are eligible for pension if the following criteria can be met: • the deceased veteran was discharged from service under other than dishonorable conditions, AND • the deceased veteran served at least 90 days of active military service 1 day of which was during a war time period. If he or she entered active duty after September 7, 1980, generally he or she must have served at least 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty. (There are exceptions to this rule.) AND • you are the surviving spouse or unmarried child of the deceased veteran, AND • your countable income is below a yearly limit set by law (The yearly limit on income is set by Congress). If you are unsure if you meet all criteria, you are encouraged to go ahead and file an application, particularly if your countable income appears to be near the maximum. VA will determine if you are eligible and notify you. If you do not initially qualify, you may reapply if you have un-reimbursed medical expenses during the twelve month period after VA receives your claim that bring your countable income below the yearly income limit. These are expense you have paid for medical services or products for which you will not be reimbursed by Medicare or private medical insurance. The following are examples of the types of exclusions or deductibles to countable income: • Final expenses of the veteran’s last illness and burial paid by the surviving spouse or eligible children. • Public assistance such as Supplemental Security Income is not considered income. • Many other specific sources of income are not considered income, however all income should be reported. VA will exclude any income that the law allows. • A portion of un-reimbursed medical expenses paid by the claimant after VA receives your pension claim may be deducted. • Certain other expenses, such as a surviving spouse’s education expenses, and in some cases, a portion of the educational expenses of a child over 18 are deductible. 32 TEXAS VV NEWS VETERANS ISSUES Agent Orange Korea [Source: Los Angeles Times John M. Glionna article 21 Jul 2011] Using such modern tools as groundpenetrating radar and conducting analyses of water and soil core samples, a team of investigators in South Korea is searching for clues to a decades-old mystery: Did American soldiers dispose of the defoliant Agent Orange at a U.S.-run base about 150 miles southeast of Seoul in 1978? For weeks, a U.S.-South Korean survey team has focused on a helipad site at the Camp Carroll base. Recently, tiny amounts of a toxic element found in Agent Orange were discovered in three nearby streams. But South Korean officials say the amount of dioxin is too small to cause health problems such as cancer or birth defects and has not yet been connected to the alleged burial of drums containing Agent Orange at the base. U.S. officials say they have no evidence or records of Agent Orange ever being kept at the base. The investigation was launched after a U.S. veteran told a Phoenix television station in May that he and others buried dozens of drums containing Agent Orange at Camp Carroll more than three decades ago. We’re taking the claim very seriously, said U.S. Army Col. Joseph F. Birchmeier, an engineer and co-chairman of the joint investigative team. Our focus is on the health and safety of U.S. soldiers and their families at Camp Carroll and of residents around the base. Agent Orange Okinawa [Source: Special to The Japan Times Jon Mitchell article 13 Aug 2011] An American veteran has told The Japan Times that in the late 1960s, the U.S. military buried dozens of barrels of the toxic defoliant Agent Orange in an area around the town of Chatan on Okinawa Island. The former serviceman’s claim comes only days after Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto said that he would ask the U.S. Department of Defense to come clean on its use of the chemical on the island during its 27-year occupation of Okinawa between 1945 and 1972. The U.S. government has repeatedly maintained that it has no records pertaining to the use of Agent Orange in Okinawa. The veteran’s allegation is likely to cause considerable concern in Okinawa, as Agent Orange contains highly carcinogenic dioxin that can remain in the soil and water for decades. The area where the veteran claims the barrels were buried is near a popular tourist and housing area. The 61-year-old veteran, who asked to remain anonymous, was stationed between 1968 and 1970 in Okinawa, where he drove a forklift in a U.S. Army supply depot. During that time, he helped load supplies – including Agent Orange – onto trucks for transport to the port of Naha, from where they were shipped to Vietnam. The veteran said that in 1969, one of the supply ships became stranded on a reef offshore and he had to take part in the subsequent salvage operation. “They brought in men from all over the island to Naha port. We spent two or three days offloading the boat on the rocks. There were a lot of broken containers full of drums of Agent Orange. The 55-gallon (208-liter) barrels had orange stripes around them. Some of them were split open and we all got poured on,” he said. Following the removal of the damaged barrels, the veteran claims he then witnessed the army bury them in a large pit. “They dug a long trench. It must have been over 150 feet (46 meters) long. They had pairs of cranes and they lifted up the containers. Then they shook out all of the barrels into the trench. After that, they covered them over with earth.” Two other former service members interviewed by The Japan Times – soldier Michael Jones and longshoreman James Spencer – backed up the veteran’s claim that Naha’s port was used as a hub to transport thousands of barrels of herbicide. Spencer also said he witnessed the 1969 salvage operation to unload the containers from the listing ship, though he was unable to confirm the contents of the containers. But the veteran making the allegations said he was sure. “They were Agent Orange. I recognized the smell from when I handled (the barrels) at Machinato (Service Area).” Since his exposure to the defoliant’s dioxin during the salvage operation, the veteran has suffered serious illnesses, including strokes and chloracne. