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2 pairs 55.40 Chestnut 3 pairs 80.75 Brown Haband #1 Bargain Place, Jessup, PA 18434-1834 Send____ casuals. I enclose On-Line Quick Order: Imported $______purchase price plus $7.99 postage. In GA add sales tax. Acorn FREE!

1 Men’s D Width: 7 7 ⁄2 8 CHESTNUT BROWN Desert 1 1 1 8 ⁄2 99⁄2 10 10 ⁄2 11 Tan 12 13 *EEE Width ($4 more per pair): 1 1 1 ® 88⁄2 99⁄2 10 10 ⁄2 Visa MC Discover Network 11 12 13 AmEx Check Card # ______Exp.: ____/____ 100% Satisfaction Phone/Email ______Guaranteed Mr. Mrs. Ms. ______or Full Refund of Purchase Price at Address ______Apt. # ______Any Time! City & State ______Zip ______When you pay by check, you authorize us to use information from your check to clear it electronically. Funds may be withdrawn from your account as soon as ©2009 Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc. Manufactured for Brown Shoe Company, the same day we receive your payment, and you will not Inc,. under license from Schering-Plough HealthCare Products, Inc. receive your check back from your financial institution. Have You Or A Loved One Suffered From MESOTHELIOMA After Working Around ASBESTOS?

Mesothelioma has been conclusively linked with exposure to asbestos and asbestos-containing prod- ucts. Millions of hardworking men and women in the military that worked with and around asbestos and asbestos-containing products may be affected.

If you or someone you know have been diagnosed with mesothelioma or lung cancer, you may be able to file a legal claim against the asbestos industry and collect significant financial compensation. CALL TOLL FREE 1-877-839-MESO (1-877-839-6376) YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO MONEY DAMAGES

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Lawyers at Fleming & Associates are licensed in TX with principal offices in Houston, TX and associate with experienced lawyers throughout the U.S. CALL NOW 1-877-839-MESO TOLL FREE 1-877-839-6376 contents August 2009 • Vol. 167, No. 2

Flanders Field American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein strolls through grave markers and places poppies at Flanders Field American Cemetery in Belgium. The commander visited the i nal resting place of 368 World War I soldiers during an oi cial European visit in May and June, and attended ceremonies honoring the 65th anniversary of the D-Day landings in France. Jef Stof er

24 Birth of a New GI Bill 40 Burden of Proof VA’s education director plays a key If VA is to reverse a claims backlog role in getting the upgraded benei t that numbers nearly 1 million cases, to veterans. By Philip M. Callaghan government leaders believe a major overhaul and a change of culture are 30 The Shelf Lives of Warplanes both needed. By Ken Olsen The military’s procurement process is impeding a new, ef ective and long- 48 Dan Sowers lived series of aircraft. By Peter Grant As the “Father of Legion Baseball,” the World War I veteran founded one of 36 America at 300 the country’s leading sports programs If our i rst 200 years are any guide, for youth. By Philip M. Callaghan tragedy and triumph can be expected between now and America’s 300th birthday. By Alan W. Dowd 7 Vet Voice ON THE COVER 12 Commander’s Message The F-4 Phantom II entered service 14 Big Issues in 1960 and, as one of the military’s most successful aircraft, now has a 16 Living Well second life as a radio-controlled 22 Veterans Update target drone. SEE PAGE 30. Kenneth Chandler 50 Rapid Fire 60 Comrades 64 Parting Shots

The American Legion Magazine, a leader among national general-interest publications, is published monthly by The American Legion for its 2.7 million members. These wartime veterans, working through 15,000 community-level posts, dedicate themselves to God and Country and traditional American values; strong national security; adequate and compassionate care for veterans, their widows and orphans; community service; and the wholesome development of our nation’s youth.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 00 ATTENTION VICTIMS OF ASBESTOS-RELATED MESOTHELIOMA

COMMITMENT SHARED THROUGH OUR SERVICE. Bud Coady Dave Fanikos Harvard, 1979 Harvard, 1985 USMC, 1979-89, 1991 USMC 1986-1989 Gulf War Veteran Attorney at Law Attorney at Law

Like you, we served our country. And like you, EXPERTISE we believe in just compensation for those diagnosed with Mesothelioma. For 20 years, DEMONSTRATED Coady Law Firm Attorneys have successfully THROUGH RESULTS. represented veterans stricken by Asbestos- related Mesothelioma, securing millions of dollars to help pay for healthcare and support their families.

Coady Law Firm offers free, no-obligation consultation nationwide, and does not expect compensation until your suit has succeeded. Unlike other lawyers, we are veterans who share your values and are personally commited throughout your case.

Coady Law Firm. Fellow veterans and trusted attorneys, who believe in defending our shipmates.

Call 1-888-802-MESO (6376), and we will come to you for a free consultation. Call 1-888-802-MESO (6376) FOR A NO OBLIGATION CONSULTATION. 205 Portland Street • Boston, MA 02114 • E-Mail: [email protected] www.legion.orgw click here Where to go and what to i nd in The American Legion’s electronic media

HOT LINKS Great places to go online. World Series live www.legion.org/baseball All games of The 2009 American American Legion Legion FFa a r r g go o Baseball ,, N D World Series will be presented via live webcast from Fargo, N.D., Aug. 14-18. Voice of American Legion Baseball Jim Darby will cover the play-by-play, and former Major League Convention on the Web All-Star Luis Gonzalez will www.legion.org/legiontv provide commentary. The 91st National Convention of The American Legion will be presented in a pay-to-view live webcast from Louisville, Ky., Aug. 25-27. Selected speeches from top dignitaries and coverage of ceremonies will be posted on the Legion Web site for free viewing shortly after they occur. Visit Legion.org for more. ‘The War at Home’ www.legion.org/ whatsnew/legiontv BETWEEN THE LINES Listen to interviews with Additional material from selected American Legion Magazine communication students articles can be found online. www.legion.org/whatsnew/magazine at Norwich University who are producing a documentary about 12 Commander in Normandy veterans returning home Watch a video i lled with highlights of National to civilian life. Commander David K. Rehbein’s tour of Priority Group 8 Normandy and Belgium in June. calculator www.legion.org/whatsnew/legiontv www.va.gov/ 46 The Never-Ending Battle healtheligibility Part III: Burden of Proof The Department of Veterans Af airs Watch the June 18 hearing of the House recently Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and announced that Memorial Af airs addressing VA’s challenge to more than 250,000 reduce a disability claims backlog that threatens to reach 1 million. veterans in Priority Group http://www.veterans.house.gov/hearings/hearing.aspx?NewsID=426/ 8 are now eligible to enroll 51 New music from Michael Peterson for VA health-care services. VA has launched an online Country music star and American Legion Legacy Scholarship spokesman calculator to help veterans Michael Peterson debuts music from his newest CD at the 91st American determine their eligibility. Legion National Convention. www.tagyoureitonline.com, www.myspace.com/michaelpetersoninfo

4 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Lose weight. Live better. Clinically tested to lose weight, lower blood sugar, and help control your type 2 diabetes.

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†Offer good on new 28-Day Auto-Delivery order only. Offer expires August 31, 2009. Free shipping to Continental U.S. only. One additional free week of food will be included with your first three deliveries. Free weeks do not include fresh-frozen items. With Auto-Delivery, you are automatically charged and shipped your 28-Day program once every 4 weeks unless you cancel. You can cancel at any time by calling 1-800-321-THIN®; however for this offer you must stay on Auto-Delivery for at least three consecutive 28-Day program deliveries to receive all three free weeks. Not valid on Flex program. Other restrictions apply. Call or see website for details. Cannot be combined with any prior or current discount or offer. Limit one offer per customer. ©2009 Nutrisystem, Inc. All rights reserved. On Nutrisystem you add-in fresh grocery items. Nutrisystem D is a comprehensive weight loss program. It does not treat, cure or prevent diabetes, and is not a substitute for diabetic medications. Consult your physician before starting this or any weight loss or exercise program. **Forbes.com, 01/02/08 and 12/23/08. ANNOUNCING THE 2009 SILVER AMERICAN EAGLE

NATIONAL COMMANDER David K. Rehbein PUBLISHER The American Legion EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR William M. Justis

EDITOR Jeff Stoffer MANAGING EDITOR Philip M. Callaghan ASSISTANT DIRECTOR/ OPERATIONS Brandy Ballenger ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Joyce Cole SENIOR EDITOR Steve Brooks ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Grills ASSISTANT EDITOR James V. Carroll Coins shown larger than actual size to show exquisite detail. CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Alan W. Dowd

ART DIRECTOR Holly K. Soria 1 oz. $1 Silver * American Eagle $22.89 DESIGNER Matt Everett he highly anticipated Act Now for Special Price | Act quickly to PRODUCTION MANAGER Tony Heath Trelease of the 2009 Silver reserve your coins at the incredible price of THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE COMMISSION American Eagle is here! For a $22.89.* The U.S. Mint ended the 2008 CHAIRMAN Dennis J. Henkemeyer Bagley, MN VICE CHAIRMAN James H. Hall Hopewell, NJ limited time you can order this mintage early last year and caused quite a COMMANDER’S extraordinary coin at a special price. In addition, buying panic. So, don’t miss your opportunity to REPRESENTATIVE Terry D. Lewis Philadelphia order today and shipping is FREE! get the 2009 issues... it may be your only one! CONSULTANT Rodger A. Bennett Thawville, IL Robert A. Corrigan Bronx, NY CALL NOW TOLL FREE (800) 323-5055 MEMBERS Roger H. Anderson South Windsor, CT James F. Angell Sedro Woolley, WA *Prices could be higher or lower depending on the price of metals. Call for up to date quotes. Harold F. Arnold Statesboro, GA Sam Barney Lancaster, OH Thomas L. Burns Ocean View, DE Claude B. Carpenter Little Rock, AR INTERNATIONAL CURRENCY ASK FOR YOUR 8725 EASTEX FREEWAY • BEAUMONT, TX 77708 FREE CATALOG James W. Conway Charlestown, MA Philip B. Finley Colby, KS IC# 2AL809 Richard A. Font Shalimar, FL Dennis E. Fritz Columbus Junction, IA Charles E. Hartman Eau Claire, PA Theodore Hartmann Smithton, IL Roy L. Kirkham Minden, LA James J. Leyser Fresno, CA THE EASIER John J. Michalski New Carlisle, IN Silas M. Noel Frankfort, KY WAY TO TRIM MILWAUKEE Robert E. Vass Sr. Huntington, WV David R. Walkup Oklahoma City Frank C. Ward Greenville, SC AND MOW! IS PROUD TO HOST NEC LIAISON COMMITTEE William W. Kile Chairman, Petersburg, WV ® The original, patented DR TRIMMER/ Andrew W. Johnson Honolulu MOWER is both a precision trimmer Salvatore Ruvolo Henderson, NV Floyd W. Turner Birmingham, AL and a powerful mower! ADVERTISING TRIM within a whisker of houses, ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Diane Andretti ASSISTANT trees, fences. Big wheels make it ADVERTISING MANAGER Amanda A. Harpenau easy for anyone to control precisely! ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Laura Edwards MOW WITHOUT FEAR of hitting CONTACT (317) 630-1282 (317) 630-1283 rocks or hidden obstacles, because The American there’s no blade to bend or dull. Legion Magazine GUARANTEED NOT TO P.O. Box 7068 Indianapolis, IN 46207 TANGLE even in waist-high ADVERTISING SALES James G. Elliott grass and weeds – thanks to Company, Inc. its patented No-Wrap NEW YORK (212) 588-9200 DETROIT (248) 530-0300 Trimmer Head. THE AMERICAN LEGION’S CHICAGO (312) 236-4900 CUT UP TO 3" LOS ANGELES (213) 624-0900 THICK BRUSH Copyright 2009 by The American Legion 92ND NATIONAL The American Legion (ISSN 0886-1234) is published monthly with optional by The American Legion, 5745 Lee Road, Indianapolis, IN 46216. attachment. Periodicals postage paid at Indiana polis, IN 46204 and additional CONVENTION mailing offices. POST MASTER: Send address changes to The American Legion, August 27-September 2, 2010 Data Services, P.O. Box 1954, Indianapolis, IN 46206. Canada Post International Publications Mall (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. PM40063731. Return Undeliverable Get a FREE DVD and Catalog! Canadian Addresses to: Station A, P.O. Box, Windsor ON N9A 6J5. Re-entered second-class mail matter at Manila Central Post Office TOLL-FREE dated Dec. 22, 1991. Printed in USA 800-731-0257 Member Audit Bureau of Circulations DRtrimmers.com visitmilwaukee.org 66189X © 2009 800-231-0903 ‘The War Next Door’ Jay Stuller’s article (June) was a reasonable description of the Mexican drug wars being experienced here in the Southwest – that is, until he chose to The Magazine for a Strong America perpetuate the outright mythical beliefs of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Kumar Kibble, deputy director of the Immigration HOW TO CONTACT US and Customs Enforcement’s Oi ce of Investigations, For assistance with membership record verification, membership applications, change of address, who claim that 90 percent of Mexico’s guns come notification of member death or changes to magazine from the United States and that Mexican cartels’ or Dispatch subscriptions, contact customer service. CUSTOMER (317) 860-3111 guns are commonly obtained through straw SERVICE [email protected] The American Legion purchases here. William La Jeunesse and Maxim Data Services P.O. Box 1954 AP Lott exposed these myths as complete fabrications Indianapolis, IN 46206 in an April 2 FOX News report. For change of address by mail, attach old address label, provide new address and membership number. As it turns out, only 17 percent or less of the arms recovered in Mexico have

NATIONAL (317) 630-1200 their origin in the United States. Also, there’s no logical reason why drug gangs HEADQUARTERS 700 N. Pennsylvania St. would spend time or money to get straw buyers to pick up guns from dealers. Indianapolis, IN 46204 AMERICAN LEGION P.O. Box 1055 The number they’d acquire would be miniscule when huge quantities of arms MAGAZINE Indianapolis, IN 46206 are readily available from Asia, South America, Israel, Russia and even the E-MAIL [email protected] TELEPHONE (317) 630-1298 Mexican army. WEB SITE www.legion.org – James Crawford, Los Lunas, N.M. SUBSCRIPTIONS Free with membership Non-members: $15 Foreign: $21 Closing the U.S. border to ‘The Never-Ending Battle’ Post-spon sored and widows: $6 Single copies: $3.50 arms trade is a moot point. I would like to thank The MEMBERSHIP IN THE AMERICAN LEGION Veterans who served at least one day of active military duty Mexico still has large, unpro- American Legion Magazine for during wartime, or are serving now, are potentially eligible tected sea infi ltration routes as highlighting the disability- for membership in The American Legion. Members must have been honorably discharged or still serving honorably. well as its southern border, claims processing backlog at the ELIGIBILITY Aug 2, 1990 – current allowing the arms trade to Department of Veterans Affairs DATES OF Dec. 20,1989 – Jan. 31, 1990 MILITARY Aug. 24, 1982 – July 31, 1984 fl ourish. This problem will (June). This problem has gone SERVICE Feb. 28,1961 – May 7, 1975 June 25, 1950 – Jan. 31, 1955 continue as long as the graft and on for too long, and we must fi x Dec. 7, 1941 – Dec. 31, 1946 April 6, 1917 – Nov 11, 1918 corruption of its government it so that our servicemen and (Merchant Marines who served from Dec. 7, 1941 to Dec. 31, 1946, goes unabated. women receive the benefi ts they are also eligible.) – James Ret, San Antonio have earned and deserve. I am TO JOIN Membership Division [email protected] greatly concerned about the (317) 630-1321 www.legion.org I sympathize with the people backlog and applaud The PROGRAM CONTACT INFORMATION of Mexico, but Jay Stuller should American Legion for devoting VETERANS AFFAIRS (202) 861-2700 & REHABILITATION [email protected] do his homework before quoting an entire issue to help call ECONOMICS 202.861.2700 [email protected] Dianne Feinstein. It’s well attention to this problem. FAMILY SUPPORT (800) 504-4098 NETWORK [email protected] known she is determined to I am encouraged that, as a CITIZENS FLAG (317) 630-1384 ALLIANCE [email protected] erode, if not eliminate, the fi rst step to address the backlog, www.cfa-inc.org Second Amendment to the Congress has provided funding LEGION RIDERS (317) 630-1265 www.legion.org/legionriders U.S. Constitution. Her agenda for 4,000 new claims proces- [email protected] AMERICAN LEGION (317) 630-1249 was clearly identifi ed way back sors. Now VA needs to provide BASEBALL [email protected] www.baseball.legion.org in 1994, when Feinstein was processors with consistent, BOYS NATION (317) 630-1207 [email protected] asked on “60 Minutes” about the high-quality training and a JUNIOR (317) 630-1249 SHOOTING SPORTS [email protected] assault-weapons ban legislation forum to share best practices. NATIONAL (317) 630-1249 ORATORICAL CONTEST [email protected] she helped push through Additionally, since my subcom- HEROES TO (703) 908-6250 HOMETOWNS [email protected] Congress. She said, “If I could mittee oversees VA’s Informa- SCHOLARSHIPS & CHARITABLE TRUSTS have gotten 51 votes in the tion Technology offi ce, I will AMERICAN LEGACY (317) 630-1212 SCHOLARSHIP [email protected] Senate of the United States for continue to monitor VA’s AMERICAN LEGION (317) 630-1202 ENDOWMENT FUND an outright ban, picking up progress toward modernized CHILD WELFARE (317) 630-1202 FOUNDATION www.cwf-inc.org every one of them – Mr. and record keeping. NATIONAL (317) 630-1202 Mrs. America, turn them all In July, I conducted a hearing EMERGENCY FUND [email protected] AMERICAN LEGION MERCHANDISE in – I would have done it.” on electronic record keeping ORDER PLACEMENT (888) 453-4466 AND CATALOG emblem.legion.org Ninety percent is a bogus between the Department of REQUESTS [email protected] fi gure the senator throws out, Defense and VA that would AMERICAN LEGION FAMILY AMERICAN LEGION (317) 569-4500 motivated by agenda. modernize and streamline AUXILIARY www.legion-aux.org SONS OF THE (317) 630-1200 – Vies Ansbergs, Providence, Utah medical care for military AMERICAN LEGION www.sal.legion.org AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 7 IMAGINE THIS BLISTERING RASH ALONG WITH STABBING PAIN

AND YOU’LL HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT IT CAN BE LIKE TO HAVE SHINGLES.

