Hicksville Vietnam War Era Memorial

The List of Names of those who served has expanded through monthly announcements in HixNews.  When the list was published in the March Issue,  we had 150 names.  In August, we reached a total of 425!  The project's momentum continues to build with to the help of HixNews and its many readers and the dedication of our Project Team. 

After successful print publication in Hicksville Illustrated, we are still seeking broader distribution of the news of this effort through publication in Newsday.  A fundraiser somewhere in Hicksville to help sponsor the Memorial is also being considered by the Project Team.

Memorial Qualifications:  A person must have been on active duty in one of our Armed Forces during the Vietnam Era.  The person did not necessarily have to serve in Vietnam, because by being in service at that time he or she faced the possibility of being sent to Vietnam and was an integral part of strengthening our Armed Forces during a time of war. 

Overall qualifications include:

• must have been a resident of Hicksville at some time before entering our Armed Forces
• must have attended a public, private or parochial high school while living in Hicksville (attendance at HHS not required)
• must have served on active duty anywhere in the world during America's Vietnam Era (1961-1973 per the www.vietnamwar.com history timeline)
• Both men and women qualify (We're stating this as we still have very few women on the current list)

While the list has grown to 425 names, we know there are many more that served who meet these qualifications, but have yet to be identified by the Project Team.  Rough estimates indicate we should be able to collect between 2 and 3 thousand names.  We have access to official records in Washington, D.C. but have found that many people left Hicksville before entering the service and show a different town or city as their home at the time of entry.  So, we need to continue this grassroots effort and will also continue to use official records as a means of confirmation of all personnel on the list. 

Our Project Team consists of the following members:

·        Ken Strafer, Founder (HHS '62)

·        Joe Carfora, Master List (HHS '62)

·        Carl Probst, Input Data, Class of '59 & Others (HHS '59)

·        Tony Plonski, Input Data, Class of '64 & Others (HHS '64)

·        Tommy Sullivan, Press Release Editing (HHS '63)

·        Walter Schmidt, Hicksville Local Coordinator & Town of Oyster Bay Veterans Services Officer (HHS '65)

·        Joe Ingino, Veterans Advocate, Hicksville & Long Island (HHS '67)

·        Jay Tranchina, Input Data, Class of '64 & Others, plus local press contact (HHS 1964)                                                    

What we need each person reading this to do:

Please review the attached list of names.  If you know of someone who is not listed, please send their name  to Joe Carfora at jcarfora1@nc.rr.com.  Please use the information contained on the following list as a guide for the data we need.

Thank you!

The Vietnam War Era Memorial Project Team

Footnote extracted from www.vietnamwar.com:  During 15 years of military involvement, over 2 million Americans served in Vietnam with 500,000 seeing actual combat. 47,244 were killed in action, including 8000 airmen. There were 10,446 non-combat deaths. 153,329 were seriously wounded, including 10,000 amputees. Over 2400 American POWs/MIAs were unaccounted for as of 1973.

Dear Mr. Collins,

Taking a bit of a shot in the dark here... This e-mail relates to a film venture I became involved with back in the eighties. Having served as an infantry squad leader with the 3rd Marines up around Vietnam's DMZ during the entire year of 1968, I became alarmed as to how the media, including the film industry, had created this incredibly negative, vicious and untrue stereotype with regard to those of us who served. And decided to do something about it. Especially, on behalf of so many friends, including my brother-in-law, Gregg, who were not as lucky as I to come home alive and unable to defend themselves. Had owned both a Hess gasoline franchise in Oceanside, L.I. and a restaurant here in Hicksville prior to the decision and the result was a screenplay entitled * GRUNTS * ...

And got quite far with it. Larry Wilcox, a fellow Viet vet, ex-Marine (Artillery man) and the star of "CHIPS" enjoyed the script and signed on to play a lead, Major Caulter, senior officer of L.A.'s Marine Corps Public Affairs Office was standing by to provide DOD (Department Of Defense) support, Allen Wilson of The Completion Bond Company was ready, willing and able to provide the bond as things proceeded with the Bank Of America and, last but not least, Hannah Weinstein, a senior producer at Columbia (Larry provided the contact), asked to meet with me on three occasions after reading the script. With our third meeting concluded, Ms. Weinstein asked me to tone down the dialog (With hopes toward avoiding an R rating) and then contact her. She then handed me her home address, a suite atop the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.

