PLACE: THE SIZZLER, 1401 N. HARBOR BLVD.
Boys & Girls State & YEC Participants
POW/MIA Ceremony
In addition to our annual
meeting with the students, Fullerton High principal Catherine Gach will share
with the Legion her first hand experience on the success and importance that
programs like Boy’s State, Girl’s State, and the Youth Environmental Conference
play in the development and growth of the students
that are selected to attend.
The POW/MIA ceremony is a brief but
very moving ceremony that reminds us of our comrades and their families who
still suffer from the loss and uncertainty of their loved ones.
Chaplain’s Message to the Members:
“It is better to be patient than powerful; it is better to have
self-control than to conquer a city.” (Probverbs 16:32 New Living translation)
If I can be of service to you, please give me a call.
Jim Howland
Commander’s Corner:
By the time you get this, school will have started.
For our meeting, we will be hosting our
special events kids (YEC, Boys and Girls
State). I hope that you will
come to meet them. They are very
special students. You will get a
kick out of hearing about their experiences.
Our “Staters” will have a great entry for their resume and college
applications. Additionally, our YEC
students will be eligible for a scholarship during their college time.
Planning for Veterans Day is on tract.
The first of the membership cards have been sent out.
We do not send out the renewals so I don’t know what schedule they will
follow this year. Remember to pay by
mid-November in order to keep your magazine subscription uninterrupted.
If you get another notice and you already have a 2012 card, do not pay
again. The system will eventually
catch up with itself. At the
District 29 meeting, Steve Spriggs, of Newport Harbor 291, was elected to the 1st
Vice position.
Upcoming Events: The Post meetings are
always (well, almost always) on the second Tuesday of the month.
The officer meeting is the Wednesday prior to the meeting.
The next few monthly meetings are:
October 11, November 8,
and Wednesday, December 14th.
Please mark your calendars.
Notice to Veterans:
The proposed amendment modifying Agent Orange presumptive diseases was defeated.
Special Note:
Those of you who were stationed
in Korea near the DMZ, the USS Pueblo, and the UN Joint Security Area, from
April 1, 1968-August 31, 1971, are eligible to apply for compensation based on
exposure to herbicides. The lists of
units are within the 2nd ID and 7th ID specifically.
The Veterans Service Office can help you with your claim.
See contact information on the next page.
The 2012 membership year began 1 July.
If you have not paid your 2011 dues, you need to send it in ASAP.
If you pay for 2012 without paying for 2011, your Continuous Years will
start at one (1)
year again. (You can make up previous
year(s) lost with paying past dues.)
If you have paid your 2012 dues, you should receive your card prior to the
meeting as we will send in the first set to Department the last week of July.
New Renewal Option:
This year you may pay online to National if you wish to.
The Legion has been conducting a trial run with a few states around the
US. After payment, national will
take out their per capita, then send the rest of the money to Department, where
they will have to separate out the per capita and return to the posts what money
is theirs. That will be difficult,
but not impossible, since the posts have different dues.
It turns around the sequence with money,
i.e. the post will be the last to have the money,
and the member
won’t get a card until their renewal is verified by national level.
OR
you can do your dues directly to the Post as you always have, get
your card from us then, and the delay will be transparent to you except that you
may get a second notice even though you have paid your dues and are current in
every way.
J
DD 214/Discharge Papers: Do you know where your discharge papers are? Does your family know where they are? We often hear from families that they don’t know where they are. Without this important document your burial benefits will be delayed several weeks unnecessarily. If you plan to be buried in a national cemetery, it won’t happen, until proof is given to the cemetery. Please give a copy to someone or let your next of kin know where to find it.
To request your DD-214, go to the National Archives and
Records Administration at
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/.
Follow the instructions. You
can also get assistance from the Veteran Service Office.
If you are not sure what you or your family is entitled to, please call
the Veterans Service Office to talk to a claims officer.
(714) 567-7450
If you reside outside of Orange County, call your County offices to find
the Veterans Service Office location nearest you.
Veterans Homes Qualifications: 1) You are age 62 or over, or you have a significant disability. 2) You served in the military and you were Honorably Discharged. 3) You are still able to live independently or you qualify for a higher level of care offered at one of the Homes. (Contact the Home of choice for services available) 4) You are a California resident. 5) You are able to live with and get along with other people in a structured communal environment. 6) You must be participating in a qualified federal, state or private health service plan, a United States Department of Veterans Affairs medical program, or have an application pending for such coverage. A non-veteran application must be participating in a qualified federal, state, state or private health service plan to be admitted to the Home. Information: www.cdva.ca.gov
Please jot this number down in case someone you know needs it. 800-342-9647 or www.militaryonesource.com. It is the number that all active duty, Guard and Reserve and their families can call 24/7 for help of all kinds. Their slogan is “You name it. We can help.”
Hospital/Rehabilitation Program. Please continue to bring things to the meetings or call Mike and Pat Hyland (996-8743) to coordinate a home pick up. For more information about this unique project sponsored by Cloudbreak Development, UC & United States Veterans Initiative, Inc. (a 501(c)(3) organization), call (562) 499-6717 or visit their web site at www.usvetsinc.org.
