VFW Magazine articles from June 2001

VFW Magazine archives from June 2001

Our place in history: war veterans have played a vital role in the nation's history and should be commemorated with respect in popular culture. (Question Of Remembrance).
June 1, 2001... VFW's distinguished News Media Award recipient James Webb stressed a crucial point at the 2001 Legislative Conference. The Marine Vietnam vet and former Navy secretary said: "The issues with respect to veterans aren't simply legislative....

Boy Scouts controversial? (mail call).
June 1, 2001... Re: "Boy Scouts: Beacon for Men in the Making" (April) by Gary Turbak. You have no right to offer VFW's endorsement of the Scouts because then you are speaking for me and all other members. It is not simply a matter that the majority of members...

Kosovo vets at odds. (mail call).
June 1, 2001... Re: "Dispelling Myths About America's Role in Kosovo" (April) by John C. Hulsman. American soldiers are serving in the Balkans in a professional manner. And they are performing a useful task. I've been to both Bosnia and Kosovo, and would...

Patriotism `disturbing'. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Public displays of patriotism seem to be out of fashion today. For example, some students believe compulsory recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance is a "silly ritual." One teacher wrote that "to force schools across the country to perform...

Learn about state VA benefits. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A new State Benefits Reference System--a comprehensive, computerized inventory--administered by VA is now accessible through your nearest regional VA office. Later in the year, the information will be available on VA's Web site. States...

Vietnam vets under attack again. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Bob Kerrey, the former Democrat senator from Nebraska and Medal of Honor recipient, is the latest target of the left wing. Because of the 1968 incident in which Vietnamese civilians were accidentally killed, the ex-SEAL team leader was...

Chinese-made Berets recalled. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... In May, the Defense Logistics Agency ordered all 618,000 black berets made in Communist China recalled from GIs. And 240,000 berets made in Sri Lanka with Chinese leather were discarded. Contracts with companies in three other countries were...

Korean war medals backlogged. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The Air Force Personnel Center at Randolph AFB is still being bombarded with requests for Korea Service Medals. Some 50,000 medals have already been handed out, according to the center. To learn more, call (210) 565-2432. For group awards,...

French say no to Gulf War Syndrome. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Based on the results of a recent study, French officials say there is no evidence that France's 25,000 vets of the 1991 Persian Gulf War are afflicted with a "syndrome" Nevertheless, the French government will conduct a three-year study into...

Agent orange linked to leukemia. (Service).
June 1, 2001... For the second time in the last decade, a scientific panel has concluded that children of Vietnam veterans could be at higher risk for a disease. The National Academy of Science's Institute of Medicine (IOM) announced April 19 that exposure to...

VA nullifies smoking claims. (Service).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... VA announced April 6 that it will no longer compensate veterans for smoking-related disability claims. The decision applies retroactively to June 10, 1998, nullifying all death or disability claims filed since then. VA's new policy now...

GIs arrest Bosnian war crimes suspect. (Security).(Dragon Obrenovic)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... U.S. troops serving in the Bosnian peacekeeping operation arrested a suspected war criminal April 16. It was the first such arrest by U.S. peacekeepers in Bosnia in more than two years. Four U.S. soldiers apprehended Dragon Obrenovic, who...

U.S. pays North Korea for MIA searches. (Security).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... U.S. officials handed over $2.5 million to North Korea's government in April for this year's joint searches for remains of U.S. MIAs from the Korean War. The rest of the total of $4.4 million Washington promised in December will be paid this...

Bill would make vets college `doable'. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... A bill introduced in March by the chairman of the House VA Committee would nearly double the Montgomery GI Bill's monthly stipend. The 21st Century GI Bill Enhancement Act--H.R. 1291--also would fulfill a VFW priority goal: give veterans...

Flag bills pending in Congress. (Legislative).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Three U.S. flag-related bills are currently pending in Congress. Two propose constitutional amendments prohibiting desecration and the third deals with etiquette rules for flying the flag at half-mast. S.J. Res. 7--introduced by Sen. Orrin...

VA offers Small Business help. (Employment).(Center for Veterans Enterprise)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... VA's plan to help veterans who own or want to start small businesses now has tangible results. In February, VA Secretary Anthony Principi presided over the dedication of the Center for Veterans Enterprise (CVE). "VA helps veterans with...

Tremendous boost for Troops-to-Teachers. (Employment).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... The Pentagon's Troops-to-Teachers program could see funding increased from $3 million to $30 million for FY2002, if the House and Senate agree on pending legislation. Currently, the program has offices in 24 states. The White House is a...

