FW: VVA: Fw: VFW Action Corps Weekly, December 5, 2014

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

From: vva@vva2.talklist.com
To: vva@vva2.talklist.com
CC: vvachapter842@comcast.net
Subject: VVA: Fw: VFW Action Corps Weekly, December 5, 2014
Date: Sat, 6 Dec 2014 06:08:27 -0600

Ken Riskedahl
Tupelo, MS.

December 5, 2014 In This Issue: 1. Attack on Pearl Harbor Remembrance 2. Carter Nominated as New SECDEF 3. Caregiver Expansion Hearing Held 4. New Military Sexual Assault Report Released 5. Expansion of VA's MST Program 6. No Copayments for Mental Health Peer Support Services 7. Two Korean War MIAs Identified 1. Attack on Pearl Harbor Remembrance: VFW Posts nationwide will be commemorating the 73rd Anniversary of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on Sunday. VFW National Commander John Stroud and Ladies Auxiliary National President Ann Panteleakos will be at the Pearl Harbor ceremony along with survivors, family members and fellow comrades, and will present a VFW wreath aboard the USS Arizona Memorial. In Washington, D.C., another ceremony will be held at the National World War II Memorial at 1:53 p.m. According to the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, which officially disbanded in 2012, an estimated 84,000 servicemen and women survived the attack, of which just a few thousand are still alive today. 2. Carter Nominated as New SECDEF: The VFW was in the White House today for the President's nomination of Dr. Ashton B. Carter to succeed outgoing Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. Carter has vast Pentagon and national security experience, having served earlier as the Deputy Secretary of Defense and as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics. He has been a Professor and Chair of the International Relations, Science, and Security faculty at Harvard's Kennedy School, and a member of the Defense Policy Board, the Defense Science Board, and the Secretary of State's International Security Advisory Board. In the 1990s, he served as Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, where he was responsible for policy regarding the former Soviet states, strategic affairs, and nuclear weapons policy. The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to begin his confirmation hearing soon. Read more at: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=123766&source=GovDelivery. 3. Caregiver Expansion Hearing Held: On Wednesday the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Heath held a hearing regarding veteran caregiver expansion. Currently, only qualifying veterans from the current conflicts are eligible for the caregiver program. The VFW contends that all eras of war-time veterans should qualify for this benefit, making the case that money should never be the sticking point when it comes to taking care of veterans. In testimony, VFW Deputy National Legislative Director, Aleks Morosky, writes why expanding the caregiver program to all generations of veterans provides better health outcomes and often makes more financial sense as well. The Committee took notice of Morosky's remarks and made it a topic of discussion during the hearing. Watch the full hearing here: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/56078810. 4. New Military Sexual Assault Report Released: The Defense Department this week released the results of its latest survey regarding sexual assault prevention. While the results reflect a drop from 2012 in the prevalence of sexual assault on military installations, the report does suggest that more work needs to be done to prevent social and professional retaliations against alleged victims who report the crime. The report also showed that while the reporting of sexual assaults by female military members is continuing to increase — which suggests support for those who report is improving — the majority of male sexual assault victims are not reporting. As a result of these findings, DOD is implementing the following four initiatives: Commanders will be required to ask about retaliation from first responders in individual cases of sexual assault; Additional training will be required for first-line supervisors and civilian supervisors to recognize and prevent retaliation behavior; DOD will continue to study ways to prevent sexual assault; and DOD will provide direct feedback to service members about sexual assault prevention and response. The full report can be read online at http://sapr.mil/index.php/annual-reports. 5. Expansion of VA's MST Program: The Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act (VACAA) expanded VA's military sexual trauma (MST) program to include veterans who experienced military sexual trauma during inactive duty training. Starting this week, Guard and Reserve veterans will have the opportunity to seek free-of-charge mental health services through VA's extensive network of MST coordinators in its 150 medical centers, 820 community-based outpatient clinics (CBOCs) and 300 vet centers throughout the country. Veterans seeking MST services are not required to be service-connect or enrolled in the VA health care system. The VFW strongly supported the VACAA and the expansion of VA's MST program. We will continue to work closely with VA to ensure the expansion continues as planned and that veterans are provided the care they need. To learn more about VA's MST program, click here: http://www.mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome.asp. 6. No Copayments for Mental Health Peer Support Services: This week, VA issued a direct final rule to exempt mental health peer support services from copayment requirements.  Starting on January 27, 2015, veterans will be able to participate in VA's successful mental health peer support program without a financial burden.  To learn more about the direct final rule, click here: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-11-28/pdf/2014-27231.pdf. 7. Two Korean War MIAs Identified: The Defense POW/MIA Office announced the identification of remains of two Americans who had been missing-in-action since the Korean War. Identified are: Army Pfc. Paul L. Tingle, of San Francisco, was lost on Nov. 26, 1950, in North Korea, where he later died as a prisoner of war. He was assigned to Company I, 3rd Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was accounted for on Nov. 12, and will be buried with full military honors at a location yet to be determined. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Raymond O. Ball, from Ohio, was lost in North Korea on Nov. 27, 1950, and accounted for on Nov. 13. He was assigned to Company E, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and will be buried with full military honors at a location yet to be determined. To sign up new veterans' advocates, click here: http://capwiz.com/vfw/mlm/signup.htm. As always, we want to share your advocacy stories on the VFW Capitol Hill blog. To share your stories either fill out our online form by clicking here, http://www.vfw.org/Forms/Capitol-Hill-Blog-Submissions/, or simply email photos and stories directly to vfwac@vfw.org.

