The Veterans' Voice

By Mark AlexanderThe Patriot Post

If our nation’s Founderscould visit us on this, our 234nd Independence Day, whatwould they make of us? What would they declare of us?

A hint can be discerned in a letter from John Adams tohis wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776, as the Declaration of In-dependence had just been approved. “It ought to be com-memorated,” said the man who would become our secondpresident, “as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts ofDevotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized withPomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns,Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of thisContinent to the other from this Time forward forevermore. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm butI am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treas-ure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, andsupport and defend these States. Yet through all theGloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. Ican see that the End is more than worth all the Means.And that Posterity will tryumph in that Day’s Transaction,even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shallnot.”Americans have maintained the “Pomp and Parade” for

more than two centuries now, and the “Bonfires and Illu-minations” are commonplace, but how often do we rec-ognize Independence Day as “the Day of Deliverance?”How often do we honor it with “solemn Acts of Devotionto God Almighty”? How often do we contemplate the costof our freedom, “the Toil and Blood and Treasure?”Our Founders believed that independence was more than

a choice; they viewed our break fromroyal rule as necessary.

Consider the first statement of the Dec-laration: “When in the course of humanevents, it becomes necessary for one peo-ple to dissolve the political bands whichhave connected them with another, and toassume among the powers of the earth,the separate and equal station to which

the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a de-cent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that theyshould declare the causes which impel them to the sepa-ration.”

The signatories were emphatic that separation from thecrown was not only an objective, but an obligation: “Butwhen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing in-variably the same Object evinces a design to reduce themunder absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty,

to throw off such Government, andto provide new Guards for their fu-ture security.—Such has been the

patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now thenecessity which constrains them to alter their former Sys-tems of Government.” In conclusion, the Founders wrote,“We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which de-nounces our Separation...”Their cause, of course, was not anti-government. Rather

they objected to the misgovernment of the king, saying,“He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesomeand necessary for the public good.” Furthermore, theAmericans had been patient, petitioning their Britishrulers for redress for over a decade. Armed hostilities hadcommenced on April 19, 1775, at the battles of Lexingtonand Concord, and the colonists faced the full power of theBritish Empire in their quest for American independence.One year before taking that step for nationhood, on July

5, 1775, the Continental Congress adopted the OliveBranch Petition, beseeching the British king for a peace-ful resolution of the American colonies’ grievances. A daylater, that same Congress resolved the “Declaration of theCauses and Necessities of Taking Up Arms.”King George III refused to read the peace petition and as-

sembled his armies. On July 2, 1776, Richard Henry Lee’sproposal for a formal declaration of separation passed, andthe document was ordered printed on July 4.

The war-weary among us today might ask, was inde-pendence really necessary?

To pose the question at the outset of the RevolutionaryWar was to answer it. Representatives of the colonial

Americans realized that, in voicing thisquery, they already possessed proof thatthey, not the King of England, were legit-imate instruments of self-government fortheir countrymen. How could circum-stances be otherwise when the king of-fered no remedy for his subjects’complaints, no guarantee their rightsSee page, 15 - Independence Day

VOL 9 NO. 123 INDEPENDENCE DAY JULY-AUGUST 2010

STD PRSRTUS POSTAGE

PAIDOGDEN, UT

#115

888-826-3215888-826-3215wwwwww..tthheevveetteerraannssvvooiiccee..ccoomm

Remembering Those Who Gave All

IInnddeeppeennddeennccee DDaayy -- AA NNeecceessssaarryy OObbsseerrvvaannccee

Our regualr readers mayremember Jeffrey Farmer,who while serving in Iraq,lost all of his belongings toa thief. Well, we’re happyto say that our readers andmany others came togetherto make for a happy endingto his plight!Hello,

I don't know how to saythank-you for your supportand kindness. The words“Thank You” do not ade-quately begin to tell how

much I appreciate every-thing that was done on mybehalf. I won't dwell uponwhat happened to my homewhile I was deployed toAfghanistan but insteadwant you to know howyour thoughtfulness got methrough a very tough situa-tion.It has been overwhelming

how many people steppedup and did things for some-one that they didn't evenknow. Through the effortsof the American Legion,Bill Lockhart, and theTrenton Arts Council, andmany others, money was

raised to help buy backtools and other things thatwere stolen while I was inIraq. I have received sup-port in the form of mone-tary donations, a vehicle todrive, approximately 64 T-shirts from people acrossthe United States and evena couple from abroad.Items were donated to besold at auction to raisemoney as well. A retiredLieutenant Colonel sent hisspare scuba equipment tome to replace mine. Theseare just a few examples.People have done so muchat a time when our econ-omy has been so strained.

I also cannot begin to saythank you enough to thepeople who expressed theirconcern, prayers, kindnotes and shared wellwishes. These notes and of-fers of support have meantthe world to me.Thank you again for yoursupport. Please let othersknow on my behalf of mygratefulness.Sincerely, Jeffrey A. FarmerTrenton, GA [email protected]

Dear editor; Thank you for the article

on my VN journey in thisrecent publication. I wantto commend the contribu-tors and founders of Vet-eran's Voice for theintegrity in this publication.It is the first publication Ihave seen that I relate to. Iwould like to see more inthe Polson/Ronan/MissionValley area for the publicand veteran's family use.Keep up the good work.Sheron Green, VNPolson, MontanaOur pleasure! Thank youfor your service!

Dear editor;Really appreciate the cur-

rent information on gettinghelp from the VA and alsothe wide variety of topicscovered in the paper.Rick SmithHeadland, AL

Dear editor;The USA security is

highly at risk. This coun-try needs to be aware of thedangers of the US/Mexicounsecure border wheredrugs/drug runners & ter-rorists are flooding acrossour border along with theMexican Nationals.

Many who are fightingArizona's immigration law,(our US government offi-cials) are unaware of howthe law reads.

Media is lying about theissue. Who has the courageto sound the alarm?Youprobably do.Ann Phelps-NMWe do our best, Ann! Sadly,it seems both parties havean agenda where illegalsare concerned.

Addressing the gentle-man, Ray Peck:

Sir, your comment“biggest bunch of non-sense” on what I wrote inthe Mar/Apr 2010 issue iswelcomed- simply for thefact that what Mr. Segalwrote in the Dec 2009 arti-cle was the opening of apublic wound. What Iwrote simply put salt onthat wound that you and allliberals cannot stand...theTruth!

Yes Sir, I am angry-at ourMontana elected officialswho promised to go toWashington to represent us,yet cower from NancyPelosi's voice and fall inline with what she and yourpresident want for a liberal,

secular America. SenatorsBaucus and Tester are gov-erning AGAINST THEWILL OF MONTANAAND THE AMERICANVOTER! You defend thembecause of the nanny-stateattitude you obviously pos-sess, and you refuse to seethe liberal, Marxist futurethese individuals want forus. But guess what,Sir...we're mad as hell andwe're not going to take itanymore!!! Not only usVeterans, but at least 66%of the voting populace seethat this so called presidentand his liberal puppets,hate the Constitution as it iswritten and want to tear itup and write their own lawsfor their own Marxist ide-ologies. The Constitutionthat many shed their bloodfor, and continue to doeven today, Sir!

Sir, and YES-I AM ANEXTREMIST! A redblooded, card carrying ex-tremist, conservative whois willing to take a pay cuton my disability and mili-tary retirement to help thegreatest nation in humanhistory: THE UNITEDSTATES OF AMERICA!Yet, YOUR president made$5 million last year, JoeBiden made I'm sure fivetimes that, yet collectivelythey probably gave lessthat. 06% of their incometo charity. I'm willing ot betthat the hard workingwoman or man, Veteran ornon-veteran that reads thisconservative and loyal pub-lication, has proportion-ately given much morethan YOUR president andvice-president, to help outin their communities.

Sir, you are an HONOR-ABLE man, for havingserved America in WWIIand allowed me and thou-

sands of Americans tospeak freely without goingto jail as we would have ifwe lived in Cuba or SouthAmerica. One of my tourswas in Peru, and I wit-nessed firsthand the resultsof Communism. I willgladly re-enlist as age 63 toprotect my family from To-talitarianism and Marxism,the ideology this so-calledpresident wants to bring usto.

I have a daughter in theUS Navy and a son in theUS Marines. Their momand I constantly worry fortheir well being. Howmany thousands of momsand dads are doing thesame now with the“regime” in the WhiteHouse?Respectfully, Jose A.Bustos, Jr. Msgt (ret)USAF/Mt.ArNG/MtANGCommander-In-Chief WentAWOL

Dear editor;As a Navy veteran, I am

appalled President Obama,our Commander-In-Chief,did not lay a wreath at theTomb of the Unknown Sol-dier at Arlington NationalCemetery on MemorialDay 2010. Instead, hewent on vacation.

