VFW Magazine articles from September 2003

VFW Magazine archives from September 2003

Legendary Bob Hope dies at 100.(Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families)(Obituary)
September 1, 2003... Bob Hop--one of the nation's most beloved citizens--died of pneumonia on July 27. The Wall Street Journal called him a "tireless traveler to the wars." USA Today tagged him the "chief morale officer" of America. He was all that and much more....

National Home meeting Oct. 25.(Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The National Home's annual corporate meeting will be held in Eaton Rapids, Mich., Oct. 25 at 9.a.m. Three trustees, one each from District 2 (N.Y., N.J., Europe--to fill the unexpired term of deceased trustee Ross Henry), District 3 (Pa., D.C.,...

Service academies politically correct?(Now hear this: brief news items of interest to veterans and their families)
September 1, 2003... Civilian professors are importing politically correct attitudes into the nation's military academies, according to John J. Miller in an article in National Review. While the percentage of civilian professors at West Point (22%) and the Air...

Book corner.(Bibliography)
September 1, 2003... Books of interest to veterans. LEBANON, 1983-84 Hammel, Eric. The Root: The Marines in Beirut, August 1982-February 1984. Pacifica, Calif: Pacifica Press, 1993. Olson, Steven P. The Attack on U:S. Marines in Lebanon on Oct. 23,...

A final salute: in tribute to the Americans killed from July 2 to August 1 in Iraq, VFW magazine presents this memorial listing.
September 1, 2003... HOSTILE Army Cpl. Evan Asa Ashcraft, A Co., 1st Bn., 327th Inf., 101st Airborne Div., West Hills, Calif. Spc. Jonathan P. Barnes, HQ Co., 1st Bn., 67th Armor Regt., 4th Inf. Div., Anderson, Mo. Spc. Joel L. Bertoldie, HQ Co.,...

VA funding bill 'betrays' veterans.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... VFW officials angrily denounced a proposed VA budget that is nearly $2 billion less than what lawmakers promised earlier this year. "The House leadership has deceived us," said VFW Commander-in-Chief Ray Sisk. "It is another instance where...

House OKs cemetery, chiropractic bills.(Legislation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The House approved two VA-related bills in July. One would add five new national VA cemeteries and the other would provide chiropractic care from VA. H.R. 1516--the National Cemetery Expansion Act--directs VA to establish five cemeteries...

VA will fill private prescriptions.(Service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... VA Secretary Anthony Principi announced in July that for the first time VA will fill prescriptions written by private physicians. Principi reversed VA's longstanding practice of requiring veterans to obtain prescriptions from VA doctors, which...

Pentagon finished with SHAD test vets.(Service)(Project SHAD biological and chemical tests)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The Pentagon announced July 1 that it had identified all veterans involved in the Cold War-era Project 112 and Project SHAD biological and chemical tests. The announcement and release of the Pentagon's final report brought a skeptical response...

U.S. pays North Korea for MIA searches.(Security)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The United States agreed in July to pay North Korea $2.1 million for four additional MIA searches this year. The first two month-long excavations--near the Chongchon River north of Pyongyang and in the Chosin Reservoir area--began Aug. 23. The...

Korean, Vietnam war remains returned.(Security)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The remains of one veteran from the Korean War and nine from the Vietnam War were returned to the United States in May. Pfc. Ronald Lilledahl of C Co., 7th Marines, was killed Nov. 28, 1950, on the western side of the Chosin Reservoir in...

Navy helicopter crash kills four.(Security)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A Navy helicopter crashed on sicily Juty 16, killing all four crew members. The MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter attached to Helicopter Combat Support Squadron 4 crashed during routine training about 10 miles southwest of its base, Naval Air...

Employers seeking veterans.(Employment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Skills veterans have learned in the military are becoming more important in the current job market, according to two employment specialists. "An increasing number of employers see the military as a good training ground for business," said...

Business opportunities for vets.(Employment)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Veterans looking for information on starting their own business have online resources. The Center for Veterans Enterprise instructs vets how to start and manage a business, what VA can offer to help and eligibility for certain VA programs. The...

POW network helps find answers: a dedicated Missouri couple makes information on former POWs readily available to the public.
September 1, 2003... Chuck and Mary Schantag of Skidmore, Mo., began explaining the POW (Prisoner of War) Network by listing what it is not. "It's not a veterans group; it's not government-sponsored; there are no members; it is not for profit," Mary said. Then she...

Ex-POWs rate special benefits.
September 1, 2003... VA offers health and other benefits for U.S. veterans who were forcibly detained during a war or if their internment was "comparable to wartime." However, current law requires that POWs be held for at least 30 days to qualify for full POW...