FW: VVA: FW: The Wall

read this and remember god bless us all

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

From: vva@vva2.talklist.com
To: trainbrain4449@yahoo.com
Subject: VVA: FW: The Wall
Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2014 05:21:13 -0800

Worth passing along.

Mark Brown

Home:   (916)740-3860

Cell:      (916)208-0789

MarkBrwn@surewest.net

Jesus told him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.~ John 14:6, NLT

    www.patriotguard.org

 
Subject: Fwd: The Wall

The Wall

A little history most people will never know.

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

 

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

 

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

 

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth,  Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

 

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

 

8,283 were just 19 years old.

 

The largest age group: 33,103 were 18 years old.  

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

 

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

 

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

 

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam ..

 

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam ..

 

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

 

Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

 

54 soldiers attended ThomasEdison High School in Philadelphia . 

 

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

 

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

 

Beallsville, Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

 

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

 

The Marines of Morenci - They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest. And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci's mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

 

The Buddies of Midvale - LeRoyTafoya, JimmyMartinez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam. In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

 

The most casualty deaths for a single day was January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

 

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 - 2,415 casualties were incurred.

 

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

 

Please pass this on to those who served during this time, and those who  DO Care . 

I've also sent this to those  I KNOW  do care very much, and I thank you for caring as you do.

 

God Bless America!!!!!!

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3495 / Virus Database: 4189/8673 - Release Date: 12/03/14

---

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3495 / Virus Database: 4189/8640 - Release Date: 11/27/14

No virus found in this message.
Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
Version: 2013.0.3495 / Virus Database: 4189/8673 - Release Date: 12/03/14

FW: VVA: Fw: Airmen Missing From WWII Accounted For

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

Subject: VVA: Fw: Airmen Missing From WWII Accounted For
Date: Mon, 1 Dec 2014 17:28:35 -0600

Ken Riskedahl
Tupelo, MS.

