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VA Updates: Benefits Best Practice – Tell Your Family

VA Updates: Benefits Best Practice – Tell Your Family

Six million Veterans receive benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). As I described in a previous column, these are earned benefits for military service and not entitlements.  For Veterans, it is essential to explain to your family members what these benefits are, how they are administered, and how they would be affected if you should pass. Based on an all too common real-world situation, this example summarizes why taking the time to speak to your family about your benefits is critical. Scenario One: Veteran Does Not Share Benefit Information with Family Consider a married male Veteran who has not shared his benefit information with his spouse. He qualified for disability compensation for a service-related injury and receives a tax-free payment of $2,500 every month. These funds are incorporated into the family budget, which he and his wife use to pay for living expenses.  The Veteran dies, and his wife begins grieving. During this challenging period,...

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The Earth Is Weeping by Peter Cozzens

The Earth Is Weeping by Peter Cozzens

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After the Civil War, the Indian Wars would last more than three decades, permanently altering the physical and political landscape of America. Peter Cozzens gives us both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail.  Overview of The Earth Cries He covers lots of ground, much of it bloody, thus he skips lightly over certain events, but in doing so he doesn’t gloss over anything. Even when he treads familiar ground - Red Cloud’s War, the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the Nez Perce flight and fight, the epic pursuit of Geronimo, Wounded Knee, and so forth - he relates all in surprisingly fresh and insightful fashion.  One of his major points is that Western Indians never united to oppose the white "invaders" but continued to make war on one another, as they had done for centuries. Indian tribes such as the Shoshones, Crows, and Pawnees - all of whom had been victimized by stronger tribes - cast their lot with the American soldiers, while Apaches scouted for the Army...

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Backtracking in Brown Water by Rolland E. Kidder

Backtracking in Brown Water by Rolland E. Kidder

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The market is flooded with books written about Vietnam. Many follow the same path in their storytelling, beginning with their youth, entry into the military, their war experiences, returning home, and how they feel today about that journey. This book does some of that, but it is different in more ways. The author takes us on a voyage spanning his wartime service as a U.S. Navy patrol boat officer in Vietnam's Mekong Delta to his recent return trip to Vietnam and finally, to the most poignant and memorable part of his story, visiting the families and graves of three friends and fellow combatants. The nexus of the book came from an article written by the author for Naval History magazine and published in 2010. But through that process of research and pouring over a journal he kept during his Vietnam tour of duty, the memories of those three men, James Rost and Eldon Tozer, both Navy patrol boat officers and Robert Olson, an Army advisor working with Vietnamese soldiers, kept popping...

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VA Updates: Glad You Asked

VA Updates: Glad You Asked

During Veterans Month, I had the opportunity to brief several companies' Veteran groups about the benefits they earned from their military service. During my presentations, I provided a quick overview of all the benefits and then devoted three-quarters of the hour to answering questions from the attendees. I've found that answering questions enables me to provide more situation specific information and often suggest next steps they can take to receive their benefits. Inevitably, there are more questions than time allows, reinforcing my belief that so much more needs to be done to educate our Veterans on these benefits. Navigating Claims for Increase: Addressing Concerns One question that came up in each session had to do with the possible negative consequences of filing for an increase in benefits. This is often referred to as a "Claim for Increase." This occurs when a Veteran has previously filed for disability compensation and been granted a service connection.  This is...

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Joining the Braves by Winique Payen

Joining the Braves by Winique Payen

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"Joining the Braves" is a must-read for anyone considering joining the military, especially young Americans and immigrants who want to give back to the United States, as author Winique Payen comes from both backgrounds.  About the Author of Joining the Braves Today, he is a non-commissioned officer in the United States Army who has served multiple deployments overseas and is currently stationed in Tennessee. But Payen started his life in Haiti, where he was born and raised. He came to the U.S. in 2009, but his enlistment was not his first encounter with the U.S. military.  In 1994, the United States invaded Haiti to overthrow the military regime that unseated Haiti's ​​President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who was elected in 1991.  "I saw those guys walk in with pride," Paten recalls in his book. "Everything from their discipline to their honor to their integrity all influenced me greatly… I wanted to see myself standing among those troops." From the day he first saw them, his...

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TSgt Norman Lear, U.S. Army Air Force (1942-1945)

TSgt Norman Lear, U.S. Army Air Force (1942-1945)

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Norman Lear, most known for his TV producing as the creator of such shows as All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, Sanford and Son, Different Strokes, Mary Hartman, Mary, One Day at a Time and Good Times, didn't always bask in the glitz of Hollywood. Before crafting iconic television shows, Lear's journey unfolded in the United States Army during World War II. Norman Lear's military service, encompassing various roles and a transformative encounter, marked the inception of a prolific career that spanned seven decades.  Norman Lear’s Early Years Born on July 27, 1922, in New Haven, Connecticut, Norman Milton Lear was 19 years old when the Japanese Nava Air Forces bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. Raised in a Jewish household, Lear's early years were marked by the Great Depression. His family relocated multiple times during his childhood, finally settling in New Haven. During his formative years at Weaver High School in Hartford, Connecticut, Lear displayed a keen interest in music...

