Subcommittees to Investigate Vet-Owned Business Practices

 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, at 10:00 a.m., in Room 334 of the Cannon House Office Building, the Subcommittees on Oversight & Investigations (O&I) and Economic Opportunity (EO) will hold a joint hearing on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification Process.

 

The Committee will be taking questions for the panelists via Twitter. Please tweet questions to @HouseVetAffairs. The hearing will be streamed live at Veterans.House.Gov.

 

WHO:             Subcommittees on Oversight & Investigations and Economic Opportunity

WHAT:          U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Certification Process

WHEN:          10:00 a.m., Wednesday, November 30, 2011, Room 334, Cannon House Office

                        Building

 

WITNESS LIST

Panel 1

Thomas J. Leney, Executive Director, Small and Veteran Business Programs
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Accompanied by:

Jack Thompson, Deputy General Counsel

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

 

Panel 2

Gregory D. Kutz, Director, Forensic Audits and Investigative Service

U.S. Government Accountability Office

 

Ralph O. White, Managing Associate General Counsel for Procurement Law

Office of the General Counsel

U.S. Government Accountability Office

 

Rick Weidman, Executive Director for Policy and Government Affairs

Vietnam Veterans of America

Chairman, Veterans Entrepreneurship Task Force (VET-Force)

 

For more news from the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, please visit:

Veterans.House.Gov 

Find us on Facebook at: Facebook.com/HouseVetsAffairs or follow us on Twitter at:

@HouseVetAffairs

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Soldiers in Iraq Pack Gear for Departure

By Army Spc. Anthony T. Zane 362nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Nov. 29, 2011 – Quartermaster soldiers here are busy packing up pallets of military equipment prior to shipment out of Iraq. Army Spc. Sirlen Arriaza secures a pallet of equipment at the redistribution property assistance team yard on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Nov. 27, 2011. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Anthony T. Zane (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. "Our mission here was to take all the units' equipment [and] send them to Afghanistan or send them back to the states to get remanufactured," said Army Staff Sgt. Gene Taylor, a Morton, Miss., native and the yard's noncommissioned officer in charge assigned to the 227th Quartermaster Company. Taylor said the redistribution property assistance team processes equipment from various base units. "Units turn in all their nonrolling stock and their rolling stock to us. … We're processing all the nonrolling stock in here," he said. "My guys here … get everything together, banded up, boxed up and ship it to where it needs to go so we can get it out of the country." Rolling stock consists of all military vehicles, Taylor said, while nonrolling stock includes all other equipment. The pallets include radios, computer equipment and hospital equipment, said Army Pfc. Tye Spinks, a customer service representative who hails from Bandera, Texas. "It's mainly stuff that the units can't take back with them," Spinks explained. Mobile teams are dispatched to units on base that are unable to get to the yard to process their equipment. "We have two mobile teams here as well," Spinks said. "They're going out to them and doing the same turn-in process as we were doing here." Once all the equipment is processed and shipped out, he said, the team will do a final cleanup of the yard and will close up shop. "Our leadership is wonderful," Spinks said. "If it wasn't for them, we wouldn't be able to do the stuff that we do."

Related Sites: U.S. Forces Iraq

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

U.S. military leader condemned recent violence against NATO troops in Kosovo

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 29, 2011 – A senior U.S. military leader in Europe condemned recent violence against NATO troops in Kosovo just as a Wisconsin Army National Guard unit prepares to take command of the 15th rotation of peacekeeping forces there.

Georgia National Guard soldiers stack behind a wall during training at the Joint Multinational Readiness Center in Hohenfels, Germany, Nov. 9, 2011. National Guard soldiers from several states — including the Wisconsin Army National Guard's 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade — are part of the KFOR 15 rotation preparing to deploy to Kosovo in upcoming months. U.S. Army photo by Lynn Davis (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Navy Adm. Samuel J. Locklear III, commander of Allied Joint Force Command Naples, visited Pristina, Kosovo, today to assess the situation a day after attacks by Serb demonstrators wounded more than two dozen NATO Kosovo Force members. No U.S. troops were wounded in the clashes.

The attacks occurred after the KFOR troops removed blockades that had shut off a main road in northern Kosovo.

