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 THE ‘MOVING TARGET’ OF OUR VA HEALTHCARE

June 9, 2019 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

There is an ‘Old Saying’ that goes like this: “this is about as clear as mud!”, and that sure applies to the continuing, never ending and always changing ‘rules & regulations’ of our VA healthcare system. Seems the only consistency of this Department is it’s ‘inconsistency’.

Most of you veterans that are registered with the U. S. Department of Veteran Affairs , the(VA), have recently received a letter from Richard Stone, M. D., Executive in Charge, Office of the Under Secretary for Health. The intent of the letter is to make you aware of “Your Enhanced Options for Care Through the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA)”. Dr. Stone refers to the “LANDMARK LAW” named the “MISSION ACT OF 2018”. The acronym ‘MISSION’ stands for “Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks” Act of 2018. The act is yet again another ‘thrust’ by the VA, to “strengthen the VA’s ability to deliver the best care and services at VA sites AND in the community”. And as further explained, “It helps VA deliver trusted, easy to access, high quality care at VA facilities, virtually through telehealth, and in your community. That means you get the care and services you need, where and when you need them”. Dr.Stones letter goes on to say, “This letter and the enclosed brochure are the first step in educating Veterans about the CHANGES VA is making under this NEW LAW”. 

The letter continues: “Here is what you can expect: + A single, simple VA community care program, that puts YOU at the center of YOUR healthcare decisions, + Expanded eligibility criteria for community care, including new access standards, + Easier scheduling of appointments in VA’s community care network, + A new urgent/walk-in care benefit through a network of walk-in RETAIL HEALTH CLINICS and URGENT CARE facilities, + Continued strong relationships with VA providers and staff who provide your care and WILL FACILITATE ACCESS to the community care network.”

The brochure, “Enhanced VA Options Under the MISSION Act”, which was attached with the letter, covers 6 topics; 1-HEALTH CARE ELIGIBILITY, 2- COMMUNITY CARE ELIGIBILITY, 3- URGENT/WALK-IN CARE, 4- COPAYMENTS AND INSURANCE, 5- ACCESS STANCARDS AND STANDARDS FOR QUALITY, 6 – COMPLAINT AND APPEALS PROCESS. If you did not receive this letter and brochure, you may go into Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida and get a copy of the brochure, or you can log onto www.missionact.VA.gov 

There are a couple of things to note about the topics covered in the brochure, one being that if you are needing to use the ‘URGENT/WALK-IN CARE’ benefit” for minor injuries and illnesses, such as pink eye or ear infections, you MUST HAVE BEEN ENROLLED IN THE VA HEALTHCARE SYSTEM AND HAVE RECEIVED CARE FROM THE VA WITHIN THE 24 MONTHS PRIOR TO SEEKING THIS CARE, TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THIS BENEFIT”.

Regarding your ‘overall health care eligibility’, it is important to note that the VA provides a comprehensive medical benefits package to ALL Veterans who are ENROLLED, “through an annual patient enrollment system that CATAGORIZES Veterans BASED ON DIFFERENT PRIORITY GROUPS”. Thus, “eligible Veterans can use VA health care services NATIONWIDE, including through MOBILE HEALTH CLINICS THAT SERVE RURAL AREAS and via TELEHEALTH (CARE THROUGH A PHONE OR COMPUTER) in your home or on the go”. 

Also, regarding ‘COPAYMENTS AND INSURANCE”, “like other health care providers, VA may charge a copayment for healthcare. The copayment amount may be BASED on YOUR ENROLLMENT PRIORITY GROUP, the type of healthcare service you receive, and your financial situation. If a VA copayment applies, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for that amount WHETHER YOUR CARE IS FURNISHED DIRECTLY BY THE VA OR THROUGH A COMMUNITY PROVIDER. VA may bill your health insurance for medical care, supplies, and prescriptions. As a result of the MISSION ACT, VA NO LONGER REQUIRES YOUR PERMISSION TO BILL YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE CARRIER FOR HEALTHCARE RELATED TO A SENSATIVE DIAGNOSIS. If you would like to submit a request to RESTRICT this process, please contact your local VA facility’s privacy officer.”

