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Robert S. Alexander
Silver Avenue, Willow Grove,
Montgomery County
Alexander, 20, enlisted in the Army in November 1968 after graduating from Upper Moreland High School and working in construction for six months. The private first class, a heavy-equipment operator with the 31st Engineer Battalion in Vietnam, died on April. 3, 1970, when his unit came under fire. |
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Anthony Allen
N. 30th Street, North Philadelphia
The 20-year-old Marine corporal had volunteered to stay an extra week in Vietnam when he was killed in Da Nang, Quang Nam Province, on July 11, 1967, after a lightning bolt ignited grenades and anti-personnel mines stored in his bunker. The Murrell Dobbins Vocational High School graduate had been on more than 30 long-range patrols as a rifleman and reconnaissance scout with the 1st Forward Reconnaissance Company of the 1st Marine Division. He was survived by his mother, to whom he wrote, "The only person Marines look up to is God." |
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James J. Allen
E. Hazzard Street, Kensington
Allen, 18, left Thomas Edison High School and worked several jobs before enlisting in the Marine Corps in April 1967. The corporal, a rifleman, died during Operation Allenbrook in Quang Nam Province, Vietnam, on June 5, 1968, after participating in several combat operations with Company C of the 1st Battalion, 27th Marines, 1st Marine Division, in the vicinity of Hue and Da Nang. He was survived by his parents, a brother and three sisters.
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 Liberty Bell Chapter 266
Newsletter
Please see column on left for "other newsletters" of interest
If you have anything for the newsletter, please send to Sandy Wright at Manchu-sandy@comcast.net and write Newsletter in the subject line. All information will go throuth the website committee before going onto the site. We reserve the right to reject any information that is deemed unsuitable.
ONGOING INFORMATION
Chapter Meetings
Meetings are held the first Monday of every month. Meetings begin at 7:30pm. No smoking or drinking on the floor during the meetings. If you can, plan to get there early and check out our product sales. Come on out and support your chapter.
Community Affairs
CANCELLED STAMPS
We and our brothers at the Tucson VAMC Stamp and Coin Club #135 still need any/all cancelled stamps [no meters please]. Domestic, foreign, waterfowl, hunting, tax, and etc. You name a stamp and we will accept it. Stamp sets as well as stamp collecting supplies. Even old coins, coin sets and coin collecting supplies. If you collect old tokens from transit authorities like SEPTA and parking meter tokens we will accept those as well.
AVVA
We are still collecting old cell phones for Cell Phones for Soldiers”. Bring in your old cell phones with the battery attached. No other accessories needed. Our post home is an official drop off site for www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. We are also collecting grocery coupons. These are the manufacturer coupons found in your Sunday paper. Please do not bring in specific store coupons. If you have time, please cut them out & separate them in 2 piles. Food & Non-Food. (Pet food is Non-Food). Bring them to the chapter meetings or drop them off at the canteen of Friday nights. These coupons are going to be distributed to several U.S. military bases nationally and internationally. See Sue Justice if you have any questions. sbtigger@gmail.com |
FEBRUARY 2012 NEWSLETTER
The Chapter is now taking nominations for the 2012 Chapter Elections.
If you would like to be an Officer, on the Board Of Directors, or want to nominate someone else, please contact the webmaster at Manchu-Sandy@Comcast.Net and your email will be forwarded to the Nominating Committee.
CLICK BELOW TITLES FOR INFORMATION ON TOPICS
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MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE
CHAPTER MEMBERS ARE THE BLOOD LINE OF THIS CHAPTER, WITHOUT YOU WE ARE NOTHING.
The Chapter now has 255 members , and 168 are life members. AVVA has 43 members. The total for both are 298. If your membership dues are coming up, think about becoming a life member.
"IT`S NOT THE PRICE YOU PAY TO BE A MEMBER. IT`S THE PRICE YOU PAID TO BE ELIGIBLE"
Steve Uchniat
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FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE
Thanks to everyone who mailed back to the Chapter asking to get tickets for our Chapter lottery . This a major fundraiser for us, and every little bit helps. The $500.00 drawing for February is on Valentine`s Day. Good luck to all.
Tickets for April`s lottery will be mailed out the last week of March.
