A moment of humanity in the throes of war. This is based on a true story that happened
on Christmas Eve during World War I. If
you never saw this you are missing a true gift of the human spirit in the worst
of conditions. This is the trailer. The full movie is accessible on line and in
English - Joyeux Noel.
The Friends of the National World War II Memorial extends
its heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for your support throughout the year,
and we wish you and yours a very healthy and happy holiday season!
VA, EEOC Move against Official Time
Disturbed - A Reason To Fight [Official Live Video]
Hallelujah Veterans Version
Trump’s signature extends full honors at Arlington to
enlisted MOH recipients and former POWs
Save The Date Phase 1 Groundbreaking Ceremony – January
18th, 2020, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
Please mark your calendars to attend the National POW/MIA
Memorial Phase I Groundbreaking ceremony.
The location of Groundbreaking is 6112 POW-MIA Memorial Pkwy,
Jacksonville, FL 32221 at Cecil Commerce Center. Phase I of the project includes the Chapel
restoration and area to the north of the Chapel which will display the four (4)
aircraft that flew out of Cecil Field. The Chapel restoration is nearing
completion and the jet display and memorial brick areas have been designed,
permitted, and the project is 59% funded!
The Jewish Veteran - Vol. 73. Issue 4. 2019 (PDF)
No Longer Missing in America
Students, Veterans Celebrate True Meaning of Veterans Day
Post 587’s Honor Flight Trip
Commander Honors Britain’s Jewish Troops
VA must fill its 49,000 vacant jobs, senator tells Wilkie
Reception to Commemorate Liberation of Auschwitz. Public.
Hosted by National Liberty Museum and Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia. National Liberty Museum,
321 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106. The Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia, the National Liberty Museum, and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial
Foundation are hosting a VIP cocktail reception to commemorate the 75th
Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
In addition to viewing pre-recorded portions of the historic remembrance
event to be broadcast from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial in Poland, reception
guests can also meet local Holocaust survivors, enjoy performances by musicians
from the Mordechai Anielewicz Competition, and take tours of the Museum and the
Forbidden Art exhibition. $18.00 per
person. Members of the National Liberty Museum are free. Space is limited. Please RSVP to Bridget Purcell at bpurcell@libertymuseum.org
COMMUNICATIONS From FRA Today December 2019
Our Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution were
ratified on Dec. 15, 1791, and are known as the Bill of Rights. Here are some
of the amendments that I feel quite fortunate to have bestowed upon me, just by
being a citizen of the United States.
1. Congress shall make no law regarding a religion or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the free-dom of speech, or
of the press; or restricting the right of people to peaceably assemble or to
petition the govern-ment.
2. A well-regulated militia is necessary to the security
of a free state so people’s rights to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
4. The right of people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall
not be violated. No warrants will be issued except upon probable cause
supported by oath or affir-mation, and they shall describe the place to be
searched and the persons or things to be seized.
5. No person shall be held for a capital or infamous
crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases
arising in the land or naval forces or in the militia when in actual service in
time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same
offense twice and be put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be a witness
against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process
of law; nor shall property be taken for public use without just compensation.
7. In common law suits, where the value in controversy
exceeds twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no
fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United
States, than ac-cording to the rules of the common law.
10. The powers not delegated to the United States by the
Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are re-served to the states
respectively, or to the people.
These six rights, that we all have, are particularly
important because they guarantee any American the ability to live a life of
freedom. Free to practice any, or in some cases, no faith. The freedom to own
property and effects without fear of losing them to tyranny. They enumerate
several rights we are entitled to while working through our legal system —
regardless of one’s socioeconomic status.
Number 10 is particularly special because it clearly
empowers states and the people.
In Loyalty, Protection and Service,
William D. Stevenson, Editor-in-Chief
SHIPMATE FORUM FROM FRA TODAY DECEMBER 2019
Burials at Arlington National Cemetery
In my golden years (mid-80s), funeral arrangements and
other end-of-life issues have become of increasing concern. The Department of the Army has thrown those
into disarray; however, with its sudden announcement that it intends to no
longer allow in-ground burials at Arlington National Cemetery for military
retirees. Knowing that I would be
eligible for this honor is a benefit I have long treasured and relied upon. To
say its withdrawal hurts – personally and financially – is an understatement.