Well... You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Ms. Weinstein (God Bless Her Soul) died of a massive stroke as the re-write was under way. With no other producers interested at Columbia, the project, along with any possibility of a distribution deal, went south.

To make a long story a bit longer, all of this went down close to thirty years ago. Recently, my oldest son, Greg, while going through the family archives for photographs to include in his wedding album, ran across a copy of the original script. Sat on it (Not literally) for a few weeks and finally said, "What the heck...", drove into NYC, re-registered the scenario with the Writers Guild East and decided to make another crack at it. Through a friend, got it into the hands of Ed Carroll, who heads up Cablevision's entertainment division who, in turn, shot it off to Pete MacManus of AMC (AN affiliate). Pete, after both reading and enjoying it, sent it back and suggesting I do the changes I, myself, had suggested would be needed and to put the whole kit & caboodle into a contemporary format. He also said to get an agent to represent the material.

Which is where I hope that you might come on board in any capacity which may fit into your schedule... Not only to ask you to have your agent look at the screenplay, and perhaps represent it, but to ask your assistance toward a major overhaul of the original screenplay... Though you are a novelist by experience, the penning of a movie script isn't difficult. Simply add a choice of about fifteen camera angles as you go along to create a blueprint for the Director... And in all honesty, I even question the ability of a small company like AMC being able to fulfill the budget responsibilities of a large scale war film so, and I'm just thinking out loud here, perhaps you could suggest other avenues of approach. Should also add here that I'm confident I can, once again, bring on board the DOD (Department Of Defense). Upon script approval, they would supply extras, tanks, jets, tech support, etc., etc. Not sure what business arrangements would be on such an endeavor but, for starters, I'll throw out a 50/50 partnership. You are the man with the experience and influence, though, so I'll remain open to suggestions.

Enclosed (Below), you will find a brief synopsis which was recently written by me and needs to be incorporated into the original script's 146 pages. Most, if not all, of the Vietnam war related films have ignored the involvement of the fine American ladies (Nurses, USO, & Red Cross) who also did service during the conflict and thought the presence of a Navy nurse can only enhance the story line. And attract more viewers to the box office.

Both the screenplay and synopsis are registered with "Writers Guild" (Along with my research on the JFK assassination...). The screenplay is registered under the title * The Grunt * (Slang for infantryman), registration #R22465 and the synopsis, * Grunts * (Preferred because the story relates to numerous infantryman rather than one), registration #R22464.

With sincerest of regards,
Mike Regan

PS A link to The "Rhythm Aces" tune entitled "Third Rate Romance" and which plays a  significant role within the story line is just  below... Though the tune was actually released  a few years after the time frame represented in the screenplay, hopefully it will be regarded as one of those "Bloopers" that have been found in even the best of motion pictures...
"Thanks"...

http://www.imeem.com/ghostwolf/music/qbOPSeEz/the-amazing-rhythm-aces-third-rate-romance/

Walt's Sept Veterans Column

Folks -

Several articles and some facts.

Lest We Forget: Currently there are (at least) 5,519 Veterans of Modern Warfare who no longer will be "asking" our government for another dime . . . Iraq 4,335; Afghanistan 802, and; Kuwait 382.

Eight Health Care Falsehoods: Not Just For Veterans

With thanks to Newsweek's Brooks Jackson, Viveca Novak, Lori Robertson and Jess Henig, and the President we can debunk the following eight health care falsehoods.