" remember it pays to play"
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EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Wed. night, February 1, there was a viewing of John Daily's Documentary, "Nothing For Ourselves". The veterans that were interviewed in the film were invited to be there. There were about 6 or 7 of us, including Del Stones. The film is great, everyone involved in the production did a fantastic job. We got to introduce ourselves and tell a little of what we did. Unfortunately due to time constraints there was not much time for Question and Answer. Praise was given to all of us, for our service, taking the time to tell our stories, and being there for the showing of the film. It's still a weird feeling when people stand and applaud us for what we did 40 some years ago. Some actually apologized for their parents generation because they may have been the ones that gave us such a bad time on our return from war. Jon W. Wright
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25TH ANNIVERSARY OF OUR PHILADELPHIA WALL
Plans for 25th Re-dedication of the PVVM
October 26 – 27 (possibly 28th), 2012
All times and events are approximate
Friday night Candle Ceremony, Reading of Names, Wreath Laying
Chapter 266 will be organizing this event. Groups that want to lay a wreath should that there will be NO wreath laying on Saturday, therefore contact should be made by those planning to bring a wreath on Friday night. Times: 6:30 – 7:45
Social Hour – Location TBD Time: 8 – 10 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
“Lost Patrol” memory walk from Washington Avenue/Columbus Blvd./Delaware Avenue
Opening Ceremony/POW-MIA/Rededication – 12 – 1:15
We are anxious to have people mark their calendars for this special weekend; but please be aware that times are very subject to change as finalized plans are not in place.
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MOVIE SCREENING OF "NOTHING FOR OURSELVES"
From John Daily that made the Vietnam Documentary using Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans,
I wanted to thank you for coming to the screening the other night, it was a real success. Between the direct donations ($304) and DVD sales ($126) we were able to raise $430 for Ed Schaeffer. I'm going to send him the check along with a free copy of the documentary next week.
Thanks again for all your support and I'll make sure to let you know how the future of the documentary goes, we're still submitting it to festivals and trying to get it played at museums. Thanks a lot!
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LINK FOR VA OUTPATIENT CENTERS
Here's an excellent link to search for VA outpatient centers by zipcode. It also shows distance between zip codes.
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PUBLIC AFFAIRS
I will still be collecting unserviceable American flags. Any size will be accepted, even the small ones for lawns etc. All American flags should be burned with the respect it deserves.
I am also going to try to get a fishing trip together again. If anyone is interested let me know what month you would like it to be we can do July or August. I think July will be better for flounder, if that is a general idea. I will have more info as to price, time and so forth as I contact the captain. You can contact me at the meeting or email at linedog716@aol.com for either the flags or fishing trip.
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HOMELESS COMMITTEE
VA-HUD
homeless among veterans declines 12% for the end of 2011
Graterford Prison VVA Chapter 466 purchases new clothing for homeless vets & delivered to veteran center at 8th and Arch
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VA HOSPITAL
The next VVA266 hospital party is scheduled for Thursday 2/16/12… If you would like to Volunteer please arrive between 6:30 and 7pm. This party will be a movie and pizza, etc.
See top of events page for more information.
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AGENT ORANGE EVENT
TUE, March 13, 2012, 7:30 PM
ALL ARE INVITED
VVA Delaware County Chapter 67
Meeting AMVETS Post 118
211 N. Morton Ave., Morton, PA 19070.
Guest speaker: Paul Sutton, Chair
VVA National Agent Orange/Dioxin Committee.
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AGENT ORANGE REPORT
BIRTH DEFECTS RESEARCH IN CHILDREN worked with the New Jersey Agent Orange Commission to develop the Vietnam veterans’ exposure section of the registry questionnaire. BDRC has collected information from thousands of families of Vietnam veterans and has found a consistent pattern of disabilities in their children. These data have been presented to the National Academy of Sciences, congressional committees, the Veterans’ Administration and in national media forums.
For more information, please go to the below link.
http://www.birthdefects.org/research/veterans.php
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 POW/MIA REPORT
POW/MIA UPDATE
The remains of a 1950s POW’s are to be buried. The remains of a Philadelphia soldier declared missing in action during the Korean War have been identified .
ARMY PFC. GEORGE A. PORTER, was taken prisoner February. 11, 1951, during the battle of Hoengsong. Porter, of Battery B, 15th Field Artillery Battalion, was unaccounted for until the 1990s when North Korea gave the United States more than 200 boxes of remains from the war. Documents delivered with dog tags with porter`s name on it was included with the remains. Porter will be buried in the Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia.
The names listed below are U.S. military service members who were once missing and are now accounted-for. Additional information may be seen by visiting the respective Vietnam, Korean War and WWII databases on this site http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/accounted_for/
These names are displayed in chronological order based on the accounted-for date. The highlighted names are linked to a more detailed news release on that serviceman's identification.