“No matter what safeguards you have, you really cannot replace ‘Virtue’.” John Adams, 1735 to 1826, 2nd President of the United States

A CHANCE TO PERSONALLY HONOR, LOCALLY

May 12, 2019 veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

For all of you veterans and veteran family members living here in Eastern Oregon, you will actually have the opportunity this coming Saturday May 18th, to meet and speak with the Executive Director of the Oregon State Department of Veteran Affairs, Ms. Kelly Fitzpatrick. She will be the ‘Keynote’ speaker at the Re-dedication and Grand Opening program at the Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida buildings at 180 W. Idaho Ave, Ontario, OR. The Malheur County Veteran Service Officer (VSO), Mr. Connie Tanaka, will introduce ODVA Ex. Director, Fitzpatrick. The State Department of Veteran Affairs administers the State of Oregon’s County Veteran Service Officer Program. Director Fitzpatrick joined the Army in 1980 through the ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps), program at Boston University, and there worked in command positions through 1996. She also served as an assistant professor at West Point, as human resources director in South Korea and as a public affairs officer for an Infantry Division in Georgia. She also worked at the Pentagon in the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and eventually became Director of that office. In her role as Director of Oregon’s Department of Veteran Affairs, she hopes to build strong connections with the many organizations that work to support our veterans and military here in our State.

Mr. Dan Nelson, with the Chief Joseph Chapter Military Order of the Purple Heart, will speak in ‘Honor’ of our local, regional and national ‘Purple Heart’ Recipients. Mr. Nelson is a former US Army Special Forces Officer (Green Beret) who deployed multiple times to Iraq, Afghanistan and Southeast Asia. He received a Purple Heart for injuries inflicted in Afghanistan while fighting ISIS-K extremists in Southern Nangarhar. Dan also was the recipient of two Bronze Medals and the Silver Star, both awarded for meritorious achievement while engaged in action against an enemy of the United States.

Also, on view for the 1st time in Eastern Oregon will be the “Oregon Memorial Traveling Wall”. This is a very unique ‘Memorial’ to the many Oregon men and women that lost their lives in Vietnam and the USS Pueblo. There are also panels that hold the names of those Oregonians that lost their lives in Panama, the bombing of Beirut, Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Chapter #805 of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) in Roseburg, OR are bringing this ‘Memorial’ here to Ontario, OR for the dedication event at Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida on Saturday May 18, 2019.

You may pay your respects and visit the ‘Memorial between 10am to 5pm.

We will also be honoring Army Sgt. Joshua Brennan, our local boy who was ‘Killed -in-Action’ Oct. 26, 2007 while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. For the re-dedication of the “Joshua Brennan Memorial Hall, Library and Museum”, Sgt. Brennan’s Mother will be here to speak, and a few family members will also be in attendance. A “Gold Star Family”, is the family and relatives of US Military members who died in battle. We are dedicating our front building at 180 W. Idaho Ave, to the Honor of Sgt. Brennan, having given his life for our Country. We are honored to have Joshua’s mother here to speak.

Many in our communities who have served our country with military service have returned home and continued to serve. One example of that are the many veterans that own businesses in our towns. Here in the Western Treasure Valley there is a very active group of Veteran Owned Business Owners, who through the sponsorship of the Treasure Valley Community College and their Small Business Development Center in Ontario, OR, meet on a monthly basis to share insights and management ideas of running their businesses. Advising that group is Mr. Michael Braden, MA, CPA, and also newly elected member of the City Council of Ontario, OR. Michael will speak of the diversity of the many Veteran Owned Businesses in our Region.

We are very proud to also have speaking Mr. Frank Yraguen, a Marine veteran, Senior Judge Oregon State, Chair/Officer Ontario Oregon Basque Club, Vale Mural Project supporter.

“We are hoping you will be able to come and take a tour of our facilities and enjoy meeting the guests of our special program. “

Ms. Tammy Bigelow, Ex. Director, Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida.

   Is There Really Help: This Time? 