For more information on the availability of ZOSTAVAX through the Merck Vaccine Patient Assistance Program, visit ZOSTAVAX.com/freevaccines or call 1-877-9 SHINGLES. IF YOU HAD CHICKENPOX AS A CHILD, YOU COULD GET SHINGLES NOW.

The chickenpox virus is still in your body. It can resurface as Shingles, a painful, blistering rash. The Shingles rash usually lasts up to 30 days, and for most the pain lessens as the rash heals. But some people who develop Shingles experience long-term pain that can last for months, even years.

ZOSTAVAX is a vaccine that can help prevent Shingles. ZOSTAVAX is used to prevent Shingles in adults 60 years of age or older. Once you reach age 60, the sooner you get vaccinated, the better your chances of protecting yourself from Shingles. ZOSTAVAX is given as a single shot. ZOSTAVAX cannot be used to treat Shingles, or the nerve pain that may follow Shingles, once you have it. Talk to your health care professional to see if ZOSTAVAX is right for you.

Important Safety Information ZOSTAVAX may not fully protect everyone who gets the vaccine. You should not get ZOSTAVAX if you are allergic to any of its ingredients, including gelatin and neomycin, have a weakened immune system, take high doses of steroids, or are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Possible side effects include redness, pain, itching, swelling, warmth, or bruising at the injection site, as well as headache. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088. Before getting vaccinated, talk to your health care professional about situations you may need to avoid after getting ZOSTAVAX. Please see the Patient Product Information on the adjacent page.

Before you get Shingles, ask about ZOSTAVAX.

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become active again and give you (800) 986-8999 to report any shingles. Age and problems with Tell your health care provider if exposure to ZOSTAVAX during the immune system may increase you expect to be in close contact pregnancy. your chances of getting shingles. (including household contact) This leaflet summarizes important with newborn infants, someone Shingles is a rash that is usually information about ZOSTAVAX. who may be pregnant and has on one side of the body. The rash not had chickenpox or been If you would like more information, begins as a cluster of small red vaccinated against chickenpox, talk to your health care spots that often blister. The rash or someone who has problems provider or visit the website at can be painful. Shingles rashes with their immune system. www.ZOSTAVAX.com or call usually last up to 30 days and, for Your health care provider can 1-800-622-4477. most people, the pain associated tell you what situations you may with the rash lessens as it heals. need to avoid. Rx only Issued December 2008

Distributed by: 1 Registered trademark of Merck & Co., Inc. Copyright © 2006 Merck & Co., Inc. MERCK & CO., INC. Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889, USA All rights reserved 20904745(1)(607)-ZOS-CON personnel and veterans, and enhance the speed and precision HOW MILITARY SERVICE CHANGED MY LIFE of benefi ts and care. American Legion members have many common bonds: a passion for I will continue to work community service, patriotic values, support for the troops, and respect for through the House Veterans law and order among them. But Send your stories the strongest is the one all Affairs Committee to keep [email protected] members share: service in the U.S. pressure on VA until our veter- Armed Forces. That is the The American Legion Magazine ans are confi dent their claims connection that links those who How the Service Changed my Life are being heard and processed in crushed Hitler with those who P.O. Box 1055 a timely manner. After all the toppled Saddam. Indianapolis, IN 46206 sacrifi ces they have made for our No one who serves in the U.S. military comes out unchanged, whether country, they deserve better. it’s a two-year stint or a 30-year career. They have earned it. The American Legion Magazine wants to know, in 200 words or less, how – U.S. Rep. Harry E. Mitchell, D-Ariz., service in the U.S. military changed your life. Was it the discipline? The chairman, Subcommittee teamwork? The shared sacrii ce? A particularly inl uential sergeant or oi cer? Was it the GI Bill? on Oversight and Investigations, Submissions will be considered for publication in the Veterans Day 2009 House Veterans Aff airs Committee issue of The American Legion Magazine, and for online publication as well. Submissions cannot be returned, so please do not send original photos or No wonder there’s a VA documents. backlog, with people fi ling disability claims for carpal tunnel syndrome. Give me a beautiful monument in Bayonne, Then I remembered that the break. We have combat-tested N.J., to those who lost their lives Vietnamese communists found soldiers out there who are on 9/11 (Rapid Fire, June). Other they could most effectively experiencing real medical than the coverage in your control villages if they fi rst killed problems, physical and mental, magazine and on the Internet, those who had any education. who have given up trying to little was reported in newspapers Schoolchildren were snatched fi ght the system to get help. This or on TV. The “teardrop” is from their parents and summar- is a national disgrace. particularly touching. ily shot. In Iraq, we found mass I personally have service-con- Russia has had her share of graves that included mothers nected problems from exposure terrorists, with one of the worst with children who were clutch- to Agent Orange. I continue to atrocities at the school in Beslan, ing toys when they were buried work. I do not encumber any where Islamic terrorists took alive. Remember the German resources, fi nancial and other- hostage hundreds of children, concentration camps? wise, of VA. I served my country teachers and parents. Many were War is a horrible waste of with distinction and have moved brutally killed. This is truly a human lives and economic on. If everyone with question- world struggle against terrorism, resources. But when ruthless able claims would get out of the and we must never forget that. tyrants victimize the world, can system, it would eventually – Stella L. Jatras, Camp Hill, Pa. we really look them in the eyes unclog itself and allow for a and forgive, or walk arm in arm more orderly implementation of ‘Our Helmets Duel No More’ and kiss them on their cheeks? services to those who truly need Lt. Gen. Hal Moore’s article How many times do we need to and deserve assistance. (May) took us out of reality and see that appeasement only feeds – Jack Murphy, Dallas lifted us into a make-believe a dictator’s thirst for blood? As world. For a moment, I got the long as there are Hitlers and ‘From Russia, With Love’ notion that the world has Husseins, we’ll need troops to Thank you for publishing the reasonable people and wars are rescue their victims. article and photos of Russia’s just big misunderstandings. – Dale Sprinkle, Surry, Maine

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE WELCOMES YOUR OPINIONS Include your hometown and a daytime phone number for verii cation. All letters published are subject to editing. Due to the volume of mail received, not every letter can be acknowledged. The American Legion Magazine, P.O. Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206 [email protected]

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 11 Do our children know all the words? Schoolchildren of Waregem, Belgium, spend the better part of each year learning to sing “The Star Spangled Banner” in English. It is an 85-year-old tradition that reaches a crescendo every Memorial Day at Flanders Field American Cemetery, where 368 U.S. soldiers are buried. This year, nearly 3,000 visitors attended the service and heard the children sing – a remarkable phenomenon, considering those laid to rest there fell in battle more than 90 years ago. Meanwhile, in ancient towns scattered across northwestern France, nothing quite compares to the annual array of ceremonies that recog- nize the D-Day invasion of 1944. For a week or more before and after June 6 each year, men, women and children of all ages appear from every corner of Europe to see vintage World War II vehicles, motorcy- cles, tanks and landing crafts. Chase Studios They dress in authentic National Commander U.S. uniforms bearing the David K. Rehbein insignia of American military units. They present wreaths, MEMORANDA say prayers and salute the SHOOTING SPORTS fallen. U.S. fl ags fl y high as parades, concerts, battle The 19th Annual American Legion re-enactments, parachute jumps Junior Shooting Sports National Championships run Aug. 4-9 at the Veterans of the Normandy invasion salute the and other festivities honor the U.S. Olympic Training Center in U.S. Flag during a ceremony to recognize the Allied troops who fought there 65th anniversary of D-Day. Jef Stof er Colorado Springs, Colo. Post- 65 years ago. sponsored shooters from across Last June, I returned to Europe for the fi rst time since I served as an the country will compete for Army infantryman in the 1970s. I was certainly impressed, if not $2,500 college scholarships astonished, by the gratitude and respect for the U.S. military from the donated to the program by Sons of European citizenry. In Germany, local leaders expressed appreciation for The American Legion. U.S. installations and medical facilities. AMERICAN LEGION In France and Belgium, many residents See the video on Legion TV: BASEBALL WORLD SERIES can still remember the hope and relief www.legion.org The American Legion U.S. soldiers delivered to their war-torn Baseball World Series is in towns. They have passed those memories along to new generations, who Fargo, N.D., Aug. 14-18. This keep the tradition alive. year’s tournament will be This all leaves me to wonder if we are doing enough to impart similar presented in a live-streamed webcast at www.legion.org. values to our own children and grandchildren in America. At a time when we have to debate school offi cials to start the day with the Pledge LEGACY RUN TO LOUISVILLE of Allegiance and question the lack of focus on U.S. war experiences in The fourth annual American Legion Legacy Run roars out of history textbooks, I think it is fair to ask if we, as veterans, are doing Indianapolis on Aug. 18, looping enough to pass along to young people our stories, our patriotism and through at least seven states and our pride in military service. ending Aug. 23 in Louisville, Ky., As a new school year begins, I implore my fellow Legionnaires to site of the Legion’s 91st National make themselves available to schools, Scouts, church groups and Convention. Hundreds of extracurricular programs for young people. U.S. children should know motorcycle riders are expected to the lyrics to our National Anthem and how to proudly recite the Pledge participate in the event and raise of Allegiance. They should understand that freedom can never be taken scholarship money for children of for granted. From what I saw in U.S.-liberated Europe, such lessons are U.S. military personnel killed on part of a time-honored cultural curriculum. The same could be true here active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. if we take the initiative and show our own young people why Belgian To register for the Legacy Run children learn to sing our song. online, visit www.legion.org.

12 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 ฀฀ U.S. Gold Coins Authorized for Immediate Release

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Æ"422;"Wpkvgf"Uvcvgu"Tctg"Eqkp"("Dwnnkqp"Tgugtxg0"Fkuvtkdwvqt"qh"Iqxgtpogpv"Kuuwgf"Iqnf"("Uknxgt0"Pqv"ChÞnkcvgf"Ykvj"vjg"W0U0"Iqxgtpogpv0 Cap-and-trade energy policy SUPPORT OPPOSE Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill. ̈ Braley serves on the House Energy ̈ Shimkus serves on the House and Commerce Committee. Energy and Commerce Committee.

For decades, the health of the U.S. economy has I believe that any cap-and-trade legislation been dependent on an abundance of cheap petro- regulating greenhouse gas emissions will have a leum from the Middle East. But what happens harmful effect on the U.S. economy and will not when oil prices increase due to war, political result in any worldwide environmental benefi t. instability or the whims of foreign dictators? Last The Energy and Commerce Committee recently summer’s sharp spike in oil passed legislation that will THE HEART OF THE ISSUE and gas prices squeezed make Americans pay more in American families to the Advocates say a cap-and-trade system higher taxes, higher energy breaking point, and illustrated would limit the release of harmful prices, and higher costs of more clearly than ever our greenhouse gases. Critics say it would goods and services. need to develop a policy that increase energy prices and further Some of my colleagues invests in domestic sources of damage the economy. believe the United States clean, renewable energy. should unilaterally reduce The American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) its man-made carbon dioxide output, which is a Act makes the change we need in our energy very minute percentage of all greenhouse gases. policy, creating millions of jobs and reducing our However, there is no guarantee that China and dependence on foreign oil – all while taking on India will do the same. And if they do not, climate change. worldwide carbon emissions are likely to go up, The ACES bill sets a limit on the total amount of which means Americans will pay the price for no carbon that can be emitted by big polluters – i.e., environmental gain. those that emit more than 25,000 tons of carbon The legislation is estimated to cause electricity per year. If polluters’ emissions exceed their rates to rise 90 percent, gasoline prices to go up individual allowances, they must purchase credits 74 percent, and natural gas prices up 55 percent. from the government. Over time, the carbon limit I recently visited the Prairie State Energy will be reduced, yielding a 17-percent reduction in Campus in my district. This is a new coal mine carbon emissions by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. that will feed a new electricity power plant. Critics contend that ACES will increase energy Construction jobs will peak at 2,300 and prices but, in reality, the bill will actually decrease 500 permanent jobs will be created. If cap-and- energy prices in the long run. Fully 60 percent of trade becomes law, jobs like these will not happen the revenue generated goes exclusively toward in the future, and 3,300 current mine jobs in lowering energy costs for consumers. That’s why Illinois could disappear. Those mine jobs help dozens of energy companies – from Duke Energy create other jobs in their communities. The Illinois in the east to Pacifi c Gas and Electric in the Coal Association says that about 12,000 other jobs west – support the bill. exist just because of the mine jobs. Our country can no longer afford the cost of Carbon caps and energy taxes will hit rural inaction when it comes to energy security. The America and the working poor the hardest. American Clean Energy and Security Act is a I cannot stand by and keep quiet as others impose common-sense approach that will create both a these costs on Americans. Instead, I must stand up new clean-energy economy and end our depen- for jobs and for every family who is saying no to dence on foreign oil. It’s the change we need. these energy taxes.

CONTACT YOUR LEADERS The Honorable (name), U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510 • Phone: (202) 224-3121 The Honorable (name), U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515 • Phone: (202) 225-3121

14 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Experience matters.

Eric L. Haney Command Sergeant Major, (ret) Author of Inside Delta Force

For military veterans faced with a prostate cancer diagnosis, look to treatment options with a long record of proven service. TheraSeed® has 12+ years of proven history. Cure rates* are better or equal to surgery. Ask your doctor. It’s a minimally invasive outpatient treatment that works with a lower risk of incontinence and impotence.1,2 A one-time, approximately 45-minute procedure, TheraSeed® treatment also results in a quicker recovery time than surgery.3

*Biochemical disease-free survival. 1 As supported by 12-year independent clinical studies. 2 Sharkey J, Cantor A, Solc Z, Chovinick SD, Behar RJ, Perez R, Otheguy J, Rabinowitz R. Brachytherapy versus radical prostatectomy in patients with clinically localized prostate cancer. Current Urology Reports, 2002;3:250-257. 3 The most commonly reported side effects of prostate brachytherapy are short-term urinary or obstructive symptoms within the first few weeks after the implant procedure.

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BY MARK L. FUERST It only takes a few steps to Before beginning a vigorous begin an active, mobile lifestyle. exercise program, sedentary men Literally. One of the best ways to ages 45 and older and women get into a fi tness routine is to ages 55 and older – or anyone take a daily walk. with two or more heart-disease “Even with one comfortable risk factors (obesity, smoking, 15-minute walk, you can feel high blood pressure, diabetes, or better than you have in a long family history of heart disease) – time because you’re awakening should see a doctor, Cotton says. your cardiovascular system and How do you motivate yourself HOW TO THRIVE stimulating your muscles,” says to exercise? Here are some tips: exercise physiologist Richard ■ Set realistic goals. You don’t IN SPITE OF DIABETES Cotton. Build your way up slowly have to exercise for an hour. U.S. News & World Report cites to 30 minutes of daily aerobic Walk fi ve minutes daily, a study in which “people who activity. Then you can start push- six days a week, and that’s lost weight in the 18 months ing the pace. good for one or two pounds after being diagnosed with Research shows that mild of weight loss a year. Get off Type-2 diabetes experienced exercise can be a physical outlet the elevator one fl oor early to sustained benei ts, even if they for the day’s stresses, and that take the stairs to your offi ce, regained the weight later.” being physically active could and you’ll lose another few Among those benei ts were lower make you a decade younger pounds a year. blood pressure and better biologicallybiologically than ■ Find places in everyday life to blood-sugar levels. someonesomeone whowho iiss a exercise automatically.automatically. TakeTake tthehe In addition to losing weight, six couchcouch potato. other tips from the American continuedcontinued on page  Diabetes Association include:

■ Find a primary-care doctor who will help you focus on blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

■ Find a diabetes educator to teach you about the disease.

■ Set aside 30 minutes most days of the week for exercise.

■ Take medicines that will help

you control your blood sugar. Media Bakery ■ Be sure to have annual eye and foot checkups. CHANGE PLATES TO LOSE WEIGHT ■ Recruit family and friends to help you with the health- Could managing weight be as simple as focused changes in your diet changing your plate size? Some experts and activities. think so. Today’s dinner plates are 36 percent larger than they were in 1960, says Dr. Brian Wansink of Cornell Living Well is designed to University. That’s a problem, because provide general information. It people tend to put more food on is not intended to be, nor is it, larger plates. Switching from a 12-inch medical advice. Readers should to a 10-inch plate could shave consult their physicians when 800 calories of the typical dinner – they have health problems. enough for the average adult to drop

18 pounds in a year. Media Bakery

16 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 “How close are you to your blood pressure and cholesterol goals?”

Ask your doctor if Caduet can help you go for both your goals.

amlodipine besylate/atorvastatin calcium from 2.5mg/10mg to 10mg/80mg tablets

In a clinical study of patients with slightly elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, Caduet helped 48% reach both goals in just 4 weeks. Not all patients will reach their blood pressure and cholesterol goals. Individual results will vary. Only Caduet combines the two proven medicines, Norvasc (amlodipine besylate) for high blood pressure and Lipitor (atorvastatin calcium) for high cholesterol, in a single pill to significantly lower both, when diet and exercise are not enough. Ask your doctor if Caduet can help you go for both your goals and visit www.caduet.com to learn more.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: your doctor if you feel any new muscle pain or weakness. Caduet is a prescription drug that combines 2 medicines, This could be a sign of rare but serious muscle side effects. Norvasc and Lipitor. Norvasc is used to treat high blood Tell your doctor about all of the medicines you take. pressure (hypertension), chest pain (angina) or blocked arteries This may help avoid serious drug interactions. Your of the heart (coronary artery disease); Lipitor is used doctor should do blood tests to check your liver function along with diet and exercise to lower high cholesterol. before and during treatment and may adjust your dose. It is also used to lower the risk of heart attack and stroke If you have any heart problems, be sure to tell your in people with multiple risk factors for heart disease doctor. The most common side effects are edema, headache, such as family history, high blood pressure, age, low and dizziness. They tend to be mild and often go away. HDL-C, or smoking. Caduet can be used alone or with other high blood pressure Caduet is not for everyone. It is not for those with liver medicines. Caduet is one of many options for treating high problems. And it is not for women who are nursing, are blood pressure and high cholesterol, in addition to diet pregnant, or may become pregnant. If you take Caduet, tell and exercise, that you or your doctor can consider.

