Honoring our Veterans
In Like a Lamb, Out Like A Lion
Time is a fleeting resource, we are told, and it would seem 2008 is very fleet on its toes as the months have seemingly gone into hyper-drive and March is here. As the title suggests your Vietnam Memorial Development Team (VMDT) hopes the pace of collecting names, service affiliation, and area of assigned duty will pick up so we can report 250 names reached by June. We are getting close, yet need help from all sources to put us over the top and achieve our milestone.
Joe Carfora has signed on to assist in amassing the names of Hicksville residents who served in the Armed Forces during the Vietnam Era. An important point to remember is, you need not be a public school graduate to be remembered and honored, merely a resident of our town who served during the period of the Vietnam Era (1963-1973) who also attended a high school during that period. It is also not necessary for you to have served in Vietnam, just to have been in the Armed Forces during the period.
In June, Joe and I will release the memorial list to the HixNews. I think it will impress anyone who reads it. We are also discussing magazine articles for many of the Veteran Service publications, such as the American Legion and VFW magazines. We will also be asking the Long Island Newsday to run an article covering the progress. In July, we will be publishing the artist drawings of the memorial and releasing them to the Long Island veterans groups for discussion. My friends, once you see the drawings there will be varying amounts of passion and emotion surrounding them. We're certain that pride in your service or your family member's service will be among them. For those of us that did serve with honor, it will be a moment of quiet rejoicing that our time in the military was "finally recognized".
The effort has meant a lot of work for your VMDT. Knowing that we volunteered to do it, we hope in the end our pride will truly be recognizable by all. As they say, for us it will truly be "Mission Accomplished" at the dedication in 2010.
O.K., the sales pitch is over, so please join us in discovering those that served in the military during the Vietnam era. Send us your emails, cards, or letters. We enjoy the revelations of finding out the names of all the men and women of Hicksville who served with distinction during the Vietnam War Era. You can reach me by email at
Ken Strafer
Fairfax, VA 22032
THE FORGOTTEN WAR
The Korean War lasted three-years, from 1950 until 1953. The American forces had 53,000 killed in action (see Editor's Note at bottom - in 2000, the Pentagon announced a clerical error had inflated the number from 37,000) and triple that number seriously wounded or injured. It went down in military history as some of the most savage fighting to have ever occurred.
Those who did make it home did not experience ticker tape parades, bands heralding their return home or any form of acknowledgement of where they had been or what they had done. It has been labeled the Forgotten War. The American population was still escaping from the horrors and losses from WW 2. They didn't want to hear of the death, blood and lives lost in this conflict.
But a significant contribution they did make. This war, and the one to follow, sent the message loud and clear that communist forces could no longer except to annex territory by armed aggression. It saved a
nation and a people from a totalitarian rule and economic and political slavery. The Republic of South Korea stands as a proud monument to the lives of so many soldiers, sailors and Marines.
The warriors came home from this conflict with their injuries: physical, emotionally and spiritual. The V.A. was winding down with limited budgets. Care or compensation for injuries and wounds were
extremely scarce and limited in many areas. But these people were part of the Great Generation and they perceived what they did as their duty. There were little to no gripes or complaints. They were proud of their service but sad no one seemed to care or understand.
For five and a half decades they and their families have carried their wounds in silence. The crippling effect of old wounds, the agony of frostbite induced neuropathy and a half a century of nightmares and
flashbacks are the on going cost of the service they gladly gave. They looked for no accolades from their country or their countrymen; nor did they receive them.
They are rapidly dying now. They live on the block, around the corner. They don't stand out. Most look like typical old folks. But they are the heroes in our midst who gave it all not only back then but throughout their lives. May we not be like the majority who has long forgotten the war and the warriors who fought there?
His name was Ed. He was a hospice patient on a Home Team. I was his Chaplain. On the first visit Ed and I discovered we both had served in the First Marine Division in Korea during the same time frame. We began sharing together experiences that we had in those days. His wife was amazed that he was sharing such things. During their fifty-years of marriage she never heard about such stories. She, and her children, experienced Ed as a loner who kept things to himself. They felt he had never been open with them and they could never were able to get close to him. In much of his spare time he would go out to the middle of the lake, all alone, and fish
Like most of us, in the dying process, the emotional walls, the defense mechanisms we have built to protect ourselves, come tumbling down. Ed was able to share the horror, the complicated grief, and the
countless flashbacks that had haunted him for over a half a century. He had borne them in silence.
