VFW District 8 Newsletter

CWO5 Randle M. Tolliver, USN (Ret)

Commander 

For veterans in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line's number is "988” then press "1”.

Homebound veterans requiring assistance please contact any member. 

Veterans experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, please contact any member or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.

Buddy Checks! Please call or go visit elderly or homebound veterans and see how they are doing and if they need help.

We are always looking to have veterans who are eligible and want to continue serving our community to join us. If you are interested, please contact any member or post. 

For our comrades who want to continue serving their communities but no longer have a VFW post, VFW District 8 has the answer: the establishment of a VFW Detachment, having a presence in the community without the burden of maintaining a post. The Det would be in the community, doing VFW business and outreach as an element of the parent post. If you are interested, please contact (573) 924-2382.

Legislative news:

Folks, please contact your senator and representative to voice your support for several pieces of legislation to support Missouri Veterans. These include:

Funding the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) with a stable funding solution. The MVC manages the seven Missouri Veterans Homes, six cemeteries, and numerous veterans’ programs.  

Passing HJR 115 and SJR 88 to provide ‘Disabled Veterans Property Tax and Homestead Exemption” for 100% service-connected disabled veterans. Versions of this bill has been filed every year since 2018 and every year, Missouri state bureaucracy has killed it. hjr115 has cleared committee, please call rep. Jonathan Patterson, Speaker of the House at (573) 751-0907 and tell him to schedule HJR115 for floor vote asap and to support the bill

Passing HB 3029, "The Veterans Benefits Protection Act”, to protect veterans from unaccredited "Claim Sharks” predatory claims assistance practices. It will enforce federal VA standards, prohibit charging for initial claims or pre-appeal fees. It also requires clear disclosures and prohibits unauthorized access to veterans VA data.

We are adamantly opposed to Section 42.028 of Senate Bill 974. We strongly support the rest of the bill that would do great things for the Missouri National Guard, but this section would effectively legitimize "Claim Sharks” business practices.

Please contact your representative to voice your opposition of Section 42.028. You can find your representative at https://house.mo.gov/legislatorlookup and your senator at https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup

Also, please support the "Major Richard Star Act” (H.R. 2102 and S. 1032). Today, medically retired veteran’s Department of War retirement pay is reduced to offset their VA disability compensation. These are fundamentally different benefits, earned for different reasons, yet Congress refuses to act.  Please thank Senator Hawley who is a co-sponsor, but call Senator Schmitt, at (202) 224-5721, and your Congressman / Congresswoman and ask them to do the right thing. You can find your congress person at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative .

Local events: 

The time and place of these and local post meetings and other events are provided on each post’s Facebook site; come join us!

VFW Post 2593 in Arnold and the District 8 Riders will be participating in the City of Kimmswick’s annual Vietnam Veterans Day Parade on 28 March. Parade starts at 11 am.

Every Tuesday, VFW Post 5331 in Cedar Hill host "Veterans Coffee Talk” at 9 am at 1 Lynn Lane in Cedar Hill. If you have questions or would like more information, please call EverTrue @ (314) 446-2539, Col. (retired) Ted Hodgson @ (314) 221-2096 or Mark Newton @ (636) 222-3521.

Every Wednesday, VFW Post 5896 is hosting an "all-you-can-eat” breakfast at 814 E Karsch Blvd, Farmington. Food service is 7 to 9:30 am and the cost is $8 and children under the age of 10 eat for free.

Every Saturday, VFW Post 1831 is hosting a Shooting Match at 1651 Veterans Dr., DeSoto. Doors open at 10 am, practice at 11 am and shooting starts at noon. Clubroom will open for drinks & appetizers. For more information call (636) 586-9271.

Every 3rd Sunday of each month, VFW Post 6516 in High Ridge will host "Meat Shoot” at 2220 Gravois Rd, High Ridge. Rain or shine, shooting starts at noon. Ages 12 and up are welcome and they provide shells. Nothing smaller than a .678 choke tube and no scopes, optics, bull barrels. For mor information call (636) 677-1772.

Post 6660 and VFWA 6660 are performing an environmental cleanup project across Reynolds County to remove and properly dispose of metal, tires, and other debris from along state and county roads, creeks, and with the cooperation of the owner’s, private property.  In addition to the aesthetic value of removing such material from our forest and roadways, metal waste can leach into the soil and adjacent waterways, causing soil contamination. A lot of us rely on wells for drinking water and to water stock. These pollutants can affect groundwater. Please contact (803) 924-0608 or (573) 924-2382 if you have material to remove.

Now let us talk a bit about our history:

53 years ago on 29 March 1973, the U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam was disestablished and U.S. combat troops departed Vietnam, marking the end of the US involvement in that conflict.  From February 1961 – May 1975, more than 3,400,000 Americans served in support of the U.S military operations in Vietnam and Southeast Asia; more than 58,000 gave their lives. Over half a century has passed - but in our minds eye they will always be the young men we saw every night on the evening news.  Young men walking across rice patties, or zipping across the sky in helicopters.  When their predecessors returned home, they were greeted as heroes in the United States. Parades honored their sacrifices. They served with honor and returned to a homeland in political turmoil – from a war made unpopular on college campuses by people who would never serve their country.  Regrettably, many found upon their return that their service and sacrifice was overlooked, dismissed or even insulted. But most were met with something far worse - indifference. Most of them did what American Veterans have always done.  Come home - built a life - raised a family and served their communities. We cannot undo their homecoming, but now, we honor their service with Vietnam Veterans Day.  These veterans are worthy of every praise, monument and memorial erected in their name. Because of their vision, no veteran will return to an America unappreciative of their service and sacrifice. To all Vietnam veterans: today and every day, on behalf of your fellow veterans, thank you for your service, and welcome home. For more information, I recommend "America’s Longest War: The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975” by George Herring.

34 years ago, "The Big Mo” was decommissioned for the last time.  USS Missouri (BB-63) was completed in 1944, and she was the last battleship commissioned by the United States. Her Battle Stars included the Battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa. the Korean War, and Desert Storm.  After her final decommissioning in 1992, she was donated to the USS Missouri Memorial Association and became a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.  For more information, visit https://www.ussmissouri.org/ .

I offer this from President Calvin Coolidge "The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”

Bulletin Board:

The VA one-stop telephone number is 1-800-698-2411 and press "0” for immediate assistance. The VA one stop website is VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs .

For more for information concerning VA "End of Life” benefits and services see www.va.gov/initiatives/end-of-life-benefits/

Veteran employment opportunities!  Please visit https://news.va.gov/138283/hiring-veterans-job .

The Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) one-stop Benefits and Resource Portal is (573) 522-4061 or www.veteranbenefits.mo.gov .

To pre-certify for burial in a Missouri Veterans Cemetery, apply at https://my.mo.gov/gsp?id=vcp_preapplication .  For information on burial eligibility, visit https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/cemeteries . 

The Missouri Job Center offers no-cost employment assistance for veterans and spouses. Contact (417) 257-2630 or visit jobs.mo.gov/vets.

To order military service documents such as a DD 214/Separation Document or Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), contact the National Archives, National Personnel Records Center at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, or call (866) 272-6272.

For more information, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/967395123712841 or visit movfw.org

 

"Here to Serve”