Please see the accompanying patient information on the following page. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.FDA.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

© 2009 Pfizer Inc. All rights reserved. CTU00340AA IMPORTANT FACTS (CAD-oo-et)

LOWERING YOUR HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS OF CADUET AND HIGH CHOLESTEROL Serious side effects in a small number of people: High blood pressure and high cholesterol are more than just Muscle problems that can lead to kidney problems. This numbers. They are risk factors that should not be ignored. If includes kidney failure. You have a higher chance for muscle your doctor said you have high blood pressure and high problems if you take certain other medicines with CADUET. cholesterol, you may be at an increased risk for heart attack or Liver problems. Your doctor may do blood tests to check your stroke. But the good news is, you can take steps to lower your liver before you start CADUET and while you are taking it. blood pressure and cholesterol. Symptoms of muscle or liver problems include: With the help of your doctor and a medicine like CADUET, • Unexplained muscle weakness or pain, especially if you along with diet and exercise, you could be on your way to have a fever or feel very tired lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol. Ready to start • Nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain eating right and exercising more? Talk to your doctor and visit • Brown or dark-colored urine the American Heart Association at www.americanheart.org. • Feeling more tired than usual • Your skin and the whites of your eyes turn yellow If you have these symptoms, call your doctor right away. Chest pain. Sometimes chest pain that does not go away or gets WHO IS CADUET FOR? worse or a heart attack can happen. If this happens, call your Who can take CADUET: doctor or go to the emergency room right away. • Adults who need to lower their blood pressure AND Common side effects of CADUET include: who cannot lower their cholesterol enough with diet and • headache • constipation exercise • swelling of legs or ankles • gas Who should NOT take CADUET: • feeling dizzy • upset stomach and stomach pain • Women who are pregnant, may be pregnant, or may become These side effects are usually mild and go away. There are other pregnant. CADUET may harm your unborn baby. If you side effects of CADUET. Ask your doctor or pharmacist for a become pregnant, stop CADUET and call your doctor right complete list. away. • Women who are breast-feeding. CADUET can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby. • People with liver problems • People allergic to anything in CADUET HOW TO TAKE CADUET Do: • Take CADUET once a day as prescribed by your doctor. • Try to eat heart-healthy foods while you take CADUET. • Take CADUET at any time of day, with or without food. BEFORE YOU START CADUET • If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. But if it has been more than 12 hours since your missed dose, wait. Tell your doctor: Take the next dose at your regular time. • About all the medicines you take, including prescription and nonprescription medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements Don’t: • If you ever had heart disease • Do not break CADUET tablets before taking them. • If you have muscle aches or weakness • Do not stop taking nitroglycerin, if you take it for angina. • If you drink more than 2 glasses of alcohol daily • Do not change or stop your dose before talking with your doctor. • If you have diabetes or kidney problems • Do not start new medicines or stop any medicines you are • If you have thyroid problems taking before talking to the doctor.

NEED MORE INFORMATION? ABOUT CADUET • Ask your doctor, health-care provider, or pharmacist. This is CADUET is a prescription medicine that combines Norvasc® only a summary of the most important information. (amlodipine besylate) for high blood pressure and Lipitor® •Gotowww.caduet.com or call (866) 514-0900. (atorvastatin calcium) for high cholesterol in one pill. CADUET, along with diet and exercise, treats both high blood pressure Rx only (hypertension) and high cholesterol. CADUET can lower the risk of heart attack or stroke in patients with risk factors for heart Uninsured? Need help paying for Pfizer disease–such as heart disease in the family, high blood pressure, medicines? Pfizer has programs that being older than 55, having low HDL-C, diabetes, or smoking. can help. Call 1-866-706-2400 or visit www.PfizerHelpfulAnswers.com.

Manufactured by Pfizer Ireland Pharmaceuticals, Dublin, Ireland Distributed by Pfizer Labs, Division of Pfizer Inc. , NY, NY 10017 ©2008, Pfizer Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. CTIF Rev. 1, 01.08 continued from page  Images by JUICY FRUITS Media Bakery stairs instead of an escalator. you see every day how good Better Nutrition reminds us there’s When you’re brushing your you feel about exercising. Or more to juice than oranges, grapes teeth, slide one leg back to get a workout buddy to share and apples. In fact, juices from acai stretch your calf muscle, then the good feelings. and goji berries, pomegranate and switch legs. During television ■ Write down three actions. Your other exotic sources are chock-full commercials, stand up and put list might include walking fi ve of healthy ingredients. one foot up on the couch and minutes a day, climbing one set stretch the back of the leg for of stairs three days a week, and 30 seconds, then switch legs for stretching during the evening another 30 seconds. For news fi ve days a week. Sign it alternate leg stretches with and post it on your refrigerator squats, stand up straight and or bed, or put it in on a calen- Acai berries

squat down until your buttocks dar as a daily reminder. When ■ Grow in the Brazilian rain forest touch the couch, then stand up you write it down, it becomes ■ Contain 10 times the again (eight to 20 times). more tangible. anthocyanins of red wine

Without spending extra time, ■ Don’t take more than two days ■ Are great source of antioxidants you’re exercising. off. Ideally, you want to exer-

■ Make a commitment to some- cise at least fi ve days a week. If body else. Tell your spouse or you haven’t exercised in two other family members, a days, try to get it done as soon co-worker, or the store clerk as possible.

■ Reward yourself. When you reach your goals, treat yourself Pomegranate at the end of the year with a ■ Anti-cancer “warrior” found vacation, a new wardrobe piece to slow the spread of or a party. prostate cancer ■ Both juice and seeds are healthy Mark L. Fuerst is a health and medicine writer based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Mangosteen

■ Grows in Southeast Asia and South America, but juice is available in the United States ■ Potent antioxidant levels ■ Combats inl ammation

Media Bakery LEGL PAIN CAN BE SIGN OF CLOTS SurgeonSu General Steven Galson is urging Americans to take leleg pain seriously. He warns that pain, swelling and skin didiscoloration occurring in the lower leg or thigh could indicate Goji berries a type of blood clot called a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). If a ■ Raisin-like berry credited with DVDVT moves to the lungs, it can lead to a condition called stimulating production of pupulmonary embolism that can be fatal if not treated quickly. growth hormones in humans GGalson warns that the condition occurs most often after ■ Provides more vitamin C than lolong periods of immobility, such as a long airplane l ight or oranges, more betacarotene carca ride, or after recent hospitalization. The risk of than carrots, and more iron than developingde DVTs increases for women taking hormones, as soybeans or spinach wellw as people older than 50. Media Bakery

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 19 BY MARTIN SAYERS Tinnitus is the perception of between 10 million and 12 mil- tinnitus. sound in the ears or head when lion have severe and chronic For some no external noise is actually tinnitus; some 2 million are people, tinni- present. The sound varies, but severely disabled by the condi- tus maskers – sufferers most often say they tion. According to many experts, devices hear ringing, whooshing, tinnitus cases are growing at an similar in pulsing, buzzing or even music. alarming rate among U.S. troops appearance to hearing Tinnitus has always been a serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. aids that produce a problem for veterans, because it Unfortunately, there is no pleasant noise – may is usually the result of exposure known cure for tinnitus, but also help. to a sudden loud noise or explo- sufferers can take steps to relieve sion – or repeated and prolonged the symptoms: See a doctor. This is fundamen- exposure to loud noises that can tally important because the damage fragile, sound-detecting Avoid nerve stimulants. Sub- causes and symptoms of each cells in the inner ear. stances such as nicotine and case can vary dramatically. Tinnitus sufferers often believe caffeine constrict blood fl ow in they have mental problems, the ear. Caffeine especially is one Protect yourself. Avoid aggravat- because they are the only ones of the most common tinnitus ing the problem by keeping away who hear the sounds. Many irritants; intake should be from loud environments, and by sufferers don’t talk about their reduced or even eliminated. using ear plugs when exposure condition and often fail to seek to loud noise is unavoidable. Media Bakery medical advice. However, the Cover up the noise. Tinnitus is problem is extremely wide- usually more troublesome when Join a support group. Because spread; the American Tinnitus surroundings are quiet, especial- sufferers alone can hear the Association (ATA) says that ly when going to sleep. A compet- noise, tinnitus can be a very about 50 million Americans ing sound, such as a ticking isolating condition. Visit the experience intermittent or clock, radio, fan or a “white- ATA’s website at www.ata.org to permanent tinnitus. Of these, noise” machine may help mask fi nd a group near you.

TOP TIPS FOR HEALTHY EYES If you use a computer regularly, take frequent breaks. Make sure the screen is approximately 25 inches away from your face. Get regular eye exams. A professional can identify eye problems before they cause irreversible damage. Quit smoking. Smoking is harmful to the eyes and, even if you don’t smoke, it is advisable to stay away from smoky environments. Wear protective eye wear, safety glasses or goggles when playing sports or doing activities around the house. Wear sunglasses in bright sunlight to protect your eyes from harmful ultraviolet rays.

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20 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Attention: Everyone eligible for Medicare Medicare only covers about The other 80% 20% of Part B expenses. is up to you.

An AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan could save you thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.*

Legal Disclosures: Medicare alone can leave you with big expenses. That’s why millions **United HealthCare Insurance of people just like you have chosen an AARP Medicare Supplement Company pays a fee to AARP Insurance Plan, insured by United HealthCare Insurance Company. and its affiliate for use of the AARP trademark and other Other great reasons for choosing the only Medicare supplement services. Amounts paid are used insurance plans endorsed by AARP** include: for the general purposes of AARP and its members. • Freedom to choose your own doctors AARP Health Care Options and hospitals is the name of AARP’s health • No referrals needed — ever — to insurance and service program. It is not the insurer. Insured by United see specialists HealthCare Insurance Company,† • Competitive prices just for AARP members Fort Washington, PA (United • Help from Personal Health Insurance advisors HealthCare Insurance Company of New York, Islandia, NY, for New • Virtually no claim forms to fill out † York residents). Not connected We want to help you better understand your health insurance options with or endorsed by the U.S. Government, the Federal Medicare with a free information kit. There’s no obligation, so get yours today. Program, Social Security, or any other government agency. All Call for your free information kit now — certificates/plans may not be available in your state/area. even if you’re not an AARP member yet. Policy Form No. GRP 79171 GPS-1 (G-36000-4). In some states, 1-866-561-5269, code AR3 plans may be available to persons eligible for Medicare by reason of This is a group Medicare supplement policy and you must be an AARP member disability. Call to receive complete to purchase this product. information, including benefits, costs, limitations, and exclusions. *Juliette Cubanski, Molly Voris, Michelle Kitchman, Tricia Neuman, Lisa Potetz, & The Kaiser Family Foundation, Medicare Chartbook, Third Edition, Summer 2005. , (December 6, 2006), p. 32. This is a Solicitation of Insurance. AS621 (12/06) Changes proposed for disabled retirees BY TOM PHILPOTT

President Barack Obama has asked Congress to Calculating concurrent receipt for such retirees expand eligibility for concurrent receipt to more will involve three “moving parts” – gross retired disabled military retirees – in this case, 103,000 pay based on military disability, retired pay earned Chapter 61 retirees who were retired from service for years served, and VA disability compensation. because of their medical conditions. To prevent duplication of disability payments, a Most Chapter 61 retirees special rule says DoD disabil- leave the service before they ity retirement and earned can reach regular military retired pay must be offset by retirement eligibility at the VA disability compensation – 20-year mark. “Concurrent if the amount of DoD disabil- receipt” refers to the receiving ity retirement awarded of both military retired pay exceeds retired pay earned earned for years served and for years served. VA disability compensation For example, McGee says, paid for service-related consider the circumstance of medical conditions. For more an E-4 with four years’ than a century, federal law service, rated 50-percent banned concurrent receipt for disabled by DoD and 90 per- disabled retirees, requiring DoD cent by VA. Using rounded instead a dollar-for-dollar numbers, the E-4’s base pay offset of retired pay for any disability compensation. is $2,200 a month. A 50-percent DoD rating yields Obama’s fi scal 2010 budget request seeks disability retirement of $1,100. Because a 90-per- expansion of concurrent receipt to Chapter 61 cent VA rating pays $1,600 a month, this E-4 retirees over the next fi ve years, starting with (under current law) would opt for the VA compen- about 12,000 who served fewer than 20 years and sation and get nothing for his service time. have VA disability ratings of 90 or 100 percent. By becoming eligible for CRDP, the same Effective Jan. 1, 2010, they could begin to draw E-4 would receive retired pay for years served (four retirement annuities based on years served, in multiplied by 2.5 percent) or 10 percent of basic addition to VA disability compensation for their pay, which would equal $220 a month in retired service-related ailments. pay. This would be paid in addition to $1,600 in VA From 2011 to 2013, more service-disabled veter- compensation for a total of $1,820. ans would be made eligible for the concurrent- Now consider an O-4 with 12 years in service, receipt program, including retirees with disability rated 70 percent by DoD and 90 percent by VA. ratings of 30 percent or higher. Veterans with With a monthly base pay of $6,000, a 70-percent ratings between 50 and 80 percent, who served less rating pays a DoD disability retirement of $4,200 a than 20 years, would also become eligible for dual month. Under current law, this retiree would take payments. Finally, on Jan. 1, 2014, a small number the $4,200 rather than the $1,600 payable for a of Chapter 61 retirees who draw VA disability 90-percent VA rating. compensation would become eligible, too. The O-4’s retired pay for 12 years of service comes The Obama plan still would not allow concur- out to $1,800 a month; concurrent receipt would pay rent receipt for 450,000 retirees who served 20 a monthly total of $3,400. Thus, this O-4 would not years or more, have service-connected ailments benefi t from the expansion of concurrent receipt. rated 40 percent or less, but have no conditions “I just want to make sure people have an under- tied to combat or combat training. What the standing of this, so that they don’t have an expec- Obama administration proposes, says Gary McGee, tation that won’t be met,” McGee says. assistant director of military compensation at DoD, is the expansion of eligibility for the Concurrent Tom Philpott, a former Coast Guardsman, has Retirement and Disability Pay (CRDP) to all written about veterans and military personnel issues Chapter 61 retirees. for more than 30 years.

22 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 TO HONOR YOUR SERVICE TO COUNTRY EXCLUSIVE UNITED STATES MILITARY BIRTHSTONE WATCHES Personalized with Your Birthstones, Monogram, Initials, Service Years and Post Number e proudly present our exclusive As a final touch of exclusivity, your WMilitary Birthstone watches, to honor watch back will be engraved with those who have served our Country in the your initials, years of service and Post U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Number along with a monogram of Coast Guard, Merchant Marines and Seabees. your choice on the band, below the dial. The watch is delivered to you in a handsome The special dial is minted like a fine coin and gift box - perfect for Father’s Day, Birthdays captures every fine detail of your Service and Holidays. Branch Emblem. A genuine diamond is set at 12 O’clock. Thank You priced at just $125*, an affordable payment plan is available with The unique dress bracelet is customized no interest. This fine watch is designed by with four brilliant birthstones and your and created exclusively for Veterans personal monogram. The golden Commemoratives™.Itisnotsold watch bezel, with etched roman in stores. Your satisfaction is numerals frames the dial, and touches guaranteed 100% or return within 30 of genuine 24 Karat Gold complete days for a refund or replacement. this fine watch. So, order today with confidence. The precision quartz watch You have earned the right to movement keeps accurate time wear this unique watch as a within seconds per month, and permanent reminder of your special provides years of dependable service. place in history.

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Photo: Rob Curtis/Army Times

VA’s director of education service calls the Post 9/11 benei t ‘fabulous,’ but it’s not for everyone.

A long-awaited, brand-new set of veterans Q: In general, how has the nation’s academic education benei ts kicks in this month. The Post-9/11 community responded to the Post-9/11 GI Bill? GI Bill is designed to better meet the needs of today’s A: There’s been a phenomenal amount of interest. veterans and their families. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., There was a growing sense, prior to this bill, of the authored the legislation – the Post-9/11 Veterans need to reach out to veterans and ensure they were Education Assistance Act of 2008 – in the hope that it feeling like they were wanted on campus. Aca- would have the same ef ect as the Servicemen’s demia’s aware of that, and (this legislation) is Readjustment Act of 1944, crafted by American certainly a tool they will use to make sure veterans Legion Past National Commander Harry Colmery. are aware that they are welcome. While the impact of the new benei t remains to be seen, the challenge of delivering it is just as daunting Q: How are colleges and universities dealing with as it was when the troops came marching home from the new benefi ts? How is VA helping them? World War II. Last year, after Congress passed the new A: We’ve had a longstanding relationship be- measure, former VA Secretary James B. Peake argued tween VA and what we refer to as the schools’ in favor of outsourcing its development and delivery. certifying offi cials. Any school that has veterans The American Legion and others fought of that in attendance, who are receiving VA benefi ts, has proposal. such an offi cial. We help train them and keep So now it’s up to U.S. Navy veteran Keith Wilson, them up to speed on the benefi ts. Last April, we director of education service for the Department of had a conference in Atlanta for these offi cials, and Veterans Af airs, to usher in the new era. In one year, we’ve done the same thing in Cincinnati and he has guided the transition toward the Aug. 1 launch, Muskogee, Okla. an ef ort that has been an education unto itself – for veterans, campus coordinators, schools and VA alike. Learn more about the GI Bill: Wilson recently spoke with The American Legion www.mygibill.org Magazine about the challenge.