If a military member didnot show up for duty he orshe would be punished, in-cluding the possible loss ofpay, a reprimand, a demo-tion, or in a theater of waroperations, the potentialexists for incarceration.Our Commander-In-Chiefdeserves to be punished,and the punishment is tomake him a one term pres-ident.

Donald A. MoskowitzLondonderry, NH

Independence Day www.theveteransvoice.com 2

Mail Call

THE VETERANS’ VOICE is distributed free of charge to Vet-erans’ Homes, Vet Centers, and select military bases. Ifyour VFW, AL, or other service organization would liketo recieve the paper, we will send 50-75 copies per issue-for $14.00 a month. It is also mailed to elected govern-ment officials, and directly to the homes of individualsubscribers. THE VETERANS’ VOICE is an independent, grassroots pub-lication with no government or service organization af-filiation and is constructed from information receivedfrom a variety of sources. Some articles may lean to-wards political expressions and are published for the top-ics contained within. These articles DO NOT necessarilyexpress the opinions of this publication. We thank all ofthese sources for their input. We welcome any newsworthy stories or photos for

publishing consideration. Any correspondence, includ-ing opinions or comments (limited to 350 words andmay be edited for brevity), can be e-mailed (preferred)to: [email protected] or mail to:1145 N. 100 W., Layton, UT 84041 or call toll-free:

(888)-826-3215. Visit us on the web at: www.theveteransvoice.comPublisher: Patriotic Publications-editor: Clairice StillMinkler, Associate Editor: Lucas Necessary, Distribu-tion: Elijah Necessary. Writers: Susan Barrera, MSGTBruce Salisbury, Major Van Harl USAF( Retired), TomSegel, Frank Praytor, Thomas Stoddert, Greg Reeson,Jim Kouri, Jim Strickland, Military Advisor Dick Wells,Marnie Mowles- Vet of the Month & Vet’s View withTony Fialkowski. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED-Contactpublisher for reprint permission.

The opinions expressed by contributing writers are ex-pressly their own and may or may not represent theopinions of the editorial staff, its publisher or our ad-vertisers.

Bruce Salisbury USAF(ret) with his lovely wife, Dottie.By Major Van Harl USAFRet.

In the winter of 1956, Iwas stationed at PetersonField, Colorado, close in toColorado Springs, and as-signed to Ent Air ForceBase, which was part ofAir Defense Command. Pete Field was well out of

town in those days and apleasant little place to beworking and living. Myfamily lived in ColoradoSprings, near to ProspectLake, and we loved thetown.

My duties were wrappedaround being a Line Chief,and one of the interestingheadaches was to be incharge of the TransientAlert Facility, which didthe repair, refueling, main-tenance and scheduling oftransient aircraft, and thelike. The Transient Alert"shack" was always wellmanicured and polished,because this Base was theHeadquarters landing strip,for Air Defense Command,and it was common forgenerals, and politicians, towander into our building.

The first order of busi-ness, in the morning, wasfor the crew of mechanics,to get themselves, and thequarters polished up incase a dignitary wanderedin. We had a great crew of

young men, who were ded-icated to doing the job, andwho took care to appearmilitary at all times. I en-joyed seeing them performtheir duties, and they al-ways rendered the sharpestof salutes, when required.

One stormy winter day, Ihad driven out from town,just to be sure that every-thing was alright, and to-wards evening, we realizedthat the snow was so deep,the wind so vicious, thatthe roads could not be trav-eled, so I called my wife tolet her know I’d not becoming home that night,and I settled in to sleepthere at the Crew Quarters.The young mechanicswere pleased to have mefor company.

On into the night, thosekids found out that in thedeep snow, the hoards ofrabbits that plagued theairstrip, couldn't hop verywell. The bunnies wouldjump up, and then disap-pear into the soft fluffysnow. Soon enough thekids started to gather theserabbits, and stuff them intoburlap bags. I stood at thewindow, and watched thecrew driving up to an area,jumping out, and diving onfrantic rabbits. Close tomidnight, I radioed for allhands to come in to theAlert Facility, because thewind was howling, and thetemperature had taken adive.

The crew came in, tiredand happy. However, allthose bunnies that hadbeen confined in thoseburlaps bags in the openbeds of the trucks while thetrucks were zipping up anddown the runways, well,they were catatonic critters

that were almost frozenstiff. The young men camein lugging bags full of bun-nies and since they had nothad time to count theircatch, they opened a bigequipment box, just insidethe front door of the facil-ity, and began pouring thealmost frozen bunnies intothe box. The cold little “furballs”, were just stiff, and Isat there sipping coffee,and watched them pourbag after bag of the cold,motionless little things intothat box. The box was sofull that they had to re-arrange bunnies, here andthere, before they couldclose the big overhead lid,and latch it.

Now the guys got out oftheir Arctic Gear, gatheredup coffee, and sat aboutspeculating on how manyrabbits were in that box.They all agreed that thishad to be a "record", sincethey had never ever donethis before. As these guysgot warm, they becameweary from all the exercisethey'd had, and with snoweverywhere, I made the de-cision to send them to bedand not concern myselfwith cleaning up the floorsor mopping up puddles.We left the Charge ofQuarters to guarding theplace, and we dived intobed. At about 0500, I awoke to

the sound of Snow Plows,and realized that we mighthave visitor. The OfficerIn Charge, was a niceyoung Captain, who al-ways arrived at 0600, tolook in on us, to share cof-fee, and to inspect the area.Waking up the guys, I setthem to polishing the facil-ity. In half an hour, theplace looked

See page, 5- Bunnies


Introducing A Special Account Honoring Our Veterans

FREEFREEFREEFREE

FREE

BENEFITS INCLUDE:0.25%

0.15% APY

haveanicebank.com

A Tale of Tails- How Many Bunnies?

Jim;My files are in Washing-ton for a final decision tobe made. I called the num-ber provided to me to checkon progress of the decision.I was told my files had beenturned over to the VFWand when they got themback a decision would bemade on my claim. I was inVietnam in 68 - 69 on Swiftboats. My claim is for dia-betes type 2. Can you helpme understand why the VAwould turn my files over tothe VFW? I started outdown this confusing roadbefore I heard about you.Thank YouReply;

I don't understand whyyour case would be in

Washington. That impliesthat it's an appeals case atthe Board of Veterans Ap-peals (BVA) and that youhave had a previous denial.You say you're a Vietnam

veteran with brown waterservice so there should be areasonably quick decisionon the presumptive DMII.

That above is true unlessthere had been some ques-tion of the brown waterservice or your "boots onthe ground" duty. If thatcame up, there may be noend to the loop of remandsand appeals you'll have toendure.

At some point in yourclaim you may have signeda Power of Attorney (POA)document allowing VFWto represent you. If yourappeal arrived at the board

without appropriate repre-sentations assigned orworking on your case, theBVA may have sent it off toyour designated representa-tive to have them "perfect"your file.

If you have more data orif anything happens, I'dlike to hear more about it.Jim;I have a 100% permanentrating I have had it for 12years on base privilegesand all that. I lost my colonand other issues all serviceconnected. I was told if Ihad this rating for 10 yearsI was protected by law andVA could not reduce it. Iuse VA for all of my ostomysupplies and meds. I alsolive in Panama and travelback to the States to seeVA.My question; Is it now

twenty years before I amsafe with my rating and doI need to go back to theStates for my check up?Also I was covered for allof my medical needs in thestates both service con-nected and none serviceconnected. Is that still trueoverseas?Reply;There's always confusionaround the 20 year rule.

It's at 20 years VA can'tchange the rating...not 10.It's been 20 for as long as Iknow.

Title 38: Pensions,

Bonuses, and Veterans' Re-liefPART 3—ADJUDICA-TIONProtection§ 3.951 Preservation of dis-ability ratings.(a) A readjustment to theSchedule for Rating Dis-abilities shall not begrounds for reduction of adisability rating in effect onthe date of the readjustmentunless medical evidenceestablishes that the disabil-ity to be evaluated has ac-tually improved.(Authority: 38 U.S.C.1155)(b) A disability which hasbeen continuously rated ator above any evaluation ofdisability for 20 or moreyears for compensationpurposes under laws ad-ministered by the Depart-ment of Veterans Affairswill not be reduced to lessthan such evaluation exceptupon a showing that suchrating was based on fraud.Likewise, a rating of per-manent total disability forpension purposes whichhas been in force for 20 ormore years will not be re-duced except upon a show-ing that the rating wasbased on fraud. The 20-year period will be com-puted from the effectivedate of the evaluation to theeffective date of reductionof evaluation.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 110)[34 FR 11970, July 16,1969, as amended at 57 FR10426, Mar. 26, 1992]

Even then VA can changethe rating if they can provefraud.