- Pfc. Frank P. Jennings, U.S. Army, E Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment was lost near Jeon-Gog, South Korea on April 25, 1951. He was accounted for on Jan. 18, 2012.
- Sgt. 1st Class Edris A. Viers, U.S. Army, Battery A, 555th Field Artillery Battalion, 5th Regimental Combat Team, was lost near Pongam-ni, South Korea on Aug. 12, 1950. He was accounted for on Jan. 17, 2012.
- Cpl. William R. Sluss, U.S. Army, Service Battery, 38th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, was captured by enemy forces in late Nov. 1950, near Kunu-ri, North Korea, and died at POW Camp 5 in April 1951. He was accounted for on Jan. 17, 2012.
- Cpl. Chester J. Roper, U.S. Army, Battery A, 503rd Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, was captured by enemy forces on Dec. 1, 1950 near Somindong, North Korea, and died in early 1951 in POW Camp 5 at Pyoktong. He was accounted for on Jan. 4, 2012.
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VETERAN AFFAIRS
Veterans Win PTSD Settlement
A federal judge has approved a settlement that will deliver better benefits to nearly 2,100 veterans who have been medically discharged since 2002 with post-traumatic stress disorder. Under the settlement, affected veterans discharged with PTSD will get lifetime health care and post-exchange privileges. The affected veterans had been discharged with disability ratings that were too low to receive such benefits. The class action lawsuit was Sabo v. United States. Similar legal efforts are currently underway. For more information, visit the National Veterans Legal Services Program website and the ptsdlawsuit.com website.
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WOMEN VETERANS 
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VETERAN BENEFITS
VA Announces Changes to Emergency Care Payment Policy January 12, 2012
WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today a change in regulations regarding payments for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans in non-VA facilities.
“This provision helps ensure eligible Veterans continue to get the emergency care they need when VA facilities are not available,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki.
The new regulation extends VA’s authority to pay for emergency care provided to eligible Veterans at non-VA facilities until the Veterans can be safely transferred to a VA medical facility.
More than 100,000 Veterans are estimated to be affected by the new rules, at a cost of about $44 million annually.
VA operates 121 emergency departments across the country, which provide resuscitative therapy and stabilization in life-threatening situations. They operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. VA also has 46 urgent care units, which provide care for patients without scheduled appointments who need immediate medical or psychiatric attention.
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POW-MIA LOGO
The pro-pot Veterans group Veterans for Weed will change its name to Veterans for Weed United (VFWU), after members of the combat Veterans organization Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), the largest such organization in the nation and the copyright owner of the acronym VFW, objected to the group’s use of the acronym. The group said: “We have chosen to remove all current artwork using the VFW sign… We respect the Veterans of Foreign Wars and apologize for any inconvenience this caused them with the similar abbreviation.”
But while they were backing down on the use of the VFW acronym, they still chose to continue using an altered image of the POW/MIA logo as a campaign symbol.
The POW/MIA logo, which shows the silhouette of a prisoner of war with a prison camp tower in the background, was designed for the National League of POW/MIA Families, but was never copyrighted.
The VFWU modified it be changing the name to Pot POW, showing the silhouette of the soldier smoking a joint, and adding marijuana plants to the foreground.
The VFWU said the following in a statement: “We love veterans. And the POW flag has just as much meaning to us as anyone else… [the] POW logo is not copyrighted, and is an art piece for all people. This may offend some of you. We apologize that you take offense, but we will not be changing our symbol.”
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Make Plans Now To Be A Part of the 30th Anniversary of The Wall
Nearly 2,000 Volunteers Needed to Read All 58,272 Names
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As part of the commemoration of the 30th anniversary of The Wall, VVMF has launched the application process for The Reading of the Names ceremony. Beginning on November 7th, The Reading of the Names is a four-day event where all 58,272 names inscribed on The Wall are read aloud by volunteers.
The reading will begin following a ceremony at the Memorial at 3:00 p.m. on November 7. The event will span 65 hours over a four-day period, during which nearly 2,000 volunteers will read the 58,272 names inscribed on The Wall. The names will be read in the order they were taken from us. |
The Reading of the Names during the 25th Anniversary of The Wall |
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This is only the fifth time in The Wall’s 30-year history that all of the names have been read in Washington, D.C. The first time was at the National Cathedral in 1982 as part of the Memorial’s original dedication. For the 10th, 20th and 25th anniversaries, the names were read at The Wall.
The Reading of the Names is an essential part of the 30th anniversary of The Wall commemoration. The week of events will culminate with the annual Veterans Day Ceremony on November 11.