24 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Special Limited Edition — Only 5,000 Pieces!

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©2008 BGE 01-04011-001-BIR RESERVATION APPLICATION Signature ______*Plus $12.99 shipping and THE BRADFORD EXCHANGE service. Limited-edition ______presentation restricted to 295 9345 Milwaukee Avenue · Niles, IL 60714-1393 Mr. Mrs. Ms. ______casting days. Please allow 4-8 Name (Please Print Clearly) weeks after initial payment for shipment. Sales subject Address ______to product availability and YES. Please reserve The Spirit of Semper Fi sculpture order acceptance. City ______for me as described in this announcement. 01-04011-001-E94991 Limit: one per order. Please Respond Promptly State ______Zip ______Normally, the certifying offi cials are on a how many students to whom they will offer the fi rst-name basis with their education liaison Yellow Ribbon program. representatives (ELRs) on campus. And if any of The way the Yellow Ribbon program will affect them can’t make it to these conferences, we’re students varies greatly, largely depending on going to them and providing the training for where they’re going to school. There are some implementing these new benefi ts. states where the tuition and fee cap is so high that Another important piece to this is the state an individual attending a private institution can approving agencies. Those are state employees actually be fully covered. But there are also under contract to VA to provide outreach services situations with a very large gap between the public and program approval services, in support of maximum and the private school charges. education benefi ts. And those individuals also Florida, because of a unique program down have close relationships with there, has a very high tuition the ELRs and certifying and fee cap for public institu- offi cials. What we have focused on tions. There are other states that “ have high tuition or fee caps Q: A lot of attention has is making sure individuals based on having aviation been given to how the new programs, maritime academy GI Bill covers tuition and fees. are asking themselves programs, things like that. How does the payment mecha- California is the only state that nism work? the right questions ... doesn’t charge tuition; it charges A: What this legislation fees. And that has something to allows VA to do is to pay up on which program they do with how California’s consti- to the highest in-state, tution is written. undergraduate, public tuition want to use. Because it’s within each of the states. The an irrevocable decision. Q: Is there any potential for way states and schools ” abuse in this system? Could a charge tuition varies widely, school with a lower tuition rate both in terms of how they charge it and what they decide to raise it, simply because it would be covered charge. There are literally thousands of different under the new GI Bill? combinations. And VA has established, by law, the A: I’m not comfortable using the term “abuse.” maximum of those amounts that are charged at What I would say, though, is that the law defi nes – public institutions. very precisely – what VA is allowed to do. VA is required by law to pay up to the highest in-state, Q: Where does the Yellow Ribbon program fi t in? undergraduate, public tuition. If that happens to A: For any situation where a veteran may be be an astronomically high number, that still charged more than (the highest in-state public qualifi es under the law. It allows VA to pay the tuition), the Yellow Ribbon agreements come into maximum, it does not allow VA to defi ne what play. That can be for private or public institutions. the maximum is. That’s the good thing about For example, if a student is pursuing graduate this program. It is tailored to the cost and auto- study, it’s often charged at a higher rate. Or a matically indexed to the maximum. That’s built veteran may be charged out-of-state tuition, and into the formula. that is normally a higher rate. So the Yellow Ribbon agreements allow VA Q: Are there any areas of confusion or misunder- and the school in question to basically offset the standing – among veterans or in the academic difference between what the GI Bill will cover community – regarding these new education and what the individual school’s tuition and fees benefi ts? actually are. The schools are allowed to offset A: Generally speaking, the individuals who will be up to half the difference between their tuition using the benefi ts out of the gate will be those who and fees and the state max (for veterans ben- are currently receiving benefi ts under one of our efi ts), and then VA will match whatever other existing programs, largely the Montgomery amount they offset. GI Bill. So we’re working hard to make sure those It can be up to a 50/50 arrangement, but the individuals have the information they need, taking school decides the amount they’re going to off- into account our existing programs did not go set, and they also have the authority to decide away. What we have focused on is making sure

26 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Easy to use. Easy to see. Easy on the wallet.

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Samsung is a registered trademark of Samsung Electronics America, Inc. and its related entities. individuals are asking themselves the right ques- can be used vs. 10 in the Montgomery GI Bill. Even tions before they make the determination on which if these people will be paid a little bit less under the program they want to use. Because it’s an irrevo- Post-9/11, they might want to receive those benefi ts cable decision. to add that fi ve-year cushion for using the benefi t. Depending on an individual’s circumstances, they could actually be better off under one of Q: Is it true that the Post-9/11 GI Bill doesn’t offer our existing programs. But it really depends compensation for apprenticeships in certain trades, on the situation. The questions are more than and that it doesn’t provide full benefi ts for veterans monetary because they get into things such as who are taking online classes? the transfer of benefi ts. Under this program, A: The law states that this program only covers individuals in the armed forces on Aug. 1 training at degree-granting institutions. However, can actually transfer unused benefi ts to there’s also a caveat that concerns those individu- family members. als who are transferring from one of our existing programs into the Post-9/11 GI Bill. They bring Q: How do Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) with them the ability to use the new benefi ts for benefi ts compare to the Montgomery GI Bill all types of training they could have used their (Chapter 30)? previous programs for – the Montgomery GI Bill A: Generally speaking, they are structured in covers on-the-job training and apprenticeships. a manner that allows a veteran to have more They’ll be paid the same as Chapter 30, but they fl exibility on choice of school, because it’s get fi ve more years to use the program. tied to the actual cost of education. But I For the online folks, the statute has specifi c hesitate when I say that, because it really is exclusions for those who are eligible for the a case-by-case situation. housing allowance. Active-duty mem- Let’s use the example of bers are not eligible. Those who are individuals who are eligible Choose which GI Bill pursuing training at half-time or less, as to receive benefi ts under the is right for you: defi ned by the school, are not eligible. www.military.com/ Montgomery GI Bill. And gi-bill-calculator/ And those individuals pursuing training they’re getting the maximum online – exclusively – are not eligible for benefi ts, about $1,800 or so a the housing allowance. If a person is month. So that money is going directly to individu- taking some online courses but is also taking some als, who make the determination on what they residence courses, that’s fi ne. He or she will still want to do with that money. qualify for the housing allowance. If individuals elect to receive benefi ts under Chapter 33, they’ll receive an average housing Q: Despite all the details and a few apparent allowance of about $1,400 a month, plus we will drawbacks, does the Post-9/11 GI Bill still deliver a pay their tuition and fees. Let’s say those are very worthwhile benefi t to our veterans? $20,000 a year. That person is probably better off A: It’s a fabulous piece of legislation. It’s going to under the Post-9/11 GI Bill. So that would probably provide opportunities that a lot of people never be a fairly simple decision. dreamt of, but it is complex. And veterans need to Complicating it, though, let’s say this per- participate in this process, and understand which son lives in Illinois, which waives tuition and of the benefi ts we offer are the best for them. fee charges for most veterans. That changes the If I could put in a plug, we’ve got a lot of good situation completely. If he elects to take benefi ts information on our Web site at www.gibill.va.gov. under Chapter 33, he would receive $1,400 a month We really encourage everybody to go there for in housing instead of his $1,800-a-month Chapter information. Also, we’ve got a toll-free number, 30 benefi ts. So that person is probably better off which is (888) GI BILL-1 (442-4551). And we staying with the Montgomery GI Bill. have 200 or so people staffi ng the call center who Let’s complicate it a little bit more and say that would be more than happy to help veterans and some veterans, residing in Illinois, are working servicemembers. right now in an industry that’s being challenged. The important thing is to get information to And they’ve got some insecurities about their veterans and make sure they understand the wide long-term job prospects. If that’s the case, they variety of options they have available. might want to move into the Post-9/11 GI Bill because it has 15 years under which the benefi ts – Philip M. Callaghan

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BY PETER GRANT he world’s largest single collection of mili- elements and dozens more go into the assembly of Ttary aircraft stands idle on the sands of a balanced, comprehensive fl eet. Arizona’s Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Military aircraft are useful only as long as they Many end up here, in the dry desert air, after can accomplish their designated missions with decades of service in the U.S. Armed Forces. reasonably good results. They must, of course, Others are ignominiously dumped at the base be able to survive – and, if possible, defeat only a few years after acquisition. What deter- enemy defenses while doing so. They must be mines their fate? Why do some military aircraft affordable to purchase in suffi cient numbers and have long and useful lives, while others are to maintain once in service. They have to be as short and unproductive? versatile as possible, to perform a variety of Any nation’s air force has a number of unique useful missions, rather than be restricted to missions: destroy enemy targets, protect bases, addressing only a small portion of the demand transport cargo, perform surveillance, rescue on air support and services. shot-down or crashed air crews, establish air superiority and more. For each mission, a certain Cost vs. Mission. Any service seeks to equip type and number of aircraft are needed, each with itself with aircraft that are able to perform all a distinct set of weaponry and equipment require- the tasks required of it, in any theater of opera- ments, ranging from bombs to missiles, from tions, in a versatile, cost-effective and mission- maintenance facilities to support aircraft that effective manner. However, three elements are to provide aerial refueling, and more. All these be borne in mind.

30 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 ■ The most mission-effective aircraft for a given ■ The most versatile aircraft may not be the most task may not be the most cost-effective or versatile. mission-effective or cost-effective. A multi-role For example, to put a large weight of ordnance on aircraft such as the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet target (as in the strikes against Iraq’s Republican of the U.S. Navy can handle many different mis- Guard during Operation Desert Storm), the B-52 sions: ground strike, air defense and interdiction, Stratofortress bomber is probably unequaled. electronic warfare platform, tanker (with fuel tanks However, it requires large, fi xed air bases (typi- and refueling gear mounted beneath its fuselage and cally at some distance from the combat zone), is wings), and more. However, for close air support, limited in effectiveness against modern air-defense troops in contact with the enemy typically regard systems, and is expensive to operate in terms of such aircraft as too fast to clearly observe who’s crew, fuel and other costs. Furthermore, since it’s friend or foe on the ground, with a correspondingly long out of production, losses are irreplaceable. high risk of friendly-fi re casualties. They prefer an ■ The most cost-effective aircraft may not be the aircraft like the A-10 Thunderbolt II, developed most versatile or mission-effective. A good exam- specifi cally and solely for close air support. It’s ple of this may be found in Iraq, where its rena- much slower and less sophisticated than the F/A-18, scent Air Force is seeking to acquire 36 propeller- but much better at that particular task. driven Hawker Beechcraft AT-6B planes for There has to be a balance between mission-effec- counterinsurgency strikes. They’ll probably be tiveness, cost-effectiveness and versatility. Inevita- very effective in the Iraqi Air Force’s current bly, there are trade-offs. operating environment, where sophisticated enemy The shelf life of a warplane can be defi ned as the air defenses are almost non-existent. Put those period during which it can execute the tasks same aircraft up against a modern air defense assigned to it in a cost-effective and mission-effec- system, with radars, missiles and, coming soon, tive manner. If one parameter is defi cient, then it light-speed high-energy beam weapons, and they becomes more of a liability than an asset. The won’t stand much chance of survival. That’s why older an aircraft becomes, the greater its mainte- no military uses such aircraft for combat in, for nance costs, and hence the lower its cost-effective- example, Europe. They’d be low cost compared to ness. In the same way, mission-effectiveness is jet strike aircraft, but their operational effective- hampered if aircraft are too old and outdated to ness in time of war would be minimal. function in the current operating environment.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 31 AV-8B Harrier II Success Stories. With the U.S. Marine Corps interest, and seems set to advent of reliable jet continue in production for engines and supersonic at least the next decade. fl ight in the 1950s, mili- That will mean that the tary aircraft entered an era Hercules has been built for of evolutionary rather than more than 60 years. revolutionary development ■ The U.S. Marine Corps that lasted until the 1980s. identifi ed a need for a Engines grew more close-support aircraft that powerful, new materials could operate from the were invented and used, and electronics became Navy’s amphibious assault ships or from unpre- more sophisticated. Many aircraft of the 1950s, pared air bases on shore. This led them to consider however, would remain more or less comparable to the British Hawker Siddeley Harrier vertical takeoff those 30 years younger. Let’s examine three highly and landing aircraft, which they purchased in its successful aircraft from that period, each from initial model. It entered USMC service in 1971. different branches of the service. Not satisfi ed with the performance of the original ■ The Navy ordered the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Harrier, the Marines wanted to develop it further. Phantom II as a fl eet defense fi ghter. It entered Britain was initially not interested due to the costs service in 1960. However, it was so versatile and involved, so the Marine Corps approached McDon- capable that the Marines embraced it with enthusi- nell Douglas in the United States. Together, they asm, followed by the Air Force and even many developed the original aircraft into the AV-8B foreign air forces. Among its many roles, the Harrier II, a far more powerful and advanced model. Phantom fl ew as an interceptor, air-defense fi ghter, Britain ended up licensing U.S. technology to build fi ghter-bomber, precision strike aircraft and its own advanced Harrier GR7/GR9 models. electronic warfare platform. The AV-8B entered service in 1985, replacing Indeed, so successful has the F-4 proven to be both the earlier AV-8 and the Douglas A-4 Sky- that, today, it remains in front-line service in no hawk in Marine squadrons. It supported the fewer than seven nations: Egypt, Germany, Greece, Marine Corps during Operation Desert Storm and Iran, Japan, South Korea and Turkey. The United in subsequent action in the Middle East. Its States retired its last F-4s in 1996, but today uses vertical takeoff and landing capability has been them as radio-controlled target drones, and to the inspiration for one model of the Joint Strike launch ordnance for testing. It’s even been sug- Fighter project, and Harriers have served as gested that they could still be used in combat as test-beds to develop new technology. Almost alone very capable yet low-cost unmanned aerial ve- among world military organizations, the Marine hicles, to strike heavily defended targets that might Corps remains committed to the use of vertical be too dangerous for a piloted aircraft to approach. and/or short takeoff and landing aircraft, to give ■ The U.S. Air Force ordered the Lockheed C-130 its air arm maximum fl exibility in operating from Hercules as its medium tactical transport aircraft, any type of base, fi xed or fl oating, under any following its experiences during the Korean War. It operational conditions. entered service in 1956. Since then, more than 2,000 have been produced, giving it the longest The Strike-Fighter Solution. These three aircraft – continuous production run of any military aircraft the F-4 Phantom II, the C-130 Hercules and the in history. It’s served more than 60 nations, on AV-8 Harrier series – have all exhibited exception- every continent, in roles including conventional air ally long shelf lives, having been manufactured and freighter, tactical air transporter, paratroop/ in service for many decades. airborne assault aircraft, gunship, search and Other aircraft have proven less durable. For rescue, scientifi c research support, weather example, the F-105 Thunderchief, a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance, aerial refueling and aerial fi re contemporary of the Navy’s F-4 Phantom II, was fi ghting. It’s been used for military, civilian and produced for only eight years, from 1956 to 1964, humanitarian missions. with a total of 833 manufactured compared to The current-production C-130J Super Hercules is more than 5,000 F-4s. Newer designs of the 1970s, a fully modernized and updated version of the such as the Air Force’s McDonnell Douglas F-15 original aircraft. It’s been ordered by operators in Eagle and Lockheed F-16 Fighting Falcon, the eight countries, with several more expressing U.S. Navy’s Grumman F-14 Tomcat and McDonnell

32 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 The soaring costs of warbirds U.S. Marine Corps Since 1945, the sticker price of a i ghter plane has gone from about a half-million dollars to more than $137 million. Taking politics out of the procurement process could signii cantly reduce the cost of future aircraft.