"The use of violence against KFOR troops is unacceptable," Locklear said in a statement released today. "We urge all parties to exercise restraint and cooperate fully with all international actors on the ground to ensure freedom of movement without delay."

Locklear reiterated NATO's mandate in Kosovo under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1244: to help maintain a safe and secure environment. This, he said, includes ensuring freedom of movement.

KFOR entered Kosovo in June 1999 under the U.N. mandate in the face of mounting ethnic conflict between Federal Republic of Yugoslavia military forces and Kosovo Liberation Army members. At the height of the mission, 39 nations were contributing about 50,000 troops to the mission.

About 180 members of the Wisconsin National Guard's 157th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade are now preparing to assume authority for the next KFOR rotation in December. They will serve as the brigade headquarters unit for Multinational Battle Group East, also known as Task Force Falcon. In that role, the 157th will oversee operations for the entire Multinational Battle Group East.

The group includes National Guard and Reserve soldiers from Wisconsin, Mississippi, Georgia, Nebraska, Vermont, North Dakota, New Jersey, Wyoming, Massachusetts and Puerto Rico. It also includes international forces from Armenia, Greece, Poland, Turkey, Romania and the Ukraine.

To prepare for the mission, the KFOR 15 troops trained in realistic scenarios at Camp Atterbury, Ind., and most recently, at U.S. Army Europe's Joint Multinational Training Center in Hohenfels, Germany.

"It's a three-pronged mission," Army Col. Jeffrey Liethen, the KFOR 15 commander, said during training at the Camp Atterbury Joint Training Center in October. "We monitor the pulse of the populace, so to speak, keeping track of the feelings and opinions of the people. We also act as third responders to demonstrations and riots, and maintain freedom of movement for other KFOR forces."

Observer-controllers at both training sites strived to make the training as realistic as possible, he said, based on tactics, techniques and procedures taking place on the ground.

"Early on in our training, the focus was on a relatively steady state and calm environment in Kosovo," Liethen said earlier this month at Hohenfels.

"Things have drastically changed," he said. "It's very obvious that the training program here at Hohenfels has been modified to replicate what is actually going on in Kosovo right now so that will definitely be a help in us conducting our mission."

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

DAV Message "Pay It Forward"

HOME | ABOUT US | VOLUNTARY SERVICES | BENEFITS ASSISTANCE | DONATE

Dear Sean, "Pay It Forward" Send a DAV eCard to ask others to Pay It Forward — Invite them to give through the DAV instead. Or, start the chain and donate in the name of another today! Let me ask you to do something special this year — Start a holiday tradition by inviting friends and family to give to Disabled American Veterans at this special time of year. When you ask loved ones to make a gift to the DAV instead of a wrapped present under the tree for you, you'll give them the opportunity to share your devotion to those who sacrificed for America. And rather than a pair of socks or scented candle, you'll get the satisfaction of knowing you helped a disabled vet by paying it forward! You've been so good to disabled veterans this year, and for that I thank you. But for you to share your Christmas with disabled veterans . . . that would truly ice the cake! Spread the word and ask your family and friends to give to Disabled American Veterans. Making the Holidays Bright for Disabled Vets! Arthur H. Wilson, National Adjutant Disabled American Veterans P.S. You too can "shop by giving," check some names off your list by making a donation to DAV today!

HOME | ABOUT US | VOLUNTARY SERVICES | BENEFITS ASSISTANCE | DONATE

DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS OUR MISSION: Since its founding more than 90 years ago, Disabled American Veterans has been dedicated to a single purpose: Building Better Lives for America's Disabled Veterans and Their Families. P.O. Box 14301 | Cincinnati, OH 45250-0301

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Veterans I.D. Card Act-H.R. 2985

Representative Todd Akin (R-MO-2) on Sept. 21, 2011 introduced H.R. 2985 Veterans I.D. Card Act.

This bill would direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to issue upon request, veterans identification cards to certain veterans, reads in part

Currently veterans identification cards are issued to veterans who have completed the time in service requirements for retirement from the armed services, or have  received a medical-related discharge from the armed services.