April 14, 2019 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

A while back I wrote in this column about the challenges of the VA and the Federal Government recognizing the health damages to our ‘brown and blue water’ Navy that were involved with the Vietnam War. The ‘Blue Water Navy’ especially has been shunned by our system in not being able to get the help needed from the VA Health System for these last 50 years or so, but all that is changing with the new House Bill and courts that have ruled that a 73 year old Blue Water veteran Alfred Procopio and the many Blue Water Veterans are entitled to benefits currently available to service members that were stationed on the ground in Vietnam. Guess they could have waited another few years and all would have been dead but at least our system is giving some of those that need the help a chance to get help with many of the diseases that come along with exposure to Agent Orange.

The new VA Secretary Robert Wilkie changed the stance of the VA after the court ruling in favor of the ‘Blue Water Navy and Marines’, by saying that the VA would not appeal the courts decision. Also, the VA had put the ‘cost’ of providing these benefits to the Blue Water Veterans at about $5.5 Billion, whereas the actual ‘Act’ proposed about $1.1 Billion over a 10 year period. Secretary Wilkie also told the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee that even though he has told the DoJ (Department of Justice) to drop the appeal, he did not know what ‘other’ Agencies would do.

On the heels of this progress to help our veterans, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee promised to bring again, a hearing on the horrible exposures to our Troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and that were exposed to the “Burn Pits” problems.

The idea of seeking new ways for people to kill one another is really quite prevalent from the beginnings of time. Chemical warfare is recorded as early as 600 years before Christ. In 600 BC the Athenian military taints the water supply of the besieged city of Kirrha with poisonous Hellebore plants. In 479 BC Peloponnesian forces used ‘sulfur fumes’ against the citizens of Plataea. In the 17th Century France and Germany (who always seem to be fighting each other), signed the first international agreement to ban chemical weapons and in this case it was banning the use of poisoned bullets. During the American Civil War the proposal to use chemical weapons was generated by both sides, though none were actually recorded as being used. Seems a NYC schoolteacher John Doughty recommended firing chlorine-gas projectiles at Confederate troops, and Confederate soldier Isham Walker suggested dropping canisters of poison gas from balloons on the Union troops. WWI was absolutely horrific in terms of chemical warfare, and by the end of the war there were 1.3 million casualties caused by chemical weapons! In the 1930’s the Italian Mussolini drops mustard gas bombs in Ethiopia to destroy Emperor Haile Selassie’s army.

Having all this in mind plus the extreme use of chemical weapons in the 20th and 21st centuries, and the subjects we mentioned at the beginning of this article, please give thanks and support to ALL the men and women serving our great country, who have volunteered to ‘be there and protect our freedoms’. They more than deserve our support!

“Our Flag does not fly because the wind moves it, it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.” As seen on reader boards throughout our Nation – 

Author = The American People.

From Smiles to the Reality of War

March 17, 2019 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

When I think of “Green Eggs and Ham” I think not only of St. Patrick’s Day, but I think of the interesting meals I had when I was in Country with the Army and Marines, hopefully to again rejoin my Air Force Unit, and just maybe get back to ‘mail call’ and receive a ‘comic’ or two about one of my favorite characters, ‘Beetle Bailey’.

“G.I. Joe”, “Our Army at War”, “Star Spangled War Stories”, “Captain America”, “Frontline Combat”, “Sgt. Rock”, “Weird War Tales”, and “Don Lomax’s Vietnam Journal” are but just a few of the titles of “War Comic Books” that have been published since the mid-to late 1930’s. What started us all ‘reminiscing’ about the military/War Comic Books the other day over the ‘coffee and conversation’ table at Veteran Advocates, was a lady that came in and asked if we took donations of books and magazines for the veterans. Of course we said yes and asked if we could help her bring them in. When we were looking at the stack, there was an old “G.I. Joe” comic!

Fascinating is the history and popularity of the ‘War Comics’ genre, for even prior to the US involvement in WWII, comics such as the “Captain America Comics” depicted the ‘superheroes’ fighting Adolph Hitler and the Nazis among others. Marvel Comics with cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby created that “Captain America” superhero series, featuring the alter ego of Steve Rogers, who was a frail young man enhanced to a peak-human perfection through an experimental serum administered to aid the governments success in the war. The first ‘Captain America Comic’ was published in March of 1941. Captain America was also the first Marvel Comics character to appear in the media outside of comic books. The character was a very successful movie series started in 1944.