Aircraft Unit cost (year) Unit cost (2007) Entered service Retired Years in service $50,000 P-51 Mustang $573,173 1942 1957 15 (1945) $220,000 F-86 Sabre $1,711,206 1949 1965 16 (1952, F-86E) $2,140,000 F-105 Thunderchief $14,909,085 1958 1984 26 (1960) $2,400,000 F-4 Phantom II $15,708,972 1960 1995 35 (1965, F-4E) F-15 Eagle (A-D, $43,000,000 $55,261,010 1976 N/A 32 (so far) excludes E) (1998, FAS) $13,000,000 A-10 Thunderbolt II $16,706,815 1977 N/A 31 (so far) (1998, USAF) F-16 Fighting Falcon $18,800,000 $24,160,626 1978 N/A 30 (so far) (A-D, excludes E/F) (1998, F-16C/D) $137,500,000 N/A F-22 Raptor (i scal 2009 USAF $137,500,000 2005 4 (so far) (est. 2045) budget estimate) $83,000,000 N/A F-35 Lightning II (i scal 2009 USAF $83,000,000 N/A (est. 2011) N/A (est. 2050) budget estimate)

Douglas F/A-18 Hornet, and the Army’s Sikorsky in technology, and the immense increases in cost, UH-60 Black Hawk, were more capable than earlier all armed forces had to fi nd ways to save money on aircraft, but still used similar technology, albeit their major equipment purchases. DoD decided to somewhat more developed. rationalize the future strike aircraft needs of the One way of looking at an aircraft’s long-term Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, and develop a cost-effectiveness is to compare its purchase price common solution. This became known as the Joint with the number of years it remained (or is pro- Strike Fighter program, which was won by Lock- jected to remain) in service. heed Martin’s F-35 Lightning II. Modern aircraft may not prove as long-lived as Unfortunately, the program has encountered their predecessors. The 1980s ushered in a period of signifi cant delays and cost overruns, seriously radical technological advancement that continues affecting the Air Force, which made the decision in today. Stealth technology, Active Electronically- the 1990s to stop purchasing earlier-generation Scanned Array radar, more powerful computers, strike aircraft and wait for the F-35. This has terminal guidance for many weapons, new-genera- resulted in many of its existing warplanes growing tion engines offering super-cruise, thrust-vectoring old and outdated. Some are approaching the end of and other innovations, and new materials such as their airframe lives. Their replacement is extreme- carbon fi ber have combined to produce aircraft ly expensive (the low-rate initial production unit more capable than their predecessors. They also price of the F-35 was predicted, in 2006, to be cost a great deal more. For example, the unit cost of about $112 million), delayed in development, and the F-15A air superiority fi ghter, which entered not yet proven to deliver. service with the Air Force in 1975, was $27.9 million in fi scal 1998 constant dollars. A late-model F-15K What’s the Backup Plan? The Air Force initially for the South Korean Air Force in 2006 was said to planned to replace all its F-16s and A-10s with cost $100 million. The F-15’s replacement, the 1,763 F-35s. However, it’s admitted that budget F-22 Raptor, had a unit cost of $142 million in 2005. forecasts won’t permit the purchase of so many, Faced with this order-of-magnitude improvement and that it won’t be able to afford to buy enough of

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 33 them in time to replace F-16 Fighting Falcon available. Only the Navy existing aircraft as they U.S. Air Force appears to have a backup reach the ends of their plan, with its ongoing service lives. This will purchases of the Super mean a drastically reduced Hornet and its investment fl eet size and operational in unmanned combat air capability in manned systems. These may be strike aircraft. The Marine combat-ready by late next Corps is facing the same decade, perhaps replacing problem. The Navy, the F-35. however, decided to continue purchasing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, so Problems with Procurement. Meanwhile, the it’s less affected by the delay in the F-35 program. Government Accountability Offi ce (GAO) has made The U.S. Armed Forces have bet the farm on it clear that perhaps the greatest obstacle in the stealth technology, believing it will minimize way of a new, effective and long-lived series of threats from ground- and air-based radars, weap- military aircraft is DoD’s procurement process. ons and systems for the expected service life of the “Systemic problems both at the strategic and at F-35. However, stealth may not be the panacea it’s the program level underlie cost growth and made out to be. Developments such as pulsed- schedule delays,” the GAO reported in June 2008. energy Nagira radar (Russia, 1995), Associative “At the strategic level, DoD’s processes for identify- Aperture Synthesis Radar (Sweden, 2000), Celldar ing war-fi ghter needs, allocating resources, and (Great Britain, 2002), digital beam-forming technol- developing and procuring weapon systems – which ogy for phased-array radars (United States, 2007) together defi ne DoD’s overall weapon system and wake vortex detection using lidar (laser radar) investment strategy – are fragmented and broken. have all been claimed to make stealth aircraft At the program level, weapon system programs are more detectable, although still less so than conven- initiated without suffi cient knowledge about tional aircraft. Further advances in detection system requirements, technology and design technology are inevitable. maturity. Lacking such knowledge, managers rely Another problem for the F-35 is that its weapons on assumptions that are consistently too optimis- must be carried internally if it is to remain tic, exposing programs to unnecessary risks, cost stealthy. This limits the quantity, weight and size growth and schedule delays.” of weapons it can deploy. It can carry more The procurement process needs to be de-politi- externally, but at the cost of a greatly increased cized. Members of Congress, whose priorities radar cross-section, making it much easier to might be more closely aligned with defense detect. To use internal weapons, it must open its contractors who employ their constituents, should weapon bay, also generating far stronger radar be less involved in the process. The GAO’s recom- returns. In a high-threat environment, this may mendations on program selection, balancing give defenses suffi cient information to target it, requirements against available resources, and a particularly given the imminent advent of direct- sound business approach to program management ed-energy light-speed beam weapons. should be vigorously pursued. Finally, the armed What will be the shelf life of the F-35? Improve- forces must break their habit of overpromising ments in air defenses may nullify its stealth system capabilities while underestimating the advantages. The rapid development of unmanned money and time it takes to get a new, high-tech aerial vehicles may allow them to perform many of warplane off the ground. When research and the F-35’s missions at greatly reduced cost. Such development last longer than the operational life of factors may make the F-35 a vulnerable white an aircraft, the cost of such relatively brief shelf elephant – or they may not. lives can run into the billions. The question our That’s the trouble with an all-eggs-in-one-basket nation faces – as technology evolves and the approach to aircraft purchases. If the F-35 is cost-effectiveness gap widens – is whether a new successful, despite its immense cost and prolonged and improved procurement process will produce gestation, the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy better results. It certainly cannot hurt to try. will be well equipped for the next 20 to 30 years. If it’s not, the fi rst two services will be in very Peter Grant lives in Louisiana and writes extensively serious trouble indeed, having no alternative on aviation history and aircraft technology.

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BY ALAN W. DOWD uturology is defi ned as “the study of current businesses, nonprofi ts and public agencies all Ftrends in order to forecast future developments.” seek his insights on a range of demographic, In other words, it is the use of events that economic, technological and environmental happened yesterday and today to paint a picture trends. He views futurology as “another dimen- of tomorrow. The following essay applies the sion of strategic planning.” tactics of futurology to plot a path the world Given that defi nition, it’s no surprise that the might take between now and the United States’ Pentagon has its own group of futurists who work tricentennial year, 2076. in the Offi ce of Net Assessment (ONA). Wired The purpose here is not to predict exactly what magazine has called the head of ONA “the Penta- will happen in the future, but rather to help us gon’s futurist in chief.” Since its founding in 1973, think about the alternatives, possibilities and ONA has helped military leaders and the presi- consequences of current trends and policies. dents they serve consider emerging and over-the- Contrary to popular opinion, the work of horizon threats. According to Wired, recent ONA futurists is not confi ned to the fi ction section of reports cover topics such as intercontinental the bookstore or to sci-fi movie studios. In fact, conventional war, Chinese and Russian strategies one of the best known fi gures in the little-known for space dominance, and waging war against a fi eld of futurism was a physicist named Herman nuclear-armed adversary. Kahn, who gained fame in the early days of the Hopefully, such grim scenarios will not come to Cold War for his thinking on nuclear war. More pass, but if the United States’ fi rst 200 years are recent examples of futurists are Alvin Toffl er, any guide, tragedy and triumph can both be author of the 1972 book “Future Shock,” and John expected between now and America’s 300th Naisbitt, who wrote the global best-seller “Mega- birthday. Consider the following world-changing trends” in 1982. events, some real and some imagined, as if looking Who uses the work of futurists today? Glen back through the headlines of the past 100 years Hiemstra, founder of Futurist.com, notes that on July 4, 2076:

36 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Dec. 25, 1991 in Mexico during the Crisis of 2011 and efforts to Soviet Union dissolves combat the Great Recession. Obama’s election ushers Two years after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, in what historians call the Era of Firsts: a 30-year the descendant of Lenin’s terror-state comes to an span that sees the United States elect its fi rst black anticlimactic end as Russia and other Soviet president, fi rst female president, and an Indian-born republics declare their independence from the U.S. citizen whose election is made possible by Soviet Union. passage of the 30th Amendment to the Constitution. Then, after an oil-aided economic boom and brief period of military adventurism from 2007 to May 8, 2016 2019, demographics catch up with Russia. By 2050, North Korea’s last gasp the transcontinental empire built by the czars is U.S. and Japanese warships destroy a volley of literally withering away, shrinking from a popula- eight North Korean missiles above the Pacifi c tion of 145 million people in 2008 to fewer than Ocean; two others are intercepted by ground-based 100 million by the middle of the 21st century. missile defense systems in Alaska. The war that follows is ferocious, with North Korea’s forward- deployed army pummeling Seoul with thousands of artillery shells and missiles. Unlike the 1950s, Korean War II is mercifully short. The U.S.-ROK force effectively erases the North Korean army in a month. China notifi es North Korean generals that it will not intervene to rescue their government. A U.N. force occupies North Korea and supervises the peninsula’s Wreckage of the World reunifi cation three years later. Trade Center in New York AP

Sept. 11, 2001 Terrorists attack United States The attacks in New York, in Washington and over Pennsylvania claim some 3,000 lives. Al- though the consensus among today’s historians is that the jihadist war on the United States began in 1983, it isn’t until 2001 that the our nation engages in what President George W. Bush and subsequent administrations call a “global war on terrorism,” which leads to a series of military interventions across Asia and Africa. These include Afghanistan (2001-2026), Somalia (2010-2015), the former Pre- and post-strike images of Pakistan (2010-2017, 2025-2035), the Hezbollah Iran’s nuclear missile site. Corbis Campaign (2017-2019) and the West African Stability Operations (2017-2028). Historians still debate whether the Iraq wars Aug. 10, 2019 (1990-1991, 2003-2011, 2019-2022), peacekeeping Israel bombs Iranian nuclear sites operations in Palestine (2013-2015), an expedition Even after the “Twitter revolution” of 2009- to protect Saudi oil fi elds (2014-2015), and naval 2010, the mullahs would cling to power and race battles and air strikes against Iran (2018-2020) to deploy a nuclear arsenal. And even Israel were part of the broader war on terror. expects Iran to respond in kind after its war- planes hit the country’s nuclear-missile sites, but Nov. 4, 2008 Tehran never musters a retaliatory strike. Only in Historic presidency 2028 does the Pentagon reveal that assets from Aside from his history-making election, President the U.S. Space Corps, including a once-secret Barack Obama is also remembered for his massive hypersonic space plane, had struck a dozen aid program to post-communist Cuba, intervention Iranian missile sites as they prepared to launch.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 37 Turmoil in China devastates GSX Flu outbreak, which claimed 40 million people, including half a million Americans. The DPF (Democracy Partnership Forum) comes into existence after NATO dissolves in the wake of bitter disagreements over how to respond to Russian-backed coups in Ukraine and Estonia in 2019. With the United Nations unable and NATO unwilling to protect member states, the work of international security and disaster response rapidly shifts to the DPF, which grows from an initial membership of the United States and 15 close allies to 30 countries, 11 city-states, three federations and two regional unions. June 3, 2025 GSX roiled by Chinese unrest April 10, 2040 The Global Stock Exchange weathers its worst Medicare, Social Security saved period since the Pakistan-India nuclear war as After the Health America Program (HAP) comes Chinese students, farmers and factory workers into existence, many Americans believe the coun- from rural areas clash with police and soldiers, try’s health-care problems are over. But HAP paralyzing the world’s largest economy. It is the actually worsens the situation by creating a univer- fi rst major challenge to the newly unifi ed China, sal system modeled after Canada, which results in which now includes Taiwan. the rationing of health care, fewer doctors, fewer Protesters bring China to a standstill for nine new drugs, longer waiting lists and less innovation. months. Although the unrest never escalates into a The turnaround comes when members of the full-blown civil war, several hundred people die in so-called “post-millennial generation” (75 million fi ghting before the so-called “Rural Revolution” Americans born between 2000 and 2017) enter fi nally gets what it demands: free elections and their 20s and 30s. The fi rst generation to be born fair resource distribution between cities and and raised in the era of wireless communication, provinces. In the end, the Westernized leadership on-demand technology and “cloud computing,” the in Beijing, under the unblinking eye of the global post-millenials are accustomed to immediate media, refuses to repeat Tiananmen Square. By results and loathe waiting. So they lead a high-tech 2027, the People’s Republic of China is offi cially revolt against the unresponsive HAP system. Their renamed China. By 2028, USAuto (the last Ameri- campaign, known as “HAPless,” demands health- can carmaker) and China’s ChangFeng Motor are care networks that pool risk in creative ways, engaged in merger talks. lifelong portable health plans and, above all, fl exibility and choice. July 4, 2029 The once-ailing Social Security system is trans- Add two stars to the fl ag formed by societal changes brought about by an After decades of failed referenda and stalled older generation of Americans. Expected to go congressional efforts, Puerto Rico and the District bankrupt by 2041, the system faces a demographic of Columbia offi cially become states, the fi rst problem. Where once there were 16 workers to additions to the Union since 1959. Congress takes support every Social Security pensioner, by 2009 the opportunity to approve legislation expanding there were only about three. Although raising the the size of the House to 635 seats in 2030, 835 seats retirement age and allowing Americans to invest in 2034 and 1,035 seats in 2038 – helping to bring up to 10 percent of their Social Security taxes into congressional representation closer to the param- stock-related funds has a positive effect on the eters envisioned by our founders. system’s health, the most signifi cant factor is the emergence of the “wisdom economy” in the 2030s. Jan. 10, 2034 In the 20th century, workers’ value was found in DPF fi ghts fl u pandemic how much they could lift, push or pull – or how The Asian Flu Pandemic of 2030-2033 kills some fast they could get from one city to another to 29 million people worldwide, including 120,000 make a sale or close a deal. In the 2030s, worker Americans, proving far worse than those in 1968 value is based not only in what they know but how or 1957, yet far less deadly than the 1918 Spanish well they can apply their knowledge, skills and life

38 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 experiences to solve, anticipate and steer clear of more futile than the 20th century’s struggle problems. This is good for the United States, which against totalitarianism, or the 19th century’s strug- enjoys one of the world’s highest life expectancies. gle against slavery.” Thanks to technology, healthy people can work as The war has scarred much of the globe, having long as they want or need to do so. As a result, been fueled by a violent, volatile period in the demand for older, wiser workers grows, many Muslim world – what some historians dub “The Americans enter their most productive earning Second Reformation” and others call “Islam’s Civil years in their 70s and 80s, retirement becomes an War.” The worst attack in Europe is the 2018 aberration of the 20th century, and stress on the radiological bomb detonation that destroys the Social Security system is relieved. Wisdom be- Chunnel. For the United States, the worst days are comes our economy’s most valued asset. 9/11, the anthrax aerosol attacks of 2015 that kill 13,203 in Atlanta and Dallas, and the “April Siege” in 2017, in which terrorists attack hospitals, schools, shopping malls and college campuses across the country, leaving 987 dead and twice as many wounded. The war on terrorism cost the United States an estimated 8.2 trillion ICUs Chinese astronaut (international currency units). Mei Xing takes her According to a 2059 DoD report, about 31,000 fi rst steps on the U.S. troops have given their lives in operations Martian surface. Corbis related to the war, with another 115,000 perma- nently disabled. Historians may debate whether their sacrifi ces were in vain, but the record shows that U.S. cities were safe by 2021. And by 2051, in Jan. 1, 2048 the place of dictatorships or anarchy, the Middle Men land on Mars East Union unites in a free-trade zone of democrat- Astronauts from the United States, China, Brazil ic countries and city-states stretching from the and India splash down in the Pacifi c Ocean after a Kabul and Kandahar republics through Kurdistan grueling, 520-day Mars odyssey. Such U.S.-China and the Persian Gulf Commonwealth, all the way cooperation might have been unimaginable 20 years to Tripolitania in North Africa. earlier. The U.S. civilian space program fl ounders between 2003 and 2015, relying on Russia for July 4, 2071 transport and enabling China to become the world Gas guzzlers gone leader in manned space exploration. China even The president drives a 2039 USAuto minivan into lands people on the moon in 2022, while the earth’s the Smithsonian Museum, ceremoniously closing fi rst emissary to the moon passively watches. the era of internal-combustion engines. Triggered by the civil war in Saudi Arabia, collapse of Sept. 11, 2061 Nigeria and Russia’s seizure of oil-rich areas in the War on terrorism declared over Arctic, the energy crisis of 2013-2016 causes a On the 60th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, the complete re-evaluation of energy policy in the president travels to Shanksville, Pa., to sign the United States. After a year of fuel-rationing, Comprehensive Peace and Partnership Treaty, and Americans demand the exploration of vast petro- hail the end of America’s decades-long struggle leum reserves in Alaska, Colorado, Utah and against global terrorism. Fittingly, she is fl anked Wyoming, as well as offshore in the Gulf of Mexico by leaders from countries that played a central role and along the Pacifi c and Atlantic coasts. in the effort, including what Pentagon offi cials still While some U.S. companies drill, others build call the 5-I countries: Indonesia, India, Iran, the nuclear plants, and still others accelerate efforts to Iraq Federation and Israel. create dependable alternatives to the internal-com- “The fi rst battle was fought here,” the president bustion engine. As it turns out, the United States says, referring to the sometimes-forgotten heroes of has plenty of petroleum to carry the country into Flight 93. “And because we followed their example, the post-petro economy of today. the war is won. There were those who argued that waging a war on terrorism would be futile. But Alan W. Dowd is a contributing editor for The this century’s struggle against terrorism proved no American Legion Magazine.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 39 A THREE-PART SERIES PART III BURDEN OF PROOF Leaders say a philosophy of suspicion pursuing their cases through one of the most complicated government systems ever created. keeps VA from making signii cant It shouldn’t be that diffi cult, nearly every- progress on the swelling backlog one agrees. of veteran disability claims. “We end up approving at least a portion of more than 90 percent of the claims once they get through the process, which suggests something is BY KEN OLSEN fundamentally fl awed,” says Linda J. Bilmes, a eroy Comer’s 21-year battle with the VA government fi nance expert at Harvard University’s Ldisability-claims system comes down to about Kennedy School of Government. She has studied $30,000 in benefi ts – less than $1,500 for each the VA claims system extensively, identifying an year of denial, delay, appeal and remand. essential problem: the process itself ranks higher Comer wasn’t after money when he fi led his fi rst than any other consideration. Instead, she says, claim in 1988. He simply wanted help with the “the objective has to be making people’s lives severe PTSD that followed him home from Viet- better by approving claims.” nam, thwarting his attempts to keep a job and Getting there means more than a system over- maintain a family. His attitude is typical of more haul. It also requires an attitude change, according than a half-million men and women with claims to veterans advocates in Congress. meandering through the VA bureaucracy. They simply want help making the transition from ABOVE: Vietnam War veteran Leroy Comer of Crockett, Texas, military service to civilian life, from wounded still waits for resolution of his VA disability case, 21 years after warrior to disabled veteran. Many spend years he i rst applied for benei ts. Alicia Wagner Calzada