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) – which handles compensation for ailing service members – pays the former soldier more than $1,000 a month in medical fees related to Agent Orange exposure. But the VA claims he was exposed to dioxin during the six-month period that he was stationed in Vietnam. But due to the Pentagon’s repeated denials that Agent Orange was ever stored in Okinawa, it does not pay these benefits to U.S. veterans who claim dioxin-exposure on the island. The veteran said he is aware of the risk of discussing the issue – especially given the sensitivity of current Japan-U.S. relations over Okinawa, where negotiations are currently under way to realign U.S. forces stationed there. “I worry if I go public with my name on this, they’ll take away my benefits,” he said. In 2002, the prefectural government uncovered a large number of unidentified barrels in the Chatan area near the location where the veteran claims he witnessed the trench being dug. According to a source close to the Chatan municipal office, after the barrels were uncovered, they were quickly seized by the Naha-based Okinawa Defense Bureau, which is under what is now the Defense Ministry. “I asked the Chatan town base affairs division if they had a report from the defense bureau. They said no. The town still does not know what the substance was, how the barrels were treated or if the bureau conducted an analysis of the substance,” the source said. Over the past six months, The Japan Times has gathered firsthand testimony from a dozen U.S. veterans who claim to have stored, sprayed and transported Agent Orange on nine U.S. military installations on Okinawa – including the Kadena air base and Futenma air station – between the mid1960s and 1975. Among those who have come forward are Joe Sipala, a 61-yearold former U.S. Air Force mechanic, who says he sprayed the defoliant regularly to kill weeds around the perimeter of the Awase Transmitter Site, and Scott Parton, a marine at Camp Schwab who alleges that he saw dozens of barrels of Agent Orange on the base in 1971. Both men’s allegations are supported by photographs of barrels of the defoliant on Okinawa. They are currently suffering serious illnesses – including type-2 diabetes and prostate disorders – related to their contact with the defoliant, and Sipala’s children show signs of deformities consistent with exposure to dioxin. However, the VA is continuing to reject the men’s claims due to the Department of Defense’s denials that the defoliant was ever present on Okinawa. The accounts of these 12 veterans suggest the wide-scale use of Agent Orange on the island during the Vietnam War. They say the defoliant was used and stored in massive quantities from the northern Yambaru district to Naha port in the south. The defoliant’s carcinogenic properties were not fully revealed until the mid1980s. Okinawans expressed concern over the issue. A retired teacher whose school was located near one of the nine bases where Agent Orange had been sprayed recently explained how several of her students had died of leukemia – one of the diseases listed by the U.S. government as caused by exposure to dioxin. Yoshitami Oshiro, a member of the Nago Municipal Assembly, called for an investigation into the claims of Parton, the former marine, that he had seen large numbers of barrels at Camp Schwab – which is in Nago. This is not the first time the U.S. military has been accused of disposing toxic waste this way. In 2005, Fort Mainwright, Alaska, made deadlines after construction workers discovered tons of PCB-contaminated earth beneath a planned housing unit. In May, three U.S. veterans claimed they helped bury barrels of Agent Orange on Camp Carroll in South Korea in 1978. The Pentagon is currently investigating this assertion. Agent Orange Stateside Use [Source: Connecticut Health I Team Lisa Chedekel article 7 Sep 2011] In recent complaints to the Air Force Inspector General, the chief of the Air Force Reserve, the Institute of Medicine and other officials, post-Vietnam War era, Wes Carter and Paul Bailey have cited documents showing that the Air Force knew, at least since 1994, of Agent Orange contamination aboard C-123 Provider aircraft flown at Westover and other bases – but failed to warn personnel of the health risks. Both men are diagnosed with prostate cancer along with many other in their Air Force Reserve former crewmates in the 74th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. Carter was stunned when he began checking and found that the first five crewmen he called had prostate cancer or heart disease. The sixth man he tried had died. Since then, he and Bailey have found dozens more former Westover reservists who are sick – with prostate cancer, diabetes, heart disease, peripheral neuropathy and other illnesses connected to exposure to Agent Orange [AO]. In just a few months, they have compiled a list of close to 40 of their fellow pilots, medical technicians, maintenance workers and flight engineers who are sick or have died of such illnesses, many of them from Connecticut and Massachusetts. Among the documents the veterans cite is a 1994 Air Force report that found one of the airplanes, known as Patches, was .heavily contaminated. with dioxins. Tests on other planes showed similar contamination, records show. In a 2000 legal brief, the General Services Administration argued that the proposed sale of C-123s to a private buyer should be canceled, dubbing the planes extremely hazardous and saying their release would carry .the risk of dioxin contamination to the general public.. In a 1996 internal memo, an official in the Air Force Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, Directorate of Environmental Law, had expressed similar concerns about the possibly contaminated aircraft being sold to third parties, but said: .I do not believe we should alert anyone outside of official channels of this potential problem until we fully determine its extent. So far, attempts by Westover reservists to