Ignorance of recent events endangers America: students today are failing U.S. history. But more important, they will fail the nation in the future unless this trend is reversed.
September 1, 2003... In the hilarious movie When Harry Met Sally, an older adult asks a younger one where she was when Kennedy was shot. The latter replies: "Ted Kennedy was shot?" More recently, when a visiting lecturer at a university mentioned the Great...

Student project honors war dead: middle-schoolers in Coventry, Conn., have set a standard worthy of emulation--memorializing the war dead of their state. Their latest endeavor pays tribute to residents who died in the Korean War.
September 1, 2003... Maureen Gainey was 8 years old when her family received word that her 18-year-old brother, Pvt. Gary Patrick Gainey, was killed in Korea on Sept. 10, 1951. "It has left a hole for the rest of my life," the Manchester, Conn., resident said. ...

Pentagon evaluating overseas troops' medical needs: with memories of the Persian Gulf War all too fresh, the Pentagon has taken measures to ensure that this time there will be no mystery ailments.
September 1, 2003... As service members return home from the Iraq War, images of the Persian Gulf War 12 years ago come to mind. Chronic unexplained ailments affecting a significant number of vets from the Persian Gulf are likely to be on the minds of this new...

VA death benefits fall short: VA says survivor benefits for fallen warriors are improving, but VFW feels more needs to be done for their families.
September 1, 2003... For the surviving families of fallen service members in Iraq and elsewhere, nothing can replace their loved ones. Moreover, survivors aren't adequately compensated, though the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has somewhat increased the...

Hepatitis C treatment wanting at VA: while nearly 200,000 veterans are afflicted with the liver disease, relatively few are receiving care.
September 1, 2003... For the past seven years, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has taken its battle against the hepatitis C virus (HCV) seriously, pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into research on how to respond to a disease that is widespread among...

Sharing the martial heritage of the Southwest.(Military History Trail)(Directory)
September 1, 2003... TRIP 2: Southwest Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas Editor's Note: Be sure to let us know if we missed any of your favorite sites. Perhaps best known as battlegrounds between soldiers and native inhabitants, these four states...

'America has no finer ally than the United Kingdom: these words, spoken by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, reflect the views of most Americans. As he also said, "our two nations stood together during two world wars, the Cold War, in Afghanistan and in the global war against terror. Today, we stand together again.".(War in Iraq)
September 1, 2003... Operation Iraqi Freedom was in its eighth day and things were going well for the allies. Despite fierce sand storms which threatened to hold up the advance, U.S. forces were racing toward Baghdad, key targets had been destroyed by air power and...

Jihad against the British, 1920.
September 1, 2003... Under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, the Arab countries of the old Ottoman Empire were put under the mandated control of the victorious allies. Britain became responsible for Palestine and Iraq (the former Ottoman provinces of...

'Remarkable example of military daring'.
September 1, 2003... On April 3, 1941, a military coup in Baghdad forced out the pro-British regent, the Emir Abdul Illah and his ward, the 'four-year-old King Faysal II. In their place, Prime Minister Rashid Ali Al-Kaylani became titular head of state. This...

Courage under communist captivity: American POWs in Korea--despite suffering nearly a 40% death rate--endured extreme hardship with dignity.(Korean War)
September 1, 2003... Sgt. Wilfred Ruff knew he should not have eaten that handful of raw corn. But Ruff's North Korean captors had not given the 21-year-old prisoner of war enough food to sustain him on the long march toward Manchuria, and the starving man could...

North Carolina Post hosts 750 soldiers: service members and their families from Ft. Bragg, N.C., enjoyed a day of games, music and food during a military appreciation picnic hosted by Post 9103 in Spring Lake; N.C.(VFW in action)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... The event--held May 17--included face painting, a dunking booth, miniature golf and a giant Scooby Doo inflatable funhouse. Patriotic, country and rock tunes were provided by the Station Street and Dead by Dawn bands. Post members also...

'Cleaning up' Post membership rolls: it's extremely important for Posts to physically contact their members, both for accurate member tallies and to build rapport with estranged members.(membership)
September 1, 2003... A representative of VFW's Membership department has been traveling to various Departments helping Posts and Districts reconcile their membership lists. He says he's come. to appreciate why the practice is so important. "We went to the...

Jest a minute.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... * Morris, an 82-year-old man, went to the doctor to get a physical. A few days later the doctor saw Morris walking down the street with a gorgeous young lady on his arm. A couple of days later the doctor spoke to Morris and said, "You're...

Reunions & claims.
September 1, 2003... REUNION COORDINATORS: TO publicize your unit's reunion, fill out the form on page 47 of the February 2003 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...