40 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 “We want to get the message to all in VA that they are there to help the veterans,” says CASE STUDIES, PART  Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Gulf War veterans like David Bohan, below, i nd common Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. frustrations with World War II veterans like Art Jones and Case in point: “If the government had just shown Iraq veterans Justin Dennis and Jennifer Harrington when it comes to their VA disability claims. Each veteran Leroy Comer the way to get the benefi ts he was now stands at a dif erent stage in the process. clearly entitled to, this would not have gone on for 20 years,” says Edward Reines, one of two attor- neys who represented the Vietnam War veteran in CASE STUDY: DAVID BOHAN a fi nal attempt to get a fair hearing for his case. “Thousands of dollars of (VA) processing time A LIFE TURNED AROUND went into this.” Operation Desert Storm veteran David Bohan i nally is dealing with his post-traumatic stress disorder without numbing his memories of front-line tank warfare with The Final Stand. First diagnosed with PTSD in alcohol. The left foot he injured 1988, Leroy Comer spent more than 10 years in the Army still gives him pain, battling to get VA to acknowledge that his illness as he awaits his complete was connected to his tour in Vietnam. He fi nally military medical records. But succeeded when the Board of Veterans Appeals he’s made his way into the VA ordered a reassessment of his case in 2001. Comer health-care system. Earlier this then spent most of another decade attempting to year, surgeons successfully get a few hundred dollars a month in retroactive treated damaged nerves in his compensation for the errantly denied PTSD claim. left arm – a problem that arose By the time he reached the U.S. Court of Appeals after he left the service – and restored feeling to his numb for the Federal Circuit last year – last resort for i ngers. “I can hold a i shing veterans before the U.S. Supreme Court – Comer pole now,” he says. “It’s great.” was seeking an additional fi ve years of retroactive VA also granted Bohan compensation because, in 2004, a VA doctor vocational rehabilitation Photo: Scott Spiker concluded his PTSD prevented him from holding a education benei ts. He’s working overtime to get into full-time job. That request for retroactive compen- college and start studying for a business degree. With sation also failed because Comer didn’t realize he help from an American Legion service oi cer, he was fi lling out the wrong paperwork. received a 50-percent disability rating for PTSD related VA didn’t volunteer that detail. Furthermore, VA to his 1990-1991 combat experience. successfully persuaded a lower court that it wasn’t His case is not closed. Medical records about three required to inform Comer he had to fi le a separate surgeries performed while he was at Fort Riley, Kan., remain missing. Finding them is crucial to getting a claim for retroactive compensation, because the disability rating for the enduring problems with his foot. Disabled American Veterans had written a solitary He continues to spend hour after frustrating hour on the letter of support on his behalf. That 2003 letter, phone, trying to track down the i les. fi led long after Comer started his struggle with But he also has plenty to celebrate. He’s been clean the VA bureaucracy, was equivalent to full legal and sober for more than 12 months, after years of heavy representation, the Court of Appeals for Veterans drinking to escape his psychological disorder. Bohan has Claims ruled. done so well that he has been a guest speaker at the The court rejected Comer’s argument that he was Roseburg, Ore., VA Medical Center’s inpatient alcohol entitled to leeway for not knowing the intricacies treatment program, and holds a job managing an of VA’s complex regulations, the sort of deference apartment complex. that VA is legally required to give those who “I wouldn’t have made it – I wouldn’t be here – if not for my mom and dad,” Bohan says. “A year ago, I was a represent themselves – as the combat veteran had drunk. I had nothing going for me. I was on a dead-end been doing for 20 years. street. That’s the way I was for 15 years after I got out of Comer realized he had one last chance. He the military. I didn’t know how else to fall asleep.” hand-wrote a two-page letter to the Federal Circuit A service-connected disability rating, VA treatment Court, a specialized branch of the federal judicial and education assistance have reversed the course of his system that primarily deals with patents, interna- life. Today, he says he’s wearing a watch for the i rst time tional trade, government contracts and veterans’ since he got out of the Army. “Time means something to cases. “I asked them to grant me due process,” me now.” Comer says. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 41 WASHINGTON VA DIRECTOR: CLOSE THE STATE-FEDERAL GAP

Q: What is the single most benei cial change the federal VA could make? A: Seize the opportunity to fully utilize their state department of VA partners and create legal agreements, state by state, that could enhance all of the services we provide. Q: What’s the greatest challenge you have faced in trying to work with the U.S. Department of Veterans Af airs? A: I do not enjoy a rich and healthy data-sharing agreement with the federal VA. I enjoy a much richer data-sharing relationship with The American Legion. Q: How does the information gap af ect your ability to help veterans?

Photo: Ken Olsen A: It takes about six months to get a (veteran’s) disability claim approved. There is this window where, if someone For the i rst time in decades, John Lee is optimistic doesn’t help you, you will sink. I call the federal VA, tell about the odds of demolishing the barriers that have them I know you are back from Iraq, and I know you are made it dii cult for his state agency to work with the in a bad situation. They won’t (even) tell me your address. federal VA. The reason is simple. “The promise and hope Q: What can the state do that the federal VA cannot? of Gen. Eric Shinseki to run the VA and (former Illinois A: What happens to the family when their Guard Department of Veterans Af airs director) Tammy member is deployed and the family lives in small rural Duckworth as assistant secretary for government af airs,” towns like Ephrata or Asotin and they have no military says Lee, director of the Washington State Department of support in their community? We can provide money for Veterans Af airs. child care. We might use $10 of American Legion funding Lee’s past frustration stems from his inability to get and $5 of state funding. Washington state is the largest information from the federal government so he can user of The American Legion’s Temporary Financial provide rapid i nancial assistance to veterans and their Assistance fund. families for everything from car repairs to child care. A Vietnam War veteran and retired Army command Q: What about mental-health services? sergeant major, Lee has the attention and respect of his A: We go where there are no federal centers. If we had an contemporaries at the federal level. Last year, he received information-sharing agreement, we could improve VA’s prestigious Diamond Award for exemplary service. where we go with our mental health services. He recently spoke with The American Legion Magazine. – Ken Olsen

Edward Reines and Dion Messer did. Intellectual address was the tiny town of Crockett in that state. property attorneys for the law fi rm of Weil, Got- After searching, they found him hospitalized in shal & Manges, they routinely deal with this Waco. Despite an earlier bad experience with a law particular federal court. fi rm that briefl y represented him on a contingency Comer’s case fi rst came to the attention of basis, Comer was happy to see the pair. “I knew I Reines – who helped start the Federal Circuit Bar needed help,” Comer says. “I wasn’t too skeptical Association’s pro-bono program for veterans – in since they were doing it pro bono.” February 2008. “Mr. Comer’s appeal caught my eye Messer and Reines convinced the court to allow because of the combination of his perseverance in them to fi le a new appeal and give them more time fi ghting the legal system, despite his severe to prepare. When the court fi nally ruled, nearly a disabilities, and the potential the case had to year later, Comer won a sweeping victory. help so many other disabled veterans in need,” U.S. Circuit Judge Haldane Robert Mayer – a Reines explains. “The government’s stubbornness decorated Vietnam War veteran – issued a stinging and refusal to follow the law did not sit well with rebuke to VA in January, in a decision that will me, either.” affect hundreds of thousands of cases. Reines contacted Messer, who practices in “The VA disability compensation system is not Austin, Texas, because Comer’s last known meant to be a trap for the unwary, or a stratagem

42 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 to deny compensation to a veteran who has a valid claim but who may be unaware of the various CASE STUDY: JUSTIN DENNIS forms of compensation available to him,” Mayer wrote. VA is legally required to tell veterans about every possible benefi t and then help them do what’s necessary to receive those benefi ts. That “duty to assist” is particularly critical in cases such as Comer’s, where “a veteran is affl icted with a signifi cant psychological disability.” Mayer said the government should not look at such cases as opportunities to win, “but rather that justice shall be done, that all veterans so entitled receive the benefi ts due them.” He went on to admonish the lower court for ignoring earlier rulings that CVAC and VA must Photo: Scott Spiker treat veterans claims with sympathy and STILL FRUSTRATED deference – even if a veteran doesn’t explicitly Justin Dennis, whose military career as an explosives ask for such consideration. specialist was cut short in 2005 by a degenerative spinal The circuit court also ruled the federal govern- condition, is trying to practice patience. ment cannot penalize veterans who have help from It took six months to get his most recent vocational rehabilitation rejection from VA. The reason: his veterans service organizations. “Veterans service preferred career choice, computer science engineering, organizations provide invaluable assistance to doesn’t show enough readily available jobs for claimants seeking to fi nd their way through the graduates. So it’s back to the starting gate. “I hadn’t labyrinthine corridors of the veterans adjudicatory heard from anybody for six months – so I call and I get system,” Mayer wrote. “To hold that a veteran this,” Dennis says. “I’m a little bit frustrated.” forfeits his right to have his claim read sympatheti- Successes have been few since he started trying to get cally if he seeks assistance from a veterans service VA benei ts three years ago. He received a 40-percent organization would be to discourage veterans from disability rating for shoulder and ankle problems that hit seeking the much-needed assistance that those him while he was an explosive ordnance disposal expert organizations provide.” for the Washington Army National Guard. But it’s been a “This is the best victory I’ve ever had,” Messer slow road. He i led his i rst claim on his own; it was rejected. Gregory Demarais, an American Legion service says. She has a particular passion for helping oi cer in Portland, Ore., helped him track down some of veterans because her father served in Vietnam, his records and reopen the claim. and she knows fi rsthand the toll that war can However, Dennis has been waiting months for a exact on veterans. PTSD evaluation and for additional examinations for a Comer’s case was remanded to the CVAC; it’s not spinal disease. The Portland VA moved the clinic it uses clear when it will be fully resolved. “It’s part of the for compensation and pension exams from Vancouver, long, tedious delay that’s part of the appeals Wash. (10 miles north of the city), to Hillsboro, Ore. process,” Messer says. “If you see one of these (17 miles west), a shift that did not ease the process cases from beginning to end, it’s heartbreaking.” for Dennis. Comer is surprised that his effort resulted in A bigger problem than that, Demarais says, is that such a precedent-setting victory. “I didn’t set out to private doctors doing compensation and pension exams on contract often do so with little urgency. “It’s bad do that,” he says. “I just set out to get some help enough to have to wait two to three months to get C&P for the problem I had.” But he isn’t confi dent his exams,” Demarais says. “But then to have to wait another ruling, which was being cited by judges just weeks three months to get the prognosis – that’s adding insult after it was issued, will bring genuine change to to injury. And it’s not the VA administration; they are the VA process. “The way the federal government doing a great job. Once they have the results, the works,” Comer observes, “they say one thing on regional oi ce processes these claims in three days.” paper and do something else.” The Iraq war veteran tries to remain optimistic. “All I can do is keep pushing forward and either go out The Never-Ending Backlog. The VA disability- and look for a job, or pick a new career and try to get claims backlog has grown steadily since 1996, as vocational rehabilitation again,” he says. “And hope demand from aging Vietnam War veterans started for the best.” to increase. Then, when servicemembers began

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 43 servicemembers.” This requires strengthening CASE STUDY: JENNIFER HARRINGTON health care for veterans and improving “the complex and cumbersome disability systems they WANTS ACCURACY must navigate,” GAO reported. While reforms are The good news for Jennifer Harrington is that she under way, the document noted these challenges received a 60-percent disability rating relatively quickly, “will require sustained attention, systematic thanks to the Air Force’s transition assistance program oversight by DoD and VA and suffi cient resources.” and help from a veterans service organization. She has The federal government moved quickly to been approved for vocational rehabilitation and VA medical care, having suf ered improve wounded-warrior care after the issue carpal tunnel syndrome and made national headlines in 2007, following the nerve damage to an elbow while exposure of problems in an outpatient facility in the service. attached to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Her ongoing frustration is Congress and the White House approved a 40-per- i guring out the best way to cent funding increase. Recovery coordinators were negotiate the appeals system. assigned to the most severely injured soldiers and She received a zero-percent their families. The handoff from DoD to VA has rating for a pituitary tumor that been improved. Both VA and DoD hired thousands requires two dif erent of new disability benefi ts employees. medications and MRIs twice a “Ultimately, we believe when these individuals year. She is setting that issue aside, since she has been are hired and trained and fully productive, that Photo: Noel St. John approved for VA health care and really is going to make a big difference in our now is jumping hurdles to appeal the lack of a disability ability to work down the cases you would call rating for her diagnosed anxiety disorder. “They say backlog,” says Michael Walcoff, VA deputy under- I basically have to prove the panic attacks I have now secretary for benefi ts. are the same as the panic attacks I had earlier,” says the Experts inside and outside the government say it former surveillance technician, who served a tour in will take far more than a bigger claims staff to Iraq in 2003. resolve the problem. VA must improve training for Harrington i led her original claim in South Carolina, claims staff and supervisors, and reduce the high where she returned after being medically retired in July turnover rate, says Steve Smithson, deputy director 2008, due to ulnar nerve damage after surgery for cubital for The American Legion’s Veterans Affairs & and carpal tunnel syndrome. Harrington, who now works in VA’s oi ce of general Rehabilitation Division. VA also should track and counsel in Washington, says her appeal has nothing to analyze appeals and reversals in a way that would do with getting a higher rating or more compensation. “ensure common errors and other discrepancies “It’s about making sure the information is correct.” are not repeated.” In addition, Smithson says, Her case remains among tens of thousands caught in VA needs to change its incentive system, which the backwaters of unresolved VA claims, those that have currently rewards workers for the number of cases been appealed by the veteran after an initial decision. they process, even if the results are inaccurate. She realizes what many of her fellow veterans don’t: an “Managers, ratings specialists and Board of accurate decision and documentation made now can Veterans Appeals law judges and attorneys should change one’s life later. be rewarded for prompt, careful work, and they should be penalized when they make bad deci- coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan with sions,” Smithson says. complex injuries, the surge of new claims nearly He doesn’t believe VA needs sweeping legislation sank the system. Absent signifi cant changes, the or signifi cant rule changes to get started. “An im- disability claims backlog – which now threatens to mediate reduction in the backlog could be accom- top 1 million cases, according to some calcula- plished by VA management encouraging VA raters tions – will consume even more of VA’s time and to grant benefi ts where there is suffi cient evidence resources, leaving veterans languishing in the in the record, rather than developing the record to system until many quit in frustration or die before support denial.” their claims are resolved. Bilmes, of the Harvard Kennedy School, believes Indeed, two days after the 2008 election, the the disability-claims backlog will persist as long as Government Accountability Offi ce identifi ed VA maintains its cumbersome process. “Despite 13 “urgent issues” demanding attention from the the fact that study after study has shown virtually new president and Congress, including “caring for no fraud in veterans disability claims, the

44 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Department of Veterans Affairs compels returning war veterans to prepare a 23-page application with CASE STUDY: ART JONES extensive documentation to verify even the most obvious disability, such as the loss of a leg,” Bilmes writes in her new book, “The People Factor,” co-authored with former IBM executive W. Scott Gould, a Navy veteran who now is a deputy VA secretary. Meanwhile, VA’s approach to dealing with the backlog is to hire a lot more government workers, “keep doing the same cumbersome, complicated system and change the average processing time from six months to fi ve months. It’s thinking the problem through backward,” they write. Bilmes recommends adopting some of the best practices from the private insurance industry, which processes millions of claims every month with a far lower error rate. “The basic philosophy is, they are going to pass Photo: Scott Spiker a claim through if it looks roughly right,” Bilmes NO ONE TOLD HIM BEFORE says. “The trade-off is that they are not going to get everything perfectly right.” The VA approach Art Jones i nally got his due. now “basically says we don’t care how long it Sixty-i ve years after his World War II Army service in Europe, the 91-year-old former prisoner of war takes, we are going to get every nickel right, received his 100-percent disability rating from VA even if it takes a year to get a check to the vet- with almost no problem. eran,” she says. “I think we need to shift the “I feel very good about it,” says Jones, who has lived in culture to assuming the vet is honest unless a nursing home for the past several months because of proven otherwise. That alone would help change health problems. Not only is it lonely – his wife still lives this stigma many vets feel when they fi le for the at home – it’s i nancially stressful. The VA benei t “makes benefi ts they are entitled to.” life a little easier.” VA specialists should fi le the initial claims, just as Jones credits The American Legion with helping him specialists fi le claims with doctors and hospitals in pull together his claim and sail smoothly through the VA the non-VA sector, Bilmes says. As it is now, veter- system. There were a few hitches, mostly related to the ans are left to decipher the complicated paperwork weather interfering with his compensation and pension exams. Otherwise, the time required to process his claim on their own. That move alone would save months and get his rating “was just about right,” Jones says. of VA staff time spent reworking claims documents In addition to the 100-percent permanent and total so the cases can be properly adjudicated. disability, Jones is receiving special medical allowance to VA also should discard its practice of converting help with his health-care needs. each veteran’s medical issues into a somewhat Jones served with the 99th Infantry Division, which arbitrary disability rating of zero to 100 percent – landed in France after D-Day and fought its way toward a process that is done 57 different ways at VA’s Brussels. “That’s how I learned where Brussels sprouts 57 different regional offi ces, Bilmes says. Instead, came from,” he quips. Much of his wartime experience veterans could receive less specifi c disability was far less amusing. He and his men were captured ratings: mild, moderate, severe, very severe – during the Battle of the Bulge and they spent several or not disabled at all. months in a POW camp fashioned from old horse barns. Although he received medical care through VA, Jones Congressional leaders believe VA Secretary Eric didn’t realize he qualii ed for disability benei ts, or that Shinseki has the skills and track record to help fi x he would be at the top of the list as a former prisoner the problem. Step one, says U.S. Rep. Bob Filner, of war. After Jones fell ill, his family started doing some D-Calif., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs research. His son-in-law served in Vietnam and knew Committee: “You’ve got to show some quick and The American Legion has service oi cers who help clear way you are bringing down the claims veterans deal with the disability-claims system. backlog.” His suggestion: grant all Agent Orange In his case, it was simply a matter of i nding one and claims, and all claims prepared with the assistance asking about benei ts. of a veterans service offi cer.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 45 “We’ve got to get this backlog down. It’s just an insult to veterans.” REP. JOHN HALL: LOOK FOR NUMBERS TO IMPROVE Bilmes agrees. “I think we should once and for all approve these claims, then computerize the records and move on,” Bilmes says, rather than go through the lengthy process of computerizing records fi rst. “Right now, there is so much focus at VA trying to deal with the enormously complex claims from new veterans that claims from exist- ing veterans are getting lower priority.” Few people know the feeling of being a low priority better than Leroy Comer, who is still waiting for the fi nal word on his case. He’s more philosophical than bitter, and doesn’t waste time AP wondering how his life would have been different Last fall, U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., championed if VA had granted his original claim. legislation mandating a major overhaul of the VA “The way they treated me built my resolve,” says disability claims system. The Disability Claims Comer, who wrote many appeals from homeless Modernization Act requires VA to immediately start shelters. “They pushed me aside. That caused me paying benei ts for severe service-connected injuries, to stick with it more than anything else.” improve staf training, modernize its computer systems and make other key changes. Ken Olsen is a freelance writer living in Oregon. Hall, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Af airs, recently spoke with The American Legion Magazine.