claim veterans’ benefits linked to Agent Orange exposure on C-123s have been stymied. One of the veterans who tried was Aaron Olmsted of Ellington, CT, a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who flew the C-123. Olmsted, 60, was killed in a plane crash in Pennsylvania in May, four years after he had lost a battle with the Board of Veterans Appeals to prove that he was sick from exposure to Agent Orange. While Olmsted had logged hundreds of hours piloting C-123s at Westover, the veterans’ appeals board in 2007 AGENT ORANGE, continued on page 33 TEXAS VV NEWS 33 AGENT ORANGE, continued from page 32 rejected his claim that his diabetes mellitus was connected to Agent Orange exposure. The Board acknowledges that the veteran maintains he was exposed to Agent Orange while flying aircraft from 1979 to 1982 in the Air Force Reserves because the aircraft were used to spray Agent Orange in Vietnam from 1962 to 1971 and that he was thus exposed to Agent Orange residue, Veterans Law Judge Steven L. Cohn wrote in dismissing Olmsted’s claim. [But] the veteran has not submitted any evidence substantiating his contention that there was any residual Agent Orange material on the aircraft he served on. His contention, standing alone, is not sufficient to show he had actual exposure to Agent Orange. Olmsted’s widow, Diane, said she was frustrated that the VA had denied her husband’s appeal on the grounds that he had not provided specific tail numbers of the C-123s he flew. He flew Patches and other planes that were found to be contaminated with dioxins, flight records and photographs show. I don’t understand why they would put him through this, when it was clear he flew contaminated planes, she said. Why would they turn their backs on him after he had served his country so long and so well? I feel like it’s such an injustice.. She said federal aviation officials are now investigating whether her husband had a medical crisis that caused the small plane he was piloting to crash this spring. We always joked he could have landed a refrigerator with wings, she said. The plane was fine, the weather was good – [the crash] makes no sense. Odd Smells, Stinging Eyes A hazmat team at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona Records show that some C-123 planes were held in quarantine storage in recent years, and then disposed of by shredding and smelting in 2010. In June 2009, an Agent Orange consultant to the Secretary of Defense had lobbied for the .immediate destruction. of the planes, in part to avoid attracting media attention to the health claims of stateside veterans. A whole new class of veterans may claim that their exposure was due to the fact they were members of aircrews or mechanics associated with the contaminated aircraft that returned from Vietnam, the consultant, Dr. Alvin L. Young, wrote in the June 26, 2009, memo. Carter, Bailey and their fellow reservists want the Air Force to explain why it never warned former crew members of their exposure and the possible health consequences, even as tests confirmed the presence of dioxins in the planes. Work crews that prepared Patches for display in a museum were instructed in a 1994 memo to wear hazardous material suits and respirators—yet Carter, Olmsted and others had flown in the plane often, without protection. Carter and Bailey both recall the strange chemical smell of the C-123s and the stinging in their eyes and mouths – at the time, inexplicable sensations. I was always pretty sick on the airplanes – I ended up throwing up a lot, said Bailey, 65, who is undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. I never knew why. Now it makes sense.. Agent Orange Guam [Source: KUAM News Nick Delgado article 8 Oct 23 2011 ] Veterans and their families who were on Guam during the Vietnam War and were exposed to Agent Orange have launched a petition drive, calling on the Obama Administration to launch a full investigation into the matter. One such veteran hopes the White House will listen and learn from his story. “I’m Master Sergeant Leroy Foster,” the man said, introducing himself. “I’m retired from the U.S. Air Force. I came over to Guam during the Vietnam War 412 with the 99th Air Force Base and I was assigned to at that time it was the 3960th Combat Support Group. I think it was the 819th Support Squadron converted to the 43rd Supply Squadron.” According to Foster, he arrived to Guam in September 1968. “I was assigned to the Fuel Division and I worked on fuel tank farms refueling aircrafts, B-52s. They had me spraying Agent Orange herbicides.” Foster is one of many veterans who say they were exposed to Agent Orange on Guam during the Vietnam War and have signed a petition calling on President Barack Obama to launch an investigation. Foster says it wasn’t too long after working in the fuel tank farms on Guam his health began to deteriorate and just got worse through his military career and into retirement. “Sometime in 1978, not realizing that it was all connected to Agent Orange, I ended up having some severe health problems right up until I retired from active duty. But they discovered I had spongeolosis. I was denied employment after I retired from active duty because I’m paralyzed from my waist down.” He added, “[I] had strokes and heart attacks not knowing what happened to me, and then in July 2009, the Agent Orange Commission released Agent Orange Update and I realized then what was happening to me and it was from those herbicides that I sprayed over there in Guam from and on Andersen AFB and off-base.” A total of 5,000 signatures are needed in order to get the White House’s attention. Currently there are only 589 people who have signed the petition as of 11 OCT. If you would like to read the petition you can read it at https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/ petitions#!