VFW Magazine articles from May 2000

VFW Magazine archives from May 2000

Fighting for Veterans rights: at the joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees, the Chief laid out VFW's strategy for upcoming battles. (Testimony Highlights).
May 1, 2000... If the nation's needy veterans are to be properly cared for, then vital issues must be addressed now. This election year is the time to bring all of VFW's resources to bear on Congress and the Administration. Those resources include VFW's...

`The Wall' honored with stamp. (Service).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The U.S. Postal Service unveiled a postage stamp in January commemorating the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It portrays a veteran touching the memorial, also known as "The Wall." The 33-cent stamp is one of 15 commemorative stamps representing...

Cold War memorial dedicated in Latvia. (Service).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Latvia observed the 50th anniversary of a Cold War shootdown by dedicating a memorial to the U.S. crewmembers killed in the incident. The April 8 ceremony, which consisted of attaching a bronze plaque to an already existing granite obelisk in...

1% of troops get food stamps. (Service).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... According to a General Accounting Office survey, about 1% of active-duty troops receive some form of government assistance. This includes food stamps, Medicaid, and state child-care assistance. The survey also noted that some 10% of the...

Disabled retiree payout this month. (Service).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Six months after the fact, seriously disabled military retirees should begin receiving additional compensation May 1. Some began getting payments on April 1. The Pentagon identified 6,700 retirees who, under P.L. 106-65, qualified for...

Vets training institute offers job award. (Employment).(National Veterans Training Institute)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The National Veterans Training Institute (NVTI) in Denver, Colo., announced in March that it has created an award to recognize employment programs sponsored by non-profit groups and job service agencies. NVTI will regularly evaluate programs...

Reserve tours cut to six months. (Security).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The Army announced March 7 it will limit future overseas deployments of National Guard and Reserve troops to six months. Previously, the tours had lasted up to nine months. The Army acted in recognition of the increased use of--and added...

Record number of deployments in 1990s. (Security).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The U.S. military conducted 48 overseas missions in the 1990s. The Pentagon estimates the cost at $30 billion. In the Balkans alone, taxpayers shelled out $17.7 billion for 15 operations. In Iraq, 10 missions have cost $8 billion. Over the...

GIs crack down on Albanians in Kosovo. (Security).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... In their most aggressive offensive action to date, U.S. troops raided Albanian arms caches in eastern Kosovo in mid-March. Though GIs exchanged fire with some Albanians, no casualties were reported. Some 300 U.S. 1st Infantry Division...

Flag amendment defeated again. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The Senate rejected a proposed flag-protection amendment to the U.S. Constitution on March 29. Requiring a two-thirds majority for passage, S.J. Res. 14 was defeated by a vote of 63-37. Last June, the House passed H.J. Res. 33 with a vote...

VFW supports plaque at `The Wall'. (Legislation).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... Two bills pending in Congress would add a plaque at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. It would honor Vietnam veterans who died after the war as a direct result of service in Vietnam. VFW supports the effort and calls for the project to maintain...

Ignoring third party candidates. (mail call).
May 1, 2000... "VFW Asks Where Do You Stand?" (March issue) followed the mainstream media in only asking questions of the Republican and Democratic Party candidates. True reform can only come about when the two-party monopoly is challenged by third-party...

Missing element to health act. (mail call).
May 1, 2000... "Health Care Act Historic" (March) by John L. Davis omitted a critical item. Title Il: Medical Program Administration authorizes an increase in the $2 prescription co-payment and affects prescriptions in other negative ways. A veteran on...

Exercise Tiger death toll. (mail call).
May 1, 2000... Americans lost in Exercise Tiger on April 28, 1944, did not all belong to the 4th Infantry Division (March Mail Call). Casualties also came from the 1st Engineer Special Brigade (414 men), VII Corps Headquarters and the Navy's 11th Amphibious...

Navy authorizes retroactive CAR. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Combat Action Ribbon)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... On March 21, 2000, the secretary of the Navy officially authorized award of the Combat Action Ribbon (CAR) to all eligible Navy and Marine Corps veterans of World War II (Dec. 7, 1941-April 14, 1946) and the Korean War (June 27, 1950-July 27,...