EPILOGUE: MAGAZINE SOURCE CALLED TO TESTIFY Q: Where is VA in meeting the requirements of the Disability Claims Modernization Act? With the number of veterans waiting for benei ts A: I think VA is doing a lot better at policing themselves nearing the 1 million mark, Congress and The American and getting in front of the problems. Legion are calling on VA to overhaul its disability claims Q: Are you optimistic about VA Secretary Eric Shinseki’s system. “Some of these veterans have been waiting ability to make a dif erence in the claims backlog? months, years and, in some mind-boggling cases, A: I am. He’s been a consumer of VA health care. decades,” U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., chairman of the He’s also been an oi cer. He’s very smart. He’s a man Veterans Af airs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance, who’s committed. However, it’s going to take all of his said as he opened an oversight hearing June 18. resources to bring about change to a bureaucracy that’s “Veterans cannot wait any longer. VA requires a cultural been dii cult to change. and management change that can only manifest if it Q: What’s VA’s deadline for demonstrating they are embraces the very reason it was enacted in the i rst using the resources Congress provided to i nally reduce place: to serve veterans.” the backlog? Ian de Planque, assistant director of The American A: I don’t want to be sitting here six months from Legion’s Veterans Af airs & Rehabilitation Division, told now looking at the same numbers or worse. However, the subcommittee that VA needs to address high staf I understand we have a new secretary. On the day that turnover, repeated careless errors and a work-credit he was coni rmed, he had the time and respect to write system that rewards employees for the number of claims a letter on behalf of a man who served under him they process even if the job is done incorrectly. in Bosnia who was having some problems. I want to Gulf War veteran David Bohan, who has been featured give him a chance. in this American Legion Magazine series, told the committee, “So many of the people at VA are not Q: How will your proposed combat PTSD legislation veterans and don’t understand what we are going help with the backlog? through. You end up feeling like some of them care more A: I’m told that about a third of the backlog is about their rules and regulations and paperwork than Vietnam veterans with PTSD claims. It takes time to they care about the veterans.” i nd the corroboration (of the traumatic event). Our VA denies its claim backlog is close to 1 million cases. legislation says that if you serve in the uniform of our Oi cials told the subcommittee that VA’s productivity country in a battle zone and you are diagnosed with has improved more than 9 percent per month as the post-traumatic stress disorder, then it is presumed to number of claims has increased more than 13 percent. be connected to combat.

46 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009

Dan Sowers The “Father of American Legion Baseball” Since 1926, more than 10 million young men have donned the uniforms of American Legion Baseball. The program became fi rmly established through the efforts of Dan Sowers, director of the Legion’s Americanism Division at the time. Today, he is remembered as the “Father of American Legion Baseball.” Born on May 8, 1895, in Pocahontas, Va., Sowers earned his law degree from Cumberland University and worked as an attorney in Kentucky and the District of Columbia. He enlisted in the U.S. Army as a private in June 1917 and ended up in France, attached to the Press Censorship Division of the General Staff. Weighing in at about 325 pounds, Sowers’ trenchmates referred to him as “the largest body of troops in the A.E.F.” In the spring of 1919, Sowers attended The American Legion’s fi rst caucus in Paris. In 1925, a resolution passed at the national convention in Omaha Batter up! called on the Legion to “inaugurate and conduct baseball leagues For the i rst time, The American and tournaments for local championships ....” The following year, Legion Baseball World Series will Sowers became director of the Americanism Division and focused be seen live on the Web. The on strengthening and expanding the baseball program. In 1928, he 15-game series will be webcast met with the Executive Council of Baseball in Chicago and got its from Newman Outdoor Field in members to back Legion ballplayers with $50,000. Fargo, N.D., Aug. 14-18. Calling the Sowers continued to get fi nancial backing from the major games will be Jim Darby, the leagues, and Legion Baseball continued to grow. The funding paid “Voice of Legion Baseball.” Luis “Gonzo” Gonzalez, star of the for the travel expenses of ball teams that became state champions, Arizona Diamondbacks, will join so they could go to regional and national competitions. By the time Darby at the microphone for the Sowers stepped down as Americanism director in 1930, Legion i nal two days of the series. Baseball was fi rmly established as one of the nation’s leading Gonzalez hit 57 home runs in 2001 sports programs for youth. and drove in the winning run of Eventually, the program grew until about 400,000 teenagers the World Series that year. played Legion ball annually. Sowers remained active with the Legion’s Americanism Commission until 1950. On Nov. 28, 1955, The schedule he died in Fairmont, W.Va., after a long illness. His legacy was a Friday, Aug. 14: Games 1 and 2, unique investment in America’s youth, and his commitment to a 10 a.m.; Games 3 and 4, 5 p.m. program that has produced many baseball legends. Since 1962, many former Legion ballplayers have made it into the Saturday, Aug. 15: Games 5 and 6, Hall of Fame, including Bob Feller, Ted Williams, Roy Campanella, 10 a.m.; Games 7 and 8, 5 p.m. Stan Musial, Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Frank Robinson, Bob Sunday, Aug. 16: Game 9, 1 p.m.; Gibson, Al Kaline, Brooks Robinson, Hoyt Wilhelm, “Catfi sh” Games 10 and 11, 5 p.m. Hunter, Carl Yastrzemski, Johnny Bench, Tom Seaver, Reggie Jackson, Robin Yount, Wade Boggs and Ryne Sandberg. Monday, Aug. 17: Game 12, 1 p.m.; It’s estimated that a little more than half of all Major League Game 13, 7 p.m. baseball players got their start wearing the uniforms of American Legion Baseball. Tuesday, Aug. 18: Game 14, 1 p.m.; – Philip M. Callaghan Game 15 (if necessary), 7 p.m. Watch the games online. www.legion.org

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John McCain, R-Ariz., on his Twitter page “The American public doesn’t realize it, but CHORD they’re going to miss us if we’re gone. Former” Associated Press journalist Conrad Fink, on the demise of newspapers They smell blood. “Former CIA analyst Bruce” Riedel, on al-Qaeda’s exploitation of turmoil in Pakistan to gain power “How can you like a job when you go to Walter Reed, and you know you sent those young men and women in harm’s way? Every single person in combat today I sent there. And I never forget that for a second. So no, I don’t enjoy my job. Secretary of Defense” Robert Gates, when asked by Katie Couric on CBS’ “60 Minutes” if he likes his job “We’ve been under 24-hour surveillance for a week and Since August 2007, country music singer and motivational speaker Michael Peterson has served as the national aren’t able to leave home to spokesman for The American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund, mourn. It’s totally inhuman. which provides college scholarships for children of Xu Jue of Beijing, whose son was” shot in U.S. military personnel killed on duty since Sept. 11, 2001. the chest by soldiers and bled to death In addition to creating public-service announcements on in Tiananmen Square on June 4, 1989. On the behalf of the campaign, Peterson has also donated to the fund 20th anniversary of China’s crackdown on $5 from each sale of his “It’s Who We Are” DVD. pro-democracy student demonstrators, the The recipient of the 2008 Bob Hope “Spirit Of Hope” award Associated Press reported that dissidents and presented by the USO and the U.S. Army, Peterson is families of victims were confi ned to their homes producing a new single, “You Could Hear a Pin Drop,” which or forced to leave the city to prevent organized will appear on an upcoming album of the same name. The commemorations of the massacre. album also will benei t the Legacy Scholarship Fund. Release “About all I can say for the dates will appear in future Legion publications. United States Senate is that it Peterson recently spoke with American Legion Magazine Senior Editor Steve Brooks. opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation. Will Rogers, American entertainer,” 1875-1935

50 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Q: Talk about the new album and how it dif ers from And then the article said, “You could hear a pin drop.” “It’s Who We Are.” I thought, “Wow, what a fantastic song idea.” And so, A: The “It’s Who We Are” project is primarily a DVD project we wrote this song. that has two short documentaries: the i rst being on what is The American Legion, and the second on what is The Q: That song has some impressive contributors, correct? American Legion Legacy Scholarship Fund. It has a couple A: The cast of people supporting it musically turned out of 60-second PSAs, and then it has a music video just extraordinary. Tony Smith, who has worked almost incorporating the song “It’s Who We Are.” We’ve just had 10 years with famous record producer David Foster, created so many requests from people this track. He did all of the over the past two years saying, soundtrack for the movie “The “It’s great that we have a DVD, Bodyguard.” You’re going to hear (but) I want to listen to a CD in the orchestra and Tony’s my car or truck on the way arrangement on this song. And the home or whatever. When are lead singer for Chicago, Jason you going to just put out some Schef , has agreed to sing on this music?” And so, that’s what this record with me and do a duet project is. It is a collection of my version as well. favorite inspirational and patriotic songs we’ve created Q: How did the collaboration with over the past few years. Tony and Jason come about? A: Tony Smith is an old friend of Q: What really stands out to you mine from the music business, and on this album? Michael Peterson signs autographs for fans. His about three months ago we came A: One is the song version of new single, “You Could Hear a Pin Drop,” will together on another project. The “It’s Who We Are.” You’ll be able appear on a new album by the same name. work he did on this other project to have the DVD if you want, was so exciting to me that when but if you just want to have the CD to play in your car, we went to create the soundtrack for “You Could Hear a Pin you’ve got it here now. You’ll always have the musical Drop,” I asked him, on one knee, “Please do the version of what has become a very requested lyric. At the arrangement for this.” He was so excited to do it, and he’s 2007 American Legion National Convention, I shared at a such a patriotic guy, he said, “No question.” number of places a poem called “The Road Les Traveled,” Jason is a newer friend of mine, and he lives in Nashville which is a play on words around a Grandpa Lester. So “The now. When he heard the song, he was moved by the Road Les Traveled” would be the road that my grandpa purpose behind it: to help raise awareness and funds to traveled. We were just bombarded with requests for that support children whose parents gave their lives in service lyric from Legionnaires who said it moved them so deeply. of our country. So we decided to create a piece of music for it, and originally it was going to be the title track for this CD Q: “It’s Who We Are” obviously struck a chord. One of the because so many people requested it, and we thought reasons you started this project was to let people know what’s they’d enjoy it as a song. going on with the Legacy Scholarship Fund. How does it feel Last, but not least, about six weeks ago, “You Could to know that’s been accomplished? Hear a Pin Drop” was born. It was born out of an article A: How do you describe a smile if you’ve never seen one? I read on the Internet about how Condoleezza Rice was It’s hard to i nd words sometimes for the deep emotion meeting with British Parliament, and some person in the I feel, the joy I feel, around the privilege of being able to British Parliament asked Rice if the war in Iraq was just serve with The American Legion for the betterment of our another example of Bush’s and America’s designs on nation. When people hear “You Could Hear a Pin Drop,” imperialism, at which point Condoleezza Rice responded their reaction is overwhelmingly the same. People are very by saying, “The only land that America has ever asked in its excited to hear a new piece of music that touches their defense of other’s freedom was enough to bury our dead.” sense of patriotism and their authentic commitment to a strong America. It’s been awhile since we had something new that really touches that chord. I’m getting from For more on Michael Peterson, go to: people that they’re very glad to have a new piece of music www.tagyoureitonline.com that authentically touches their experience. That just feels www.myspace.com/michaelpetersoninfo really good to me. It feels purposeful.

AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 51 [CHILDREN & YOUTH ] Legacy Scholarship blesses late soldier’s family On Sept. 23, 2004, Sgt. 1st Class Otie J. McVey was “College is very expensive,” Teresa explains. “There is medically evacuated from Baghdad. The 53-year-old Army always something that needs to be purchased. And The reservist from Oak Hill, W.Va., was treated for an illness American Legion Legacy Scholarship is a very welcome unrelated to combat. He never recovered and died the addition. It helps out a lot with expenses. And again, I say, following November. what makes it so McVey’s wife, Teresa, and his special is that it is tied two sons, Joseph and Sean, talked to so many people about their loss in a May 22 who have the same interview at American Legion type of military family National Headquarters in background – people Indianapolis. Joseph, a junior at who have chosen to West Virginia University in serve our country.” Morgantown, was awarded an Joseph and Sean American Legion Legacy agree. Scholarship. His father served with “All scholarships are the 706th Transportation Company nice, but it’s the in Kenton, Ohio. military connection Joseph aspires to make his mark that makes The Joseph McVey, right, is a recipient of an American Legion in life as a civilian, while his American Legion Legacy Scholarship. He visited National Headquarters with his younger brother wants to attend Legacy Scholarship so mother, Teresa, and brother, Sean, on May 22. James V. Carroll Virginia Military Institute and later dif erent,” Joseph become a military oi cer. Joseph, Sean and their mother all says. “It’s because of all the work that’s been put into raising agree on the value of The American Legion Legacy money by men and women who share a military experience. Scholarship and the impact it has and will continue to have Military folks are used to looking out for each other. That’s on their lives. what is dif erent about the Legacy Scholarship. That’s why it Any scholarship is an honor to receive. But the Legacy is so special to me. It comes from people who have shared Scholarship is special because of its connection to so many the same experiences as my dad.” people who have served in the military, the family says. – James V. Carroll

Find out how you can help the Legion Riders support the Legacy Scholarship Fund during the Legacy Run: www.legion.org/programs/legacyrun/legacyscholarship

[LEGIONNAIRES IN ACTION] [EDUCATION] POST , MEDFORD, N.J.: With a variety of fundraisers, Transfer of benei ts requires 10 years of duty the post generated $46,000 for Q: After 20 years of service in the Army, I’m retiring in October. How do I transfer my local causes supporting GI Bill education benei ts to my spouse or children? servicemembers and veterans, A: When Congress passed the new GI Bill last year, it included an option to transfer including $16,500 to complete education benei ts to spouses and children. DoD wanted an construction of a recreational MY GI BILL enticement for troops to re-enlist, so the transferability part of park at McGuire Air Force Base. the benei ts only applies to servicemembers with 10 years of John Hood, the post’s vice active duty (or who have committed to 10 years). commander, said that another Since you will still be on active duty Aug. 1 (when new GI Bill $10,000 apiece went to the benei ts commence), and you have served more than 10 years, Burlington County Military you will be able to transfer benei ts to your spouse and children. Af airs Committee (a nonproi t Those who retire or are discharged before Aug. 1 will not be able liaison between military and VETERANS & EDUCATION to transfer their GI Bill benei ts to others. civilian communities) and the BY VALERIE VIGIL Spouses will have 15 years to use any transferred education Extended Hands Ministries benei ts; children must use their benei ts before they turn 26. Servicemembers may shelter in Mount Holly to give percentages of their benei ts to spouses and children. But there is a limit on how renovate a home that will serve many months of entitlement that can be given. DoD is still ironing out the details. up to 16 homeless veterans. Post 307 also provided funds Valerie Vigil, a Marine Corps veteran and member of American Legion Post 27 in for i ve police departments in Arizona, serves as vice president of the National Association of Veterans’ Program New Jersey. Administrators. Send GI Bill questions to her by e-mail. [email protected]

52 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 [AMERICAN LEGION BASEBALL ] 1959 Detroit team celebrates Legion Baseball World Series victory Plenty of other teams from Michigan have madeade it deep into the American Legion World Series, butbut the 1959 team from Edison Post 187 in Detroit stands alone as the state’s only champion. The team celebrated the 50th anniversary of its national title in July. The players earned several laurels back in ’59. Each received a black Louisville Slugger with his name engraved on it, and Chicago Cubs legend Ernie Banks awarded a Player of the Year trophy to Fred Bowen, who later went on a press tour. He appeared on NBC’s “Today” show, where he got to meet one of baseball’s greatest legends, Ty Cobb. “At that time, (Cobb) was already in a wheelchair because of his diabetes,” Bowen recalls. “He was having a good day, and I mostly remember him just repeating, ‘Do you want me to sign another ball, kid?’ He kept calling me kid.” On July 25, The American Legion showcased the 1959 champions during the zone playof s at CChiefhief Pontiac Field in Clarkston, Mich. They were also guests of honor at the State Championship Banquet in Adrian, Mich., July 29.