Also interesting to note that the ‘Fictional’ character Steven Rogers was born on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1920, to poor Irish Immigrants, (we of course are struck by the apparent relationship to St. Patrick’s Day!).

Another famous series that appeared in ‘Military Comics #1, was first published in August 1941. The series was called “Blackhawk”, published by Quality Comics and then by DC Comics. Flying in Grumman XF5F Skyrocket Planes, the Blackhawk Squadron was led by a mysterious man known as Blackhawk and was a team of 8 WWII ace-pilots. They operated from a hidden Base known as ‘Blackhawk Island’ and fought against ‘tyranny and oppression’. During the height of their popularity in the early 1940’s the ‘Blackhawk’ titles were constantly second to Superman.

In 1987 Marvel debuted a new series based on the writers actual experiences while deployed to Vietnam. The series was called “the Nam”, and the writer, Doug Murray relayed his experiences through fictional character Ed Marks. Another Vietnam War comic book was from 1987 to 1991 and was “Don Lomax’s Vietnam Journal” published by Apple Comics.

Speaking of Vietnam, we had quite a few folks contact me from all around our western Treasure Valley area regarding our article in the Argus Observer on March 3, 2019 regarding the “Virtual Wall Vietnam Veterans Memorial”. One contact I would like to mention here is about a local boy who still has family and friends here in our area. Major Joseph Ygnacio Echanis, United States Air Force. The location of his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall is at: Panel W16, Line 33.  Major Echanis was born in 1937, the incident date is Nov. 5, 1969 as follows: flying in the 497th Tactical Squadron at Ubon RTAFB was a pair of Navy strike aircraft against a target in Laos, Ban Kari pass area. A fireball was seen on the ground and contact was lost with the crew, Major Joseph Y. Echanis and Major Douglas LeFever, and they were classed MIA (Missing in Action). The Secretary of the Air Force approved ‘Presumptive findings’ and approved their Death as follows: Major Echanis 01/21/1975, Major LeFever 06/29/1978.

“We have long honored those who gave their lives during the unfortunate reality of War.” Michael Castle.

Why Do We Serve Our Country?

February 17, 2019 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

Certainly was taken by surprise the other day when a mother and her two children stopped me when I was leaving a local restaurant and ‘thanked me for my service to our Country’! Actually had forgotten that I was wearing my US Air Force hat and of course that prompted her comments to me. What ensued then really did pull at my emotions and cause me to flash unexpectedly at a good portion of my life’s history. I thanked her for her thinking about our veterans and asked if she or her family had also served our country, and turns out that her father served during the Vietnam War and her grandfather served during WWII. It was then in this conversation that her son asked me why I joined the military, and how is it that one knows they want to join the military and serve our country! Well now, I paused a moment and collected a few thoughts and asked him if he ever felt that there were certain things, certain circumstances and certain people in his life that he would just about do anything to protect them, or to see that they would never not be there? He answered that he would always do anything to protect his mom and dad and his little brother. I replied that that was a very admirable attitude and that it reflects on the choices we have in making decisions about our life. Also that many people make those types of decisions regarding the freedoms and rights as an individual that we here in America are able to enjoy, (sometimes much more than other people around the world). So to answer his question I told him I joined primarily to work with other like-minded individuals who feel the desire to help ‘defend and guard’ the liberties and freedoms we have here in America, and that I wanted my family to be able to continue to enjoy those choices. He replied that he thought he understood that and thought that those were some pretty good ideas. That little boy and his family were all invited to VAOI and I sure do hope that they come on in because he will learn much from the men and women that have served in our military, and he’ll get the straight scoop from ‘the horses mouth’.