. Airmen Missing From WWII Accounted For 12/01/2014 12:01 PM CST IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. NR-598-14 December 01, 2014 Airmen Missing From WWII Accounted For The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of servicemen, missing in action from World War II, have been accounted for and are being returned to their families for burial with full military honors. Army Air Forces 1st Lts. William D. Bernier of Augusta, Montana; Bryant E. Poulsen of Salt Lake City, Utah and Herbert V. Young Jr. of Clarkdale, Arizona; Tech Sgts. Charles L. Johnston of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Hugh F. Moore of Elkton, Maryland; Staff Sgts. John E. Copeland of Dearing, Kansas and Charles J. Jones of Athens, Georgia; and Sgt. Charles A. Gardner of San Francisco, California, have been accounted for and will be buried with full military honors. Gardner will be buried Dec. 4 in Arlington National Cemetery. On April 10, 1944, Gardner, along with 11 other B-24D Liberator crew members took off from Texter Strip, Nazdab Air Field, New Guinea, on a mission to attack an anti-aircraft site at Hansa Bay. The aircraft was shot down by enemy anti-aircraft fire over the Madang Province, New Guinea. Four of the crewmen were able to parachute from the aircraft, but were reported to have died in captivity. Following World War II, the Army Graves Registration Service (AGRS) conducted investigations and recovered the remains of three of the missing airmen. In May 1949, AGRS concluded the remaining nine crew members were unrecoverable. In 2001, a U.S.-led team located wreckage of a B-24D that bore the tail number of this aircraft. After several surveys, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams excavated the site and recovered human remains and non-biological material evidence. To identify Gardner's remains, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools, including, mitochondrial DNA, which matched Gardner's maternal niece and nephew. For additional information on the Defense Department's mission to account for missing Americans, visit the DPMO website at www.dtic.mil/dpmo or call 703-699-1169. U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) On the Web: http://www.defense.gov/releases/ Media Contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public Contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/questions.aspx or +1 (703) 428-0711 +1

FW: Veteran's Home Fundraiser

  VETERANS HOME FUNDRAISER

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

From: akan01@centurylink.net
To: rogerhenning@cox.net; Stevedaugh@aol.com; lvpaladin1@gmail.com; rserge1@outlook.com
Subject: FW: Veteran's Home Fundraiser
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:38:53 -0800

Subject: Veteran's Home Fundraiser

FW: Join Us for our Winterbock Tapping!

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

From: akan01@centurylink.net
To: akan01@centurylink.net
Subject: Join Us for our Winterbock Tapping!
Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2014 12:54:40 -0800

---

From: Joel Forman [mailto:joelpharm@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, November 28, 2014 12:44 PM
To: Joel
Subject: Fw: Join Us for our Winterbock Tapping!

On Wednesday, November 26, 2014 3:08 PM, Gordon Biersch <GordonBiersch@GordonBiersch.fbmta.com> wrote:

Boca Park, NV Gordon Biersch Taps Wednesday, December 3 • 5pm to 8pm D.J. Complimentary Appetizers $1 from every Winterbock sold goes to Pets For Vets! Partial proceeds from this promotion will benefit Pets For Vets

This GBMail was sent because you joined GB Online in one of our restaurants, online or at one of our events. Your email address will not be shared with anyone. You can take your name out of GB Online at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in this email and you will be removed from our list immediately. CraftWorks, 201 West Main Street, Suite 301, Chattanooga, TN 37408. To ensure delivery, add GordonBiersch@GordonBiersch.fbmta.com to your address book. 750 S. Rampart Blvd., Suite 16 Las Vegas, NV 89145 702.487.6463

Proclamation of Thanksgiving

This is the proclamation which set the precedent for America's national day of Thanksgiving. During his administration, President Lincoln issued many orders similar to this. For example, on November 28, 1861, he ordered government departments closed for a local day of thanksgiving.

Sarah Josepha Hale, a 74-year-old magazine editor, wrote a letter to Lincoln on September 28, 1863, urging him to have the "day of our annual Thanksgiving made a National and fixed Union Festival." She explained, "You may have observed that, for some years past, there has been an increasing interest felt in our land to have the Thanksgiving held on the same day, in all the States; it now needs National recognition and authoritive fixation, only, to become permanently, an American custom and institution."