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Call today ❏ Yes, I would like to receive a free patient information kit. TOLL-FREE! Name ______1-877-266-7699 Address ______BONRO Medical Inc. City ______State _____ Zip ______4490 Washington Rd., Bldg. 100, Suite 16 Phone ______Evans, GA. 30809 Email ______Visit our website: Please fax (706) 210-4740 or mailcompleted coupon to: www.bonro.com BONRO Medical: P.O. Box 1880 Evans, GA 30809 AL.08.09 [WAR ON TERROR ] A man of duty Army Maj. Steven Hutchison of Scottsdale, Ariz., served his country in Vietnam but died in [TECHNOLOGY ] Iraq, where he was killed by a roadside bomb in May. The THE DRONE WAR 60-year-old Hutchison is the oldest DoD U.S. servicemember killed in Iraq Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with the ominously named or Afghanistan, according to the are becoming so central to U.S. ef orts “Gorgon Stare,” which will give Associated Press. Hutchison also in the ungoverned territories of controllers and commanders the served in Afghanistan. His Afghanistan and Pakistan that some ability to eye a target from 12 dif erent Afghanistan and Iraq tours came observers have dubbed this front of angles across a 4-kilometer radius. after he re-enlisted in 2007. the war on terror “the drone war.” As Air Force News explains, if The Predator UAV, which transmits 12 dif erent terrorists scatter from a images and information via satellite building in 12 dif erent directions, [WAR ON TERROR ] to faraway command centers, has “Gorgon Stare could dedicate one Rebirth in Baghdad enabled U.S. forces to attack targets angle to each.” within minutes, rather than days. According to an International Herald The U.S. Army Retroi tted with Helli re missiles, the Tribune analysis, the Air Force deploys Corps of Predator has struck targets in 195 Predators and 28 Reapers. The Engineers has Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan and paper reports that while the Air Force completed its Yemen. Its next-generation cousin, is in charge of drone operations over rebuild of the the Reaper, has weaponry grafted Iraq and Afghanistan, the CIA takes Alwaiya Maternity Hospital into its systems. the lead in Pakistan UAV operations. in Baghdad. Before the Instead of just two Helli res, the The Air Force reports that Predators renovation, the hospital had a Reaper has 14 and l ies higher and and Reapers attacked targets in 244 of 37-bed capacity. Today, it has a faster than the Predator. their 10,949 missions in Iraq and capacity of 344 beds, a pharmacy, An updated version of the Reaper, Afghanistan in 2007 and 2008, or operating rooms, a special due to be deployed in 2010, will be about 2.2 percent of the time. neonatal ward, an ER and a nursery, as U.S. Central Command reports. The Alwaiya Maternity Hospital currently serves [TECHNOLOGY ] more than 1 million Iraqi women. Goodbye Humvee Thanks to projects carried out by Army Corps of Engineers Gulf The Pentagon is in the process of choosing the Humvee’s Region Division, Iraq now has an replacement. The next-generation small transport will be “a annual capacity to treat 6.6 million lighter, more agile tactical vehicle that can withstand roadside inpatients (in hospitals) and bombs and explosive devices,” according to an AP report. Among another 4.6 million outpatients the other specs: the new vehicle will need to reach speeds of 90 (in the national network of mph, and it must be light enough for a C-130 to transport two. The primary health-care centers). Pentagon expects production on the new vehicle to begin in 2013. www.centcom.mil

[TECHNOLOGY ] [WORLD WAR I ] A hologram Leave no man behind of Daddy The Australian military is exhuming in the battle, and an estimated 225 to The Pentagon is exploring hundreds of bodies near the northern 400 bodies are in the mass graves. The the use of computer- French town of Fromelles, after it was Commonwealth War Graves Commission generated holograms to help discovered that Australian troops killed in calls it the “largest military i nd since families get through a World War I battle had been buried the end of the Second World War.” deployments. Small contracts in a mass grave and were never The disinterment, of $100,000 have been given a proper burial. identii cation and reburial awarded to no more than CNN reports the troops were process should take three i rms to explore the killed in a July 19, 1916, attack on heavily 15 months, with the new graveyard and feasibility of this computer- defended German positions. Some 2,300 memorial scheduled to open July 19, 2010, aided, 3-D technology. British and Australian soldiers were killed according to CNN.

54 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 [ECONOMICS ] Trade-show tactics Trade shows, conferences and seminars are popular with business owners, but what do you get out of them apart from pens, stress balls and l yers? Remember that trade shows often include only about 10 to 20 percent of your true target market, so target only those booths ON POINT relevant to your business. Have two presentations ready: one to deliver to representatives with the power to buy or inl uence buying, and the other for the “human USS Indianapolis survivor Donald L. vending machine” whose job is to smile and hand you a Beaty signs the hood of the Freedom brochure about his or her company. Do not deliver your Car at Wayne Post 64. James V. Carroll sales presentation to this person. He won’t remember and doesn’t care. Not that these people don’t have value [AMERICAN LEGION RACING ] VETERANS & BUSINESS – you just need to know how to leverage them: BY LOUIS J. CELLI JR. Freedom Car races 1. Ask specii c questions about the divisions within their for WWII survivors companies that would make buying decisions regarding your product/service. 2. Find out the program manager and contracting specialist for that sector. Team Johnson Motorsports and Freedom Car driver Jerick Johnson 3. Uncover any challenges they may face regarding your area of service. brought The American Legion/David 4. Find out if they have recently won or are currently bidding on any projects Law Firm Chevy to Indianapolis on where you might i ll a need. June 11 for a big weekend of racing 5. Get quality contact numbers, and call them before you leave the conference. and honoring veterans. Car and driver both appeared at Louis J. Celli Jr. is a retired Army master sergeant who has started and developed Indianapolis Wayne Post 64 before businesses, and has counseled hundreds of veteran entrepreneurs. He is CEO of the competing in the Gleaners 200, an Northeast Veterans Business Resource Center. Readers can send questions for “On ASA Late Model Challenge Series race Point” to [email protected]. at O’Reilly Raceway Park. Two USS Indianapolis survivors, Donald L. Beaty and James E. O’Donnell, were honored guests at the post appearance. Both men Ease of use, peace of mind. autographed a USS Indianapolis decal on the hood of the 76 Freedom Car. Johnson qualii ed on speed for the race, only to be bumped from the Be able to bathe safely, without worry i eld of 26 cars by provisional entries with a Premier Walk-In Bath. determined by points, not speed. The Independence and security are only a phone call away. team regrouped, and Johnson raced If you struggle taking your bath, talk to us at Premier his way into the main event by about our extensive range of walk-in baths. winning the Last Chance 15-lap ฀ ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀ General Motors Performance Parts slipping or falling. Shootout. Johnson started on the GMPP pole and was never seriously ฀ ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀ challenged. An engine problem ended the team’s night in the i rst ฀ ฀฀฀฀ ฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀฀ stage of the 200-lap main event. ❏✔ Yes! Please send me a FREE COLOR BROCHURE “A lot can go good, and a lot can go about Premier Walk-In Baths. bad,” Johnson said. “We had plenty of Name both this weekend. I wanted to do Telephone well in front our American Legion Address fans, especially because we carried the Indianapolis decal on the hood.” City State Zip Send to: Premier Bathrooms Inc. 2330 South Nova Rd., South Daytona, Florida 32119 The American Legion Riders of Indiana opened the event by circling CODE 10089 the track and presenting a folded l ag to honor those who gave their lives ransform our “T y ฀฀฀฀ for the nation. bathroom and transform your life.” 1-800-578-2899 Offer subject to approval from GE Money Bank ~ Karen Grassle SOURCE CODE 10089 [VETERANS ADVOCACY ] A HEART FOR VETERANS In 1999, she was crowned Miss America after a pageant that drew national attention to her advocacy for homeless veterans. Heather French spent the i rst year of the new century touring and speaking in support of those who have served in the U.S. military and supporting The American Legion’s ef orts to pass a constitutional amendment to protect the l ag from desecration. She later married Stephen Henry, an orthopedic surgeon who gained international acclaim for developing antibiotic beads to treat wounded combat soldiers in the i eld. He served as lieutenant governor of Kentucky from 1995 to 2003. Inspired by her father, a service-disabled Vietnam War veteran, the former Miss America and mother of two continues to support veterans through the Heather French Saving arms, legs Foundation for Veterans. She recently spoke with The American Legion Magazine. a warrior at a time Steve Henry is sometimes Q: What makes you such an untiring Q: You now have a line of illustrated referred to as that guy advocate for veterans? children’s books with a veterans theme. married to Miss America A: I have a lot of veterans in my family – A: The books came about because of a 2000. But he has impressive most notably my father, who came home teacher who told me there was very little credentials in his own right. from Vietnam struggling. He is a former information available to teach children Henry is a former Kentucky Marine – not as lean, not as mean – but about veterans in an entertaining way. lieutenant governor and a still a Marine. He was in 3rd Battalion, 1st “Pepper’s Purple Heart,” “Claire’s Magic practicing orthopedic Marine Corps Division. He was shot in Shoes,” “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of surgeon who played an Vietnam. As a result of post-traumatic Jellybeans,” “What Freedom Means to instrumental role in the stress disorder, it was very hard for him to Me” and “Flying Away” are about research and development transition back home. I remember going veterans and the sacrii ces they make. of breakthrough techniques to the VA hospital with him when I Q: What do you think of the way VA health using antibiotic beads to was 4 or 5 years old. That is care has changed in recent years? combat post-operative when I became aware A: Today’s VA programs are driven more infections. that my dad was not by veterans – their customers. Instead of Strung on wires that are alone in his struggle. telling veterans what they will get, VA is placed in an open wound I didn’t see my uncle’s more likely to seek out organizations and remain in a limb after struggles until my teen such as The American Legion, and ask surgery, the antibiotic beads years. It was during that what veterans want and need. have nearly eliminated time that he went Q: What advice do you give veterans who reoccurring infections. The missing, and was on the are in need of care or benei ts? Department of Defense has streets homeless for two A: My advice to a veteran is to make his adopted Henry’s technique years. He went through a or her i rst stop a Legion post or other as standard protocol. program in Daytona Beach veterans service organization. And they His work received wide called Serenity House, can visit www.heathersveterans.org. media recognition during where he is now a We have information and links to the Persian Gulf War and counselor. agencies and organizations that provide won personal praise by Gen. services for veterans and their families. Norman Schwarzkopf. “It was very disheartening – James V. Carroll to see soldiers and veterans return year after year with infection in their old Heather French wounds,” Henry says. “We displays a photo of thought about it long and her father after he hard and eventually came was shot in Vietnam. up with the beads. It’s nice French was inspired to be recognized for making by her father to a contribution. But it’s more become a veterans gratifying to know that advocate. James V. Carroll these wounded warriors can get on with their lives.”

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On a related topic, Rehbein said the recent killing [WAR ON TERROR ] of a young soldier at a recruiting center in Arkansas by an ideologically radicalized murderer Letters support emergency war-funding measure further demonstrates the risks of housing The American Legion recently delivered letters of appreciation to Guantanamo Bay terror suspects on U.S. soil. congressional leaders and President Barack Obama for their ef orts to pass an emergency wartime spending bill. “Even if these detainees were to be housed The bill was impeded by debate over an amendment introduced by in the most secure premises possible, they Sens. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., that might still be free to communicate their radical would ban the public release of photos depicting alleged abuse of beliefs to fellow prisoners, thus converting Afghanistan and Iraq war detainees. The Legion supports the already-known criminals to their murderous Lieberman-Graham amendment and regrets that an objection by a points of view .... The overwhelming majority of few members of Congress stalled the spending measure. both lawmakers and ordinary citizens are On June 11, Obama intervened in House-Senate negotiations, strongly opposed to housing terrorist suspects reiterating his pledge to use all necessary executive powers to within our borders. It is our hope that the suppress release of the controversial photographs. president, even as he reiterates his intention to National Commander David K. Rehbein sent letters to Senate close the Guantanamo Bay facility, will keep this Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, mandate, and the emotional comfort and expressing gratitude for their attempts to adopt the spending bill physical welfare of our citizens, in mind.” without letting the photo debate stand in the way.

58 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 The simplest, most accurate watch on the planet! You never have to set this watch… in fact you never even have to look at it. This new Talking Atomic Watch is the ultimate in simplicity, accuracy, and practicality. It’s accurate to within a billionth of a second… and it talks!

just threw my watch in the trash. I got it as a gift a while back—and it was something else. “Ten-ten AM, FREE IIt had four different digital displays, about a Thursday, Shipping dozen buttons, was waterproof to about a July 16th, thousand feet, and I think it could even tell me 2009” the weather. I’ll never know, though, because, like I said, it’s in the trash. Turns out it couldn’t do the one thing I want a watch to do … tell me the correct time. It always ran a little slow, which was bad enough, but there were so many displays and they were so small that I couldn’t tell the time even if it was accurate. When I tried to reset it I pushed the wrong button and set it on military time, and I couldn’t figure out how to switch it back. That was the last straw. Now, I’ve got a great watch. It’s super-accurate, easy-to- read, and it will even tell … yes tell … me the time. Best of all, I’ll never have to set it! This is the watch I’ve been waiting for. Whether you travel or not… this watch is a necessity. This Talking Atomic Watch from firstSTREET maintains its phenomenal accuracy because it is Try it for yourself… it’s risk-free. The US Atomic Clock cost billions to build and designed to receive a signal from the US Atomic maintain, but you can have the next best thing for Clock in Fort Collins, Colorado. This clock is the less than one hundred dollars. Thanks to a special standard for time measurement worldwide… it arrangement with the manufacturer, we can offer can go 20 million years without gaining or losing you this watch at a special price with our exclusive a second! It never needs to be set, because it home trial. Call now, and we’ll give you a $10 automatically adjusts itself for daylight savings INSTANT DISCOUNT and FREE SHIPPING. If time and leap years. you are not completely amazed by the accuracy Easy to read, even easier to hear. and quality of this product, simply return it within The most accurate watch in the world is of no use 90 days for a full “No Questions Asked” refund. if you can’t read it. This timepiece is designed to tell you the correct time… anytime. It features a clear, Talking Atomic Watch $99.95 $89.95* uncluttered analog display that you won’t need *After $10 Instant Rebate Call now for free shipping. reading glasses to see. Best of all, you can press a 1-877-671-2841 button and it will tell you the time in a clear, easy-to- Please mention code 38292 when ordering. understand voice. So whether you’re driving to an www.atomictimedirect.com appointment or dining in a candle-lit restaurant … you are sure to know the exact time. Press the button again and it will even tell you the day and date if

1998 Ruffin Mill Road • Colonial Heights, VA 23834 50062 you want. There’s even an automatic hourly chime. How to submit a reunion will publish a group’s listing only once a year. berships by their posts. This does not include a Notices should be sent at least six months prior member’s own Paid-Up-For-Life membership. The American Legion Magazine pub- to the reunion to ensure timely publication. lishes reunion notices for veterans. Notices must be submitted on official forms, Send notices to The American Legion Other notices which may be obtained by sending a self- addressed stamped envelope to The American Magazine, Attn: Reunions, P.O. Box “In Search Of” is a means of getting in touch 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206, fax Legion Magazine, Attn: Life Memberships, P.O. with people from your unit to plan a reunion. We Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206. (317) 630-1280, e-mail [email protected] do not publish listings that seek people for or submit information via our Web site, “Comrades in Distress” listings must be interviews, research purposes, military pho- approved by the Legion’s Veterans Affairs & www.legion.org/veterans/reunions. tos or help in filing a VA claim. Listings must Include the branch of service and complete include the name of the unit from which you seek Rehabilitation division. If you are seeking to verify name of the group, no abbreviations, with your people, the time period and the location, as well an injury received during service, contact your request. The listing also should include the as a contact name, telephone number and e-mail Legion department service officer for informa- reunion dates and city, along with a contact address. Send notices to The American Legion tion on how to publish a notice. name, telephone number and e-mail address. Magazine, Attn: “In Search Of, ” P.O. Box 1055, To respond to a “Comrades in Distress” listing, Listings are publicized free of charge. Indianapolis, IN 46206, fax (317) 630-1280 or send a letter to The American Legion Magazine, Your notice will appear on our Web site within e-mail [email protected]. Attn: Comrades in Distress, P.O. Box 1055, a week and will remain available online until The magazine will not publish names of indi- Indianapolis, IN 46206. Include the listing’s CID the final day of your reunion. Upon submission, viduals, only the name of the unit. Listings are number in your response. please allow three months for your reunion to published free of charge. “Taps” notices are published only for Legion- be published in print. Due to the large number Life Membership notices are published for naires who served as department commanders of reunions, The American Legion Magazine Legionnaires who have been awarded life mem- or national officers.

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AUGUST 2009 | THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE 63 There’s too much blood in my caf eine system.

LEAVING a night club one evening, a miserly gentleman walked past the door- man without tipping him. Nevertheless, the doorman helped the man into a taxi and said pleasantly, “By the way, sir, in case you happen to lose your wallet on the way home, just remember that you didn’t pull it out here.”

TWO MEN are out ice fi shing at their favorite spot, sitting quietly and drink- “Good heavens, Margaret! The bailout was for Wall Street, not for you.” ing beer. Whispering, so as not to scare the fi sh, Bob says, “I think I’m going to divorce my wife. She hasn’t spoken to me in over two months.” Earl continues sipping his beer, then thought- fully replies, “You’d better think it over, Bob. Women like that are hard to fi nd.”

FOUR OLD GOLFERS hit the course with waning enthusiasm for the sport. “These hills are getting steeper as the years go by,” one complained. “These fairways seem to be getting longer, too,” one of the others agreed. “The sand traps seem bigger than I remember,” the third friend said. Having heard enough, the oldest and wisest of the foursome – an 87-year-old man – piped up: “Quit your griping and just be thankful we’re still “Those aren’t departure times. Those are the times on the right side of the grass!” we estimate your l ight will be cancelled.”

MEMBERS OF CONGRESS should dress like WHEN THE EMPLOYEES of a restaurant attended NASCAR drivers, with their sponsors displayed. a fi re-safety seminar, they watched a fi refi ghter demonstrate the proper way to operate an extin- guisher. “First you’ll pull the pin like a hand grenade,” he explained, “then press the trigger to release the foam.” Later, an employee was selected to extinguish a controlled fi re in the parking lot. In her nervous- ness, she forgot to pull the pin. The instructor hinted, “Like a hand grenade, remember?” In a burst of confi dence, the woman pulled the pin – and hurled the extinguisher at the blaze.

“YOU KNOW, it’s my fi rst trip to Iraq. I don’t know why I haven’t made it here before, but it’s hard to explain to the people back home just how hot it is here. Let me put it this way: when Saddam Hussein got to hell, I’m guessing he asked for a “Look, enough about me. Let’s talk about my golf swing.” blanket.” – Stephen Colbert

64 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2009 Asbestos Cancer Hits Former Sailors

Many sailors who served their country proudly aboard ships in the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War eras, are now being diagnosed with asbestos-related cancers.

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