A veteran who has served a minimum obligated time in service, but does not meet the criteria described above does not receive a means of identifying the veterans status as a veteran other than using the official DD-214 discharge papers to demonstrate such proof.

Goods, services and promotional activities are often provided by public and private institutions to veterans who provided proof of service in the military but it is impractical for a veteran to always carry official DD-214 discharge papers to demonstrate such proof.

`Sec. 5706. Veterans identification card

`(a) In General- The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall issue an identification card described in subsection (b) to any covered veteran who–

`(1) requests such card;

`(2) was discharged from the Armed Forces under honorable conditions;

`(3) presents a copy of the DD-214 form or other official document from the official military personnel file of the veteran that describes the service of the veteran; and

`(4) pays the fee under subsection (c)(1).

`(b) Identification Card- An identification card described in this subsection is a card that–

`(1) displays a photograph of the covered veteran;

`(2) displays the name of the covered veteran;

`(3) explains that such card is not proof of any benefits to which the veteran is entitled to;

`(4) contains an identification number that is not a social security number; and

`(5) serves as proof that such veteran–

`(A) honorably served in the Armed Forces; and

`(B) has a DD-214 form or other official document in the official military personnel file of the veteran that describes the service of the veteran.

`(c) Costs of Card- (1) The Secretary shall charge a fee to each veteran who receives an identification card issued under this section, including a replacement identification card.

`(2)(A) The fee charged under paragraph (1) shall equal an amount that the Secretary determines is necessary to issue an identification card under this section.

`(B) In determining the amount of the fee under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall ensure that the total amount of fees collected under paragraph (1) equals an amount necessary to carry out this section, including costs related to any additional equipment or personnel required to carry out this section.

`(C) The Secretary shall review and reassess the determination under subparagraph (A) during each five-year period in which the Secretary issues an identification card under this section.

`(3) Amounts collected under this subsection shall be deposited in an account of the Department available to carry out this section. Amounts so deposited shall be merged with amounts in such account and shall be subject to the same conditions and limitations as amounts otherwise in such account.

`(d) Effect of Card on Benefits- (1) An identification card issued under this section shall not serve as proof of any benefits that the veteran may be entitled to under this title.

`(2) A covered veteran who is issued an identification card under this section shall not be entitled to any benefits under this title by reason of possessing such card.

`(e) Administrative Measures- (1) The Secretary shall ensure that any information collected or used with respect to an identification card issued under this section is appropriately secured.

`(2) The Secretary may determine any appropriate procedures with respect to issuing a replacement identification card.

`(3) In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall coordinate with the National Personnel Records Center.

`(4) The Secretary may conduct such outreach to advertise the identification card under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate.

`(f) Covered Veteran Defined- In this section, the term `covered veteran' means a veteran who–

`(1) is not entitled to retired pay under chapter 1223 of title 10; and

`(2) is not enrolled in the system of patient enrollment under section 1705 of this title
 
That is how the bill is written.
While several states have begun issuing veterans ID cards, not all are doing so at this time. A Federal ID Card would be a blessing to those veterans who do not have not retired or enrolled with the Department of Veterans Affairs. 
 
Please contact your Representative asking them to cosponsor H.R. 2985 and vote for passage when it reaches the full House Floor.
                                                                                                                                                  

—————- "And so the greatest of American triumphs… became a peculiarly joyless victory. We had won the Cold War, but there would be no parades." — Robert M. Gates, 1996

Posted by Jerry88ACWV

http://jerry88acwv-americancoldwarveterans.blogspot.com/2011/10/veterans-id-card-act-h.html

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Message From Elect Lalor www.IraqVetsforCongress.com

November Waste Watcher Report: 
Medicaid Fraud Robs NY Taxpayers  

Guarding the taxpayers’ hard-earned money and ensuring it is not wasted is one of the primary responsibilities of our elected officials.  Here in New York, our leadership has failed in this key job.   New York spent $53 billion last year on Medicaid, the fraud-riddled health program for the poor – $11,000 per participant. That is four times the national average.  A family of four in New York spends $5,000 per year to support Medicaid.  Every dollar wasted or stolen from government programs represents a cop not hired, a pothole not repaired, and a heavier tax burden on the hard-working citizens of the state.  Politicians occasionally pay lip service to the colossal waste when it is thrust in the public eye, but then retreat back to business-as-usual with the well-connected interests of the status quo.

