VFW Magazine articles from August 2001

VFW Magazine archives from August 2001

Charting a creative course: within the next five years, the steps taken by VFW leaders and members alike will determine the organization's future. (Ideas, Ideals & Issues).
August 1, 2001... VFW stands at a crucial crossroads. Decisions made during the five years ahead must ensure the organization's long-term existence. So those decisions have to be made wisely. Continuum of care is a phrase often heard in veterans circles....

`Series is a saver'. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Your series "Famous War Veterans" is most edifying and inspirational. Such wonderful examples of responsible manhood and human achievement are sure to inspire many a young man to want to emulate them. You can see the strong character in the...

Hamilton Fish. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Sorry, we goofed. This is the real Hamilton Fish of N.Y. ("`Great War' Vets Shaped Decades to Come," May.)

Coast Guardsmen commemorated. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... "Military Tragedies and Public Apathy" (May) forgot to include the two Coast Guardsmen who died on March 23 when their rescue boat capsized on the Niagara River just before Lake Ontario. Damian Matelli Niagara Falls, N.Y.

Korean War series an eye opener. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... VFW magazine is without question the very best of the veterans magazines. I especially enjoy the series of articles on the Korean War, which has been an eye-opener for me. Thank you for a super magazine. R.W. Walker E-Mail Thank...

Khobar remembered in Saudi Arabia. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Re: "Khobar Towers: Memorialized Yet Unresolved" (June). Another stirring memorial to the casualties is located in Coalition Complex at Prince Sultan Air Base, Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia. Richard N. Sherrow E-Mail

Campus Combat continues. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... "Campus Combat: Battling for American History" (June) by Gary Turbak. At the college level, one must get past the shallow grade-school image of history. There are precious few absolutes and all heroes have blemishes. Major figures in history...

Bob Kerrey the wrong "poster boy". (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Re: Now Hear This (June). You picked the wrong "poster boy" (former Sen. Bob Kerrey) to vent your anger at the liberal media. Killing unarmed women and children should never be condoned in any situation. As far as I am concerned, the media...

Required reading for educators. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Once again, VFW magazine has led the way in providing good and informative reading. The three articles pertaining to the importance of history (June) should be required reading for every educator in our country. The History Channel supports...

Missouri's revolutionary war battle. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Re: "Reviving a Forgotten Battle" (May, VFW in Action). British Gen. Frederick Haldim simply gave orders to Emmanuel Hesse to charge Ft. San Carlos in St. Louis in 1780. Also, the Missouri Historical Society does not endorse a replica of the...

Battle of Soyang, May 1951. (mail call).
August 1, 2001... Editor's Note: C Co., 72nd Tank Bn. and C Battery, 937th Field Artillery Bn. also played vital roles in this battle.

Korea DMZ vets fight for recognition. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Korea Defense Service Medal planned)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... H.R. 1935, introduced by Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.), would create a "Korea Defense Service Medal" for U.S. troops who served in Korea since July 28, 1954. For details on this effort, contact: Norm Tredway, National Chairman, Korea Defense...

Veteran's History Project under way. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(American Folklife Center, Library of Congress)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A project of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the Veteran's History Project will collect and preserve oral histories and documentary materials. Coverage includes WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf. This...

Send the marines to Macedonia? (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(trouble in Macedonia may call for US intervention)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Once again, the news media is beating the military intervention drums. This time it is Macedonia, another Balkan country. If the U.S. does not intervene, Does the line, then the Europeans will not like America anymore (as if the elites there...

USS Liberty tragedy documented on TV. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(History Channel)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Cover Up: Attack on the USS Liberty will be aired on The History Channel on Aug. 9 at 8 p.m. (check your local TV listings). The one-hour program will probe the Israeli attack on the U.S. ship, June 8, 1967, in which 34 American sailors were...

WWII accounts wanted by HBO. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(World War II accounts)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... With the beginning of HBO's 10-part mini-series Band of Brothers in September, HBO will be collecting the personal experiences of all WWII vets. To submit your story, go to HBO's Web site: www.hbo.com and click on Band of Brothers. The...