I appreciate how Charlie Brown felt when Lucy pulled the
football away.
YNCM William Cuff,
USN (Ret.) MAL
FRAtoday: There was a story in the Oct. 4 edition of
NewsBytes that addresses this issue. Eventual implementation of revised
eligibility at ANC will not affect veterans’ burial benefits or eligibility at
the Department of Veterans Affairs’ national cemeteries or state veterans’
cemeteries.
The next step in implementing the proposed rule is notice
and public comment rule making in accordance with the Administrative Procedures
Act. The ANC expects the clearance process to take a minimum of nine months to
make public in the Federal Register for citizens to comment. You may be able to
reserve an in-ground spot before proposed regulation takes effect.
Proposed revised ANC eligibility criteria:
These Veterans Can Now Have Full-Honor Burials at
Arlington
2019 LEGISLATIVE VICTORIES FROM FRA TODAY DECEMBER 2019
As this issue of FRA Today goes to press the conference
committee for the National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 2500/S. 1790) and FY
2020 spending bills have stalled in Congress. Legislators have complained that
the ongoing impeachment inquiry has been a distraction from regular order of
the legislative process. In addition, the white-hot issues of the Syrian border
controversy and the construction of the Mexico/USA border wall being germane to
Defense authorization and spending legislation has also helped to create a legislative
impasse. Despite the legislative log jam FRA has been successful in passing
important legislation this year. FRA maintains a strong and creditable presence
on Capitol Hill and legislative successes during the year include:
• Enactment of the “Blue Water Navy
Vietnam Veterans Act” (H.R. 299) that provides the presumption for VA
disability claims for “Blue Water Navy” veterans, veterans that served near the
Korean DMZ, and to children born with spina bifida due to a parent’s exposure
in Thailand;
• No
TRICARE fee increases in the House (H.R. 2500) and Senate (S. 1790) NDAA bills;
• Elimination of automatic budget
cuts, known as Sequestration that requires that 50 percent of the cuts come
from Defense, even though Defense only makes up 16 percent of the federal
budget;
• SBP/DIC offset repeal (widow’s tax)
for the first time is in House Defense Authorization bill (pending);
• House and Senate concurrent receipt
legislation introduced and, at FRA’s request, concurrent receipt amendments for
NDAA filed in House and Senate. (Amendments were not called for a vote.);
• House NDAA bill (H.R. 2500)
includes a delay of proposed drastic cuts to military medical staff and
re-quires GAO study to assess impact of cuts;
• Active
duty annual pay increase that keeps pace with civilian pay increases (3.1%);
• Increasing Navy and Marine Corps
end strength in House and Senate Defense Authorization bills;
• House and Senate Defense
Authorization bills require Congressional approval to consolidate Exchanges and
Commissaries;
• House and Senate Defense
Authorization bills creates tenant bill of rights for service members in
military housing;
• House and Senate Defense
Authorization bills requires service members exposed to toxic chemicals to be
registered in burn pit registry;
• Increase
funding for VA (9.6%) in the House and Senate appropriations; and
• At the
request of FRA, the "Military Retiree Survivor Comfort Act" (H.R.
464) was introduced which would allow retention of the full final month's
retired pay by the surviving spouse (or other designated survivor) for the
month in which the member was alive for at least 24 hours.
Looking over the horizon to calendar year 2020 the FRA
Legislative Team will fight to preserve and enhance benefits and
quality-of-life programs for active, Reserve, retired, and veterans of the
Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard plus their families and survivors.
OMB Delays Efforts to Expand List of Medical Conditions
for Agent Orange Exposure
The FRA, along with several other veteran’s service
organizations, sent a letter to the Department of Veteran's Affairs (VA)
Secretary, Robert Wilkie, in reference to adding four diseases: hypertension,
hypothyroidism, Parkinson's-like syndromes and hypertension to the list of
diseases eligible for Agent Orange benefits. More than two years ago, Secretary
Shulkin attempted to add additional health conditions to the list of diseases
eligible for Agent Orange benefits, but the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), which is the White House budget office, blocked the effort, according to
the Military Times. In 2016, scientists with the National Academies of Science,
Engineering and Medicine recommended adding these ailments to the presumptive
list.