Back at the office sitting around the coffee and conversation table at Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida and jawing with some of the veterans, I was quickly reminded that definitely not everyone joined for the same reasons! Some were definitely not ‘joiners’ and did not want to go into the service at all, but were drafted during wartime and while in the service served for a very different reason….. and that reason was the ‘brothers’ that were on each side of them, especially in combat. Almost every one of them (to the man) were proud that they served and many would put on the uniform again if and when our Country needed their service. I have to admit that some definitely would not serve again, and knowing their stories, I certainly understand. As the saying goes, ‘there are always exceptions’.

An exception to note here is the last draftee of the Vietnam War. Jeffery Mellinger of Eugene, Oregon got his draft notice in the mail in 1972. Then, 39 years later, Command Sgt. Major Jeffery Mellinger in July of 2011 retired from the Army! He said he did not join willingly, but upon retiring says that he sure was surprised that he found his ‘calling’ in the Army!!

I get quite a bit out of the conversations around the coffee and conversation table, and one thing is, war is the most horrible thing a person can go through, and if there is a chance that it can be prevented, it should be prevented. If not, then we as a community, together as a Nation, need to pay the price of ‘caring’ for those that have served in those wars! We cannot do that by ‘playing politics’, and procrastinating making available the ‘help’ that is needed. We need to immediately take care of all those that have served us and that come home scared physically and emotionally!

“The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Also “Winners never quit, and quitters never win”.

Vince Lombardi, 1913 to 1970 – Football Coach

Local Nightingales Deliver Love… 

January 20, 2019 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

By asking any veteran or any person serving in the military about the validity of the saying “an Army travels on it’s stomach”, you will discover that an overwhelming percentage (probably 95% at least) will agree with that quote. Regardless of who is attributed  (for both Napoleon Bonaparte and Frederick the Great are attributed to that saying) the reality that ‘food warms the heart and the soul’ and generally emboldens man to ‘overcome all odds’, is an absolute reality throughout military history.  

To further give credence to that axiom, there are a few local supporters of our area veterans and military, who on a consistent basis, bring into the offices at Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida, ‘delectable, incredible mouth watering, absolutely ‘can’t imagine life without it’, preparations of homemade goodies which run the gambit from sweet to savory!  These ‘goodies’ not only enfold the Heart & Soul of the person making them, but bring a ‘warming’ acknowledgement and gratitude and thankful appreciation from the many veterans who are the ‘beneficiaries’ of said goodies! And who after consumption, feel that they then can continue their day in absolute untethered contentment. Amazing how one can feel so good when one knows that there is someone who truly, truly cares about them, and who, through a piece of cake, or a cookie, or a bowl of soup or a simple casserole, can be ‘transformed’. Truly there are times when the power of experiencing ‘Deeds’ and ‘actions’ can far outweigh the deliverance of words. And also to the many of you that bring by those extra grocery bags of staples that you have purchased for our many veterans in need of a little extra assistance, if you could see the gratitude and thanks they truly show and express, I know it would also warm your ‘heart and soul’ as it has theirs.

So I want to personally thank all those ‘supportive and caring’ folks who may not truly realize the very deep impact that the ‘actions of their thoughts and deeds’ have on our local veterans and military and their families.  Thank you also to those of you in our community that choose to share the ‘bounty of your labor’ through financially supporting those veterans and military that need temporary assistance over the rough times in their lives. These gifts have and do really make a difference in sometimes being able to keep a family together.

So now, back to our quote about  “an Army travels on it’s stomach”. According to many historians, this saying has been ascribed to three people; Frederick the Great (also known as Frederick the Second), Napoleon Bonaparte, and Thomas Carlyle. Seems the earliest reference to this was in 1858 in a work by Thomas Carlyle about Frederick the Great. The saying occurred in a description of an unsuccessful military endeavor: “they were stronger than Turk and Saracen, but not than Hunger and Disease. Leaders did not know then, as our little Friend in Berlin came to know that ‘an Army, like a serpent, goes upon its belly”, and the ‘little Friend in Berlin’ referred to Frederick the Great. Then, an entry dated in 1816 in a book by Count de Las Cases, “Journal of the Private Life and Conversations of the Emperor Napoleon at Saint Helena”, described a conversation Napoleon had with a eight year old child, Tristan: “Tristan is very idle. He confessed to the Emperor that he did not work every day. ‘Do you eat every day? Said the Emperor to him; Yes Sire. Well then, you ought to work every day; no one should eat who does not work. Oh, said Tristan, if that be the case, I will work every day. Such is the influence of the belly, said the Emperor, tapping the belly of Tristan. It is hunger that makes the world move”. Then in a later volume of the Counts book, Napoleon considered that every soldier be given a supply of corn to grind and make bread, from which he was quoted as saying; “there is no subordination with empty stomachs”. Interesting to note that Frederick died in 1786 and Napoleon died in 1858, you might then draw your own conclusion.

