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COMMANDERS CORNER
Greetings to all
of you, since our last publication we have been very busy and now it’s
being kicked into another gear. I can’t speak for you, but I have just
about recovered from our Annual Picnic and now the holiday season is
looming on the horizon. Speaking of the picnic we had a great time and
everyone in attendance agreed we lived up to our Post tradition.
Hats off to everyone who helped make this another successful event. A
very special thank you to several of our local merchants (listed
separately in this publication) who donated gift certificates and prizes
to help make this one of our best community affairs ever. The food as
usual was outstanding, and the ribs, pull pork, burgers, dogs and the
other specialties from the grill just melted in your mouth. The
Auxiliary did another outstanding job on the pies, cakes and cookies. The
moon bounce, kids games, ladies hammer throw (very dangerous time), dunk
tank (Jen and Sue), Mary Kay booth, caricature artist, horse shoe pitch,
door prizes, kids prizes, Fire Trucks, boy If you were not there you
missed a great time. Special friends of the post in attendance were Grand
Voiture du Virginia, Grand Chef de Gare, Dick George, 17th
District Commander, Bill Strawsburg, 17th District
Vice-Commanders Ray Locket and Marv Rodney, and Springfield Post Commander
Lew Lipscomb.
Our membership renewals are down for this time of the
year, we are a little over 60% and that is unusual for our post. Last
year we led the district and ended the year as number one. As you are
well aware once you get to the top you become a target. During my visit
to other posts they remind me that Post 162 has competition, and they
intend to take the plaque we won last year to hang in their Post Home. In
the words of the great street fighter, “IT AIN’T OVER YET”. Everyone’s
goal is to be at 100% by the end of December, and I plan to work harder to
achieve that goal. I have put on my bib overalls, hard hat, and working
gloves and have instructed the 1st Vice to put on his work
clothes, wave his magic wand (pen or pencil) and lets get this done. I
really need your support in this effort, if you have not renewed
please do so now. I have set the bar high again this year, and I know we
can attain that standard of excellence that made us number one in the
district last year. Come out to the Redskins Tailgate Surprise sponsored
by the Commander on October 7 but bring your 08 membership card or renew
on the spot if you want to participate in the membership only drawings and
prizes.
Again thanks to all of you that continue to make Post 162
the great place it is today. You make our motto “Visiting Post 162
is just like coming back home” a reality. Our officers and their
committees are working hard to ensure we continue to identify, prioritize,
and develop a plan of action to continually address the needs of the post
and our veterans.
FOR GOD AND COUNTRY
Sam Ramseur
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Membership
If you
have not renewed for 2008 as yet, please do so as soon as possible. We
are behind the power curve at a little over 60%. Our own District
Commander Bill Strawsburg has set a goal for each post to be at 100% by
New Years. Besides, that is the only way Commander Sam is coming out of
his bib overalls!!! Many thanks to those of you who have already joined
us for another year.
Even if
you rarely come to your post home, membership is extremely important. For
years the American Legion has been harping on the Veterans
Administration’s Budget which has not been increased enough to get rid of
the backlog of claims it has accumulated. More members mean more power
when talking to our Senators and Congressmen.
The exact
format for Early Bird has not been finalized, but the date has: 3
November. Please call 703-690-1107 or come in to the Post for details on
this event when they are available.
Remember –
Let’s “Git-R-Done” for 2008!!!
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Chaplains Report
As we
prepare for the fall and winter, with the start of football and end of
baseball seasons, please remember, there are some important veteran’s
dates, to include Veteran’s Day and the birthdays of the US Air Force, and
US Marine Corps. We also saw the official POW/MIA remembrance this past
September.
We have
Honor Flight on the first Saturday of October. Don’t forget, with the
number of WWII veterans declining daily; let us make a good showing at the
honor flight. Details are available at the Post. November remembrances
include the USMC Anniversary, November 10th, Veteran’s Day on
November 11th. With football and other events happening that
weekend, please take the time out to remember those who have fallen in
defense of our country.