National D-Day Museum to open. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The New Orleans-based National D-Day Museum will open to the public on June 6. It focuses on WWII's amphibious operations--both in the Pacific and Europe. Prominently featured is Andrew Higgins whose famous boat was used to get troops ashore on...

Memorial day concert. (Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families.).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... PBS's annual National Memorial Day Concert airs live Sunday, May 28 at 8 p.m. ET. This year features a special segment on the 50th anniversary of the Korean War.

Capitol Hill conference challenges congress: VFW's recently restyled Legislative Conference debuted in March. The entire process was streamlined to focus members' attention solely on legislative issues and political activism.
May 1, 2000... Appropriately, VFW conducted its revamped Legislative Conference at a new hotel this year. Held within site of the Capitol Building, the setting provided members with a visual reminder of their mission while in Washington, D.C.: Meet with...

`Remembrance' captures emotion of veterans funerals.(art exhibit)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2000... Robert A. Fletcher, a Korean War veteran and member of VFW Post 4662 in Warwick, N.Y., began painting the series of art comprising Remembrance in the late 1980s. Remembrance, an exhibition of his 22 watercolor paintings depicting veterans...

Three Marine MIAs--fate unknown? Twenty-five years ago, three U.S. Marines eerily disappeared on a hostile island. To this day, their full fate remains unresolved. But one thing is sure: the unthinkable occurred--they were left behind in the heat of battle.
May 1, 2000... For America, the last official act of the Second Indochina War ended on a moonless night on an obscure island 30 miles off the coast of Cambodia. When it was over, 40 crewmembers of a U.S.-registered container ship had been freed and their...

Cambodia to host VFW Post: American veterans in Cambodia are launching a new Post in a former enemy country, marking a special anniversary. (Post To Honor Mayaguez Casualties).
May 1, 2000... Southeast Asia's newest VFW Post is set to be officially instituted in the Kingdom of Cambodia on May 15 as part of a symbolic commemoration of the Mayaguez incident of 25 years ago. Richard Lane, organizer and acting...

State Memorials honor Korean War dead.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... It's a relatively recent phenomenon--memorials to Americans killed in the Korean War (1950-53). But during the past decade, 23 states have dedicated monuments to the 36,913 servicemen who died in Korea. Some are located in state capitals, and...

WWII Memorial groundbreaking in November: according to law, all funds needed to build the National World War II Memorial must be collected by this May. Through the combined efforts of donors and Congress, the goal of $100 million has been met. (VFW Raises $3.5 million).
May 1, 2000... The effort to build a monument honoring the nation's World War II veterans clears a significant hurdle this month. The $100 million required by law to start the process has been secured. "We anticipate breaking ground on the memorial by...

Milwaukee: `Genuine American City': VFW members have much to look forward to when they travel to the "Genuine American City" for the 101st National Convention.
May 1, 2000... If history is destined to repeat itself, VFW's 101st National Convention in Milwaukee will likely brew up great things. This Aug. 19-25 will be the second time in VFW's history that members convened in the Genuine American City. In 1933, a...

`Marching through hell' in China: for eight nerve-wracking weeks in the summer of 1900, world attention was riveted on North China as a multi-national force rescued Westerners besieged in Peking and Tientsin by fanatical, anti-foreign "Boxers.".
May 1, 2000... American troops were in the midst of a bitter guerrilla war in the Philippines when called upon to rescue their countrymen in a crumbling Chinese empire at the century's turn. Relief of the Western diplomatic missions in Peking and Tientsin...

Pumping new blood into VFW's membership arteries; how to attract young veterans is a subject sparking thoughtful ideas from members throughout the organization. Listed below are a few VFW magazine has recently received. (membership).
May 1, 2000... Reverse VFW's Eligibility List One of VFW's proudest legacies is its historic list of overseas campaigns that qualify veterans for membership. Dating back to the 19th century, they give all members a sense of tradition unequaled by other...

Skyrocketing costs call for careful management. (member benefits).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2000... The cost of medical care continues to rise, and Americans find themselves paying more out-of-pocket medical expenses. Medicare covers many, but not all medical services. Family medical insurance often covers doctor office visits or hospital...

Reunions & claims.(Illustration)
May 1, 2000... REUNION COORDINATORS: To publicize your unit's reunion, fill out the form in the February 2000 issue 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 523, Kansas City, MO...