“The greatest and noblest pleasure which we have in this world is to discover new truths, and the next is to shake off old prejudices.” Frederick the Great, King of Prussia 1740 to 1786

From ‘55’ to Afghanistan 

November 25, 2018 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

A group of Veterans sitting around the coffee table the other day at Veteran Advocates of Ore-Ida reflected back when 55 MPH was the law of the day. So, do you remember “I Can’t Drive 55”? Yes, it was 1973 and the US plus a major portion of the Western World were in a Major Oil Crisis and ‘Chaos ruled’. And on this very day in 1973 President Richard Nixon announced there would be a “Sunday ban on the sale of gasoline to customers”, and the top speed limit of 55 miles per hour was extended indefinitely, (thus the basis of Sammy Hagar’s hit song “I Can’t Drive 55”).

Our veterans were also very much involved with this ‘crisis’ because of “Operation Nickel Grass” and the events that led up to that operation. (Now I don’t want any of you ‘old-timers’ to confuse this ‘Nickel Grass’ with the cost of an illegal product very popular at that time), for Operation Nickel Grass was a United States Military strategic airlift operation to deliver weapons and supplies to Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The U. S. Air Force shipped over 22,000 tons of Tanks, Artillery, Ammunition and supplies in C-5 Galaxy and C-141 Starlifter transport aircraft to Israel to help ‘hold-off’ attacks by the Soviet-backed Arab Republic of Egypt and Syrian Arab Republic forces. “And why ?” do you ask were we involved in this war? The roots were based in the 1948 formation of the state of Israel when the Arab countries rebelled against the 1947 United Nations Resolution 181, dividing land between Arab and Jewish States. The US desired a Jewish State even though the British (who controlled the area at the time) were against it, and finally the Arab States said ‘enough’ and we are not going to give you any more oil. So Saudi Arabia, Egypt,  Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, and Cuba, all supported by the Soviet Union, attacked Israel.

In May of 1973 gas prices averaged .385 cents per gallon and by the end of the year they were averaging .555 cents per gallon (for those stations that were able to get gas).

Interesting to note the actual first act to control our consumption of gasoline was in 1942 when President Roosevelt ordered a “Nationwide Gasoline Rationing” to begin on December 1, 1942 because of the need of gas for the war effort.

Also on this 25th day of November in 2001, the US Marines were the first ‘major’ use of ground troops to land in Afghanistan. Members of the 15th and 26th Marine Expeditionary Units based in Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton were set down in CH-53 and CH-46 transport helicopters securing an airstrip that was about 12 miles southeast of Kandahar, Afghanistan. Department of Defense spokesmen said there would be additional troops, armored vehicles and supplies dispatched to the Kandahar airstrip within 24 hours.  The Marine Units had been aboard amphibious assault ships in the Arabian Sea where there were a total of about 4,000 troops. Previous to this Marine landing, there had been only a few hundred ‘Special Ops’ forces on the ground advising local rebel militias and harassing Taliban and al Qaeda groups.

Having just celebrated our National Day of Thanksgiving, it is interesting to note that our first Commander-in-Chief, George Washington, on November 26th of 1789, proclaimed that this day was a “National Thanksgiving Day” in honor of the ‘New Constitution’. This date was then later used to set a date for the ‘Thanksgiving’ we are all use to. And that was in 1863 when our Commander-in-Chief and President, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November as the official day for Thanksgiving celebrations. Then in 1941 to add yet another name to those acknowledging this day of ‘Thanks’, our Commander-in-Chief and President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill ‘officially’ establishing the fourth Thursday in November as ‘Thanksgiving Day’. Just maybe unbeknownst to the preceding three listed Presidents, it was an occasion in 1621 when the Governor of Plymouth, Mr. William Bradford, invited local Indians to join the Pilgrims in a three-day festival to give ‘gratitude’ for the ‘bounty of the season’, and before this event, Colonists set aside a weekday called ‘Lecture Day’ to celebrate post-harvest successes.  Then, yes again, in 1777 our Continental Congress declared the ‘First American Thanksgiving’ following the Patriot victory at Saratoga.