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Cpl Clint Eastwood, U.S. Army (1951-1953)

Cpl Clint Eastwood, U.S. Army (1951-1953)

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Clint Eastwood, the renowned actor and director, did not always grace the red carpets of Hollywood. Prior to becoming the legendary "Man with No Name," Eastwood's path unfolded in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Clint Eastwood's military tenure, spanning from his initial odd jobs to a pivotal encounter, marked the commencement of a 70-year career in the entertainment industry. TogetherWeServed salutes Clint Eastwood for his honorable military service and the indelible mark he has left on the world of entertainment. His legacy serves as a shining example of the incredible achievements that can be realized when talent, hard work, and military values converge. We are proud to celebrate Clint Eastwood's contributions to both our nation and the entertainment industry. Clint Eastwood’s Early Years Clint Eastwood, born on May 31, 1930, at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco, California, to Ruth and Clinton Eastwood, boasts a diverse ancestry—English, Irish, Scottish, and...

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Rockets, Sand and Amalgam by Robert Engelmeier

Rockets, Sand and Amalgam by Robert Engelmeier

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Webster's Dictionary defines amalgam as "a mixture or blend", making it the perfect word to describe Vietnam veteran Robert Engelmeier's experience in country, as well as his 2023 memoir of it.  The author has written countless academic articles about his chosen career in dentistry and prosthetics as a retired professor who directed the graduate program at the University of Texas Houston Dental Branch for 14 years and served as Prosthodontic Department chair at the University of Pittsburgh and is still a visiting Professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Simply put, he knows dentistry well.  What he didn't know when he arrived in Vietnam was life in the U.S. military. As a result, the recollections in his memoirs are filled with stories and incidents from his time there, where his ignorance of military protocol occasionally got him into a bit of trouble. Engelmeier was a young dentist when he deployed to South Vietnam's Cam Ranh Bay. He was a fresh graduate of the University...

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Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin by Eileen A. Bjorkman

Unforgotten in the Gulf of Tonkin by Eileen A. Bjorkman

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When Air Force Maj. Alan Saunders arrived in Vietnam in June 1963; true combat search and rescue (CSAR) as we know it today was just beginning to form. Saunders was bringing his experience fighting World War II in the jungles of Burma to Det. 3, Pacific Air Rescue Center in Tan Son Nhut. Maj. Alan Saunders and His Experience Fighting World War II Saunders knew that the jungle didn't burn and create smoke around the wreckage of a downed aircraft. Nor did it easily cough up a surviving pilot, soldier, or Marines separated from their units or anyone else unlucky enough to be in the jungle alone and among the enemy. Instead, the dense jungles of Southeast Asia swallowed aircraft whole. When it went in, the trees opened up, and the canopy quickly closed around it. Finding a downed aircraft, even a flaming one, was difficult if not impossible, Sanders said. It was the beginning of a sea change in how the United States military treated its missing in action. Before Vietnam, the U.S. was...

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Secret Soldiers by Philip Gerard

Secret Soldiers by Philip Gerard

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They were masters of the craft of illusion and deception, and their greatest disappearing act was to vanish from history. The men of the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops were recruited to become phantom warriors in a ghost army to help win the Battle of Europe. A thousand strong, they fought in more campaigns, from D Day to the Rhine River, with more Allied armies, than any other unit in the European Theater of Operations - yet, not even their fellow American soldiers were aware of their presence. After Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., USNR, completed a tour of England and its special forces installations, the Hollywood star convinced the Navy brass to train an elite unit that eventually evolved into the only Army force of its kind. These elite soldiers counted among their number designer Bill Blass and painter Ellsworth Kelly. The Special Troops' mission was two-fold: to deceive the German Army into believing that the Allies possessed more troops and material than they actually did and, even...

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Make Peace or Die by Charles Daly

Make Peace or Die by Charles Daly

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As many readers of the Dispatches Newsletter might be aware, "Make Peace or Die" is the motto of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. For Charles Daly, it became a regular choice he would have to make, time and again, over the course of his entire life.  "Make Peace or Die: A Life of Service, Leadership, and Nightmares" is everything the name promises it to be. At times terrifying, the book is always engrossing and descriptive. It’s one of the finest personal recollections of the Korean War today.  It’s also a joint collaboration the author co-wrote with the help of his son, Charlie Daly. About the Author of Make Peace or Die Daly grew up in a family of Anglo-Irish immigrants. They became American citizens when little Charles was just eight years old. Their story, as Daly admits from the start, was not the typical picture of huddled masses yearning to breathe free. His father was a Shell Oil Company Executive, and they came to the United States on a luxury liner in first class.  When...

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S1C Don Rickles, U.S. Navy (1944-1946), WWII

S1C Don Rickles, U.S. Navy (1944-1946), WWII

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Before emerging as the renowned comedy legend celebrated for his wit and humor, Don Rickles navigated a significant chapter in his life that often goes overlooked. Long before his name became synonymous with laughter, Rickles dutifully answered his country's call by enlisting in the United States Navy during World War II. These military years in the Navy laid the groundwork for the extraordinary career that would later make him a comedy icon adored by audiences worldwide. Don Rickles’s Early Years Donald Jay Rickles was born on May 8, 1926, in New York City. Raised in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, Rickles grew up in a close-knit Jewish family. Despite the financial challenges posed by the Great Depression, his parents Etta and Max Rickles nurtured his comedic talents, encouraging him to find laughter in everyday situations.  After graduating from Newtown High School, Rickles embarked on a new chapter in his life. In response to his country's call during World War...

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