Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 12-07-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. VA Said To Be Working To Provide Better Mental Healthcare To Returning Vets.
2. VA Medical Personnel Treating Wounded In Afghanistan.
3. Pearl Harbor Visitor Center Seeks To Tell "More Of The Pacific War Story."
4. Pearl Harbor Ceremonies To Be Held In Tennessee, California.
5. VA Facilities Commemorate Pearl Harbor Attack.
6. VA Grant Funds Veterans Transitional Living Home.
7. Duckworth To Attend Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony For Homeless Shelter.
8. Nuclear Sub To Carry On Retired Battleship’s Name.
9. Arizona Cemetery Part Of Wreaths Across America Event.
10. Training To Begin For Veterans Court Initiative In Wisconsin.

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HAVE YOU HEARD?
Few days in American history are etched more deeply into America’s national consciousness than December 7. On this date 68 years ago, the American fleet at Pearl Harbor suffered a crippling blow; more than 2,400 soldiers, sailors and Marines were lost, and the nation was thrust headlong into the largest global conflict in human history. Today, the stalwart survivors of Pearl Harbor remind us not only of this solemn chapter of America’s history, but also of the great courage and resolve that continues to define our nation. United with partners like the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association, VA is committed to preserving the memory of those who paid the ultimate price at Pearl Harbor. We salute their valor and sacrifice, and we honor the fighting spirit of those who emerged from the smoldering wreckage of Pearl Harbor to triumph in the battle against tyranny. Find out more about those Veterans and their experiences at http://www.arizonamemorial.org/.

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Song and Video by [email protected]

 

1.      VA Said To Be Working To Provide Better Mental Healthcare To Returning Vets. According to the Whittier (CA) Daily News (12/6, Markus, 14K), "now that the war in Iraq is winding down and President Obama has set a timetable for a looming 30,000-troop surge in Afghanistan, some experts said the country is not prepared to cope when soldiers battling post traumatic stress disorder compounded by multiple combat tours start returning en masse." The Department of Veterans Affairs, however, "has steadily rolled out mental health programs, launching a suicide prevention" hotline "in 2007 that includes an online chat feature. Some newly returned veterans said they are satisfied with services provided by the VA, but others complained it is slow and difficult to get timely help. But the VA is working to provide more mental health programs and facilities, staff all VA hospital emergency rooms with mental health experts and standardize mental health care nationwide, said Dorene Lowe, VA psychologist and director of trauma recovery programs in Palo Alto." 

 2.      VA Medical Personnel Treating Wounded In Afghanistan. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (12/7, Jones, 224K) notes that "doctors, nurses and technicians in the Army Reserve 452nd Combat Support Hospital" are serving at Camp Salerno, a forward operating base in Afghanistan. The hospital there "handles most casualties in three eastern Afghanistan provinces — Khost, Paktia and Paktika — including all the serious injuries" to US "and coalition forces and some to Afghan security forces and civilians." After noting that Lt. Col. Barbara Pilak, the 452nd’s second in command, works as a burse at Milwaukee’s Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the Journal Sentinel adds, "Blood used in the Salerno hospital, as at other" US "medical facilities in Afghanistan, comes through the military supply chain made up mostly of military donors at American training centers. It’s shipped to Afghanistan within a week and must be used within 42 days, said 1st Lt. Tate O’Kelly, who works as a medical technician at the VA hospital in Appleton."  

3.      Pearl Harbor Visitor Center Seeks To Tell "More Of The Pacific War Story." The Honolulu Advertiser (12/6, Cole, 130K) reported, "The new $58 million visitor center being built for the USS Arizona Memorial is expansive and open-air," and Monday’s "remembrance of Japan’s Dec. 7, 1941, surprise attack on O’ahu has a similarly broadened tone. The theme of this year’s event, ‘But Not in Shame: The Aftermath of Pearl Harbor,’ is a reference to Gen. Jonathan Wainwright’s surrender of the Manila Bay islands in the Philippines to the Japanese five months later, in 1942." The "theme reflects a new mission at the Pearl Harbor visitor center: telling more of the Pacific war story. A year ago, President Bush set that change in motion when he proclaimed the Arizona Memorial and visitor center part of a new World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument."  
  

4.      Pearl Harbor Ceremonies To Be Held In Tennessee, California. The Knoxville (TN) News Sentinel (12/7, Brown) notes that on Monday, Durward Swanson, who "wrote a book about his war experience, called ‘Pearl Harbor: The Life of a Country Boy and the Service to His Country During World War II,’" will "be among the Pearl Harbor survivors" in a "Pearl Harbor Day remembrance at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery."
     The Redding (CA) Record-Searchlight (12/7, Schultz) reports "about a half-dozen survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack…are expected to gather" Monday for a "ceremony outside the Shasta County Courthouse in Redding at a Pearl Harbor monument to observe the 68th anniversary of that day." The "observance comes" as the Shasta County chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association "is anticipating the dedication of a Pearl Harbor memorial at the Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo." 