“There’s likely a place in paradise for people who tried hard, but what really matters is succeeding. If that requires you to change, that’s your mission.” Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal.

GULF WAR SYNDROME AND THE BURN PITS

October 28, 2018 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

Since the last ‘Veterans Corner’ article dealing with Agent Orange, I have had quite a few inquiries from veterans and their relatives, about “what is happening with the VA on ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ and the ‘Burn Pits”.  For those of you unfamiliar with these terms, they are names that identify ‘mental and physical disorders’ amongst our military veterans who served while deployed to the Gulf Wars from 1990/91 through today. 

According to reports from the US National Academy of Sciences and the US Department of Veteran Affairs, of the 700,000 US Military that served during the Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm, there are now over 250,000 that (even over 20 years after) suffer from the ‘symptoms’ associated with Gulf War Syndrome. These figures are also comparative to those military veterans from our coalition partners, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Denmark who also served ‘in-country’ at the same times.

Symptoms of ‘Gulf War Syndrome’ include the following: Terminal Tumors, Birth Defects, Neurological problems, Memory problems, Fatigue, Skin conditions, Muscle/joint pain, Respiratory problems, Gastro-intestinal problems, Headaches, and PTSD among others.

The US Congress ‘mandated’ the VA and NAS to continue to provide reports on what have been the probable causes of these symptoms/conditions, and the general consensus has been linked to exposure to ‘neurotoxins’. Sources of these include:  1-‘Depleted uranium’ which was widely used in tank kinetic energy penetrator and ‘autocannon rounds. 2- ‘Pyridostigmine Bromide Pills’, which were pills taken to protect our troops against exposure to nerve gas agents such as ‘Sarin and Soman’. 3-‘Organophosphate poisoning’ which caused the destruction of ‘neurons’ in the central nervous system, and was widely used in insect repellents which were distributed to decrease pest-borne diseases. 4- ‘Anthrax Vaccine’, used to vaccinate troops from anthrax that Iraq loaded into many of their artillery shells. 5- Direct contact with Sarin and Soman nerve gas. 6- All the continuing ‘Oil well Fires’. 

In May of 2018 a Department of Defense publication noted that “research suggests that the ‘Gulf War Illness’ symptomology experienced by Veterans has not improved over the last 25 years”. “The effect that aging will have on this unique and vulnerable population remains a matter of significant concern, and population-based research to obtain a better understanding of mortality, morbitity, and symptomology over time is needed.”The VA refers to all these Gulf War symptoms as “Chronic Multisymptom Illness” and “Undiagnosed Illnesses”, and presumes that certain chronic, unexplained symptoms existing for 6 months or more are related to Gulf War service without regard to cause. The “presumptive” illness must have appeared during ‘active duty’ in the Southwest Asia Theater of military operations, or by December 31, 2021, and to be at least 10 % disabling. For a list of “Presumptive Service Connected Disability Benefits” please copy and paste the following in the web search bar, then scroll down to section that pertains to you:

https://benefits.va.gov/BENEFITS/factsheets/serviceconnected/presumption.pdf, and for information about Gulf War ‘Eligibility Requirements and Compensation’ log onto the following link for the VA:

https://benefits.va.gov/compensation/claims-postservice-gulfwar.asp .

I would like you to know my gratitude, being a Vietnam War veteran, for all the positive actions the VA is doing for us, however it is the ‘delay and constant research’ that the VA does in determining just ‘what is or is not’ acceptable, that undermines the desperate conditions so many of our War Vets have. Those delaying tactics contribute to seeing too much more suffering and crippling and even death, from those impacted by “War produced” illnesses. When our country sends us into war, those of us who ‘volunteered’ to fight for our Freedoms should be covered by the “cost of conflict that has to include covering the damage & wounds to our men and women in service by supporting their claims of damage suffered”.

