Top 10 Veterans Stories in Today’s News

From the VA:

1.      Obama Signs Bill Awarding Medals To Japanese-American WWII Vets. ABC World News (10/5, story 7, 0:20, Sawyer, 8.2M) broadcast that on Tuesday, there was a “long overdue honor for some World War II heroes.” President Obama “signed a bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal” to Japanese-American veterans “who fought in France and Italy and rescued fellow troops behind German lines, even as many of their own family members were in detention camps back in the United States.”
     The Chicago Tribune (10/6, Steffen, 488K) says a “handful” of Japanese-American “veterans and lawmakers joined Obama in the Oval Office where he signed the legislation awarding” the Congressional Gold Medal “to the 442nd Regimental Combat Team and the 100th Infantry Battalion, known as the ‘Go for Broke’ fighting units, as well as the 6,000 Japanese Americans who served in the Military Intelligence Services during WWII.”
     Shinseki In Attendance At Signing Ceremony. KITV-TV Honolulu, HI (10/5) reported, “Hawaii Sen. Dan Inouye, Reps. Charles Djou and Mazie Hirono attended the signing along with Kauai-born” Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. According to KITV, Inouye served in 442nd Regimental Combat Team, the “most highly decorated unit in American military history.”

 2.      Shinseki, Owens Told About Problems Transitioning From Military To VA Care. The WWNY-TV Watertown, NY (10/5, Rusho) website said that on Tuesday, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and US Rep. Bill Owens (D-NY) “heard first hand how difficult it can be to transition from military to VA care during a closed-door roundtable” with more than 20 local veterans in Watertown. WWNY added, “Secretary Shinseki is just the man to blend the systems together, said Owens.” According to the YNN-TV Rochester, NY (10/5, Kelley) website, Shinseki and Owens “took down vets’ personal information in hopes of helping them.”

 3.      Kansas Site Chosen For ARCH Project. In continuing coverage, the AP (10/5) said Pratt, Kansas, “will be the site of a pilot project designed to improve access to health care for veterans who live in rural areas. The Department of Veterans Affairs says it will conduct a 3-year program in Pratt to provide primary care and mental health care” to vets. After noting that the “project, called…Access Received Closer to Home,” or ARCH, is “designed to serve veterans who live far from larger VA facilities,” the AP added, “The Hutchinson News reports that the project also will help the agency determine whether contract care providers could help deliver health care to veterans.”
     The Garden City (KS) Telegram (10/5), which runs the same story that appeared in the Hutchinson (KS) News (10/5, Green, 31K), pointed out that in a press release, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said Project ARCH will “provide critical information about the role of contracted care in the future of VA’s health care delivery system.”

4.      VA Awards Grant To Assist Veterans In Illinois. The Rockford (IL) Register-Star (10/6, 48K) reports, “Janet Wattles Center won a $153,000 award from the Department of Veterans Affairs to help local veterans pay for mental health services and daily living expenses. Federal officials recently awarded $41.9 million to agencies across 40 states,” including Janet Wattles, which was “one of three agencies in Illinois to receive funds for beds in the center’s housing program.” WREX-TV Rockford, IL (10/5, 10:10 p.m. CT) aired a similar report.
     In a related letter to the editor of the Detroit Free Press (10/6, 224K), Michigan resident Merri Busch says VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has “announced that more than $41.9 million in grants is available to community groups to provide 2,568 beds for homeless veterans this year.” Busch asks, “Wouldn’t it be great if a disabled veteran-owned construction company rehabilitated the beautiful Grand Army of the Republic Building into a single-room occupancy hostel for homeless veterans using” the VA grant money?

 5.      Hearing Focuses On VA Process For Presuming Service-Connection To Disabilities. In continuing coverage, the “Sgt. Shaft” column for the Washington Times (10/6, Fales, 77K) notes that US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, “recently held an oversight hearing on the existing” Veterans Affairs “process for presuming service-connection for veterans’ disabilities. Looking beyond the recent expansion of Agent Orange-related presumptions, witnesses and committee members discussed potential improvements to the process to be used in connection with possible exposures to future generations.” The “committee’s witnesses included” VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

 6.      Oregon Governor To Honor Soldier Killed In Afghanistan. The Dalles (OR) Chronicle (10/6, Ricarte, 4K) reports, “Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski will deliver a state flag to the family of Army Chaplain (Capt.) Dale Goetz at Saturday’s memorial service in Hood River to honor the fallen soldier. Kulongoski has also directed that flags at all public institutions across the state be flown at half-staff Oct. 9 in remembrance” of the 43-year-old Goetz, who “was killed Aug. 30 in a roadside bomb blast that also caused the death of four other soldiers in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.”

 7.      Facility In Alabama To Be Named After Decorated Vet. In continuing coverage, the Talladega (AL) Daily Home (10/6, Heath, 10K) reports, “The new veterans home to be built” in Pell City, Alabama, “now has a name and a tentative date to begin construction. According to Bob Horton, public information officer for the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs, the Board of Veterans Affairs approved naming the facility the Col. Robert L. Howard State Veterans Home.” Horton, who noted that Howard was “awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism during” the Vietnam War, “said a tentative groundbreaking date has been set for Tuesday, Nov. 30.”

8.      Virginia Program Assisting Wounded Vets. According to the Fredericksburg (VA) Free Lance-Star (10/5, Dennen), Claude Boushey “does a lot of listening as a veteran peer specialist with the Virginia Wounded Warrior Program.” After stating Boushey “has found that veterans’ top three concerns are jobs, finances and issues with Veterans Administration claims,” the Free Lance Star added, “The Rappahannock Area Community Services Board last year received a $300,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Veterans Services to set up the regional program to help combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.”

 9.      Congressional Testimony Criticizes Government On Vet Employment Oversight. The Washington Post (10/6, Davidson, 605K) reports, “Testimony submitted for a congressional hearing last week demonstrated that employment of veterans with companies that do business with the federal government is an area that leaves much to be desired.” The House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity “heard witness after witness describe serious weaknesses with the government’s oversight and enforcement of affirmative action laws and regulations designed to promote employment of veterans with private contractors.” The Post notes that Jan R. Frye, a “deputy assistant Veterans Affairs secretary, said VA contracting officers rely on…electronic reporting to ensure that contractors are compliant with program requirements.”

 10.    Dartmouth To Pay $275,000 In Civil Settlement. In continuing coverage, the Burlington (VT) Free Press (10/5, 34K) reported, “Federal prosecutors say Dartmouth College has agreed to pay $275,000 to settle allegations of improper conduct involving the college’s administration of contracts” at the Veterans Affairs hospital in White River Junction, Vermont. The “settlement was announced Monday by the US attorney for Vermont, Tristram Coffin.” Dartmouth College “previously returned $604,000 in contract funds after irregularities were discovered.”