National D-Day Memorial dedicated. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Bedford, Virginia)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... On June 6, the National D-Day Memorial was dedicated at Bedford, Va. That town was selected because it suffered the highest per capita loss of any American community in the invasion. A Co., 116th Inf. Regt., 29th Div., sustained 21 men...

Only the Phony. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Vietnam veteran impersonator, Joseph Ellis)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... In one of the more prominent phony Vietnam vet impersonator cases, a well-known college professor was recently exposed as an impostor. Joseph Ellis, who teaches at Mount Holyoke College at South Hadley, Mass., claimed he was a platoon leader...

Pentagon needs help with funerals. (Service).(Authorized Provider Partnership Program)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... VFW members interested in participating with the military during veterans funerals now have a Pentagon-approved program to get trained. The Authorized Provider Partnership Program, or AP3, lays out specific steps civilians must follow. ...

Government appeals `lifetime health care'. (Service).(case involving the promise of lifetime health care)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Fearing a class-action lawsuit that could involve some 1.5 million veterans, lawyers in the U.S. Attorney's Office requested on April 2 a rehearing of a case that found in favor of two military retirees who said they were promised free,...

VA aims for faster Claims. (Service).(Department of Veterans Affairs: Claims Processing Task Force)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... Honoring a pledge he made at VFW's Legislative Conference in February, VA Secretary Anthony Principi established the Claims Processing Task Force on April 16. The 10-person task force is to submit a report to Principi in September. The task...

Sharing drug costs could save $300 million. (Service).(General Accounting Office report)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... A General Accounting Office (GAO) report released in May states that VA and the Pentagon could save taxpayers more than $300 million a year by sharing costs of buying pharmaceuticals. Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), chairman of the House VA...

House passes GI Bill upgrade. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The House approved a bill in June that would boost GI Bill benefits by some 70%. H.R. 1291--the 21st Century Montgomery GI Bill Enhancement Act--would increase the total stipend from $23,400 to $39,600 over three years. VFW supports the...

WWII Memorial will be built. (Legislation).(National World War II Memorial expected to be completed in 2004)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... With the stroke of a pen, President Bush ordered on May 28 that construction will proceed on the National World War II Memorial. Public Law 107-11 put an end to the legal challenges that halted construction in March. "[The law states]...

Sears wants vets as employees. (Employment).(Sears, Roebuck and Co. participating in the Partnership for Youth Success program)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Army announced March 20 that it has signed an agreement with Sears Logistics Services, Inc., to join its Partnership for Youth Success (PaYS) program. Sears Logistics is the single point of contact for all logistical activity at Sears,...

22,000 may receive Kosovo medal. (Security).(Kosovo Campaign Medal )(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The top U.S. commander in Europe recommended in June that eligibility areas for the Kosovo Campaign Medal (KCM) be expanded. If approved, the decision would grant the medal to some 22,000 U.S. troops who participated in the Kosovo air...

Community service on center stage: VFW and Ladies Auxiliary hosted a two-day National Community Service Conference in April and invited 16 like-minded organizations. Like last year, it was a success. (VFW/Ladies Auxiliary Community Service Conference 2001).(National Community Service Conference includes VFW, and other organizations)
August 1, 2001... When 16 service organizations gathered with VFW and Ladies Auxiliary at the second National Community Service Conference, the possibilities for cooperation were endless. Having provided more than 13 million volunteer hours in 2000, VFW and...

2001 Voice of Democracy winners.
August 1, 2001... Listed below are the Voice of Democracy winners who were honored at this year's Community Service Conference. The annual competition climaxes when winners from all 54 Departments receive a national scholarship and a trip to the conference in...

Polk prepares peacekeepers: at an army base in Louisiana, GIs are learning the fine points of peacekeeping. As real as possible, the training will be critical when they head to their next duty station: Kosovo. (Cover Story).(Army's Joint Readiness Training Center, Fort Polk, Louisiana)
August 1, 2001... Its mission is unique, its personnel top-notch and it is the only place in the United States where soldiers train for duty in the Balkans. "It" is the Army's Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, La., and its level of training...