Medical care is generallyrestricted to service con-nected conditions except ine m e r g e n c i e s .http://www4.va.gov/hac/forbeneficiaries/fmp/fmp.asp

However, there is a 10year protection, and it cen-ters on protection from sev-ering service connection.This is equally as importantas the 20 year protection.Fraud and character of dis-charge issues can be causefor severance of s/c ... butif a veteran is s/c for 10years or more, and no fraudor character of discharge isat issue, the disability mustbe rated as it is warrantedunder the schedule of rat-ing. Thus, even if they dis-cover that the conditionshould not have beengranted s/c, they cannot re-duce it to zero unless theevidence indicates that itwarrants a zero. If there aresecondary conditions ornsc condition subject to ag-gravation by the protecteddisability, they must begranted regardless of theerroneous prior grant.

“We at TVV extend heart-felt sorrow at the passing ofJim’s dad, “The Gunny”.See his story on page, 14.

Disabled Veteran?Help is finally here!!!

Fighting for VeteranDisability & Social Security Disability benefits is our job.

Call the lawyers atKazmierczak & KazmierczakGet the help you seek today!

1111----888877777777----555522227777----5555555522229999

www.KazmierczakLaw.com

by Jim StricklandThe information providedherein may or may not applyto your particular circum-stances.This information is providedfor your general knowledgeonly. Please consult an attor-ney or other qualified repre-sentative before you make adescion.


Got Questions?Get Answers....

We Have Your Loved Ones CoveredWith Personalized Photo Quilts406-393-2008 or 406-885-2754

Great For Deployed Loved Ones, AndThose They Left Behind!

"Never drivethrough a small

Southern town at100mph with the localsheriff's drunken 16-year-old daughter onyour lap."by, Anonymous memberof a chain gang.

By Thom Stoddert

Repeatedly, I have seentoo many people file aclaim for benefits and haveit denied. They then file aNotice of Disagreement;the claim is looked atagain, and again it is de-nied. What’s up? If the vethad read the Rating Lettercarefully they would not beangry, so much time wouldnot have been wasted, andthey would have been suc-cessful. If only they hadread what was sent tothem!

The first letter is theVCAA letter. It is generaland mostly non-specific.Most of the information inthis document can be ig-nored unless there is some-thing that really fits you.The VA is mandated tosend these letters out.

However, the rating letteris not only the VA’s com-munication to you; it is alsoa tool for you to use to suc-cessfully get your militaryrelated medical issue serv-ice connected should yourclaim be denied. It is sup-posed to tell you every-thing you need to know toget your condition serviceconnected even after a de-nial. So let’s start and lookat the components of a Rat-ing Letter.

The rating letter is com-posed on a computer data-

base. This program auto-matically computes yourrating percentages so mis-takes in calculations areeliminated. Just below theseal of the VA is a briefparagraph about you andyour service. Pay attentionto this. If there are mistakesin the dates recorded thiscould, but not often, impactyour benefits.

Next is the list of evi-dence that is contained inyour claims file (C-file)that was used to decideyour claimed issues. Look-ing at this is important, be-cause if you know ofinformation that is favor-able towards you but wasnot used, then you have asignificant disagreementwith the VA if they weregiven this information. Somake sure all of the evi-dence is listed and used.Many denials of benefitshave been changed to a de-sired decision when evi-dence was overlooked oradditional evidence wassent in. Again, make surethe evidence is in the handsof VA and that it was used.

There is also a list of theissues claimed and a sum-mary of the adjudicated de-cisions. Though thissection is the least impor-tant; make sure that all theissues claimed have re-ceived an adjudicated deci-sion.

The meat and potatoes ofthe rating letter is in the“decision and the basessection.” This section con-tains what has been de-cided and why. This is themost important part of therating letter and must becarefully studied. This is ofutmost importance for un-favorable decisions.

Each issue will have an

explanation why it wasgiven a favorable or an un-favorable decision. The ex-planation will discuss thelaws that supported the de-cision to grant service con-nection; to increase therating percentage of a serv-ice connected medical con-dition; or to deny theclaimed issue. It will gosomething like this; “Wehave decided to grant serv-ice connection at the 20%level for Traumatic Arthri-tis of the shoulder becauseservice medical recordsdocument that you were in-jured in a vehicle accidentin Iraq and later treated fora torn rotator cuff as a re-sult of this injury. Your pri-vate medical records alsodocument further treatmentfor this same injury thatwas incurred in the service.The VA examinationshowed… To have re-ceived a higher rating per-centage the medicalevidence must show….”

However, you may seesomething like this; “yourclaim for service connec-tion of PTSD is denied be-cause there is no medicaldocumentation or other ev-idence linking this mentalhealth issue to your mili-tary service.”

These are real tools foryou to use and are providedby the VA. When a claim isdecided, the VA is requiredto explain which criteriawere used to assign the rat-ing percentage. The VAmust also explain the crite-ria to get a higher ratingpercentage.They give youthe information to buildyour claim further asneeded.

When a claimed issue isdenied, the VA must ex-plain the law or laws thatwere not met that would

have allowed a favorablegrant. There should be anexplanation how to over-come the denial. It is up toyou to plan and obtain theneeded information and re-submit it.

You have one year fromthe date of decision to pro-vide the evidence to changethe decision before the de-cision becomes final. Afterone year, you are forced todeal with the laws pertain-ing to providing new andmaterial evidence and anew date of claim that isless favorable to you. Inother words, you have tostart over. So get the lack-ing information and/or newevidence to the VA, ASAP.In summary, read the Rat-

ing Letter as many times asyou need to, so you can un-derstand the information. Itgives you the tools to be

successful in filing futureclaims with the VA or to re-verse a denial.

From page 3great, and we were gettingready to send the guys offto breakfast, when the dooropened, and in walked theCaptain. With a smile, hestepped over toward the"box". He always peeredinto this equipment box,before he did anything else,just to see if everythingwas neatly stacked. I thenremembered the rabbits,but I didn't have time towarn the poor man. He raised the lid, and sud-

denly the air was full of(now warm) bunnies. Heslammed the lid, but all thatdid was squash a few rab-bits, which caused them tosquall like banshees, which

prompted him to jerk thelid open, releasing anothertorrent of rabbits. The Cap-tain threw the lid wideopen and fled from thebuilding. When all the rabbits were

evicted, and the little yel-low puddles mopped up,and all the rabbit poop got-ten rid of, the kids oncemore started talking aboutthe "great rabbit hunt".When I asked them howmany rabbits they had cap-tured, the realized they re-ally didn't know, but oneboy (from Tennessee), de-clared that he thought therewas more bunnies cameout of that box, than whatthey had put in there.

The Rating Le4er, It’s a ToolIndependence Day www.theveteransvoice.com 5

For a limited time get:

Models may vary.

With activation of CHOICE XTRA™ package or higher.**Custom installation extra. Handling and delivery fee $19.95.

Lease fee of $5/mo. for 2nd & each additional receiver.

FREE FREE12 Channels 9 Channels

Get 21 movie channels!

Over $70 Value!

With activation of CHOICE XTRA™ package or higher.

Prices include a $24 bill credit for 12 months after rebate, plus an additional $5 with online rebate, enrollment in Auto Bill Pay program and consent to email alerts required.̂ Offers end 5/3/10, on approved credit, credit card required. New customers only (lease required, must maintain programming, DVR and HD Access). Hardware available separately. Applicable use tax adjustment

may apply on the retail value of the installation.

FREEFOR 3 MONTHS^

DIRECTV® HD DVR UPGRADE

PRO INSTALL IN UP TO 4 ROOMS

Switch today! 1-877-660-8758

And many more!

local channels included*

And many more of your favorite independent channels in select markets.