How much fraud and waste is inherent in any big-government program? 15-20% is a common estimate.  From time to time, we see the tip of the iceberg.  A gang of con artists was recently arrested for an auto-insurance scam ring in which they created fake accidents and doctor’s reports to cash in. They quickly discovered the real money was in bilking New York Medicaid funds, and began billing for $15,000 motorized wheelchairs for nonexistent victims. The con went on for years, stealing millions from the taxpayers, never to be recovered.  Where is the oversight? Whose job was it to verify the claims? Who gets fired or reprimanded for such gross negligence with taxpayer funds? Apparently, nobody. When government programs become so bloated, it becomes impossible to hold anyone accountable for preventing the fraud.  Politicians look the other way. Nobody watches the taxpayers’ money.

According to reports, last year New York spent $1.4 billion in Medicaid money on unnecessary hospital admissions for people whose illnesses –  like asthma or a cold, should have been treated by a family physician or a neighborhood doctor at a fraction of the cost.  This is an egregious abuse, not by the sick people who will naturally avail themselves of any free care, but by the politicians and officials who fail to prevent it.  Consider how that money could have been used to repair bridges and roads, improve education, or reduce our state’s crushing tax burden.  Why is there no outcry? Because the hospitals and health care interests that profit from the overpayments contribute mightily to the politicians who ignore the abuse.  Last year, Governor Cuomo’s  Office of the Welfare’s Inspector General had its staff reduced to two. Inspector general Sean Courtney has requested more staff. “It’s something we are carefully examining in next year’s budget”, Cuomo recently said. Two people to investigate an estimated $10 billion in waste? Who is protecting the taxpayer’s money? Who is watching the watchers? 

Margaret Thatcher once said, “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.” Witness what is happening to the bloated welfare states of Europe, like Greece and Italy, as decades of skyrocketing taxes and runaway government waste destroy once-proud countries.  America and New York State, sadly, are on a similar trajectory.  Unless we elect fiscally prudent leadership, unbeholden to special interests, who will root out the waste, fraud, and abuse, a similar fate awaits us.

Kieran Lalor
Candidate, New York State Assembly

 There is Still Time to Join the $20.12 Club and Get a Signed Copy of THIS RECRUIT

###
Kieran Michael Lalor is a former high school teacher, Marine Corps veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom and founder of the consulting firm KML Strategies, LLC.  He is a graduate of Providence College and Pace Law School and is currently pursuing an MBA at Pace University's Lubin School of Business. Lalor is the founder of Afghanistan & Iraq Veterans for Congress (AIVC) and the author of the book This Recruit.

###
Contributions to Lalor For Assembly are not tax deductible. All donations are reported in accordance with NYS Election Law, IRS requirements, and banking regulation. An individual or company may contribute a maximum amount of $4,100 for an Assembly General Election and $4,100 for an Assembly Primary.

 www.KML2012.com

 

Lalor For Assembly
105 Stony Brook Road
Fishkill, NY 12524
845.616.3509
www.IraqVetsforCongress.com

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Chairman Dismisses Notion of Military in Decline

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

LONDON, Nov. 28, 2011 – In two venues here today, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff emphatically dismissed the notion that the U.S. military is in decline.

During an interview on the BBC program “Newsnight,” Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey bristled when Jeremy Paxman began the interview by asking, “General, what’s it like to take over the military at a time when it is in decline?”

“We’re not in decline,” Dempsey asserted. “The incline or decline is not an affect of size, it’s a function of capability.”

Dempsey explained that the U.S. military has learned much over the past 10 years of war. “We tend to face adversaries who don’t mass against us — they decentralize,” he said. “We’ve had to become a network to defeat a network.”

The chairman cited other examples, noting that before 9/11, responsibility was hoarded at higher levels in the U.S. military. Today, he said, the impetus is to push responsibility down to those who need it.

In addition, Dempsey said, the U.S. military is a joint force in ways that service members who served even as recently as the Persian Gulf War wouldn’t recognize. Navy electronics warfare officers routinely deploy with Army and Marine Corps units to help defeat threats posed by roadside bombs; and soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines work alongside civilians in provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan.