The issue of expanding medical conditions for Agent
Orange presumption was noted in the Sept. 13, 2019 News-Bytes story regarding
the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member, Jon Tester (Mont.) and
six other senators asking the VA Secretary to add the four diseases to the
presumptive list. The FRA will continue to monitor developments on this issue
to ensure that veterans, who had their health impaired by exposure to the Agent
Orange herbicide, are cared for by the VA.
House Passes Veterans Bills
The House recently passed several FRA-supported bills to
help homeless veterans with children find transitional housing, help veterans
with disabilities access important information from the VA’s website, help
preserve the legacies of those interred in veterans’ cemeteries, allow veterans
to use specialty adaptive housing grants six times, and create a pilot program
through FY2020 to give female veterans more information about VA care available
to them. The bills are:
• The
Homeless Veterans Families Act (H.R.95).
• The VA
Website Accessibility Act (H.R.1199).
• Permitting the Department of
Veterans Affairs to establish a grant program to conduct ceme-tery research and
produce educational materials for the Veterans Legacy Program (H.R.2385).
• The
Ryan Rules Specialty Housing Improvement Act (H.R.3504).
• The
HEALTH for Women Veterans Act (H.R.2942).
These proposals will be sent to the Senate for further
consideration.
My Semester With the Snowflakes:
At 52, I was accepted to Yale as a freshman. The students I met there surprised
me.
Suspicious Deaths at VA Center Being Investigated
The Department of Justice is investigating 11 suspicious
deaths beginning in 2017 and occurring through 2018 at the Louis A. Johnson VA
Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia. The current Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA) Secretary, Robert Wilkie has told the press that he has been kept
in the dark on details of the investigation. Officials at the Clarksburg
facility have told the press that no current employees are under investigation.
Secretary Wilkie has expressed frustration with the apparent slowness of the
investigation stating that the investigation has produced too little
information for VA officials and the families of the deceased.
Burial & Memorial Benefits
By The Office of Memorial Innovations and Engagement of
the National Cemetery Administration
Communicating information in the military operates by a
simple model: Bottom Line Up Front, or BLUF. So here’s the BLUF: The best, most
effective way to ensure you get the burial or memorial benefits you earned
through your service is through a new VA program called Pre-Need Eligibility.
Pre-Need establishes your eligi-bility for VA burial and memorial benefits in
advance of need, so your family doesn’t have to go searching for documentation
at the time of your death. Simply fill out a VA form 40-10007 and fax it along
with your DD-214 or other discharge/military paperwork to: 866-900-6417. You
can also fill out an online form, or print and mail your information. You can
find more information online at https://www.cem.va.gov/pre-need/
.
The VA will establish a case file and within a few
months, you will receive a letter confirming or denying eligi-bility. If
denied, you can appeal the decision and submit additional paperwork. If
approved, place the letter in a safe location such as a safety-deposit box,
inform your family and then rest easy. At the time of your death, your next of
kin, funeral home or representative responsible for making your final
arrangements should contact the Na-tional Cemetery Scheduling Office at
800-535-1117 to request burial. The VA will conduct one final check to confirm
eligibility. This last step happens quickly to ensure the VA meets a family’s
needs for burial.
Pre-Need Eligibility provides veterans and their families
with peace of mind in knowing their eligibility status. This information is
particularly important for reservists from any branch, many of whom don’t
realize that their service entitles them to burial benefits. There are some
nuances for reservists, so it is best to contact the VA at the numbers listed
above. For example, military orders showing active duty service other than
training can be used to establish eligibility if it is not reflected on a
DD-214 or other discharge documents. Waiting until the time of need can
sometimes result in a non-eligible decision with little or no time to provide
additional information.
One Family's Fight for Eligibility
Many problems encountered in establishing eligibility are
most easily resolved while the veteran is still alive, but the VA will work
diligently with families to establish eligibility regardless of the
circumstances. After one veteran passed away in December 2016, his family was
stunned to learn that he was determined ineligible for interment. He was a
sailor and had photos of his service in the Philippines during World War II,
but all his paperwork was lost in the fire at the St. Louis records buildings
many years earlier. He was even inducted into the Coaching Hall of Fame at a
large university where his military service was noted on the plaque. But the
family had nothing concrete — meaning paperwork — to establish his eligibility.