NOW GET OVER

channels

LIMITED TIME ONLY

FOR 12 MONTHSThe CHOICE™ package

$2999mo.150

Record your favorite shows to your home DVR from any cell phone or computer^^

Save $29 month and lock in your price for

Credit card not required in MA & PA.*Eligibility for local channels based on service address. ^^Professional installation highly recommended. Land-based phone line connection required. DVR Scheduler requires Internet access via computer or mobile phone and directv.com login. Remote connections may vary. In rare instances, scheduled recording(s) may not be recognized. Only available on certain receivers. Visit directv.com/dvrscheduler for details. ^BILL CREDIT/PROGRAMMING OFFER: Free SHOWTIME for 3 months, a value of $38.97. Free Starz and SHOWTIME for 3 months, a value of $72. LIMIT ONE PROGRAMMING OFFER PER ACCOUNT. Featured package names and prices: CHOICE $58.99/mo.; CHOICE XTRA $63.99/mo. Upon DIRECTV System activation, customer will receive redemption instructions (included in customer’s first DIRECTV bill, a separate mailing, or, in the state of New York, from retailer) and must comply with the terms of the instructions. In order to receive full $29 credit, customer must submit rebate online, enroll in Auto Bill Pay program, and consent to email alerts prior to rebate redemption. Online redemption requires valid email address. Rebate begins 6-8 weeks after receipt of rebate form online or by mail. Timing of promotional price depends on redemption date. If customer removes Auto Bill Pay before promotional period ends, associated $5 bill credit will cease. Account must be in “good standing,” as determined by DIRECTV in its sole discretion, to remain eligible. DIRECTV not responsible for late, lost, illegible, mutilated, incomplete, misdirected or postage-due mail. IF BY THE END OF PROMOTIONAL PRICE PERIOD(S) CUSTOMER DOES NOT CONTACT DIRECTV TO CHANGE SERVICE THEN ALL SERVICES WILL AUTOMATICALLY CONTINUE AT THE THEN-PREVAILING RATES INCLUDING THE $5/MO. LEASE FEE FOR THE 2ND AND EACH ADDITIONAL RECEIVER. DIRECTV System has a feature which restricts access to channels. In certain markets, programming/pricing may vary. °INSTANT REBATE: Second advanced product offer for qualified customers only who select an HD DVR or HD Receiver as the first free equipment upgrade. Advanced equipment instant rebate requires activation of the CHOICE XTRA package or above; MAS ULTRA or above; Jadeworld; or any qualifying international service bundle, which shall include the PREFERRED CHOICE programming package (valued at $38.99/mo.). DVR service ($7/mo.) required for DVR and HD DVR lease. HD Access fee ($10/mo.) required for HD and HD DVR lease. LIMIT TWO ADVANCED EQUIPMENT REBATES PER DIRECTV ACCOUNT. INSTALLATION: Standard professional installation only. Custom installation extra. SYSTEM LEASE: Purchase of 24 consecutive months of any DIRECTV base programming package ($29.99/mo. or above) or qualifying international services bundle required. FAILURE TO ACTIVATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EQUIPMENT LEASE ADDENDUM MAY RESULT IN A CHARGE OF $150 PER RECEIVER. IF SERVICE IS TERMINATED BEFORE THE END OF COMMITMENT, A CANCELLATION FEE OF $20/MONTH REMAINING WILL APPLY. ALL EQUIPMENT IS LEASED AND MUST BE RETURNED TO DIRECTV UPON CANCELLATION, OR UNRETURNED EQUIPMENT FEES APPLY. Programming, pricing, terms and conditions subject to change at any time. Pricing residential. Taxes not included. Receipt of DIRECTV programming subject to DIRECTV Customer Agreement; copy provided at directv.com/legal and in first bill. Starz and related channels and service marks are the property of Starz Entertainment Group LLC. Showtime and related marks are registered trademarks of Showtime Networks Inc., a CBS Company. ©2010 DIRECTV, Inc. DIRECTV and the Cyclone Design logo, CHOICE and CHOICE XTRA are trademarks of DIRECTV, Inc. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners

GET A 2NDHD RECEIVER

UPGRADE

FREE!ASK HOW

$199 VALUE

pelibomroretupmocaivsseccatenretnIP&AMnideriuqertondractiderC

P/TIDERCLLIB^.sliatedrofreludehcsrvd/moc$ECIOHC:secirpdnasemanegakcapderutaeF.TNUOCCA

roYweNfoetattasehtni,ro,gniliametarraapesa,llibVTCERIDrelaliameottnesnocdna,marragorpyaPPalliBotuAnillorrone,enilnotadnoitpmedernosdnepedecirplanoitomorpfognimiT.liamybroenilno

CERID.elbigileniamerot,noitercsidelosstiniVTCERIDybdenimretedsaSEGNAHCOTVTCERIDTCATNOCTONSEODREMOTSUC)S(DOIREPetsySVTCERID.REVIECERLANOITIDDAHCAEDNADN2EHTROFEEF

becivreslanoitanretnigniyfilauqynaro;dlrowedaJ;evobaroARTLUSAMDHroRVDDHnatcctelesohwylnosremotsucdeifilauqrofreffotcudorp

elRVDDHdnaDHrofderiuqer).om/01$(eefsseccADH.esaelRVDDHoshtnomevitucesnoc42foesahcruP:ESAELMETSYS.artxxtenoitallatsniERYAAYMMUDNEDDAESAELTNEMPIUQEEHTHTIWECNADROCCANI

SAELSITNEMPIUQELLA.YLPPALLIWGNINIAMERHTNOM/02$FO

nEzratSfoytreporpehteraskramecivresdnaslennahcdetalerdnazratSaT.laitnedisergnicirP.emitynataegnahcottcejbussnoitidnocdnasmret

eraARTXECIOHCdnaECIOHC,ogolngiseDenolcyCehtdnaVTCERID.cnI

onI.snoitcurlliw

medilavseriuqernoitpmedroirpstrrtcossa,sdnedoireplanoitomorperofebyaPlliBotuAsevomerremotsucfI.etetccteridsim,etelpmocni,detalitum,elbigelli,tsol,etalrofelbisnopsertonVTTTAATEUNITNOCYLLACITAATMOTUALLIWSECIVRRVESLLANEHTECIVRRVESorp,stekramniatrecnI.slennahcotsseccastcirtserhcihwerutaefasahme

egakcapgnimmargorpECIOHCDERREFERPehtedulcnillahshcihw,eldnubnatsnitnempiuqedecnavdA.edargputnempiuqeeerftsrifehtsarevieceR

TNUOCCAVTCERIDREPSETABERTNEMPIUQEDECNAVDAOWTTIMIL.esaeyfilauqro)evobaro.om/99.92$(egakcapgnimmargorpesabVTCERIDynafoTAATNIMRETSIECIVRRVESFI.REVIECERREP051$FOEGRAHCANITLLTUSE

RO,NOITAATLLALECNAANCNOPUVTCERIDOTDENRUTEREBTSUMDNADES

medartderetsigereraskramdetalerdnaemitwwtohS.CLLpuorGtnemniatretntsuCVTCERIDottcctejbbjusgnimmargorpVTCERIDfotpieceR.dedulcnitonsexa

hteraskramecivresdnaskramedartrehtollA.cnI,VTCERIDfoskramedart

tceridtisiV.sreviecerniatrecnoelbaliavaylnO.dezingoriuqerreludehcSRVD.deriuqernoitcctennocenil

EPREFFOGNIMMARGORPENOTIMIL.27$foeulava,shtnom3

abertimbustsumremotsuc,tiderrec92$llufeviecerreotredrorifs’remotsucnidedulcni(snoitcurtsninoitpmedereviecerre

.sserddaliamgnidnatsdoog“niebtsumtnuoccA.esaeclliwtidercllib5$detaicrofetaberfotpiecerretfaskeew8-6snigebetabeR

.liameud-egatsoprodeSAEL.OM/5$EHTGNIDULCNISETAATRRAGNILIAVVAERP-NEHTEHTCIRPLANOITOMORPFODNEEHTYBFI

:ETAATBERTNATSNI°.yravyamgnicirp/gnimmarg

naRVDrofderiuqer).om/7$(ecivresRVD.).om/99.83$tadeulav(evobaroegakcapARTXECIOHCehtfonoitavitcaseriuqeretabertnecnavdadnoceS

:NOITAATLLATSNI. otsuC.ylnonoitallatsnilanoisseforpdradnatS.deriuqereldnubsecivreslanoitanretnigniy

EFNOITAATLLECNACA,TNEMTIMMOCFODNEEHTEROFEBDETTAATVVAITCAOTERULIAF

.YLLYPPASEEFTNEMPIUQEDENRUTERNUR

TCERID0102©.ynapmoCSBCa,.cnIskrowteNemitwwtohSfoskraibtsrifnidnalagel/moc.vtceridtadedivorpypoc;tnemeergAremotnicirp,gnimmargorP

srenwoevitcepserriehtfoytreporpe

If you can't convince them,

confuse them.Harry S. Truman

How Many Bunnies?

Marine Corps legend,Chesty Puller, when in-formed in the middle of afierce ground battle that histroops were completelysurrounded, said words tothe effect of, "Good, nowwe can shoot at the S.O.B.sin any direction"."Damn the torpedoes, full

speed ahead!" "Praise theLord and pass the ammuni-tion!" These are the wordsand deeds of brave menwho stood for what theybelieved in even if it tooktheir last drop of blood.

