VFW Magazine articles from September 2002

VFW Magazine archives from September 2002

Military firefighters in war & peace. (mail call).
September 1, 2002... Editor's Note: In an effort to recognize firefighters of the armed forces killed in the line of duty, VFW magazine solicited accounts from readers. Here are some excerpts from a few letters. If you know of additional incidents, please feel free...

Vietnam memorial to celebrate 20th anniversary. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., will commemorate its 20th anniversary from Nov. 6-11. Festivities begin with a musical tribute on the National Mall followed over the next four days by a reading of all the names on the...

Vietnam POW--Medal of Honor. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... September has long been the month in which prisoners of war and the missing in action have been publicly recognized. This year it's Sept. 20. Also this year, the first Medal of Honor given to an Army POW for actions taken during captivity in...

Participate in a Sept. 11 tribute. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... Sponsored by Participate America Foundation, National Civic Participation Week (Sept. 11-17) will include a tribute to the Americans killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Moreover, it encourages citizenship--volunteerism, charity, voicing...

Preserving VA's architecture. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... Under the proposed Veterans National Heritage Preservation Act of 2002, up to a $20 million annual fund would be created to restore and protect some of the 1,860 historic structures owned by VA. Of particular importance is what's left of the 11...

Ex-POWs have special benefits. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... Some 42,000 former prisoners of war are still living; yet only 35% are receiving VA benefits. For instance, VA provides disability compensation for more than 20 health conditions tied to wartime captivity. But many ex-POWs are unaware of these...

MIA search team in China. (Now hear this: brief news items of interests to veterans and their families).
September 1, 2002... An eight-man American search team is combing what was once called Manchuria for the remains of two CIA pilots shot down and killed on Nov. 29, 1952, during a covert spy pick-up operation. Two other agents were captured and imprisoned in China...

Vietnam MIAs identified now 734. (Security).
September 1, 2002... The remains of two Vietnam servicemen missing since 1970 were buried in Arlington National Cemetery on June 7. Air Force Capt. Craig B. Schiele and Master Sgt. Thomas E. Heideman, both of Chicago, crashed in a helicopter in Laos on Oct. 24,...

Korean War MIA searches continue. (Security).
September 1, 2002... Three consecutive operations to search for remains of U.S. Korean War MIAs began in July. Repatriation of recovered remains is expected by Oct. 29. The month-long operations are focusing on areas some 60 miles north of Pyongyang in Unsan...

GIs immune from world court. (Security).
September 1, 2002... The U.N. ceded to the U.S. demand that American soldiers must be immune from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The U.N. Security Council agreed in July to give U.S. peacekeepers a one-year renewable exemption from prosecution or...

Task force says VA is underfunded. (Service).
September 1, 2002... A presidential task force studying ways the VA and Defense Department health care systems can coordinate duties and save costs announced in an interim report in July that VA is underfunded. "The bottom line is that at current funding...

VA says `no' to new patients. (Service).
September 1, 2002... Due to a glut of patients and a shortage of funds, VA officials have ordered its hospitals and clinics to cease efforts to enroll new patients into its health care system. "I am directing each network director to ensure that no marketing...

VA ups extended care copayments. (Service).
September 1, 2002... Some 2,000 to 3,000 veterans who receive extended VA care for non service-connected conditions began paying higher copayments in July. VA calculates the higher rates based on a veterans ability to pay. Under the new regulations, veterans...

Reservists could be buried in Arlington. (Legislation).
September 1, 2002... The House approved a bill in July that would allow National Guardsmen and Reservists to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery. H.R. 4940--the Arlington National Cemetery Burial Eligibility Act--would grant eligibility to Guardsmen and...

Reservists' retirement age could be lowered. (Legislation).
September 1, 2002... Two bills pending in Congress--H.R. 3831 and S. 2250--would lower the age from 60 to 55 when National Guardsmen and Reservists could begin receiving retirement pay. The last action on H.R. 3831 was March 12 when it was referred to the House...

Web site links vets to services. (Employment).
September 1, 2002... An Internet portal offered by the Department of Labor can link veterans to hundreds of employment- and service-related Web sites. Veterans can tailor the portal--www.dol.gov/elaws/evets.htm--to fit their personal needs. It can link to...

Georgia college offers job training. (Employment).
September 1, 2002... Clayton State University in Morrow, Ga., announced in July that it now offers job training for recently discharged enlisted personnel. Once training is completed, veterans will have the opportunity to work for Georgia Power Company. Called...