01 - Government Will Decide What Care I Get (a.k.a. they won't give grandma a hip replacement): FALSE 

This untrue claim has its roots in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the stimulus bill), which called for the creation of a Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. The council is charged with supporting and coordinating research that the government has been funding for years into which treatments work best, and in some cases, are most cost-effective. Supporters of this type of research say it can provide valuable information to doctors, improving care and also lowering cost. Betsy McCaughey, a former Republican lieutenant governor of New York (and now a professing Democrat), wrote in an opinion piece that the government would actually tell doctors what procedures they could and couldn't perform. The claim took off from there, popping up in chain e-mails and Republican press conferences. It's not true. The legislation specifically says that the council can't issue requirements or guidelines on treatment or insurance benefits:

02 - The Bill Is Paid For: FALSE

At least, it isn't paid for yet. President Obama has repeatedly said that a health care overhaul "will be paid for" and that he won't sign a bill that isn't deficit-neutral. But neither the House bill nor the Senate HELP Committee bill meets that criteria. So the big questions remain. Will the president break his promise and sign a bill that piles up hundreds of billions of additional debt? Will the legislation have to be scaled back to cost less, and perhaps cover fewer of the uninsured? Who will pay additional taxes? Can pain-free reductions in other government programs be found? "

03 - Private Insurance Will Be Illegal: FALSE

Investor's Business Daily published an editorial in which it claimed that H.R. 3200 would make private insurance illegal. But IBD was mistaken. It was citing the part of the bill that ensures people with individually purchased coverage don't have to give up that coverage unless they want to. Under the House bill, people who want to buy new individual, nongroup coverage will have to purchase it through a new health insurance exchange. They can still buy private insurance - the exchange, in fact, would offer a range of private plans, in addition to a new federal health insurance option. However, those who were already buying their own insurance before the bill went into effect - about 14 million Americans - will have their plans grandfathered in.

04 - The House Bill Requires Suicide Counseling: FALSE

This claim is nonsense. In an appearance on former Sen. Fred Thompson's radio show, Betsy McCaughey, a former Republican lieutenant governor of New York (and now a professing Democrat) also enthusiastically pushed the bogus claim that the House bill will require seniors to have regular counseling sessions on how to end their lives. This is a misrepresentation. What the bill actually provides for is voluntary Medicare-funded end-of-life counseling. In other words, if seniors choose to make advance decisions about the type of care and treatments they wish to receive at the end of their lives, Medicare will pay for them to sit down with their doctor and discuss their preferences. There is no requirement to attend regular sessions, and there is absolutely no provision encouraging euthanasia.

05 - Families Will Save $2,500: FALSE

As recently as May 13, the president said legislation plus some voluntary measures by the private sector "could save families $2,500 in the coming years - $2,500 per family," echoing a claim he made countless times on the campaign trail last year. Don't start spending that $2,500 just yet. For one thing, Obama isn't actually promising to reduce health care spending below current levels, only to cut the rate of growth in spending. And even that is proving to be far tougher to accomplish than Obama led voters to believe.

06 - Medicare Benefits Will Be Slashed: FALSE

The claim that Obama and Congress are cutting seniors' Medicare benefits to pay for the health care overhaul is outright false, though that doesn't keep it from being repeated ad infinitum. AARP says: None of the health care reform proposals being considered by Congress would cut Medicare benefits or increase your out-of-pocket costs for Medicare services.

07 - Illegal Immigrants Will Be Covered: FALSE

One Republican congressman issued a press release claiming that "5,600,000 Illegal Aliens May Be Covered Under Obamacare." This is not true. In fact, the House bill (the only bill to be formally introduced in its entirety) specifically says that no federal money would be spent on giving illegal immigrants health coverage. Also, under current law, those in the country illegal don't qualify for federal health programs.

08 - Health Care Reform Will Change VA Benefits: FALSE

From President Obama's speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Phoenix on 08/17: "And since there's been so much misinformation out there about health insurance reform, let me say this. One thing that reform won't change is veterans health care. No one is going to take away your benefits. That's the truth."

Our Health Care 37th In The World: Not Just For Veterans

I'll now take a look at what I consider to be the worse FACT concerning our health care.