/petition/investigation -full-disclosure-where-and-when -agent-orange-herbicides-were-used -outside-vietnam/rQdBtRyd. To sign the petition you must be registered which can be done on the https:// wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions site. Once registered you can sign any of the other petitions listed if you so choose. The deadline to get the required number of signatures is 22 OCT. Meanwhile, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo supports the initiative, telling KUAM News that individuals who may have been exposed to these chemicals deserve to have this matter investigated fully. Agent Orange Thailand & Korea [Source: DVA Compensation & Pension Service Bulletin May 2010] Effective immediately, when regional offices (ROs) receive disability claims based on exposure to tactical herbicides, such as Agent Orange, from veterans who served in Thailand or Korea during the Vietnam era, there is no longer a requirement to send an inquiry to the Compensation & Pension (C&P) Service Agent Orange Mailbox. Development inquiries can be sent directly to the Army and Joint Services Records Research Center (JSRRC) when the available evidence does not indicate tactical herbicide exposure. This will reduce processing time and provide better service to Veterans. Thailand Service: • After reviewing documents related to herbicide use in Vietnam and Thailand, C&P Service has determined that there was significant use of herbicides on the fenced in perimeters of military bases in Thailand intended to eliminate vegetation and ground cover for base security purposes. Evidence of this can be found in a declassified Vietnam era Department of Defense (DoD) document titled Project CHECO Southeast Asia Report: Base Defense in Thailand. Therefore, when herbicide related claims from Veterans with Thailand service are received, RO personnel should now evaluate the treatment and personnel records to determine whether the Veteran’s service activities involved duty on or near the perimeter of the military base where the Veteran was stationed. • DoD has provided information that commercial herbicides, rather than tactical herbicides, were used within the confines of Thailand bases to control weeds. These commercial herbicides have been, and continue to be, used on all military bases worldwide. They do not fall under the VA regulations governing exposure to tactical herbicides such as Agent Orange. However, there is some evidence that the herbicides used on the Thailand base perimeters may have been either tactical, procured from Vietnam, or a commercial variant of much greater strength and with characteristics of tactical herbicides. Therefore, C&P Service has determined that a special consideration of herbicide exposure on a facts found or direct basis should be extended to those Veterans whose duties placed them on or near the perimeters of Thailand military bases. This allows for presumptive service connection of the diseases associated with herbicide exposure. • The majority of troops in Thailand during the Vietnam era were stationed at the Royal Thai Air Force Bases of U-Tapao, Ubon, Nakhon Phanom, Udorn, Takhli, Korat, and Don Muang. If a US Air Force Veteran served on one of these air bases as a security policeman, security patrol dog handler, member of a security police squadron, or otherwise served near the air base perimeter, as shown by MOS (military occupational specialty), performance evaluations, or other credible evidence, then herbicide exposure should be acknowledged on a facts found or direct basis. However, this applies only during the Vietnam era, from 28 FEB 61 to 7 MAY 75. • Along with air bases, there were some small Army installations established in Thailand during this period, which may also have used perimeter herbicides in the same manner as the air bases. Therefore, if a US Army Veteran claims a disability based on herbicide exposure and the Veteran was a member of a military police (MP) unit or was assigned an MP MOS and states that his duty placed him at or near the base perimeter, Veteran was a member of a military police (MP) unit or was assigned an MP MOS and states that his duty placed him at or near the base perimeter, then herbicide exposure on a facts found or direct basis should be acknowledged for this Veteran. • The difference in approach for US Army Veterans is based on the fact that some MPs had criminal investigation duties rather than base security duties. Therefore, the Veteran’s lay statement is required to establish security duty on the base perimeter. This also applies to US Army personnel who served on air bases in Thailand. During the early years of the war in Vietnam, before Air Force security units were fully established on air bases in Thailand, US Army personnel may have provided perimeter security. In such cases, if the Veteran provides a lay statement that he was involved with perimeter security duty and there is additional credible evidence supporting this statement, then herbicide exposure on a facts found or direct basis can be acknowledged for this Veteran. • If evidence shows that the Veteran performed duties along the military base perimeter, ROs should acknowledge herbicide exposure on a facts found or direct basis. Korean Service - Currently, tactical herbicide exposure can be presumed for Veterans who served in specific US Army units that operated along the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ) from APR 1968 through JUL 1969. These units were identified by DoD documents and are listed in M21-1MR IV.ii.2.C.10.o. When service treatment or personnel records show that a Veteran was assigned to one of these units during the time frame of tactical herbicide use, the Veteran qualifies for the presumption of exposure. ✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯✯ 34 TEXAS VV NEWS Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder [Source: New York Times Dan Frosch article 18 Jul 2011] For years now, some veterans groups and marijuana advocates have argued that the therapeutic benefits of the drug can help soothe the psychological wounds of battle. But with only anecdotal evidence as support, their claims have yet to gain widespread acceptance in medical circles. There is a widely accepted need for a new treatment of PTSD, said Rick Doblin, who wants to do research on marijuana. Now, however, researchers are seeking federal approval