In praise of the infantry: despite their huge sacrifices in war, infantrymen are seldom accorded the respect they rate. (Queen Of Battle).(the infantry: its contributions and history)
August 1, 2001... "It has borne the brunt of human conflict through the ages," according to Encyclopedia Brittanica, "and has been called the `Queen of Battle.'" That title was earned by American infantrymen on blood-drenched battlefields from Camden in...

`A treasure trove of hidden history': from colonial Virginia to Somalia, the National Infantry Museum has a fascinating military collection on the evolution of the infantry.(new National Infantry Museum planned near Fort Benning, Georgia)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... The Army's National Infantry Museum at Ft. Benning, Ga., tells the compelling story of the "Queen of Battle"--American combat infantrymen from colonial Virginia in the 1620s (long before the U.S. Army was created in 1775) through Somalia in...

A `rare breed': three-war infantrymen: they are the ultimate combat veterans: infantrymen who earned the Army's prestigious Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) in three separate wars. Most were wounded, all were decorated, and today their valiant deeds are commemorated in the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning, Ga.(Lawrence Okendo; David E. Grange, Jr.; Boyd D. Parsons)
August 1, 2001... Lawrence Okendo watched the bombing of Pearl Harbor from the rooftop of his home in downtown Honolulu. "I was 15 at the time," said the retired master sergeant. "Along with my brothers and sisters, I couldn't believe what I was seeing....

Battling on bloody ridge: from Aug. 18-Sept. 5, 1951, the U.S. 2nd Division's 9th Infantry Regiment assaulted North Koreans entrenched atop a series of hills. The attack cost the GIs dearly in casualties. (Korean War).
August 1, 2001... As the summer of 1951 was drawing to a close on the Korean Peninsula, 8th Army forces eyed a spiny hill mass in the Punchbowl area. It was dominated by Hills 983, 940 and 773, all serving as enemy observation posts. The North Korean...

Korean War vets: subtle but significant influence in society. (Famous War Veterans).(well-known veterans include John H. Glenn, Ted Williams, and Neil A. Armstrong)
August 1, 2001... Some 1.6 million Americans actually served in Korea (1950-53). Despite their small numbers, Korea veterans made outstanding contributions after the war. JOHN H. GLENN (1921- ) b. Cambridge, Ohio Astronaut & Senator The first American...

Milwaukee has it all: regardless of your tastes or traditions, the `Genuine American City' has something for you. (Milwaukee).(VFW's 102nd National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin)
August 1, 2001... If you have decided to attend VFW's 102nd National Convention in Milwaukee, you should know what there is to see and do. If you haven't, maybe these highlights will convince you. Among Milwaukee's many year-round attractions, several...

Commemoration brings people together; Posts take the lead in honoring veterans of the Korean War. (VFW in action: VFW members and Posts demonstrating community service.).(Korean War: 50th anniversary)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... June 2000 kicked off the three-year commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Korean War. Since that time, some 945 VFW Posts have been recognized as official Commemorative Communities through the Defense Department's recognition program....

VFW brings back Post, District recruiting award. (membership).(campaign for membership)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2001... To promote recruiting competition among Posts and Districts, VFW revived a contest dormant since 1996. Its success ensures it will continue next year. In May 2001, VFW recognized six District and 12 Post commanders for their outstanding...

Jest a minute.
August 1, 2001... * During WWII the colonel said to the major, "Tomorrow we do battle. It's going to be tough, hard, lots of blood, death and destruction. I want you to make sure you have my red coat ready for this fight." The major said, "Why the red...

Reunions & claims.
August 1, 2001... REUNION COORDINATORS: To publicize your unit's reunion, fill out the form on page 51 of the January 2001 VFW magazine or print out a form from VFW's website: http://www.vfw.org/magazine/51.shtml. Send to VFW magazine, 406 W. 34th St., Suite...