In a real sense Ed, and his family, had sacrificed their lives for their country. He, and his family, experienced isolation, a loss of intimacy, estrangement and unresolved grief as a direct result of his
combat experiences. The personal, open, loving Ed had died in Korea and he existed in a living hell for the next fifty-six years.
I want us to honor and remember today, those combat veterans, and their families who physically survived the combat but never the less lost their lives decades ago. It is and was a sacrifice that is
immeasurable.
Editor's Note... (the apparent lack of detail consistency, excluding the effects of the "error," is the result of different agencies including or excluding certain categories. As a further example of this, at November 2007 the VA lists the Korean War In-Theater Total Deaths as 36,574 - http://www1.va.gov/opa/fact/amwars.asp )
Beginning in 1953, when the Korean War ended in a truce, the official number of U.S. soldiers killed in the war had been universally acknowledged as 54,246. However, in June of 2000, the Pentagon
announced that a clerical error had inflated the number by more than 20,000. Time magazine was first to report the mistake, which had occurred when a clerk mistakenly included 20,617 non-battlefield U.S.
military deaths that occurred all over the world during the three-year war to the total of U.S. soldiers killed in action. Only 3,275 of those non-battlefield deaths had even occurred in Korea, and most of
them were from accidents or disease. As a result, The Pentagon revised the number of U.S. soldiers killed during the war. The new official battlefield toll is 36,940.
( http://www.cleveland.com/weblogs/readers/index.ssf?/mtlogs/cleve_readerrep/archives/2006_06.html ).
U.S. MILITARY KOREAN WAR STATISTICS
BATTLE DEAD 33,686 (*Includes 4,735 findings of presumptive death
under the Missing Persons Act)
Killed in Action 23,637
Died of Wounds 2,484
Died While Missing (MIA) 4,759
Died While Captured (POW) 2,806
Total: 33,686
NON-BATTLE DEATHS 2,830
TOTAL DEATHS IN THEATER: 36,516
DIED ELSEWHERE (Worldwide during Korean War) 17,730
WOUNDED (Number of personnel) 92,134
WOUNDED (Number of incidences*) 103,284 (*Includes individual
personnel wounded multiple times)
UNACCOUNTED FOR (Bodies not identified/bodies not recovered) 8,176
Prisoner of War 2,045
Killed in Action 1,794
Missing in Action 4,245
Non-battle 92
Total: 8,176
PRISONERS OF WAR 7,245
POWs Returned to U.S. Control 4,418
POWs Who Died While Captured 2,806
POWs Who Refused Repatriation 21
Total: 7,245
NUMBER WHO SERVED WORLDWIDE 5,720,000
NUMBER WHO SERVED IN KOREAN THEATER 1,789,000
( http://www.aiipowmia.com/koreacw/kwkia_menu.html )
Thanks to William Lent Class of '51 KOREA USMC 1952 to 1953 for sending this to the newsletter.
What Every Veteran Needs To Know: The Third In A Series
In the first of this ongoing series (December 2007) we introduce some specific answers to general questions often asked and just as often misunderstood. In the second installment (January 2008), we looked at VA Health Care Benefits. This month we'll take a quick look at Federal Benefits 'other than' health care. In future installments we'll delve into: Counseling & Support, Housing, Education, Employment, Burial Benefits, and General Assistance & Advocacy.
'Other' Federal VA Benefits
VA Regional Offices: VA Regional Offices are responsible for delivering major benefit programs to veterans and their dependents:
- Disability compensation and pension
- Vocational rehabilitation and employment
- Education
- Insurance
- Home loan guaranty
Veterans may call the toll free number or visit VA Regional Office for more information. Veterans with internet access may also apply online for benefits ( http://www1.va.gov/oro/page.cfm?pg=99 ).
VONAPP (Veterans On-Line Applications): Apply for VA benefits online
Website: ( http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp ).
VA Compensation and Pension: Disability compensation is a monetary benefit paid to veterans who are disabled by injury or disease incurred or aggravated during active military service. Pension benefits are paid for non-service connected disabilities. Eligibility requirements for disability benefits can be obtained from a VA Regional Office, online or through a veteran service organization.