5.      VA Facilities Commemorate Pearl Harbor Attack. The Lebanon (PA) Daily News (12/7, Long, 19K) reports, "Sixty-eight years ago, the Japanese attacked" the US Navy "base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii," and on Sunday, the Lebanon Veterans Affairs Medical Center "chapel was filled with those looking to honor the memories of those lost on that ‘day of infamy.’" This "year’s program, organized by Beverly Barbe, featured prayer, song, speeches and a reception and was followed by a ’40s dance at the Lebanon Valley Expo Center."
     The Fresno (CA) Bee (12/7, Clough) reports, "Though the number of Pearl Harbor survivors is dwindling," a "yearly commemoration in Fresno – scheduled" for Monday "morning at the hour of the attack — is going strong. Each year, hundreds pack the auditorium at the Veterans Affairs Central California Healthcare System to mark the 1941 Japanese attack."
     Pearl Harbor Vets Anticipate Fading Of Attack From America‘s Consciousness. The Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times (12/7, Boyle, 45K) reports, "As the World War II generation continues to dwindle, remaining veterans know the date that lives in infamy will gradually fade from America’s consciousness." Veterans of the attack on Pearl Harbor "are clear-eyed about Americans’ long-term memories. ‘Our generation started a lot of programs, dedications, monuments for Pearl Harbor,’ said Leo Sienkiewicz, 90, president of the N.C. Pearl Harbor Survivors Association. ‘But the younger groups are just not interested. And it’s not just Pearl Harbor survivors – the American Legion, the (Veterans of Foreign Wars), they’re losing members left and right and have not got replacements.’"
     Memories Of Attack Remain Strong For Those Who Survived. The AP (12/7) says the "passing of 68 years has not dulled the memories of those who endured the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor," including 86-year-old Ed Johann, who "is due to return to Pearl Harbor Monday morning for the first time since the war," and Richard Fiske, "a gunner on the USS West Virginia." Fiske "says the
 Japanese pilots flew so low he made eye contact with one of them that Sunday morning in 1941. He says he’s dreamt about that face for more than 50 years." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel (12/7, Clary, 212K) profiles 87-year-old Jerry Mintz, another veteran who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Miami Herald (12/7, 210K) runs the same profile.
     The Alexandria (LA) Town Talk (12/7, Brown, 30K) reports, "At 88, Ray Bashrum is struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, a condition that can cause one to forget the simplest of things like a lunch order. But one thing Bashrum will never forget is what he saw and experienced at Pearl Harbor 68 years ago today." Bashrum "was one of several World War II veterans who shared their memories from the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Pineville last week."  

6.      VA Grant Funds Veterans Transitional Living Home. On its website, KTAL-TV Shreveport, LA (12/6) said Shreveport, Louisiana, "is reaching out to veterans who put their lives on the line for our freedoms but ended up homeless." On Sunday, "Shreveport’s Volunteers of America opened the doors to the new Veterans Transitional living home." KTAL added, "Louisiana has the second highest rate of homeless veterans in the nation."     The Shreveport (LA) Times (12/7, Clark) , meanwhile, reports, "A project two years in the making has finally come to fruition … sort of. The Volunteers of America has dedicated" the "Veterans Transitional Living Program," but the organization "still needs about $150,000 to finish all the renovations."  

7.      Duckworth To Attend Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony For Homeless Shelter. The AP (12/7) reports, "A new 32-bed homeless shelter that will serve veterans is to open in Chicago. The homeless outreach agency Featherfist says the transitional living facility for veterans will open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday." After noting that "Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Tammy Duckworth, an assistant secretary in the Veterans Affairs Department, are scheduled to attend the opening," the AP points out that Featherfist "says the new shelter will offer single adult male homeless veterans a ‘safe, secure and stable environment.’ In a release, the groups also says it decided to open the facility ‘because of the increased number of homeless veterans and the demand for comprehensive, specialized services for them.’"  

8.      Nuclear Sub To Carry On Retired Battleship’s Name. The Kansas City (MO) Star (12/7, Campbell) reports, "Pearl Harbor and the name USS Missouri are forever linked. It was on the deck of that mighty battleship that the Japanese, who attacked" the US Navy "port in Hawaii 68 years ago today, formally surrendered in 1945. Now the retired battleship is a floating museum at Pearl Harbor, in dry dock undergoing repairs. A new USS Missouri will carry on the name," however. The "$2 billion nuclear attack submarine, the world’s most advanced to date, was christened Saturday in Groton, Conn."
 

9.      Arizona Cemetery Part Of Wreaths Across America Event. The Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier (12/7, 16K) reports, "Prescott National Cemetery once again will honor the 4,000-plus military veterans buried on its grounds during the annual Wreaths Across America wreath-laying ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday. The cemetery will simultaneously conduct the ceremony with Arlington National Cemetery and all of the country’s 350 national cemeteries." The Daily Courier notes that the "Prescott Veterans Administration Hospital…is providing parking for the event" in Arizona, "with shuttles taking visitors to the cemetery since parking is limited."
     Investigation Of Accountability Issues At Arlington Ordered. The lead item in George W. Reilly’s "Veterans’ Journal" column for the Providence (RI) Journal (12/7) notes that last month, US Secretary of the Army John McHugh "ordered an investigation into allegations of lost accountability of some graves, poor record-keeping and other issues at Arlington National Cemetery." The order "comes on the heels of revelations that cemetery workers inadvertently buried cremated remains at a gravesite already in use. The error was discovered in May 2008, and cemetery officials immediately took corrective measures, moving the cremated remains to another gravesite and remarking the original grave. Since then," however, "questions have been raised over whether cemetery officials used proper procedures to correct the mistake, including notifying the next of kin."  

10.    Training To Begin For Veterans Court Initiative In Wisconsin. The La Crosse (WI) Tribune (12/7) reports, "The new La Crosse County Veterans Court Initiative kicks off training today for the mentors who will assist veterans in the legal system, said initiative chairman and county Circuit Judge Todd Bjerke." The "group chosen for the La Crosse County Veterans Court Initiative Mentors Program will spend" Monday "and Tuesday learning about the court process, available resources, interviewing techniques" and the Veterans Affairs system. Training "will be completed by Jan. 1, after which they will then be assigned to veterans in the legal system."