for what is believed to be the first study to examine the effects of marijuana on veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorder. The proposal, from the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies in Santa Cruz, Calif., and a researcher at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, would look at the potential benefits of cannabis by examining 50 combat veterans who suffer from the condition and have not responded to other treatment. With so many veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a widely accepted need for a new treatment of PTSD, said Rick Doblin, founder and executive director of the psychedelic studies group. These are people whom we put in harm’s way, and we have a moral obligation to help them. In April, the Food and Drug Administration said it was satisfied that safety concerns over the study had been addressed by Mr. Doblin and Dr. Sue Sisley, an assistant professor of psychiatry and internal medicine at Arizona, according to a letter from the drug administration provided by Mr. Doblin. But the letter also noted that the project could not go forward until the researchers identified where they would get their marijuana. And that cannot happen, Mr. Doblin said, until the project is approved by a scientific review panel from the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes representatives from an assortment of federal health agencies. If the proposal is approved, Mr. Doblin said, the researchers will use marijuana grown by the University of Mississippi under a contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It is the only marijuana permitted to be used in federally approved studies. A Health and Human Services spokeswoman said the proposal was still under review. The production and distribution of marijuana for clinical research is carefully restricted under a number of federal laws and international commitments, the spokeswoman, Tara Broido, said in an e-mail. Study proposals are reviewed for scientific quality and the likelihood that they will yield data on meaningful benefits. An institutional review board must also approve the study, as well as the Drug Enforcement Administration, Mr. Doblin said. Getting final approval from the federal government could prove difficult, Mr. Doblin and Dr. Sisley conceded. They said it was far more challenging to get authorization for a study that examines the benefits of an illegal drug than its risks. We really believe science should supersede politics, Dr. Sisley said. This illness needs to be treated in a multidisciplinary way. Drugs like Zoloft and Paxil have proven entirely inadequate. And there’s anecdotal evidence from vets that cannabis can provide systematic relief. Medical marijuana is legal in 16 states and the District of Columbia. But only New Mexico and Delaware specifically list post-traumatic stress disorder as a qualifying condition for treatment, according to the Marijuana Policy Project, a Washington-based group that supports legal regulation of the drug. Currently, nearly a third of the 4,982 patients approved for medical marijuana in New Mexico suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, more than any other condition, according to the state’s health department. It is unclear how many are veterans. One recent Army veteran from Texas who fought in Iraq for 18 months beginning in 2006, said he used marijuana three times a day in lieu of the painkillers and antidepressants he was prescribed after returning home. He asked that his name not be used because Texas does not allow medical marijuana. The veteran, who said he had been shot in the leg and suffered numerous head injuries from explosions while deployed as a Humvee gunner, said marijuana helped quiet his physical and psychological pain, while not causing the weight loss and sleep deprivation brought on by his prescription medications. I have seen it with my own eyes, he said. It works for a lot of the guys coming home. If the study is approved, veterans who participate would be observed on an outpatient basis over three months, Mr. Doblin said. During two four-week increments, they would be given up to 1.8 grams of marijuana a day to treat anxiety, depression, nightmares and other symptoms brought on by PTSD. Researchers would also observe the veterans for periods when they are not permitted to use marijuana. In addition to a placebo, researchers plan to use four marijuana strains in the study, each containing different levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a primary component of the drug. One of the strains will also contain cannabidiol (CBD), another ingredient thought to have an anti-anxiety effect. Mr. Doblin said the veterans would be allowed to use the marijuana at their own discretion. Half will be instructed to smoke the drug, while the other half will inhale it through a vaporizer. PTSD Update [Source: Psych Central News Editor article 2 Aug 2011] Post-Traumatic stress disorder is among the most common and disabling psychiatric disorders among military personnel serving in combat. No psychiatric medication is approved by the FDA to treat it. However, antidepressants are commonly prescribed for some symptoms of PTSD. Within the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), 89 percent of veterans diagnosed with PTSD and treated with pharmacotherapy are prescribed SSRIs, the most common type of antidepressant. However, [S] SRIs appear to be less effective in men than in women and less effective in chronic PTSD than in acute PTSD. Thus, it may not be surprising that an SRI study in veterans produced negative results. Second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) are commonly used medications for SRI-resistant PTSD symptoms, despite limited evidence supporting this practice, the authors write. Researchers wondered whether risperidone (Risperdal) added to an ongoing pharmacotherapy regimen would be more effective than placebo for reducing chronic military-related PTSD symptoms among veterans whose symptoms did not respond to at least two adequate SSRI treatments. The researchers also discovered