America has always wonagainst far superior forces,simply because our peoplehave always had the tenac-ity and the courage to spitin the face of an enemy'soverwhelming strength andnever give an inch evenwhen their backs were tothe wall.American history is full of

accounts of bravery andvalor that reaches far be-yond the pale of any simplecall to duty to a place ofrarified air only visited bythe bravest of the brave andthe boldest of the bold.How would you like to go

to war with Eric Holderguarding your left flankand Janet Napolitanoguarding your right?How would you like to getin a bar fight with HarryReid watching your back?

The schools in this coun-try are teaching revisionisthistory to our children, be-littling or even omittingAmerican heroes and re-

ducing morals to a grayarea with no absolutes andeven denying the omnipo-tence of the God who madethe very earth they standon, the ACLU standing bywith bated breath, eager tosue at the mere mention ofHis name.Part of the Supreme Court

thinks the Constitution isonly a list of suggestions,and from the looks ofthings that attitude willonly worsen with the re-cent appointees.

Our President lies withimpunity and criticizes animmigration bill he admitshe hadn't even read, whiletaking every opportunity tosmear the country that wassilly enough to elect himPresident.

Our Attorney General ismore concerned with ex-tending the rights of a full-fledged American citizento a murdering scumbag Is-lamic terrorist than he is inseeing justice carried out.He also hasn't read the im-migration bill that he iscriticizing and threatening

to bring legal action againstit.

Our Director of Home-land Security is seriouslynot up to the job and onlythe grace of God saved thelives of untold numbers ofAmericans in New York re-cently when an Islamic ter-rorist who had flown toPakistan something likethirteen times withoutmaking the no fly list left abomb on a busy Manhattanstreet and scampered to theairport where he almost es-caped aboard an Arab air-line. She is also criticizingthe immigration bill thatshe hasn't read.

That's three of the mostpowerful people in theU.S.A. lying about and dis-torting legislation they ad-mitted they haven't evenread. It's insane.Our Democrat-controlledCongress and Senate, real-izing that they will proba-bly not have a majority inboth houses after Novem-ber are feverishly cram-ming one catastrophicspending program after an-other down the throats ofan Obama weary America.

There seems to be a per-vasive attitude of "If yacan't beat 'em join 'em" asstate after state gets readyto legalize certain drugsand there are those who saythat we just can't do any-thing about our southernborder.

I have one word for that,"baloney".

We can do somethingabout anything if we wouldonly go about it the rightway. We just simply don'thave enough real men inpower who are willing tostand for something be-sides their next electionand the political party theybelong to.They think no more about

betraying America thanthey do of swatting a fly, apitiful bunch of limp-wristed cowards who blowin the wind like a limp rag,lacking the guts or the in-tegrity to pay the cost ofdoing the right thing forAmerica.

Anybody with a meresemblance of a brain has toknow that what BarackHussein Obama and theDemocrats are doing canonly have a bad ending, infact, in my estimation, badis a much too mild a wordto describe what's going tohappen when Obama'scrippled chickens startcoming home to roost.

And yet there is not onestrong voice on CapitolHill who is willing to riskthe wrath of the media tosay, "Hey wait a minute,this President is ruining theeconomy of our country forgenerations to come if notforever!!!"Not one has the gonads to

stand up and shout, "Noyou cannot grant citizen-ship to twelve million peo-ple who came into thiscountry illegally just so the

Democrats can stay in of-fice for the next hundredyears!!!Whatever happened to the

men who had the guts tostand for what is right, nomatter how unpopular, nomatter what the personalcost?

What ever happened tothe American citizen whowould stand up and say,"Hell no, don't even thinkabout taking my guns awayand I demand schoolvouchers for my childrenso they can learn what Ithink they should learn in-stead of that socialist crapthe teacher's unions aresupporting. I'm tired ofpaying taxes and havingmy money given to supportthe socialistic laziness of anation like Greece. I wantto hear my President andhis administration call anIslamic terrorist an Islamicterrorist and I want theones we've caught tried ina military tribunal."

It seems that America'spioneer spirit has all butevaporated in the steamymorass of political correct-ness and compromise thatis taking more backboneout of each succeedinggeneration.

I'm so sick of the emptysuits and milksopscoundrels on both sides ofthe aisle in Washington andthe state capitols.

America is looking for afew good men and women;spineless sellouts need notapply.

Wussies to the left of me,wimps to the right.It's sickening.What do you think?Pray for our troops, and forour country.God Bless AmericaCharlie Daniels


Highway 31 Flooring Gallery2858 Pelham ParkwayPelham, AL 35124(205) 663-2310

Highway 280 Flooring Gallery2815 Greystone Blvd., Birmingham(205) 981-2311

Highway 119 Furniture Gallery250 Cahaba Valley Rd Pelham(205) 620-6926

ISSIS & SONSQuality & Service in the Issis Tradition

Alabama’s LargestFlooring &

Furniture Gallery*Carpet *Rugs*Wood*Tile*Slate*Laminates*Window Treatments*Wood FloorRefinishingOur Commercial Department is fullystaffed and capable oftaking on large or smallprojects, from officebuildings to Churches,and anything in between.

Wussies To The Left Of Me Wimps To The Right

By Major Van Harl USAFRet.

The Colonel has goneand done it. She has donewhat we refer to in the mil-itary as “dropping her pa-pers.” She has formallynotified the US Air Forcethat she is going to retirefrom active duty.

In the civilian world,when you retire from acompany you are done.You buy the motor-home,never to darken the doorsof your former employeragain. In the military younever really retire. Yourmonthly payment from theDepartment of Defense isconsidered a retainer, justin case they need your serv-ices down the road. After 7, December 1941 a

large group of very oldservice members whothought they were donewearing a uniform were

called back to active dutyuntil the end of the war.There were some rather oldNCOs working military re-cruiting offices, whoshould have been out fish-ing. This recall stuff is notwhat my wife wants to con-sider. She wants to be acivilian for good, after 29years, 9 months and 27days of active duty servicein the Air Force.

She originally joined theactive duty Air Force be-cause she only had to signup for three years and thereserves wanted her for sixyears. 29 plus years latershe is still in uniform. Shefollowed me around on ac-tive duty for a year and ahalf when she figured thatmilitary stuff was not sohard and she knew shecould do it. I retired fromactive duty and have beenfollowing her around eversince.

It looks like we are mov-ing to Wisconsin where alot of folks do not evenknow there really is a mili-tary, other than what theysee on TV. We will, how-ever, spend our winters inOklahoma. When you live

in a purely civilian com-munity where there is noobvious military presence,

retired soldiers are kind ofan oddity. The civilians askyou questions but theydon’t get it when if comesto the military. So I haveenrolled the Colonel in re-medial civilian training.

She had a four day week-end over Memorial Dayand we worked hard on hermilitary-to-civilian indoc-trination. First off, no uni-form wearing, and notalking about the Air Force-- shop-talk was not al-lowed. There was nowatching the MilitaryChannel on TV. We didwatch the Memorial Dayconcert on the steps of theUS Capital, but that was aVeteran thing, not a mili-tary thing. The Colonelwore civilian cloths, not to

include any of the many t-shirts she has with AirForce logos on them. Thiswas not anti-military train-ing; that will never be ourdesire. This was “gettingready to be a civilian”training. It is OK not tocome to attention in yourliving room when the AirForce song is played onTV. We talked about whenI would remove the 50 cal-iber machine gun rack offthe top of her Hummer ve-hicle, but we set no firmdate for that. Don’t want topush the stress button toosoon. The brackets on thefront bumper of her truckused to hold the flags willstay on for a little whilelonger. You never knowwhen you could be in a vet-eran / military parade. Weare going to start emptyingsome of the sandbags wehave filled and stacked up,ready to go just in case.Both of the family dogs

will convert to being petsand we will drop the K9working dog title for Mag-gie and Libby, our fourlegged babies. The familydinning room will nolonger be referred to as thechow hall.

We had civilian friends atour home during the week-end, people who had neverbeen in the military. Wetalked about civilian things.The civilian in trainingmust be working a little be-cause, come Tuesdaymorning, a duty day for theColonel, I had to push herout into the garage and gen-tly force her into her vehi-

cle. She did not want to goback to the Big Air Force.There is no doubt she isready to retire and take offthe uniform she has wornfor almost 30 years. Nowas long as Korea does notturn into a shooting warand stop-loss does notforce her to stay on activeduty, I believe we areheaded to retirement andthe land of civilians. Weare holding our breath.