His daughter, however, refused to give up. She kept her
father’s ashes in her home until she could get the right person to help. She
tried everyone, including congressional officials, but had no luck. She wanted
her father to be buried in a VA national cemetery, a right he had earned. She
wasn’t going to be stopped by paperwork, so a case file was opened.
Then one day, on a hunch, a National Cemetery
Administration employee at the National Scheduling Office in St. Louis tried
something different. She reversed the veteran’s first and middle name and boom!
He appeared on her monitor. The employee called the daughter and said, “I’ve
got great news. I found your father.” After several minutes of uncontrollable
tears, the daughter offered her eternal thanks. Finally, in January 2018, that
veteran was buried with full military honors at Bay Pines National Cemetery in
Florida. Two years later, his wife of 52 years was laid to rest with him.
What Are the Burial and Memorial Benefits a Veteran
Will Receive from the VA?
If a VA national, state, or tribal veterans’ cemetery is
selected as the final resting place, a veteran will receive the following: a
grave site, the opening and closing of the grave, a grave liner and perpetual
care of the grave site. Memorial benefits include a headstone, a marker or a
niche cover for a columbarium niche, where applicable. If the veteran chooses
to be interred in a private cemetery, he or she can still have a free
government-furnished headstone, marker or niche cover. If the veteran chooses
to be buried in a private cemetery with a commercially-purchased headstone,
marker or niche cover, the family may request to have a free bronze medallion
with the word “Veteran” and the appropriate branch of service affixed to the
private headstone. All veterans’ families also receive a burial flag. At many
VA national cemeteries, National Cemetery Administration partners with local
military units or volunteer service organizations to provide deceased veterans with
military funeral honors, including the playing of taps and the presentation of
the burial flag. Finally, upon request, the veteran’s family will receive a
Presidential Memorial Certificate signed by the current U.S. president.
Multiple copies can be requested so that all family members can have one.
What Happens on the Day of the Burial or Interment?
Upon arrival at
the cemetery, a cemetery representative will meet the family and help guide
them through the process. To accommodate multiple interments, families receive
30 minutes at a committal shelter located on site. After the committal
ceremony, the casket or urn is turned over to cemetery personnel for interment
into the ground or columbarium later that same day. While we highly discourage
families from witnessing the actual burial process, each cemetery director, at
his or her discretion, can determine how to interpret procedures and policy
based on the circumstances. Placing or lowering a casket into the ground is the
“business” side of a dignified burial that often requires heavy equipment
operations. Once the committal service and burial are complete, it takes
approximately 30 days for the headstone, marker or niche to arrive and be set
into place.
The VA encourages all veterans to take advantage of
Pre-Need Eligibility to ensure they, and their families, know their eligibility
status. While families can always apply for the benefit at the time of death,
applying in advance brings peace of mind and can help resolve eligibility
problems ahead of time, when the person who knows the most about his or her
service — the veteran — is still around to answer questions. The VA hopes this
process will help with burial planning and place families at ease when the time
comes. For more information about VA burial and memorial benefits, please visit
www.cem.va.gov
Trump Bans Unions from VA: AFGE forced to leave, a slap
in the face to those who served just days after Veterans Day
Iwo Jima and “The Purest Democracy” by DONALD M. BISHOP:
Marine chaplain Rabbi Roland B. Gittelsohn’s eulogy at Iwo Jima explained why we
owe it to the dead to work to fulfill the promise of American values. A former
adviser to the Commandant of the Marine Corps explains why the rabbi’s words
are just as important today.
IRS issues standard mileage rates for 2020
VA’s cutting-edge technology helps physicians provide
top-notch Veteran care: Every day, a nationwide team of researchers and
innovators work together to help VA providers deliver cutting-edge technology and
care to Veterans.