that risperidone was not statistically superior to placebo on any of the other outcomes, including improvement on measures of quality of life, depression, anxiety, or paranoia/psychosis. Overall, the rate of adverse events during treatment was low but appeared related to dosing of risperidone. In summary, risperidone, the second most widely prescribed second-generation antipsychotic within VA for PTSD and the best data-supported adjunctive pharmacotherapy for PTSD, did not reduce overall PTSD severity, produce global improvement, or increase quality of life in patients with chronic SRI-resistant militaryrelated PTSD symptoms. Overall, the data do not provide strong support for the current widespread prescription of risperidone to patients with chronic [S]SRI-resistant military-related PTSD symptoms, and these findings should stimulate careful review of the benefits of these medications in patients with chronic PTSD, the authors conclude. In treating military-related PTSD, Charles W. Hoge, M.D., of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, writes that significant improvements in population care for war veterans will require innovative approaches to increase treatment reach. Research is required to better understand the perceptions war veterans have concerning mental health care, acceptability of care, willingness to continue with treatment, and ways to communicate with veterans that validate their experiences as warriors. The study appears in the August 3 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. PTSD Update [Source: Stars & Stripes Megan McCloskey article 5 Oct 2011] In 2007, the Chicago-based anesthesiologist Eugene Lipov discovered that injecting a local anesthetic into a bundle of nerves in the neck of war veterans relieved PTSD symptoms. One, or sometimes two injections, and the veterans were suddenly better. Lipov has tried three times in the last four years to get the Department of Defense to fund a study on the treatment, but even with an endorsement of then-Sen. Barack Obama, he hasn’t been able to wrench open the government pocketbook. The best he’s been able to do is convince two Navy doctors in San Diego to do a small study of their own. You would think the government would look at the results I’ve had and say, “This is a great idea. How can I help you?’. Lipov said. But I’m still waiting. Perhaps a shot is too simple an idea. At first glance it can seem gimmicky, almost like an infomercial pitch. But Lipov says his 12 patients have shown the shot to work, and in 2009, an Army doctor replicated those results with two soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Lt. Col. Sean Mulvaney’s results were published in the Pain Practice journal, where he wrote that both of his patients with chronic PTSD experienced immediate, significant and durable relief. Mulvaney has now treated 15 patients with the shot. The testimonials of many of the veterans and servicemembers are powerful. The nightmares, flashbacks, anger and other PTSD-related issues were gone, they said, replaced with a calm they hadn’t felt in years. Still, with those who hold the purse strings in the military research community, it’s been a hard sell for an outsider like Lipov. The 10-minute procedure has been used since 1925 to treat pain, so it isn’t a new concept. But no one before has proposed that it could treat PTSD, which despite its physical manifestations in the brain, is still largely thought of as an emotional problem. Here’s how Lipov believes the shot works: There is a group of nerves in the neck called a stellate ganglion that is a part of the sympathetic nerve system, which among other things sends pain messages to the brain and controls stress, including the fight-or-flight response. When someone experiences trauma, the stellate ganglion produces an increased amount of nerve growth factor, which cause excess nerves to sprout in the brain, according to Lipov. This leads to overactive stress response and anxiety, he hypothesizes. By injecting the stellate ganglion with anesthetic, the nerve growth factor returns to normal levels, the excess nerves die off and the symptoms subside. Basically the shot settles down the sympathetic nervous system, resetting the brain to where it was before the trauma and onset of PTSD, Lipov theorizes. The U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick isn’t buying it. Last month, they rejected Lipov’s latest proposal, a $1.6 million clinical trial. Reviewers of the proposal acknowledged that should a randomized controlled trial prove successful, it could lead to important innovations in the medical treatment of PTSD. But they wrote in their scientific review that they were concerned Lipov’s study was overly ambitious and expensive for a relatively untested concept — and one they think lacks a convincing neurobiological explanation for why it works. Even a psychologist who has signed on to help advise Lipov as he moves forward with his work, agrees POST-TRAUMATIC, continued on page 36 TEXAS VV NEWS 35 WHAT DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON? THEY’RE A HANDFUL OF THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE UP VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA IN TEXAS. THEY’RE VETERANS, FAMILY AND FRIENDS, AND THEY INVITE YOU TO JOIN THEM. WHAT DOES VVA OFFER YOU? * Community involvement and networking * Programs targeted to help veterans & their families * Hard-hitting work Capitol Hill & in Austin * Free VVA representation in VA Claims cases * VVA informational and self-help guides * An award-winning National Newspaper (The Veteran) * An award-winning State Newspaper (The Texas Vietnam Veterans News) (2000, 2002 & 2003 State Newspaper of the Year). * Membership is open to anyone who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces between February 28, 1961 and May 7, 1975 (In-country) or between August 5, 1964- and May 7, 1975 (For Vietnam-era veterans). * A Copy of your DD-214 is required for membership * All those who share our concerns are invited to join as Associates. * Vietnam Veterans of America was granted a congressional