Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

1.      Concern Expressed About Agent Orange Presumptive Illnesses List. After noting that diabetes is “one of several illnesses presumed by Veterans Affairs to be linked” Agent Orange exposure, the Newport News (VA) Daily Press (9/20, Chufo, 69K) says “three new illnesses were just added to the list: Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease and all chronic B cell leukemias.” Some in Congress, however, “aren’t sure the government should be so quick in adding presumptive illnesses to the list. Sen. Jim Webb, in a June letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, said adding the three medical conditions is estimated to cost a minimum of $42.2 billion over the next 10 years.” In a related story, WTVG-TV Toledo, OH (9/19, 11:09 p.m. ET) broadcast that on Sunday, US Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) took note of VA’s expanded Agent Orange presumptive illnesses list. The lawmaker did so during a “conference…held at the Civic Center Mall at the Vietnam Veterans Monument in downtown Toledo.”

 2.      Lung Transplant Recipient Praises VA. According to the Ontario (OR) Argus Observer (9/19, Meyer, 7K) 57-year-old veteran Jeff Stephens, who was exposed to Agent Orange in Vietnam, says the Department of Veterans Affairs successfully transplanted tow new lungs into his body when his old ones gave out. Stephens “gave kudos to the VA staff for the way he has been treated at all the facilities he has been to. ‘They treated me well.'”

 3.      Kentucky Cemetery Built With US VA Funding To Begin Accepting Burials Next Month. The AP (9/20) reports, “A new veterans cemetery in northeastern Kentucky will begin accepting burials and internments next month.” After noting that the “78-acre Kentucky Veterans Cemetery Northeast in Greenup County was built with $6.1 million” from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, the AP adds, “State and local officials said at a dedication ceremony earlier this month that the cemetery is a fitting memorial to Kentucky’s service members.” WTVQ-TV Lexington, KY (9/19, 6:37 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.

 4.      Vets To Be Honored By Oklahoma Military Hall Of Fame. According to the Enid (OK) News & Eagle (9/19, 17K), “10 state veterans” will be “honored Nov. 11 by Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. The ceremony will begin with a 6:30 p.m. reception at the Gaylord Center at Oklahoma Christian University, 2501 E. Memorial Drive in Edmond.”

 5.      Obama-Signed Motorcycle To Be Auctioned, Proceeds To Benefit Military Families. The AP (9/20, Metzler) reports, “A custom-designed motorcycle signed by President Barack Obama,” Vice President Joe Biden, “and national security adviser James Jones” will be “auctioned in Las Vegas” this week “to support military families. The United States Army Chopper,” donated by Jones’ son, “will be auctioned by Barrett-Jackson Auction Co. on September 23-25 to benefit the Fisher House Foundation,” which “builds houses around the country and donates them to the government to provide free housing to military families who have someone being treated at a military or Veterans Affairs hospital. There are 49 Fisher Houses on the grounds of military and VA medical centers.” KTLA-TV Los Angeles, CA (9/19, 10:33 p.m. PT) aired a similar report.

 6.      VA Hospital Clergy Seminar To Focus On Helping Combat Vets. The Huntington (WV) Herald-Dispatch (9/20, 25K) says the Veterans Affairs hospital in Huntington “will host an outreach program and luncheon for community pastors from 12 to 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 23.” The free seminar, to be held “in the medical center’s recreation hall,” is “designed to assist clergy in ministering to returning combat veterans and their families. Topics will include” post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), “suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury and services available through the medical center’s seamless transition team.”
     Employment A Struggle For Many Vets With Mental, Cognitive Disabilities. After noting that a 2008 study by the Rand Corp. found that almost a third of US troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan report symptoms of PTSD, severe depression, or traumatic brain injury, the Los Angeles Times (9/19, Zavis, 681K) reported, “Many of these new veterans struggle to find and retain civilian jobs.” However, officials “with the US departments of Veterans Affairs, Labor and Defense have worked to assure potential employers that the mental and cognitive disabilities of many veterans can be accommodated with little expense and minimum disruption.”
     Vet Battles With VA To Get Treatment For PTSD, TBI. The Jacksonville (NC) Daily News (9/19, Hodge) said that since returning from Iraq, 23-year-old veteran David Brown has battled with VA to get treatment for severe PTSD “and recurring seizures caused by a traumatic brain injury.” Capt. Charlie Hall, “district injured support coordinator” for the Wounded Warrior Regiment, “picked up the…case. ‘I think the communication with…VA was probably the biggest challenge.'”
     Psychologist Concerned About Ramifications Of Broken Marriages For Vets. The Jackson (MS) Clarion Ledger (9/19, Mitchell, 67K) reported, “Many veterans who survive the war come home to find a changed landscape: money woes, divorces or worse.” Greenwood “psychologist Michael Whelan said if returning soldiers’ marriages break up, ‘It can lead to serious depression, particularly if they start drinking.’ That depression can sometimes lead to suicide, he said.”

     DOD’s Family Support Programs Under Pressure. In its cover story, the National Journal (9/18, Freedberg, 12K) magazine said that “from on-base counseling offices to the White House, the realization is growing that the strain on military families does not end when…warriors come home” from war. Problems as severe as PTSD “and as mundane as who pays the bills can make reintegration after the deployment as difficult as the separation during it.” And while the “Defense Department has invested heavily in family support initiatives, from marriage counselors to child psychologists and financial advisers,” these “programs are under pressure as the war winds down, the recession lingers, and deficits mount.”

 7.      VA Clinic To Host Health Fair For Women Veterans. The Panama City (FL) News Herald (9/20, Carson, 31K) reports, “In an effort to reach out to the area’s women veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs local clinic is hosting a health fair next week in downtown Panama City.” The agency’s “Panama City community based outpatient clinic will provide information about its primary care and mental health care services and staff to local women veterans Friday at the First Baptist Church, located at Sixth Street and Harrison Avenue.” VA spokesman Jerron Barnett “said…VA has been conducting more outreach efforts to let women veterans know about the unique health-care services available through the department.” The Santa Rosa Beach, Florida-based Walton (FL) Sun (9/20) publishes the same story.

 8.      Congress Expected To Honor Japanese-American WWII Vets. The AP (9/20, McAvoy) reports, “This month, Congress is expected to award its highest honor, the Congressional Gold Medal,” to Ronald Oba and other Japanese-Americans who fought for the United States during World War II, “even as their countrymen viewed them with suspicion and distrust. Many wore the uniform while their families spent the war in detention camps back home.”

 9.      American WWII Vet Returns French Flag To Paris. The AP (9/20, Doland) reports, “On the day Paris was liberated from the Nazis in 1944, a young American soldier nabbed a souvenir of epic proportions: He took home the French flag that hung from the Arc de Triomphe, a symbol of the end of four years of struggle and shame. Six and a half decades later, the aging veteran has given the flag back to the city of Paris.” While the “American veteran remains anonymous, too ashamed to come forward,” French officials “have no intention of scolding him: They have only thanks and kind words for him, pointing out that he once risked his life for France.”

 10.    DOD, VA Coordinating With Each Other On New Naval Health Clinic. The AP (9/20) reports, “A new Naval Health Clinic is opening in Charleston to serve active duty Navy men and women, their families, retirees and military veterans. Commanding Officer Navy Capt. Paula McClure says the 188,000-square-foot facility opens Monday and reflects coordination between the Department of Defense” and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The AP adds, “The $47 million facility consolidates all existing Navy medical services in the area and expands VA support for veterans in the region.” WCIV-TV Charleston, SC (9/19, 11:05 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.