Women vets and VA benefits: women veterans are finally getting the recognition they deserve, as Washington increases efforts to improve their benefits.
June 1, 2001... Today, women constitute almost 15% of active-duty forces. There are more than 1.4 million women who have served, comprising some 5% of all veterans. And as the number of women veterans has grown, so has the VA health care system in meeting...

Army nurse corps hits 100.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... Feb. 2, 2001, marked the 100th anniversary of the oldest federal nursing service--the Army Nurse Corps. Army nurses have sewed since 1775, but only beginning in 1901 did they become part of the Army Medical Department. In 1898, Or. Anita...

Special day bolsters history: for 27 years, this little-known national program has ignited in students a fascination with the past. And it benefits all veterans.(National History Day )(Cover Story)
June 1, 2001... A 2000 Gallup Youth Survey revealed that only four in 10 teenagers know that 1492 was the year Columbus discovered America. In 1994, a National Assessment of Educational Progress reported only 27% of America's students knew what the...

History Channel tells genuine `war stories': for a realistic perspective on war and warriors, tune in to cable TV's popular purveyor of the past.
June 1, 2001... Had you tuned in to The History Channel on Jan. 1, 1995, you'd have joined an estimated 1 million other viewers to catch the network's initial offering, History of the Automobile: Corvette. Since then, the network has experienced record...

Campus combat: battling for American history: a chasm exists between how average Americans view their history--especially military--and how it is portrayed in classrooms and textbooks. A new organization has arisen to reverse the trend in politically correct teaching.
June 1, 2001... You'd think history would stay put, since nothing in the past can ever change. History is the same today, tomorrow and forever--right? Wrong! One of the hottest topics in academia today centers on how the handling of history has indeed...

On the offensive: Operation Piledriver: action in the Iron Triangle and Punchbowl in June 1951 effectively ended the war of maneuver in Korea. (Korean War).
June 1, 2001... To secure the Kansas Line, the U.S. sent four divisions--1st Cavalry and the 3rd, 7th and 25th Infantry--in June 1951. They were headed toward the Iron Triangle, called "the ganglion of the enemy's strategic power," by historian Michael Hickey....

Navy ship honors hero of Korea: ship dedication holds special significance for one VFW Washington Office employee. (Remembering Ralph Pomeroy).(Nancy Pomeroy attends launch of USNS Pomeroy, named for her brother )
June 1, 2001... As Nancy Pomeroy watched the massive ship drop down into the water for its first launch--red, white and blue streamers blowing from behind--she was flooded with emotion. "Why couldn't this have happened when my parents were still alive,"...

Khobar Towers: memorialized yet unresolved: no one has yet been held accountable for the 1996 terrorist attack that killed 19 U.S. airmen in Saudi Arabia. But thanks to concerned Americans, the airmen are now commemorated by four memorials.
June 1, 2001... Five years ago this month, a truck bomb exploded outside the Khobar Towers military complex at King Abdul Aziz Air Base near Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. The blast killed 19 U.S. airmen and wounded 109. The task of finding and punishing the...

World War II vets: remolded American Society. (Famous War Veterans).
June 1, 2001... World War II (1941-1945) put 16 million Americans in uniform; 12 million served overseas. Countless numbers of them came home to recast American society. In every walk of life, they transformed how things were done and viewed. GEORGE C....

VFW's most illustrious leaders hailed from Milwaukee: Milwaukee holds a special place in VFW's history: it produced two early-day commanders-in-chief who achieved national notoriety.(Biography)
June 1, 2001... GEN. ARTHUR MACARTHUR Milwaukee represents the literal bookends for the life of Arthur MacArthur. Raised there from the age of four until he joined the Union Army at 17, MacArthur also drew his last breath in the Wisconsin city while...

Honoring old glory. (VFW in action: VFW members and Posts demonstrating community service.).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2001... With Flag Day just around the corner and Independence Day not far behind, now is an appropriate time to highlight what Posts around the country do to preserve, protect and honor America's flag. Flag Day can be traced back to 1885 to a...

Young blood and new ideas. (membership).
June 1, 2001... For the next year, three Gulf War vets will lead the VFW Departments of Europe, Louisiana and Rhode Island. Here are their--and VFW's first-ever Gulf War-vet Department commanders'--views on how VFW recruiterscan connect with active-duty troops...

Reunions & claims.(Illustration)
June 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...