Colonel Dawn M. HarlUSAF NC

Civilian In Training

AF Seeking Stop Loss AirmenThe Air Force continues to seek Airmen who were invol-untarily held on active duty "stop-loss" between Sept. 11,2001, and Sept. 30, 2009, to determine if they may be el-igible for the Retroactive Stop Loss Special Pay com-pensation of $500 for each month they were affected as aresult of stop loss. Eligible individuals have until Oct. 21,2010, to file their claim. To file a claim, call the TotalForce Service Center at (800) 525-0102.

HANDICAP VANS *SCOOTER VANS *CONVERSION VANS*ACCESSIBLE VANS * WHEELCHAIR VANS*BRAUN

RAMP VANS & BRAUN ENTER VANS * VMI INFLOOR RAMP CONVERSIONS * REAR ENTRY VANS

Delivery Service Available Anywhere In The Southeast!

2130 Sigman Rd, Conyers, GA- Toll free 877-569-0780

To succeed in politics,it is often necessary to

rise above yourprinciples.Anonymus

Rick Mowles, BS, DC,DICAK, DABCOVietnam Veteran 1968-1970. 1st Battalion 9thMarines, 3rd.Marine Divi-sion

We live in a countrywhere the ideals that madeAmerica great have disap-peared. We see people pub-licly criticizing thetraditions of America, dis-respecting the armed forcesand even burning theAmerican flag. The manypositive factors such ascourage, loyalty, respect,courtesy, truth, hard work,and spiritual strength arelooked upon as faults andnot pillars which made thiscountry great. Out of thediscouragement of thetimes in America, there arethings that remind us about

our strengths, and commit-ment to freedom. One pos-itive light in this vastdarkness is the story of An-toine Accristo.

Mr. Accristo’s life is aninspiration and monumentto the struggles and tri-umph of the human spirit.His life story is publishedin a book called “LittleTony.” Little Tony grew upin southern France in alarge family. They had toexist in extreme povertyand despair while WorldWar II engulfed Europe. Asthe war escalated, Franceas other European, coun-tries found themselves oc-cupied by the Nazi forces.

Little Tony describes thebrutality of the Nazi sol-diers toward the civilians.The extreme conditions ofpoverty as well as theharshness of war, testedthe extremes of the humanspirit for survival. LittleTony found himself attimes questioning manybasic principles of life andthe will to survive. He soonrecognized and idealizedthe American Forces asthey gradually pushed backthe Nazis, freeing his coun-try from German oppres-

sion. He loved the Ameri-can Forces and hungaround them as much as

possible. He soon had thebeginning of a dream tocome to America. America,the land of freedom and op-portunity, became the focusof his life. He befriendedan American soldier,Nicholas J. Botera, whowanted to bring him backto America. Little Tonywas only fourteen yearsold. He wasn’t allowed onthe troop ship returning toAmerica so he sneakedonto the ship as a stow-away. He was discoveredhalf way across the Atlanticand detained but not sentback to France. He spentmonths at Immigration inBoston. Finally, his dreamwas coming true. He wassponsored and allowed tostay in America. Helearned the english lan-

guage, went to school andgot a job. Little Tony wasso thankful to be in Amer-ica that he cherished everymoment. He wanted to bean American and give backto this great country. Healso never forgot his lovefor the American troopsthat liberated France fromthe brutality of Nazi Ger-many. He had experiencedthe extremes of man’s in-humanity toward man aswell as the ravages of war.Little Tony felt so proud tobe a part of this great coun-try that he had admired forso many years. He enlistedin the United States AirForce and was stationed inthe Phillippines and Japanas well as in the combattheater of Korea.

One night in Korea hewas attacked by an infiltra-tor and wounded. He re-turned from Korea and gothis American citizenship.He got married and wentback to school under theGI Bill. He started a busi-ness. He describes in hisbook the trials and tribula-tions of being successful inbusiness as well as tryingto help his family membersin France. The one thingthat stands out with LittleTony was his unwaveringdetermination to succeedand never give up. Facedwith numerous challenges,and obstacles, Little Tonyalways continued to fight

for success. Maritalstresses mounted duringthese struggling yearswhich ultimately led to di-vorce and termination ofhis marriage.

Little Tony later remar-ried. He loved the Ameri-can West so soon afterretiring in the early 90s, hemoved his family fromPennsylvania to Helena,Montana. He built a homeand settled into a calmerlifestyle enjoying thebeauty of Montana withthe great hunting and fish-ing. He has been volun-teering at the Fort HarrisonVA Medical Center in He-lena for the past ten years.

The story of Antoine Ac-cristo is important readingfor several reasons. First, itdescribes the many trialsand tribulations of a youngman under the most ex-treme conditions to sur-vive. The rebounding ofthe human spirit frommany obstacles reflectshow determination andhard work will lead to theaccomplishment of one’sgoals. Second, it shows theemotional and physicalstresses of being occupiedby an enemy that has no re-gard for human life. As ayoung boy, living under thestrict rules of Nazi occupa-tion, the effect of liberationby the American forces istold.

In today’s news media,we frequently see negativethings about the Americanforces. Little Tony’s lifeshows the appreciation ofour troops, as a citizen of acountry occupied by a for-eign enemy. The book tellswhat a citizen of that coun-try felt when the Americanforces came and drove outthe Nazi forces. Thesesorts of things need to be

told by the victims of anoccupied country freed byAmerican liberation.Third, and probably themost important reason forreading this book is theappreciation for all that isoffered in America.

It drives home the ideathat we need to be appre-ciative of the opportunities, freedoms, and happinesspresent in this great coun-try. We can sit around andcomplain about things onlybecause we have not beenwithout things. When youhave to worry about find-ing the next morsel of foodto keep from starving orclothing, and shelter, thenit puts into prospective justhow much we have inAmerica. “Little Tony”also drives home the ideathat an immigrant whogoes through the properchannels to be an Ameri-can citizen will have themany opportunities avail-able in this great country.This doesn’t mean what isgoing to be given to you,but what hard work, deter-mination and perseverancewill give one who is will-ing to take advantage ofthe opportunity.

“Little Tony” is one ofthose books that once youstart reading it, you can’tput it down. It is an incred-ible story of an incrediblejourney.


“Li4le Tony”

4033 Lamar AveMemphis, TN 38118

901-363-1887

Building The American Dream

RROONN AARRCCHHEERR''SSAAUUTTOO CCAARREE CCEENNTTEERR55115555 QQuuiinnccee RRdd.. MMeemmpphhiiss,, TTNN 3388111177

990011--668822--66551155

Antoine AccristoImmigrant Patriot

A Story of Hope & Freedom

You probably alreadyknow that starting a smallbusiness requires extensiveresearch and analysis ofmany factors. But the onerequiring the most criticalassessment is often over-looked by many entrepre-neurs. And, it’s as close asthe nearest mirror.That’s because wanting to

be an entrepreneur is onething; being one is quiteanother. You will take onresponsibilities and com-mitments far different fromthose of an employee, evenif you have managementexperience. It’s a challengethat can be exhilarating andrewarding. Unless you’reprepared mentally andemotionally, however, itcan also be overwhelming.

Before you study financ-ing options and plan storelayouts, sit down and con-duct a probing interviewwith yourself to see ifyou’re the right person forthe all-important job of en-trepreneur-owner-boss.Are You a Self-Starter?Nothing in business hap-pens by itself. As theowner, you’re responsiblefor everything from estab-

lishing your firm’s visionto setting the daily workschedule. The fact thatyou’re exploring smallbusiness ownership andasking questions is a goodsign. Are You a PositiveThinker?The moment you become abusiness owner, you repre-sent yourself, your busi-ness and your expectationsfor success. What you sayand do must convey confi-dence and commitment tomoving forward. Employ-ees who sense these quali-ties will share thatdetermination to succeed,even under difficult cir-cumstances. If you workalone, there will be dayswhen you have to be yourown cheerleader.Are You Disciplined?Your days of the “9-to-5routine” are over. Runninga small business requires acontinuous commitment toquality and detail. You can-not afford to cut corners,miss deadlines or makepromises beyond your ca-pabilities. If you plan to runthe business from home,you must be able to resist

temptations and distrac-tions in order to get yourwork done.Are You a LifelongLearner? Entrepreneurswho continually seek infor-mation, new ideas andsound advice have the bestchance for success. Beingattuned to market trendsand issues makes it easierto adjust products and serv-ices to customers’ needsand preferences. You’realso in a better position toenhance your competitiveadvantage and efficiency,and address potential prob-lems before they harm yourbusiness.Can You Market Yourselfand Your Business? Somepeople have trouble withthis one because of the neg-ative (and often unfair)connotations associatedwith being a “salesperson.”No business, no matterhow good, will succeedwithout some kind of mar-keting. The good news isthat promoting your busi-ness is easier than you maythink as long as you knowwhat to do and how to doit. After all, we all enjoysaying good things about

ourselves. When you craftand tell your story in theright way, more people willbe willing and eager to hearit.Can You be Objective?Your ideas and practicesmay seem “bulletproof,”but reality may be far dif-ferent. Is there really aneed for a particular prod-uct or service in your area?Are the hours of operationfair to your employees? Isrenting equipment betterthan owning it? A goodbusiness owner knows howto examine an issue frommany perspectives and un-derstand that strengths andlimitations of each.