Radical Islamist war on Americans. (War On Terrorism).
September 1, 2002... Politically motivated, extremist Islamists have been waging a jihad ("Holy War") against Americans for more than 30 years. (Most Americans killed in the 1970s were probably incidental to Israeli targets.) That war began in earnest in 1979 with...

Unknown no longer: DNA is the crucial key to identifying the remains of American MIAs from past wars. And the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory is using that key to unlock the mystery of their fates. (Cover Story).
September 1, 2002... On Dec. 11, 1944, 1st Lt. Henry Lewis piloted a B-24 on a bombing run over Germany, then headed back to his squadron's base in England. Over France, the bomber collided with another plane and nose-dived into the woods, killing Lewis and his...

Task force Russia still hard at work: for 10 years, the U.S.-Russia Commission has plumbed the former Soviet Union for clues to the fate of American MIAs from four wars. Here is the 10th anniversary progress report.
September 1, 2002... The temperature was 5 degrees Fahrenheit, and I was crammed inside a van as it passed by open fields blanketed with unblemished snow. Small stands of pine and birch appeared in the distance, but the overall impression was one of immense...

The Missing Man salute: retired military aviators perform symbolic flyovers as final tributes to veterans and their families.
September 1, 2002... On a recent hot summer day, nearly a dozen members of the Missing Man Foundation (MMF) gather on the flight line at March Air Reserve Base in Riverside, Calif., for a short flight in their matching T-34s, Korean War-era trainers. All of...

Prisoners of terror: Americans held captive in Tripoli, Tehran and Baghdad: on three major occasions--1803, 1979 and 1991--uniformed Americans were taken hostage by Muslim regimes. How does their captivity compare to that of al Qaeda terrorists being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2002?
September 1, 2002... Just how bad are America's radical Islamic enemies treated when captured and interred during the war on terrorism? History shows that the nearly 600 al Qaeda and Taliban detainees held at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base on Cuba could...

Showdown on Triangle Hill: twelve days of intense combat in October 1952 cost the U.S. 7th Infantry Division 365 KIA for a piece of turf that ultimately remained in enemy hands. (Korean War).
September 1, 2002... In October 1952, the U.S. 7th Infantry Division occupied a sector of the Main Line of Resistance (MLR) in central Korea near Kumhwa. Opposing the division, the Chinese 45th Division held elevations to the north, including Hill 598, also called...

Boosting troop morale, VFW style: at all levels, VFW members are packaging up goodies and hosting welcome-home parties for the brave Americans fighting the war on terrorism.
September 1, 2002... As each new day dawns in America, another is ending for our service members fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan and other foreign lands. For these GIs, each day is filled with uncertainty. That's why it's good to know the folks back...

Delivering benefits at discharge: now at four major locations, VFW's Benefits Delivery at Discharge program is smoothing the transition from active-duty military to civilian life.
September 1, 2002... Since VFW launched its Benefits Delivery at Discharge (BDD) program in 2001, its worth has become increasingly evident. Established to assist GIs departing the military, BDD is in place in San Diego (Camp Pendleton, North Island and the...

Remembering the nation's POWs/MIAs; one Michigan Post memorializes a Vietnam veteran 32 years after he's missing. (VFW in action).
September 1, 2002... Sept. 20 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day. It's the day set aside to honor those imprisoned during all wars and to remember those who have yet to be accounted for. (April 9 is National Former POW Recognition Day.) VFW members do not...

VFW Post-Sept. 11 aid generous. (VFW in action).
September 1, 2002... Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks one year ago, VFW members have donated thousands of dollars to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and numerous other funds established specifically to assist families of the victims. In all, 50...

Ohio Post recruits VFW's first Afghanistan veteran: his fellow soldiers who have clashed with the enemy in Afghanistan are eagerly joining VFW, too. (membership).
September 1, 2002... VFW's first member to earn his eligibility in Afghanistan was recruited by his grandfather last Memorial Day. It didn't take much urging. "Roger's dad was a Marine in Vietnam, and he was raised in the VFW," said Paul Lacey of Post 4369 in...

Jest A Minute.
September 1, 2002... * A minister decided to do something a little different one Sunday morning. He said, "Today, in church, I am going to say a single word, and you are going to help me preach. Whatever single word I say, I want you to sing whatever hymn comes to...

Reunions & claims.
September 1, 2002... REUNION COORDINATORS: To publicize your unit's reunion, fill out the form on page 40 of the February 2002 VFW magazine or print out a form from VFW's website: http://www.org/magazine/51.shtml. Send to VFW magazine, 406 W. 34th St., Suite 523,...