Website: ( http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21 ).
VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment: The Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program provides training and rehabilitation for veterans with VA service-connected disabilities. The VR&E program is an employment oriented program that helps veterans with service-connected disabilities prepare for, find and keep suitable employment.
Website: ( http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre ).
VA Education Benefits: VA provides education benefits under the Montgomery GI Bill, the Veterans Educational Assistance Program, the Dependents Educational Assistance Program and the Montgomery GI Bill - Selected Reserve. Additional information can be obtained from a VA Regional Office, online or through the toll-free number. Website: ( http://www.gibill.va.gov/ ).
VA Home Loan Guaranty: Veterans can apply for a VA loan with any mortgage lender that participates in VA home loan program. VA guaranteed loans are offered by private lenders, banks, savings & loans, or mortgage companies to eligible veterans for the purchase of a home for personal occupancy. Veterans are exempted from a down payment. Website: ( http://www.homeloans.va.gov/ ).
VA Insurance: There are currently eight life insurance programs with four programs open to new issues. Two of the programs, Service Disabled Veterans Insurance (SDVI) and Veterans Mortgage Life Insurance (VMLI), are specifically designed for disabled veterans. The other two programs, Servicemembers Group Life Insurance (SGLI) and Veterans Group Life Insurance (VGLI), are administered by a private company under the supervision of VA. Website: ( http://www.insurance.va.gov/ ).
This Month's Not Commented on Article
- Of Course It Wasn't... Not!
APPEALS COURT SAYS "NO" TO VETS AND FAMILIES, UPHOLDS DISMISSAL OF AGENT ORANGE LAWSUITS -- Also throws out herbicide case brought by Vietnamese people saying AO was not a weapon. A federal appeals court Friday upheld the dismissal of more than a dozen lawsuits brought against Dow Chemical Co., Monsanto Co., and other chemical makers over the use of the herbicide Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. The lawsuits include separate cases brought on behalf of veterans and their families and millions of Vietnamese allegedly injured by
exposure to the chemical defoliant. In the cases brought by the veterans, the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a prior ruling by U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein in Brooklyn in 2004 that the
chemical companies could assert a government-contractor defense, which protects government contractors from state-tort liability under certain circumstances when they provide defective products to the government. "The government made an express determination, based on the knowledge available to it at the time, that Agent Orange as then being manufactured posed no unacceptable hazard for the wartime uses for which it was intended, and that the product should continue to be
manufactured and supplied to it," U.S. Circuit Judge Robert D. Sack wrote in one of three opinions in the cases. "Although the herbicide campaign may have been controversial, the record before us supports the conclusion that Agent Orange was used as a defoliant and not as a poison designed for or targeting human populations," U.S. Circuit Judge Roger J. Miner wrote in another opinion.
Hicksville Trivia
Thinking of the Classes of '65, '66, and '67 (at least those are the ones I can personally attest to), on weekday nights (usually other than Friday night) if you wanted to find those
of us who liked to dance, one of the 'places' to hit was the 'Wayside Inn' in Glen Head, up the hill, just north of the tracks, on the east side of Glen Head Road. If you were a regular, you could avoid the (sometimes long) line(s) by paying your respect to 'Mr. Norman' who would then let you right in. And for those who remember (anyone - smile), when I wasn't on the floor, doing the 'Skate' or what have you, the pitcher I usually had in my hands was full of 'Gin & Wink!'
Lest We Forget
Currently there are (at least) 4,838 Veterans of Modern Warfare who no longer will be "asking" our government for a dime . . .
Till next month be well... and remember, "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
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--- --- Walt Schmidt Veteran Services Officer
- - --- TOBay's Veteran Services Division
- - - - "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
--- --- WorkDayTime: 516.733.8414 & 24/7 Voice Mail
- - --- Anytime: 24/7 Voice Mail 516.799.8300
- - - - Website: http://www.waltsdorsai.net/
Ken Sun - Weekly Column: http://experts.longisland.com/veterans
"To know yet to think that one does not know is best;
Not to know yet to think that one knows will lead to difficulty."
- Lao-Tzu 71:1