So how did your “candi-date” for entrepreneur-owner-boss do? If everyanswer was a “yes,” yoursmall business dream is onits way to becoming a real-ity. For areas of concern,

the solution may be busi-ness counseling, manage-ment courses, or aconcerted effort to discardsome unproductive habitsin favor new ones. Finally, make it a point to

conduct regular self-re-views. Thinking and ap-proaches that worked in thestart-up phase may not beas appropriate for a thriv-ing concern, or if a majormarket shift occurs. Whenyou work for yourself, youwant to be confident theentrepreneur-owner-bossknows exactly what he orshe is doing.

Small Business Adminis-tration (SBA)Historically, veterans dovery well as small busi-ness entrepreneurs. Veter-ans interested inentrepreneurship and smallbusiness ownership shouldlook to the U.S. SmallBusiness Administration’sOffice of Veterans Busi-ness Development(www.sba.gov/vets) for as-sistance. OVBD conductscomprehensive outreach toveterans, service-disabledveterans and Reserve Com-ponent members of the

See page 10


Belle Meade Exterminating CompanyCall us for all your pest control needs.

2711 Larmon Dr., Nashville, TN

(615) 298-5555

Sales 423-443-4656 Service 423-443-4653271 Lee Highway, Chattanooga

“Thank you for your Service & Our Freedom”

www.herbadcox.com

Herb Adcox Chevrolet, Inc.

Want to be an Entrepreneur? There are many resources for vets who do!

By Bruce Salisbury

The Veterans of Under-age Military Service cele-brated their AnnualReunion in April of 2010and gathered in Salt LakeCity Utah for the event. Wewere pleased that the Edi-tor of the Veterans Voicenewspaper( Editor’s note:It was an honor and a

pleasure to meet such in-credible men and women. Iwas dumbfounded as I con-sidered that these heroeshad volunteered at suchtender ages!) was able tovisit with us and meet theunderage boys and girls shehad been reading about.At these reunions we vote

on which state will host thenext gathering and it was

decided that Cheyenne,Wyoming would be thatplace in 2011. There aremany historical things tosee in the area, including alarge memorial markerdedicated to a prostitute,over near to Lusk. Yes!“Old Mother Feather legs”has a memorial rock. She isan interesting story whichcan be read on internet.

When we get togethereach year we honor thoseof our small group whohave died during the lastyear and this year the num-ber of those who are withus no more was shocking.Almost half a hundred ofour group made that finaltransfer since last we gath-ered. There are no more ofus enlisting underage, andwe will all one day begone, but we will bearound longer than mostpeople think. Our oldestmember is Frank Bucklesof West Virginia whojoined the US Army backin 1918 at age 16. I will notbe as old as Frank until theyear 2039! Yes, there willbe Underage Vets around

for years to come.When I joined the Under-

age Veterans there werefour of us in my area whobecame VUMS at the sametime. Our friend CyrusWaggoner died severalyears ago and is buried atHome Lake Colorado. Ihad been told that JohnMcManus too had died,and was surprised when heshowed up at the Salt LakeCity Reunion. Guess youcould say we were bothstunned, but we were veryhappy to spend time to-gether again.

If you know of anyonewho enlisted in the militaryunder the age of seventeenplease ask them to considerbecoming a part of our elitegroup! Remember thoughthat you must be able toprove your age of entryinto the military service.We old government certi-fied liars insist on this. Tojoin our group go online towww.oldvums.com. (or)veterans of underage mili-tary service (or) call 1-888-653-8867

From page 9U.S. military. OVBD alsoprovides assistance to vet-eran- and reservist-ownedsmall businesses. SBA isthe primary federal agencyresponsible for assistingveterans who own or areconsidering starting theirown small businesses.

Among the services pro-vided by SBA are business-planning assistance,counseling and trainingthrough community basedVeterans Business Out-reach Centers for more in-formation, go towww.sba.gov/aboutsba/sbap r o -grams/ovbd/OVBD_VBOP.html. More than 1,000 univer-

sity-based Small BusinessDevelopment Centers;nearly 400 SCORE chap-ters (www.score.org/vet-eran.html) with 11,000volunteer counselors, manyof whom are veterans; and100 Women’s BusinessCenters.

Continued

I did not expect to see you there!Independence Day www.theveteransvoice.com 10

ANGEL OF MERCY ANIMAL CRITICAL CARE““ We’re here when the others areWe’re here when the others are

closed and people need help the most”closed and people need help the most”8734 Grissom Rd.- San Antonio TX, 78251

210-684-2105

Since 1952, builders, architects and designers have relied upon Venetian Blind Carpet One Floor &

Home to help create their dream homes.CARPET CARPETCERAMIC TILE LAMINATE FLOORINGVINYL FLOORINGWOOD FLOORINGCOUNTERTOPSWINDOW COVERINGS

2504 Bissonnet, E. of Kirby,Houston,TX713.528.2404

“Welcome Home”

Hero ShermanA. Jones

Army 1967-1970Vietnam 1968- 1969

Pastor Emeritus,Disabled Veteran,

and AuthorCedar Hill, TX

Vet Entrepreneurs

Serving Shepherd Air Base - *Flowers Wired Anywhere *All Occassions *City Wide Delivery 1627 10th Street Wichita Falls, TX

877-273-7337 or 940-723-7337

FlowersBy Spain

SBA also manages a rangeof special small businesslending programs at thou-sands of locations, rangingfrom Micro Loans to theMi l i t a ry - commun i ty -targeted Patriot ExpressPilot Loan, to venture cap-ital and Surety Bond Guar-antees . Veterans alsoparticipate in all SBA fed-eral procurement pro-grams, including a special3 percent federal procure-ment goal specifically forservice-connected disabledveterans, and SBA supportsveterans and others partici-pating in internationaltrade.

A special Military Re-servist Economic InjuryDisaster Loan(www.sba.gov/reservists)is available for self-em-ployed Reservists whosesmall businesses may bedamaged through the ab-sence of the owner or anessential employee as a re-sult of Title 10 activation toActive Duty.

A Veterans Business De-velopment Officer is sta-tioned at every SBADistrict Office to act as aguide to veterans, and SBAoffers a full range of self-paced small business plan-ning assistance athttp://www.sba.gov/tools/index.html for veterans, re-

servists, discharging serv-ice members and their fam-ilies. Information about thefull range of services canbe found atwww.sba.gov/vets/ and atwww.sba.gov/reservists/,or by calling 202-205-6773or 1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722).Patriot Express; aloanprogram for the veterancommunityThe U.S. Small BusinessAdministration has PatriotExpress Pilot Loan Initia-tive for veterans and mem-bers of the militarycommunity wanting to es-tablish or expand smallbusinesses. Eligible mili-tary community membersinclude:* Veterans* Service-disabled veterans*Active-duty service mem-bers eligible for the mili-tary’s Transition AssistanceProgram* Reservists and NationalGuard members* Current spouses of any of

the above* The widowed spouse of aservice member or veteranwho died during service orof a service-connected dis-ability* The SBA and its resourcepartners are focusing addi-tional efforts on counselingand training to augmentthis loan initiative.Perhaps a Free FranchiseWould Suit You?

The Kitchen Tune-Upfranchise has had a lot ofsuccess with working withVeterans in the past. Over22 veterans currently workthroughout the manyKitchen Tune-Up franchiselocations and at the HomeOffice. Their service back-ground has given them theleadership skills, workethic, and dedication toteamwork that is necessaryin running a successfulKitchen Tune-Up busi-ness.”Kitchen Tune-Up’s Veter-

ans Program is offering onefree franchise in the fol-

lowing territories: Savan-nah, Georgia; Mobile, Ala-bama; Biloxi, Mississippi;Baton Rouge, LA; KansasCity, Missouri; Memphis,Tennessee; Tallahassee,Florida; Omaha, Nebraska;Tulsa, Oklahoma; and SanAntonio, TX. If interested,applicants should contactCraig Green by phone at800.333.6385 or email [email protected]


The Pizza Cookery“Thank you for Our Freedom”

6209 Topanga Canyon Blvd.Woodland Hills CA 91367

(818)887-4770

“BEST PIZZA ON THE WEST COAST!!”