 For more information and to volunteer for The Reading of the Names, please visit:www.vvmf.org/ROTN or click here.
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WASHINGTON REPORT
DoD vs. Military Retirees: Round One
At a press conference yesterday at the Pentagon, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin E. Dempsey outlined the main areas of proposed DoD spending cuts for the next National Defense Budget.
Speaking in broad generalities, they outlined some of the proposed cuts in manpower, equipment and operations. While many of the proposals are not new, in fact many have been proposed in previous years, there are a lot of changes.
"We believe this is a balanced and complete package," Panetta said. He said the plan begins to shift the Pentagon's focus from the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to future challenges in Asia, the Mideast and in cyberspace. More special operations forces will be available around the world, he said, and the Pentagon will stress improvements in cyberdefenses.
Below is the exact wording used to introduce, once again, plans to increase costs of TRICARE to retirees and a proposal to look at the total retirement package and to assess it with a BRAC-like commission, which would make recommendations for changes:
Health Care. Military health care has seen rapid growth relative to the rest of the defense budget. Most of the changes made in this budget will not affect active duty personnel or their families. We are also exempting medically retired and survivors of those who died on active duty from all health care changes. Those most affected will be working-age retirees under the age of 65 still likely to be employed in the civilian sector.
These proposed changes include:
Further increasing and adding new enrollment fees for retirees under age 65 in the TRICARE program, using a tiered approach based on retired pay that requires senior grade retirees to pay more and junior grade retirees less; the resulting fees remain below comparable civilian equivalents
Establishing a new enrollment fee for the TRICARE-for-Life program for retirees 65 and older, again using a tiered approach; the resulting fees will be well below comparable civilian equivalents
Implementing additional increases in pharmacy co-pays in a manner that increases incentives for use of generics and mail order
Retirement. We will ask the Congress to establish a commission with BRAC-‐like authority to conduct a comprehensive review of military retirement in the context of total military compensation. The goal of the commission would be to recommend changes in order to meet the personnel needs of the DoD in a cost effective manner. DoD strongly supports protecting the retirement benefits of those who currently serve by grandfathering their benefits. Any reforms should only affect future recruits.
Up front the premise that military health care has seen rapid growth is very suspect in light of the disclosure last week that medical inflation, overall, had only increased 3.8 percent in 2008 and 3.9 percent in 2009. Once again it seems that DoD has no qualms about trying to balance their budget on the backs of retirees. They totally disregard any promises made or the fact that these retirees have earned their promised benefits and many count on them to maintain their quality of life.
As you know last year NAUS led the fight against increases in TRICARE fees and copays. Less than a year later DoD is once again attacking and wanting to raise healthcare fees for retirees. Maybe now some of those who agreed with DoD last year will rethink their positions. “Camel’s nose under the tent” ring any bells???
NAUS is very disappointed in the attitude of DoD and will be closely watching developments and the specific areas where increases in premiums, copays and other fees might be proposed and we will again be fighting them. Standby to assist us.
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Veterans Chat – Suicide Prevention – 1-800-273-8255 (TALK)
The Suicide Prevention campaign at the Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding its outreach to all Veterans by piloting an online, one-to-one ‘chat service’ for those who prefer reaching out for assistance using the internet. Called ‘Veterans Chat”, the new service enables Vets, their families and friends to go online where they can anonymously chat with a trained VA counselor. If a ‘chatter’ is determined to be in a crisis, the counselor can take immediate steps to transfer the person to the VA Suicide Prevention Hotline, where further counseling and referral services are provided and crisis intervention steps can be taken.
The chat line is not intended to be a crisis response line. Chat responders are trained in an intervention method specifically developed for the chat line to assist people with emotional distress and concerns. Since becoming operational in July 2007, VA’s Suicide Prevention Hotline has received more than 150,000 calls, resulting in 4,000 rescues.
VA SUICIDE PREVENTION COORDINATORS IN PA
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Gates, Nathan |
Altoona |
814-943-8164 x7572 |
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Albert, Peter |
Butler |
724-285-2737 |
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Sonnen, Carol |
Lebanon |
717-272-6621 x4366 |
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Sessions, Tim |
Coatesville |
610-384-7711 x6843 |
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Schwartz, Lisa |
Erie |
814-860-2986 |
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Roundtree, Iris |
Philadelphia |
215-823-4505 |
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Heider, Anita |
Pittsburgh |
412-954-4312 |
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Garavaglia RN, Eleanor |
Willes-Barre |
570-824-3521 x7977 |
ALL GAVE SOME….SOME GAVE ALL
YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN |
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