charter in 1986 as a nonprofit veterans service organization. DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES WE, the veterans of the war in Vietnam, who embraced through sacrifice and service to country the most fundamental and cherished bonds of our democracy, reaffirm that commitment to spirit and ideals, accepting it as the solemn responsibility of our survival, to bear the burden of what has been, so that tragedy once endured can never be forgotten. AND, so do we resolve that the true measure of our worth as citizens, as veterans, and as patriots be found in our willingness to draw from and abide by these strengths and convictions born of heritage and experience. TO HOLD that a sacred and binding contract exists between governors and governed; with the latter recognizing an obligation of compulsory foreign or domestic service equitably shared by all, and the former morally obligated to implement foreign and domestic policies that are clear, consistent, and reflective of the will of the people. TO HOLD, further, that the contract extended obligatory service with the Nation bound whenever and wherever appropriate to the prompt delivery of compensation to individual or survivors in direct proportion to sacrifice and service rendered. TO HONOR with dignity the sacred memory of the war dead, and so in dignity, insure that the lasting legacy of the fallen is responsibility toward, not exploitation of their sacrifice. TO STAND for cooperation, dialogue, and friendship among the nations of the world community with full respect and support of those principles central to our national life. MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Last Name:______________________________________ First Name:_____________________________________ Initial:______________ Address:________________________________________ City:___________________________________________ State:______________ Zip Code:�������������� Home Phone:_____________________________________ Work Phone:____________________________________ Date of Birth:____________________________________ Age:______________ ❑ Male ❑ Female Please Check Membership Type: ❑ Individual: Vietnam Veteran (28 February 1961 through 7 May 1975) ❑ Individual: Vietnam Era Veterans (5 August 1964 through 7 May 1975) Attach a Copy of your DD-214 or other official documentation of service in the U.S. Armed Forces Branch of Service: ❑ USA ❑ USN ❑ USMC ❑ USAF ❑ UCG DD-214 Attached: ❑ Yes ❑ No Did you serve in Southeast Asia? ❑ Yes ❑ No Associate: Any non-veteran or any Military Service Veteran who did not serve at any time during the Vietnam War Era. Membership dues: Annual Dues $20; 3-Year Dues $50; and Life membership dues based on age starting at $250 It’s not the price you pay to be eligible for membership. BUT THE PRICE YOU PAID TO BECOME ELIGIBLE Return to your local Chapter or for at-large membership, mail to: Buster Newberry, P.O. Box 1860, Fritch, Texas 79036 | Phone: 806-857-2261 | Fax 806-857-2261 Please Make Checks/M.O. Payable to: Vietnam Veterans of America 36 TEXAS VV NEWS POST-TRAUMATIC, continued from page 34 with the reviewers on that note. You have to start with a theory that makes sense to folks, said Stevan Hobfoll, who heads the Department of Behavioral Sciences at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Col. Carl Castro, director of Ditric’s Operational Medicine Research Program, said Lipov skipped an important step: a study with control groups. Without that, the scientific community looks at results as little more than fallible anecdotes. The Army, which spends about $30 million a year on PTSD research, would like to explore Lipov’s approach, but he needs to do a scientifically rigorous study, and that way if he gets promising results, we can be confident in doing a much larger clinical trial, Castro said. We don’t want to fund a study that has the possibility of failure, or has findings that will be so ambiguous we won’t know what to make of the findings. It’s a novel concept and really we have just got to ensure that what we’re doing is safe and actually does what the treatment is supposed to do. Lipov said one Pentagon official told him he’s getting slow rolled because his treatment challenges the old guard, telling him: The horse and buggy industry did not embrace the Model T. Hobfoll, who said he’s skeptical about every new treatment that comes along, decided nonetheless to help out Lipov because he thinks it has some chance of opening up avenues. that aren’t currently available to treat PTSD. Other treatments that have been successful and accepted in treating PTSD also lack a thoroughly explained mechanism for why it works. But it works, Hobfoll said. I think Eugene may have stumbled on one of these. He said he thinks Lipov might be overselling the treatment, saying it’s not the way I would do it, but still it makes more sense to me than drugs. Lipov has managed to persuade doctors at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego to test the shot on active-duty patients with chronic PTSD who haven’t seen results with traditional treatments. It happened by way of Congress. A senior naval officer had heard Lipov testify last year at the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and took the idea to the psychiatric department at the medical center in San Diego. Lipov is frustrated that he’s unable to reach as many people as he’d like because of the limited funds, but he’s determined to keep moving forward with the treatment. Medicaid Eligible Vets [Source: Stateline | State Policy and Politics Pamela M. Prah article 18 Jul 2011] A growing number of states are shifting health care costs to the federal government by finding military veterans who receive Medicaid and signing them up for medical benefits through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Arizona, California and Texas are among the states that are working to replicate a program first launched in Washington State. That program, begun in 2003, has moved some 9,500 veterans from the state’s Medicaid rolls to the VA’s. Washington State has avoided paying $27 million in health care bills