I have not here been able to address those impacted by the “Burn Pits”, because I found those ‘symptoms’ to be too extensive to elaborate in this article, therefore I will address this at a future date.

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.” General Douglas MacArthur

Last Draftee in the Vietnam War

September 2, 2018 Veterans Corner Article by Ronald Verini

The date was September 2, 1945, (73 years ago today) and in just a matter of hours after the formal surrender of Japan on the USS Missouri, an ‘ominous’ event took place back in Hanoi’s Ba Dinh Square, Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh, paraphrasing our own Declaration of Independence, declared in a speech to a huge crowd that “All men are born equal: the Creator has given us inviolable rights, life, liberty, and happiness!”.  As Japanese forces withdrew from Vietnam in 1945, Ho Chi Minh’s forces known as the ‘Viet Minh’, (which he organized after being expelled from China in 1941), seized the northern city of Hanoi and declared a Democratic State of Vietnam (more commonly known as ‘North Vietnam’), and of course was named President.  At this same time the French military troops took control of Saigon and the southern regions of Vietnam while Chiang Kai-Shek’s Chinese forces moved into North Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh then took up negotiating with the French to get 2 things: 1st, the Chinese out of North Vietnam and 2nd, to get France to recognize a Vietnam independence and reunify the North and South Vietnams’. However for one reason or another, in 1946 a French Cruiser opened fire on the town of Haiphong and eventually war broke out in December of that year. Armed conflict between the North and South Vietnams’ was continuous through 1956 when the United States became more strongly present in South Vietnam with economic aid and then in 1961 with the addition of military troops. U. S. air strikes to North Vietnam began in 1965-1966.

I suppose an ‘irony’ of this accounting from Ho Chi Minh’s Hanoi speech on September 2, 1945, is that he also died on September 2, in 1969, from a heart attack in Hanoi. The Vietnam War ended on April 30, 1975, though all US Forces personnel were reportedly withdrawn by March 1973.

Now this is about 30 years after the official ending of WWII, and within that time, the ‘American Conscience’ has shifted immensely in many aspects, one of which was the idea of ‘Conscription’ (military draft).  There had been a huge ‘anti-war, anti-draft’ movement in the U. S. which turned a great percentage of our citizens against everything military including the people in the military. Even Nixon’s 1968 presidential election, campaigned to end the draft, but that wouldn’t happen until December of 1972 which saw the last men conscripted who were born in 1952 and reported for duty in June of 1973. Also in early 1973 Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced that ‘no further draft notices would be issued’.

(Of special note, Jeff Mellinger is believed to have been the last drafted enlisted ranked soldier, drafted in 1972, and actually retired in 2011 as a Command Sergeant Major!!  And the last Vietnam War –era soldier drafted of Warrant Officer rank, Chief Warrant Officer5, Ralph Rigby, retired after a 42-year career in November of 2014. Thanks guys for your service to our great Country!!).

To many, the idea that we as a collective American society, have been relegating the Defense of our Democracy to an ‘All Volunteer’ force, weakens and diminishes our ‘moral responsibility’ to equally contribute to its’ preservation. This attitude has also diminished our respect for those who do volunteer, through, if for no other reason than, the number of times we have committed our men and women into harms way and conflicts (since abolishing the draft) to the number of times we committed them into ‘harms way’ and conflicts when the draft was active. Since using an all-volunteer force for over 40 years, we committed our men and women 134 times; the 40 years before that, with the draft, we committed our men and women 24 times. So also, as Dr. Mike Haynie, a veteran and Ex. Director of the Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University relates in his TEDx talks, the ‘Moral Outrage’ is that we have made it too easy to leverage ‘Military Conflict’ as not only an instrument of public policy, but that now that ‘policy’ and practice runs counter to the idea that ‘war is to be avoided at all costs’.

“A nation, as a society, forms a moral person, and every member of it is personally responsible for his society”. Thomas Jefferson (1792)