The List - Partial

The World Health Organization's ranking of the world's health systems:

1 - France
2 - Italy
3 - San Marino
4 - Andorra
5 - Malta
6 - Singapore
7 - Spain
8 - Oman
9 - Austria
10 - Japan
11 - Norway
12 - Portugal
13 - Monaco
14 - Greece
15 - Iceland
16 - Luxembourg
17 - Netherlands
18 - United  Kingdom
19 - Ireland
20 - Switzerland
21 - Belgium
22 - Colombia
23 - Sweden
24 - Cyprus
25 - Germany
26 - Saudi Arabia
27 - United  Arab  Emirates
28 - Israel
29 - Morocco
30 - Canada
31 - Finland
32 - Australia
33 - Chile
34 - Denmark
35 - Dominica
36 - Costa Rica
37 - United States of America
38 - Slovenia
39 - Cuba

More About the US, 37th In The List
Performance - Overall Health System: 37th
Performance - On Level of Health: 72nd
Health Expenditure Per Capita in International Dollars: 1st
Responsiveness - Level: 1st
Responsiveness - Distribution: 3rd - 38th
Fairness in Financial Contribution: 54th - 55th

About The Criteria

Responsiveness: The nations with the most responsive health systems are the United States, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Canada, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden. The reason these are all advanced industrial nations is that a number of the elements of responsiveness depend strongly on the availability of resources.

Fairness of Financial Contribution: When WHO measured the fairness of financial contribution to health systems, countries lined up differently. The measurement is based on the fraction of a household's capacity to spend (income minus food expenditure) that goes on health care (including tax payments, social insurance, private insurance and out of pocket payments). Colombia was the top-rated country in this category, followed by Luxembourg, Belgium, Djibouti, Denmark, Ireland, Germany, Norway, Japan and Finland. Colombia achieved top rank because someone with a low income might pay the equivalent of one dollar per year for health care, while a high- income individual pays 7.6 dollars. In North America, Canada rates as the country with the fairest mechanism for health system finance - ranked at 17-19, while the United States is at 54-55.

Overall Level of Health: A good health system, above all, contributes to good health. To assess overall population health and thus to judge how well the objective of good health is being achieved, WHO has chosen to use the measure of disability- adjusted life expectancy (DALE). This has the advantage of being directly comparable to life expectancy and is readily compared across populations. The report provides estimates for all countries of disability- adjusted life expectancy. DALE is estimated to equal or exceed 70 years in 24 countries, and 60 years in over half the Member States of WHO. At the other extreme are 32 countries where disability- adjusted life expectancy is estimated to be less than 40 years. Many of these are countries characterised by major epidemics of HIV/AIDS, among other causes.

Distribution of Health in the Populations: It is not sufficient to protect or improve the average health of the population, if - at the same time - inequality worsens or remains high because the gain accrues disproportionately to those already enjoying better health. The health system also has the responsibility to try to reduce inequalities by prioritizing actions to improve the health of the worse-off, wherever these inequalities are caused by conditions amenable to intervention. The objective of good health is really twofold: the best attainable average level - goodness - and the smallest feasible differences among individuals and groups - fairness. A gain in either one of these, with no change in the other, constitutes an improvement.

Responsiveness: Responsiveness includes two major components. These are (a) respect for persons (including dignity, confidentiality and autonomy of individuals and families to decide about their own health); and (b) client orientation (including prompt attention, access to social support networks during care, quality of basic amenities and choice of provider).

Distribution of Financing: There are good and bad ways to raise the resources for a health system, but they are more or less good primarily as they affect how fairly the financial burden is shared. Fair financing, as the name suggests, is only concerned with distribution. It is not related to the total resource bill, nor to how the funds are used. The objectives of the health system do not include any particular level of total spending, either absolutely or relative to income. This is because, at all levels of spending there are other possible uses for the resources devoted to health. The level of funding to allocate to the health system is a social choice - with no correct answer. Nonetheless, the report suggests that countries spending less than around 60 dollars per person per year on health find that their populations are unable to access health services from an adequately performing health system.