“We can find a way to rebalance ourselves to find capabilities that we didn’t have 10 years ago, and still be a military very much where it needs to be for the world,” Dempsey said.

Budget challenges do exist, and the U.S. military will do its part to help the nation over the deficit crisis, the chairman said. The military is cutting $450 billion in spending over the next 10 years, he noted, a level of cuts he said is manageable.

“Anything more and it risks being unmanageable,” he added. “But I can’t see that far yet.”

Dempsey said he believes a psychology contributes to talk about decline. “We are neither in decline nor are we victims,” he said at the Colin Cramphorn Memorial Lecture following his talk with the BBC. “We are simply responding to what one might argue is a historic cycle of resources.”

Historically, Dempsey said, the U.S. military has expanded during times of conflict and shrunk following the conflicts.

“The key,” he said, “is that we have to ensure that what we do in contraction is ‘expansible,’ so if we get the future wrong – which, by the way, we have an uncanny capability to do that – that we’ll have enough capability to get through the initial challenge and then be able to expand the force.”

Biographies:
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Is it Time for a Cold War Medal

http://blog.usni.org/2010/04/16/is-it-time-for-a-cold-war-victory-medal/

Very Interesting read from:

the U.S. Naval Institute

 
—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

Pearl Harbor Day Update

Aloha,

The National Park Service will be bringing a wreath to present honoring
those Marines, Navy and Army airmen, Soldiers and Civilians killed in West
Oahu On December 7, 1941. There are around 15 or more killed – still making
final list… (Most people don't know the real West Oahu battlefield story!)

US Marine Corps will be supporting this event with full Honor Guard, Rifle
salute and MarForPac Band.

Please let us know ASAP if you wish to present a wreath or lei at this
special commemoration event starting at 9:30 AM, Saturday, December 10 at
Barbers-Kalaeloa Airport between hangars 110 and 111, Midway Avenue.

John Bond
70-100 Anniversary Event

******************************

***************************

Saturday, December 10 Event at former NAS Barbers Point – Kalaeloa Airport

Aloha,

Everyone is invited!

The event runs from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday, December 10, 2011. Part of it
will be outside and part of the event will be in a large WW-II hangar – all
at Barbers Point – Kalaeloa Airport.

This event is the 70th Anniversary of the Ewa Field – Pearl Harbor attack
and the 100th  Anniversary of USMC Aviation. We expect military aircraft to
be flying in to participate as display aircraft for families to explore
close up.

If landing conditions are good, we will have a patriotic skydive parachute
jump into the event as well.

Attending will be 92 year old John Hughes, Maj. USMC Ret, who is a Pearl
Harbor Survivor and MCAS Ewa Field attack veteran, as well as several other
Pearl Harbor survivors and veterans. We will be honoring over a dozen little
known West Oahu soldiers, sailors and Marines, and civilians, killed on
December 7, 1941 in West Oahu.

We will have classic WW-II planes, vehicles and classic cars. There will be
good food and live music!

We will also be showing the West Oahu premiere of the new Hi-Def release of
"Tora, Tora, Tora."

John Bond
70-100 Anniversary Event
808-685-3045

****************************************************************************
***

The movie "Tora, Tora, Tora" was filmed on location in 1969 at then Naval
Air Station Barbers Point and what was formerly MCAS Ewa. Part of our event
will be in a WW-II hangar and we will have attending some former military
pilots who flew the "Japanese" planes and the US P-40's and B-17's in the
movie.

****************************************************************************

The 70-100 Anniversary Event- 70th Anniversary of the Ewa Field – Pearl
Harbor attack and the 100th Anniversary of USMC Aviation, on Saturday
December 10, 2011, will feature several distinguished speakers. Among them
Lt. General Hank Stackpole, USMC, Ret.

Lt. General Stackpole when on active Marine Corps duty was the Commander of
Marine Forces Pacific and his career spanned more than 30 years. His
decorations include the Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart
with gold star, the Government of Japan Order of The Rising Sun, and the
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.