Important Dates:
September 5, Labor Day;
September 7, Officer Meeting at Marilyn’s;
September 11, Patriot Day;
September 13, Post Meeting; September 16,
POW/MIA Recognition Day; September 23, Autumnal Equinox/First Day of Autumn;
September 29, Rosh Hashanah.
Memory Lane Dates September 1, Nazi Invasion of Poland Starts WWII (1939), Largest All-Navy Raid (1952); September 2, Union Forces capture Atlanta (1864), V-J Day, Japan Signed Formal Surrender on USS Missouri/WWII Ends (1945); September 3, American Revolution Ended (1783), France and UK Declare War on Germany (1939), Allies Land on Italian Mainland (1943); September 4, Allies Capture Antwerp (1944); September 6, Battle of Plattsburg begins (1814); September 7, Blitz Began Against England (1940); September 8, Battle of Molina del Rey (1847), Pledge of Allegiance Adopted (1892), Italy Surrenders (1943); September 9, Allies Land at Salerno (1943); September 10, Women’s Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS) Founded (1942); North Apennines Campaign begins (1944), US Naval Sea Cadet Corps Incorporated (1962); September 11, Battle of Brandywine (1777), Battle of Plattsburg ends (1814), Siege of Con Thien Began (1967) Patriot Day, World Trade Center, Pentagon & Flight 93 Terrorist Attacks (2001); September 12, Sherman’s “March to the Sea” begins (1864), St. Mihiel Campaign begins (1918); September 13, Bombardment of Fort McHenry (1814), Battle of Chapultepec (1847), Battle of Heartbreak Ridge Began (1951); September 14, “Star Spangled Banner” Written By Francis Scott Key (1814), Operation Attleboro Began (1966); September 15, Women’s Flying Training Detachment Approved (WFTD) (1942) (Headed by Jacqueline Cochran), Rhineland Campaign opens (1944), US Forces Land on Peleiu (1944), Inchon Landing (1950); September 16, Seige of Savannah begins (1779), St. Mihiel Campaign ends (1918), Selective Service Act Signed (1940), Naktong Perimeter Breakout Began (1950); September 17, US Constitution Approved (1787), Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) (1862), VFW Ladies Auxiliary Organized (1914), Airborne Invasion of Holland/ Operation Market-Garden (1944); September 18, Battle of Chickamauga begins (1863); US Air Force Established (Happy Birthday!)(1947), Inchon Operation and Liberation of Seoul Began (1950), First Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), Meeting (1951), Operation Uphold Democracy Began (1994, Also listed as Sept 19); September 19, Battle of Freeman’s Farm (Saratoga Campaign) (1777), Operation Uphold Democracy Began (1994); September 20, Battle of Chickamauga ends (1863); September 21, Battle of Monterey (1864), Operation Summit (1951); September 26, Meuse-Argonne Campaign begins (1918), US Embargoes Iron and Steel Sales to Japan (1940), US Army Military Police Corps Established (1941); September 27, WAAC Center & School Dedicated, Ft. McClellan, AL (1954); September 28, Battle of Yorktown begins (1781); September 29, VFW Established (1899); September 30, Berlin Airlift ends (1949).
Notes from August Meeting. Commander Marilyn Harris called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m., and she welcomed all guests. Next the guest speaker, Dr Stephen Tsai was introduced. Dr. Tsai has been practicing acupuncture for more than twenty-five years. Acupuncture is the practice of inserting thin needles into specific body points to improve health and well-being. It originated in China more than 2,000 years ago. American practices of acupuncture use medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea and other countries. In the United States, the best-known type involves putting hair-thin, metallic needles in your skin. Dr Tsai’s practice, the East West Medical Group, located at 515 E. Commonwealth Avenue in Fullerton, works hard to blend Western approaches with regard to physical therapy, with those of the East. Dr Tsai showed the legion video testimonials from patients that have benefited from acupuncture. Dr Tsai quoted recent medical studies that demonstrate acupuncture to be effective dealing with pain, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, weight loss, and nervous disorders. For more information, visit Dr. Tsai’s website at WWW.eastwestmedicalgroup.com
Following the presentation on acupuncture by Dr. Tsai, Commander Harris led the legion as the Minutes and Finance Reports for the June meeting were approved unanimously.
Chaplain Jim Howland then updated the post on the status of members that need continued support and prayers.
Service Officer Mike Hyland briefed the post on recent veteran-related legislative actions. The American Legion has been active in opposing Senate Amendment 564 to H.R. 2055 which makes it very difficult to associate a veteran’s exposure to Agent Orange with subsequent and resulting medical disorders. Mike also informed the post on a proposed “WWII Memorial Prayer Act” (HR 2070) that will include the prayer, on the WWII Memorial that is being built, that was spoken by then president Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and broadcast over the radio on the morning of June 6th, 1944.
Commander Marilyn
Harris announced that the satellite Long Beach VA clinic in Anaheim has been
closed, and that all the legionnaires that are impacted, with a lack of medical
support, should contact their elected representatives to voice their views on
this closure. Commander Harris also
informed the post that on September 17th, the first Annual Orange County Stand
Down will take place at Santa Ana College.
This event is intended to allow homeless and low income veterans and
their families to access to basic county services such as employment training
and housing assistance. For more information, visit the website at
WWW.ocstanddown.org or call (714)
547-0615.