Prior to this, each state scheduled its own Thanksgiving holiday at different times, mainly in New England and other Northern states. President Lincoln responded to Mrs. Hale's request immediately, unlike several of his predecessors, who ignored her petitions altogether. In her letter to Lincoln she mentioned that she had been advocating a national thanksgiving date for 15 years as the editor of Godey's Lady's Book. George Washington was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, issuing his request on October 3, 1789, exactly 74 years before Lincoln's.

The document below sets apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." According to an April 1, 1864, letter from John Nicolay, one of President Lincoln's secretaries, this document was written by Secretary of State William Seward, and the original was in his handwriting. On October 3, 1863, fellow Cabinet member Gideon Welles recorded in his diary how he complimented Seward on his work. A year later the manuscript was sold to benefit Union troops.

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

From:  Abraham Lincoln Online

FW: VA begins second phase of Veterans Choice Card program implementation for veterans

Thank You

Robert Serge

VVA 17 Member

Blog Master

"I am only one, but I am one. I can't do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do, and by the grace of God, I will."  

---

---

From: vva106@live.com
Subject: FW: VA begins second phase of Veterans Choice Card program implementation for veterans
Date: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:26:40 -0700

More on choice cards.

Dennis

Sent from my Verizon Wireless 4G LTE smartphone

-------- Original message --------

Subject: VA begins second phase of Veterans Choice Card program implementation for veterans
To: Eugene Crego <genecrego@gmail.com>

VA begins second phase of Veterans Choice Card program implementation for veterans

VA U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS NEWS RELEASE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS MEDIA RELATIONS WASHINGTON, DC 20420 (202) 461-7600 www.va.gov November 18, 2014 VA Implements Second Phase of Choice Card Program - Cards sent to Veterans waiting more than 30 days for care Washington, DC -- The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that it began mailing Veterans Choice Cards on November 17 to Veterans currently waiting more than 30-days from their preferred date or the date that is medically determined by their physician for an appointment at a VA facility. "VA continues to focus on implementation of this new temporary benefit so that Veterans receive the timely quality care they need in a way that reduces confusion and inefficiencies," said Secretary Robert A. McDonald, who penned an open letter to Veterans announcing the implementation of the Choice Card program. The Choice Program is a new, temporary benefit that allows some Veterans to receive health care in their communities rather than waiting for a VA appointment or traveling to a VA facility. The first round of cards along with a letter explaining the program was issued on November 5 to Veterans who are eligible based on their place of residence. VA is now engaging in the next phase of its rollout --eligibility explanation letters are being sent to Veterans waiting more than 30 days from their preferred date to be seen or considered medically necessary by their physician. To improve service delivery, VA has prioritized efforts to accelerate Veterans off of wait lists and into clinics through the Accelerated Care Initiative begun over the summer. Through this initiative, VA medical centers have increased access to care inside and outside of VA, added more clinic hours and work days, deployed mobile medical units and shared their best practices from VA's high-performing facilities throughout the organization. Significant improvements have resulted nationally: Scheduling more than 1.2 million more appointments in the past four months than in the same period last year. In total, VA medical centers have scheduled over 19 million Veteran appointments from June to October 1, 2014; Reducing the national new patient Primary Care wait time by 18 percent; Completing 98 percent of appointments within 30 days of the Veterans' preferred date, or the date determined to be medically necessary by a physician; Authorizing 1.1 million non-VA care authorizations, a 47-percent increase over the same period last year; and Increasing the amount of time providers could deliver care to Veterans by increasing the amount of clinic hours in primary and specialty care and through adding weekend and evening clinics at our medical centers. VA is America's largest integrated health care system with over 1,700 sites of care, serving approximately 9 million Veterans enrolled in health care services. The Choice Program is part of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 (VACAA), enacted nearly three months ago, to enable VA to meet the demand for Veterans' health care in the short-term. For more information about the Choice Program, call 1-866- 606-8198 or visit http://www.va.gov/opa/choiceact/. ###

If you no longer wish to receive e-mail from us, please click here.