Also handling Master of Ceremonies duties for the December 10 Anniversary
Event will be Tom Schmidt, who will serve in the capacity as Executive
Director of the 70-100 Event. Mr. Schmidt is a US Marine Corps veteran,
pilot, longtime member of the Experimental Aircraft Association – EEA,
member China National Air Corporation (Flying Tigers), and member of the
Pacific Aviation museum.

John Bond
70-100 Anniversary Event
685-3045

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000

VFW Washington Weekly

Veterans’ Jobs Bill Becomes Law
The VFW joined President Obama at the White House on Monday to witness the VOW to Hire Heroes Act signed into law. This comprehensive piece of veterans' jobs legislation passed both houses of Congress with overwhelming bipartisan support thanks, in large part, to the advocacy of the VFW on the issue of veterans' unemployment. VFW National Commander Richard DeNoyer said separating service members should feel the impact of this legislation almost immediately, because it now requires the Defense Department to focus more on output instead of just recruiting and retention, and it gives the troops another alternative to standing in an unemployment line or reenlisting for another combat tour. Learn more about how the VOW to Hire Heroes Act will help unemployed and underemployed veterans. 

Super Committee Fails
The congressional Super Committee's failure to reach a bipartisan agreement to cut a minimum of $1.2 trillion from the federal budget over the next decade now means mandatory cuts will take place across all federal departments and agencies, beginning January 2013. Where and how much, however, will be determined after the White House Office of Management and Budget identifies which, if any, programs are exempt. Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare have been mentioned as being exempt, as have veterans programs, but in an update to membership, VFW Washington Executive Director Bob Wallace said no one has yet identified which veterans programs. The VFW believes that veterans’ healthcare programs and benefits will be exempt from any cuts. Questions remain, however, about increased co-payments for visits and prescriptions, as well as imposing enrollment fees on VA category 7 and 8 veterans. Over at the Defense Department are recommendations to change the pay and benefits of those currently serving and military retirees, which are in addition to possible reductions in force and cuts to other quality of life programs. In a call to action, the VFW is asking everyone to flood Congress with letters and phone calls to protect veterans' programs and military quality of life programs from any cuts. This is an obligation of every VFW member to keep the faith with our comrades who need us to be their collective voice in Washington. The VFW needs you to make your voice heard now, because the most powerful message Congress can receive is from the folks who employ them—their voting constituents. Learn more. 

Seven MIAs Return Home
The Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced the identification of remains belonging to four airmen from World War II, two soldiers from the Korean War, and another soldier from the Vietnam War. Returned home are:

• Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Wilson C. Cater, 24, of Jackson, Miss.; Master Sgt. Donald A. Mackey, 28, of Chambersburg, Pa.; and Staff Sgt. Glenn E. Webb, 20, of Wetumpka, Okla. On Oct. 16, 1942, Cater, Mackey, and Webb were on an air drop mission of food and supplies when their C-47C Skytrain crashed in the mountains near Kagi, New Guinea.
• Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Meceslaus T. Miaskiewicz, 27, of Salem, Mass. On May 18, 1944, Miaskiewicz and 10 other airmen where on a bombing mission of the Ploesti Oil Refinery in Romania when their B-17G aircraft was shot down over what is now Bosnia-Herzegovina. 
• Army Sgt. 1st Class Benny D. Rogers, 25, of Athens, Texas. In November 1950, Rogers and almost 600 other 8th Cavalry Regiment soldiers were killed during a battle south of Unsan, North Korea. Their bodies were not recoverable at the time and were likely buried by Chinese or North Korean forces. 
• Army Pfc. Jimmie J. Gaitan, 21, of San Antonio, Texas. Gaitan was serving with the Clearing Company, 2nd Medical Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, when he was reported missing in action in February 1951, near Hoengsong, South Korea. It was later learned that he was captured and marched north to a prison camp where he died of malnutrition in late May 1951.
• Army Sgt. David E. Lemcke, 20, of Rochester, N.Y. On May 21, 1968, Lemcke and four other servicemen were in a bunker in Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, when a fire broke out due to the accidental firing of a weapon. Two escaped, but Lemcke and two others did not.

Read more about their individual stories. 

—
Sean P Eagan

Former Chairman American Cold War Veterans

Life Member Veterans of Foreign Wars
716 720-4000