this way – enough to make a small dent in a strained state budget. And veterans generally find that the benefits offered through the VA are more generous that what they were getting through the state. The fact that it saves Medicaid dollars is an added benefit, says Bill Allman, who created the Washington State program and is its biggest advocate nationally. That would appear to make it a no-brainer for each and every state. Of course, Allman’s program doesn’t result in less spending on health care – what saves money for the state costs money for the feds. But at a time when federal stimulus dollars have dried up, it represents a clever way to get the federal government to pick up one of the states’ bills. Allman came up with the idea for the program while working with a database intended to catch welfare fraud. Allman works in the Washington State Health Care Authority. He also served in Vietnam. He discovered that the federal database known as the .Public Assistance Reporting Information System, or PARIS, could also tell him which Medicaid clients were veterans. With that information, Allman’s office could work with the state VA to determine which benefits those veterans were eligible for but not receiving and encourage them to sign up. Generally, anyone who has served in the military for 24 continuous months or the full period for which they were called to active duty, and meets other criteria set by Congress, is eligible for VA health benefits. Of the 22.6 million veterans nationwide, only 8.3 million received health care in VA facilities in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Many do not know they are eligible. Some 40 percent of current veterans are over the age of 65. Under Allman’s program, the state spends less money and the veteran gets equal or more generous coverage. That’s particularly true when it comes to longterm care. If a veteran dies while receiving long-term care services from Medicaid, the state can claim assets such as a family home to repay taxpayers for the cost of their care. Veterans’ benefits don’t have that string attached because the veterans earned the benefits through their military service. Medicaid is a payer of last resort, Allman says. Speaking as a Vietnam veteran, I would much rather collect benefits that I earned than to request state aid. It costs states money to set up and manage a program like Washington’s. But Allman figures that for every $1 spent on the program, the state gets back $8 in health bills paid by the federal government. The experience was much the same in Montana, which copied the program in 2008 and shifted $900,000 in costs off its books in the first year. Maryland expects to save $750,000 in the first year of its program. And in California, which will go statewide with a pilot program it had initiated in several counties, the Legislative Analyst’s Office ran its own numbers and estimated that the state could save $250 million by shifting 144,000 veterans from Medicaid to VA health care. The federal government doesn’t track how many states have implemented the veterans program or estimate how much extra it costs the VA as a result. For the states, says Tom Miller, a PARIS Project Officer with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The benefits outweigh the cost of administering a program like the state of Washington’s. Not all states have come around to using PARIS this way. For example, New York has been aggressive about using the database to crack down on benefits fraud; it saved $62 million in 2009 after PARIS showed that more than 10,000 Medicaid, welfare and food stamp recipients had moved out of state. New York, however, currently does not use PARIS to link veterans with federal government benefits. All we can say at this point is that New York is looking into this program, says Peter Constantakes, a spokesman for the New York State Department of Health. Allman says that as more troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan and retire from the military, the Washington program is just one way to help ensure veterans get the benefits they are owed for their service. It is the most rewarding program that I’ve ever been involved with in my 27-year state government career, he says. Luke’s Wings As most of you know, there are many programs out there that provide direct or in-direct support to many of our veterans, be their unemployed, disabled, elderly, homeless and so on. At the Training Conference in Houston a few weeks ago the following information from one of the vendors that provides assistance to all Texas Veterans, regardless of income of “status” that Texas veterans should know about. The program is called Luke’s Wings, a national organization that has flown hundreds of family members to the bedsides of our wounded servicemen and women for OIF/OEF. This program provides complimentary airline tickets bought through the Texas Veterans Transportation Assistance Program (V.A.T.P.). If you are a veteran, a current Texas resident and possess a Texas Drivers License, you and your loved ones may be eligible. Travel is only approved for specific qualifying major life events. 1. To fly a Veteran to a hospital for required healthcare. 2. To fly a Veteran’s immediate family to a Veteran’s bedside if hospitalized. 3. To fly a Veteran home for a death in the family or hospitalization of immediate family member. Luke’s Wings will process requests, provides complimentary planning, assign a customer relations manager, assign a devoted travel agent and ensures the Texas Veteran receives the best possible flight. The organization has received a grant from the Fund for Veterans Assistance, Texas Veterans Commission and is an organization dedicated to the support of Texas Veterans who have served our country. Recognizing the high cost and frequency of travel, as well as the demographic considerations of most veterans today, Luke’s Wings is proud to provide the complimentary tickets and they thank you for your service. Contact information at www.texasvtap. org or e-mail: texasvtap@lukeswings. org or phone 512-971-9848 or Toll-Free Fax: 1-977-859-7414.