I wish to
thank those who have contributed golfing items to Give 2 The Troops. I
will be sending those items within the next several days. I received golf
balls, clubs and irons, and golf tees from our membership. If anyone has
any golf items to give, I will process those items for future shipment.
On a
lighter note, don’t forget that yours truly has his KJ/DJ nights scheduled
for October 21st and the Halloween Party, October 29th.
In
closing, let us pray for the men and women in uniform, deployed overseas,
the fallen veteran’s of past wars, to the infirmed, and the families of
all veterans. May they all find peace and comfort.
Victor
Graulau
Chaplain
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Benefits and Entitlement Seminar
By Art Dupay
In conjunction with the November General Membership
Meeting, Post 162 is conducting a Benefits and Entitlements Seminar on
Saturday, November 17, 2007. The seminar is open to all Legionaries, SAL
and Auxiliary members. Join us for morning refreshments, a short meeting,
and stay for following presentations.
Laura Paul, Army Retiree Services Office and Editor of
Army Echoes, the retiree newsletter, will be there to talk on several
subjects. Learn more about retired pay, Combat-Related Special
Compensation, and what’s new in retiree benefits.
Domonicque Tatum, Global War on Terrorism Outreach
Specialist, Department of Veterans Affairs, Alexandria Vet Center, will
also be on hand. Hear his presentation on the general benefits and
entitlements, plus information on the Agent Orange and the Gulf War
Illness programs.
Mark your calendars and plan to attend this informative
session. Family members are also welcome
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IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY
PAO
Did you
know we normally celebrate members’ birthdays on the third Friday of each
month (following Ralph’s World Famous Pizza)?
So let us
know the date of your birthday. Ask the ABC Manager on duty for the
Birthday Notebook, sign up and join us for your party. Come early and
enjoy Ralph’s Pizza. Why celebrate your special day alone. COME PARTY
WITH US!
Birthday
Party’s for October and November are:
October
Birthdays
3 Kinni Zweifel
9 John Bast
11 Jim Spears
12 Mickey MoHaupt
13 Arnie Reese
14 Amy Barnish
Tommy Castaldo
19 Larry Tislow
24 Jamie Haynes
November
2 George Feldpusch
5 Chris Herst
6 Gary O’Neil
30 R.J. Shorty Yoder
Any
changes will be posted on the message board at the entrance to the club.
IT’S
YOUR BIRTHDAY,
IT’S A
PARTY, And HELEN HAS A CAKE AND BETTY BRINGS COOKIES.
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POST 162 FAVORITE PERSON
Sam Ramseur
We here at Post
162 already know this but we always say to those visiting, coming to Post
162 is just like “coming back home”. It feels great for me to meet
individuals who have visited our post and be told of our hospitality and
how welcome they were made to feel. Of this I can take no credit because
it is you the 162 family who should get the recognition. So with this in
mind I have decided to do a series of articles on people in our family
that have in the past and continue to this day make a difference here at
162.
First up is one of our favorites,
always there willing and ready to lend a hand or foot depending on the
situation is Helen Voccio. Helen (Birthday Lady) is a 33 year veteran of
the Auxiliary and is one of the volunteers in the Post sponsorship of the
Armed Forces Retirement Luncheon. Among her many hobbies are baking,
cooking, internet contest, and she is known throughout the community for
the outstanding job she does on her home inside and out during the holiday
season. Her favorite movie is Saving Private Ryan; TV show is Law and
Order (Chuck her husband knows about that) and favorite food, hamburgers
and cheeseburgers. Her and husband Chuck enjoy helping as volunteers at
the Lorton
Senior Center, and we all know
she loves entertaining. But her favorite thing is simply spoiling her
grand children. She spoils us here also. THANKS HELEN FOR ALL THAT YOU
DO.
Helen serving at luncheon
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Your Service – Your Benefits
By Art Dupay
Post Service Officer
I have two important subjects in this column. Come
to the Post and learn more about each at our Benefits and Entitlements
Seminar, Saturday, November 17th – see related article.