#VeteranOfTheDay Coast Guard Veteran Carlo Andersen
Letter to VA: Veteran gives thanks for life-changing
experiences
#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Jules Herman Sitrick
Philadelphia Veteran discusses how Veterans Court gave
him his life back
https://www.blogs.va.gov/VAntage/31421/philadelphia-veteran-discusses-veterans-court-gave-life-back/
#VeteranOfTheDay Navy Veteran Steven Daugherty
The Intimate Partner Violence Assistance Program and
holiday stress: Program promotes wellness and recovery all year
Foster Homes offer Vets homelike atmosphere: An
alternative to a nursing home
Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act claims now being
determined
Veterans can discover new sport through adaptive skating:
Programs offered at locations across U.S.
DoD answers top 10 questions on expanded commissary,
exchange, MWR access
Your Questions Answered: New Commissary Access for Vets
and Caregivers
#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Thomas Pierson Jones
VA Photos of the Week: December 27, 2019
#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Maximino Hernandez
The Gift of Time – DAV Volunteer of the Year, 44 years –
43,000 hours
Veterans Advisory Commission 9-11-2019
Veteran family finds relief through VA caregiver support:
Program empowers wife to be better caregiver for Marine Corps Vet
#VeteranOfTheDay Marine Veteran James Cate
Veterans under 50 need flu shots, too: You're not
invincible at any age
Veterans find assistance, camaraderie at Vet Centers
Veterans: An annual physical could save your life: Come
prepared with questions for your doctor
Escaping the PTSD Barrel: Daniel Dunn
#VeteranOfTheDay Army Veteran Yukio Kawamoto
VA oncology team pioneering remote chemotherapy treatment:
Receiving care closer to home makes a huge difference
Don't Miss My HealtheVet's Hidden Gems
Vietnam War Veterans Health Issues
Don't Let Hearing Loss Sneak Up on You
Using Secure Messaging Correctly
Travel Pay: Are You Eligible?
Understanding Diabetic Nerve Damage
RAO Bulletin Update 01 January 2020
Vietnam Wall--THIS IS AMAZING!!
This is really sobering. Click on the link and find the
city where you went to high school and look at the names. Click on the name and it will give details
of the death.
Vietnam Wall
First click on a state. When it opens, scroll down to the
city and the names will appear.
Then click on their names. It should show you a picture
of the person, or at least their bio and medals.
This really is an amazing web site. Someone spent a lot
of time and effort to create it.
I hope that everyone who receives this appreciates what
those who served in Vietnam sacrificed for our country.
The link below is a virtual wall of all those lost during
the Vietnam war with the names, bio's and other information of our lost heroes.
Those who remember that time frame, or
perhaps lost friends or family can look them up on this site.
Pass the link on to others, as many knew wonderful people
whose names are listed
Joe Walsh, One of San Diego's Last Surviving Pearl Harbor
Veterans, Has Died
Air Force Veteran Fatally Shoots Robbery Suspect Who
Pistol-Whipped Him
Portland State University to Pay $1M in Navy Veteran's
Fatal Shooting
New VA Suicide Prevention Strategy: Talk to Vets 3 Times
in First Year Out of Uniform
Vietnam Combat Artists Program
Gen. Paul X Kelley, 28th Marine Corps Commandant, Dies at
91
Remains of Korean War Soldier from Pittsburgh Confirmed
FRA NewsBytes January 3, 2020
VA to Reach Out to New Veterans
DoD Announces BAH Rates for 2020
DOL-VETS Boss Approved
52ND ANNUAL FOUR CHAPLAINS BANQUET Thursday, February 6,
2020, Social Hour 5:30 - 6:30 PM • Program 6:30 - 8:30 PM, The Hilton Philadelphia at Penn’s Landing, 201
South Columbus Blvd., Philadelphia, PA 19106, Ticket & Sponsorship Info: Contact
Michelle Nolfi • michelle@fourchaplains.org
215-218-1943
VA Photos of the Week: January 3, 2020
#VeteranOfTheDay Air Force Veteran Peter Canga
VA medical centers host blood donation drives: Give the
Gift of Life
Here’s the VA's Dependency Indemnity Compensation Rates
Increase for 2020
Millennial Veterans Saving, Earning More Than Those in
Their 50s and 60s
This Paid Internship Can Help Vets Find New Careers in
the Wilderness
https://www.military.com/military-report/paid-internship-can-help-vets-find-new-careers-wilderness.html?ESRC=mr_191230.nl_blurb
No comments:
Post a Comment