The List

1 France, 2 Italy, 3 San Marino, 4 Andorra, 5 Malta, 6 Singapore, 7 Spain, 8 Oman, 9 Austria, 10 Japan,

11 Norway, 12 Portugal, 13 Monaco, 14 Greece, 15 Iceland, 16 Luxembourg, 17 Netherlands, 18 United Kingdom, 19 Ireland, 20 Switzerland,

21 Belgium, 22 Colombia, 23 Sweden, 24 Cyprus, 25 Germany, 26 Saudi Arabia, 27 United Arab Emirates, 28 Israel, 29 Morocco, 30 Canada,

31 Finland, 32 Australia, 33 Chile, 34 Denmark, 35 Dominica, 36 Costa Rica, 37 United States of America, 38 Slovenia, 39 Cuba, 40 Brunei,

41 New Zealand, 42 Bahrain, 43 Croatia, 44 Qatar, 45 Kuwait, 46 Barbados, 47 Thailand, 48 Czech Republic, 49 Malaysia, 50 Poland,

51 Dominican Republic, 52 Tunisia, 53 Jamaica, 54 Venezuela, 55 Albania, 56 Seychelles, 57 Paraguay, 58 South Korea, 59 Senegal, 60 Philippines,

61 Mexico, 62 Slovakia, 63 Egypt, 64 Kazakhstan, 65 Uruguay, 66 Hungary, 67 Trinidad and Tobago, 68 Saint Lucia, 69 Belize, 70 Turkey,

71 Nicaragua, 72 Belarus, 73 Lithuania, 74 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, 75 Argentina, 76 Sri Lanka, 77 Estonia, 78 Guatemala, 79 Ukraine, 80 Solomon Islands,

81 Algeria, 82 Palau, 83 Jordan, 84 Mauritius, 85 Grenada, 86 Antigua and Barbuda, 87 Libya, 88 Bangladesh, 89 Macedonia, 90 Bosnia-Herzegovina,

91 Lebanon, 92 Indonesia, 93 Iran, 94 Bahamas, 95 Panama, 96 Fiji, 97 Benin, 98 Nauru, 99 Romania, 100 Saint Kitts and Nevis,

101 Moldova, 102 Bulgaria, 103 Iraq, 104 Armenia, 105 Latvia, 106 Yugoslavia, 107 Cook Islands, 108 Syria, 109 Azerbaijan, 110 Suriname,

111 Ecuador, 112 India, 113 Cape Verde, 114 Georgia, 115 El Salvador, 116 Tonga, 117 Uzbekistan, 118 Comoros, 119 Samoa, 120 Yemen,

121 Niue, 122 Pakistan, 123 Micronesia, 124 Bhutan, 125 Brazil, 126 Bolivia, 127 Vanuatu, 128 Guyana, 129 Peru, 130 Russia,

131 Honduras, 132 Burkina Faso, 133 Sao Tome and Principe, 134 Sudan, 135 Ghana, 136 Tuvalu, 137 Ivory Coast, 138 Haiti, 139 Gabon, 140 Kenya,

141 Marshall Islands, 142 Kiribati, 143 Burundi, 144 China, 145 Mongolia, 146 Gambia, 147 Maldives, 148 Papua New Guinea, 149 Uganda, 150 Nepal,

151 Kyrgystan, 152 Togo, 153 Turkmenistan, 154 Tajikistan, 155 Zimbabwe, 156 Tanzania, 157 Djibouti, 158 Eritrea, 159 Madagascar, 160 Vietnam,

161 Guinea, 162 Mauritania, 163 Mali, 164 Cameroon, 165 Laos, 166 Congo, 167 North Korea, 168 Namibia, 169 Botswana, 170 Niger,

171 Equatorial Guinea, 172 Rwanda, 173 Afghanistan, 174 Cambodia, 175 South Africa, 176 Guinea-Bissau, 177 Swaziland, 178 Chad, 179 Somalia, 180 Ethiopia,

181 Angola, 182 Zambia, 183 Lesotho, 184 Mozambique, 185 Malawi, 186 Liberia, 187 Nigeria, 188 Democratic Republic of the Congo, 189 Central African Republic, 190 Myanmar

Till next month be well... and remember, "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!"
  
--- --- Walt Schmidt Veteran Services Officer 
- - --- TOBay's Veteran Services Division 
- - - - "Let No Veteran Ever Stand Alone!" 
--- --- WorkDayTime: 516.797.7875 & 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