Agent
Orange. Approximately 20 million gallons of herbicides were used in
Vietnam between 1962 and 1971 to remove plant and tree foliage that
provided cover for enemy forces. Following their service in Vietnam, some
veterans reported a variety of health problems and concerns which some
attributed to exposure to Agent Orange (name comes from color of the
stripe on the storage drums – Agents White and Blue were also used as
defoliants). The VA has recognized an expanded number of conditions for
“service-connection” based on Agent Orange and offers Agent Orange
Registry examination program, medical treatment, and disability
compensation. Service in Vietnam regardless of location and duty carries
the presumption of exposure. The VA web site at
http://www1.va.gov/agentorange/ has more
details.
Combat Related Special Compensation. Since the late
1800's, retired veterans with disabilities waived their regular retired
pay to receive Veterans Administration (VA) disability compensation. This
system has been unique to military retirement, since all other Federal
service retirees are entitled to receive their full regular retirement and
disability compensation. Enacted by Congress on December 2, 2002, the CRSC
program restores military retired pay to eligible retired veterans with
combat-related injuries.
CRSC provides retired veterans a monthly compensation
replacing the VA disability offset. Eligible veterans with 20 or more
years of service, that have "combat related" VA-rated injuries, will no
longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their
VA disability compensation. Instead they will receive both their full
military retirement pay and their VA disability compensation.
To be eligible you must be Active, Reserve, or medically
retired, have a VA disability of 10% or greater, be receiving retired pay,
and retried pay is reduced by the disability benefit. In addition, you
must have at least one “combat related” VA disability as described in the
following examples.
Simulating War – knee hurt while reacting
to enemy fire during Field Training Exercise (FTX). Hazardous Service
– hurt knee during night jump during SF school. Instrumentality
of War – hit knee on rotating tank turret during FTX. Armed
Conflict – shot in knee by enemy during Gulf War.
If
your situation fits one of these examples apply now. Eligible retirees,
regardless of branch of service, go to this site
www.crcs.army.mil for instructions and the
application form. Of course you also have the option to contact me –
(703) 946-9301.
Servicemembers Missing from WWII listed in online database
The Department of Defense POS/Missing Personnel Office
has developed and electronic database listing the names of Servicemembers
still unaccounted for from World War II which is now available online.
This database, listing nearly 78,000 names, was compiled
by researchers from DPMO and JPAC. They used hard-copy sources including
records from the National Archives II repository in College Park, MD., and
the historical source, The World War II Rosters of the Dead. They
applied various techniques to develop lists of possible discrepancies
which were then resolved using additional sources from the National
Archives and thousands of personnel files from the Washington National
Records Center.
After more than three years of research and coordination
to transfer information into an electronic format, efforts to gather more
data on unaccounted-for WWII servicemenbers continue. New names and
information will be added as historical documents and personnel and
personnel files are located, and the list will assist in recovery
operations.
The names of servicemen whose remains are recovered and
identified today and in the future will be removed as families accept the
identification and inter their loved ones in cemeteries of their choosing.
This
WWII data, along with databases listing the missing from the Korean War,
Cold War, Vietnam War and Gulf War, are available on DPMO’s web site at
www.dtic.mil/dpmo.
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A Salute
To Friends Of American Legion Post 162
Thanks to the generous
donations from our business community, we at Post 162, the American
Legion, had a great annual picnic.
Gunston Plaza Shopping
Center
Polo Grill (Scott)
Vinny’s Italian Grill and
Pizzeria
Papa John
Golds Gym (Patricia)
Bloom Grocery Store (zackary)
Father and Son Seafood
Lorton Dental (Dr Moffitt)
Dominos Pizza (Moises)
Lorton Town
Center/Lorton Station Road
Corner Cuisine (David)
Curves (Laurie)
Silverbrook Road
Great Harvest Bread Company
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PENNIES FOR POPPIES
Alan Amos
Everybody has a
drawer, glass or some kind of container with Pennies in it. We now have a
JUG container at front door of Legion. Please bring your pennies in. We
are collecting pennies for Poppies. Fill it up.
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