Great casual place for a quick and easy italian dinner.

Excellent salads andwonderful garlic bread!

FARM FRESH PRODUCEAt Gate 3

Party Fruit Platters - Gift BasketsFruit Salads To Go

Call Armando323-931-3773

6333 West Third St., Los Angeles, CA

7191 Alvarado Rd. La Mesa, CA619-469-1895

Bob Bowen’s Auto Service

*Senior Citizen Discount*Computerized patient profile servicesWe accept all major prescription insurance plans

123 S. Commerce St., Ste A, Stockton, CA.

We’re the one-stop provider of medical supplies &equipment in Stockton, CA. at Waterfront. We are reliable

and committed to serving all of your medical supply and equipment

Waterfront Pharmacy

209-463-7777

We strive to offer a high level of service and quality in all we do.

Hero Jennifer-Ruth Green

USAF2005-Present

Unit: Multi-Na-tional Security

Transition Com-mand - Iraq

Rank: CaptainHometown:

NorthHighlands, CA

Currently:Carson, CA

“Our greatest glory is notin never failing, but in ris-ing up every time we fail.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson-by Gail Chatfield

To paraphrase ErnestHemingway, everyone’slife if truthfully told wouldmake a great story. I foundthis especially true after in-terviewing 52 veterans formy book, “By Dammit,We’re Marines! Veterans’Stories of Heroism, Horrorand Humor in World War IIon the Pacific Front”. Theyshared captivating stories

not only about their fox-hole view of war but alsoabout growing up duringthe Depression.I sought out these veterans

because I wanted to knowmore about what my fatherexperienced as a youngMarine fighting onBougainville, Guam andIwo Jima. Like most menof his generation, he neverspoke about the war andsadly died when I was 15years old. As I look back,he never really talked abouthis childhood in Arkansaseither.

How I wished he wouldhave written his story downso I could have known himbetter.

Retrieving personal lifestories and writing a mem-oir can be a daunting andintimidating task. I’m suremy father felt that way.Questions of where to

begin, what to include andhow to put it together canbe overwhelming. With alittle bit of guidancethough, anyone can createan interesting record oftheir life’s importantevents.

Let me help you getstarted writing your mem-oir by offering a few sug-gestions.

First, trust yourself. Youcan’t write the wrongthing. This is your life,your perspective and yourwisdom. Accept that theremay be distressing parts ofyour life revealed, but writ-ing allows you to sort outthose thoughts and feel-ings.

Choose the stories youwant to tell. Memoir writ-ing is not about tellingevery detail of your life andit is not necessarily aboutstarting at the beginning ofyour life. Make a list of theevents you remember most,

the ones that were lifechanging, heartfelt, excit-ing, taught you something,historically important, de-fined who you are, etc.Focus your attention onseveral of those or perhapschoose one event and tellthat story in great detail.

From this list, pick oneevent and jot down any-thing you remember. Youdon’t need to write com-plete sentences at thispoint. A simple outline orbullet points will do. Don’tforget to use all your sensesto re-create that moment intime. Then outline the nextevent. Each outline couldbe its own short story chap-ter in your final memoir.When finished, put yourevents in chronologicalorder. If you recall addi-tional information later,simply add it to your out-line.

Now you are ready tobegin the actual writing.Choose one of your experi-ences. Don’t spend a lot oftime trying to craft the per-fect sentence. The most im-portant part at this stage isto tell the story in your ownwords. Don’t over analyzewhat you write or wonderwhat anyone will think ifthey read it. Polishing andediting the narrative willcome later.

Remember that eachevent you write aboutneeds to have a beginning,

middle and end as does theentire memoir. If you planto share your writings withothers, use a style that willkeep the reader engaged inyour story. The best way todo this is to be honest, openand human. The more youwrite, the easier it will be tofind your voice and writingstyle.Distractions abound when

writing. Stay on task bysetting realistic goals foryourself. Plan to writeabout one event or chapterper day or week for exam-ple. Ultimately set a time-line when you want yourmemoir finished. Perhapsyou want to give copies toyour family at a holiday oron your birthday. Maybeyou want to keep your writ-ing private. Either way, adeadline is essential for anywriter.

Reliving the past can bepleasurable as well aspainful. Frank McCourt,whose memoir Angela’sAshes was published whenhe was 66 years old com-pares writing a memoir togoing to confession. "Youhave to examine your con-science," he explains.

Like a confessor, writingkeeps your secrets safe andgoing to ‘confession’ willbecome easier with eachsentence you write. Pluswriting is good for you.Putting emotions andmemories into words re-

duces stress, promoteswell-being and fires upthose alpha brain waves.With only pen and paperneeded, memoir writing isthe least expensive, yetmost valuable gift you cangive yourself.

So blurt it out, jot itdown, and delight in thelife you’ve led. And re-member, nothing beats re-ality for a good story.

Gail Chatfield is a nativeof Southern California andreceived her Bachelor’sDegree in Anthropologyfrom San Diego State Uni-versity courtesy of the G.I.Bill. Chatfield is a freelance writer and an award-winning journalist in SanDiego. Her book ByDammit, We’re Marines!Veterans Stories ofHeriosm, Horror, andHumor in World War II onthe Pacific Front has beenhonored with two nationalbook awards.

Chatfield leads writingworkshops for veteransthrough the non-profitAmerican Combat Veteransof War organization at theVA hospital and at CampPendleton.


Writing What You Know

Now I know what astatesman is; he's adead politician. Weneed more statesmen. Bob Edwards

500 Ramsey St Fayetteville, NC 28301Phone: 910-483-2191

www.rogersandbreece.com

OOuurr FFaammiillyy SSeerrvviinngg yyoouurr FFaammiillyy SSiinnccee 11889988Rogers and Breece

SSeerrvviinngg tthhee ffaammiillyy wwiitthh ddiiggnniittyy aanndd ppeerrssoonnaall UUnnddeerrssttaannddiinngg 22 LLooccaattiioonnss ttoo sseerrvvee yyoouu......

704 Walkup Ave.Monroe, N C704-283-5423

www.grierfuneralservice.comwww.grierfuneralservice.com

115 John McCarroll St.,Charlotte, NC 704-332-7109

By Thom Stoddert

When the troops started re-turning after Desert Stormthere were a host of com-plaints made to govern-ment agencies for variousfor symptoms of illness.There was much talk ofSaudi Vets actually dyingfrom unknown conditionsmarked by symptoms thatdoctors could not provide adiagnosis for. The VA didrecognize there was a prob-lem, but was unsure how tohandle it at first.

Traditionally if a soldierdeveloped an illness or in-jury that was linked to theirservice, the diagnosed con-dition was evaluated andgiven the status of ServiceConnection. Compensationwas paid to the veteranbased on the evidence themedical documents pro-vided. The problem for theVA was evaluating some-thing that couldn’t be diag-nosed.

Researchers looked atevery thing from sandmites, to spirochetes nativeto the Middle East, to de-pleted Uranium. An answerfor the veterans who servedat the various locations inthe Persian Gulf region hasnot been found.

In a local newspaper,there was an article de-scribing how various re-search organizations havenot come up with any ex-

planation, except that theevidence may indicatethere is no “Saudi Syn-drome.” The same newsarticle reported that otherhealth studies now indicatethat Saudi vets experiencemulti-system illnesses at arate twice that of none de-ployed veterans. I person-ally agree to some extent. Ihave come across too manymen and woman who com-plain of pain or burningduring intercourse sincethey or their spouse weredeployed in the Gulf. I re-searched this further anddiscovered this complaintis far more common thanever expected.

The Dept. of Veteran Af-fairs has come up with cer-tain guidelines for whatis called “Saudi Syn-drome.” If a Desert Stormveteran presents with asymptom or grouping ofsymptoms for which a di-agnosis cannot be given,then the symptoms will beservice connected based ontheir debilitating effect.

A common scenario is ofa veteran complaining ofpain and swelling in hisknees. The pain is a subjec-tive complaint; it cannot berepeated or observed in aclinical setting. Neverthe-less, the swollen knees areobjective symptoms thatany clinician can observeand describe. The usualtests are run and a diagno-

sis cannot be made. Yet theknees are still swollen andpainful.The VA should grant serv-

ice connection for thesymptom(s) and evaluatesas if there was an actual di-agnosis given. This is trueeven if the symptoms ap-pear after a reasonable pe-riod of time after theveteran has left the theaterof operations. So how does a veteran file

a claim for “Saudi Syn-drome”? Just like any otherclaim except the veteranpoints out what theissue/complaint is and thatthere has been no diagnosismade for it, nor is it a partof a larger diagnosed med-ical condition. The VA willdo two things; attempt toobtain the veteran’s servicemedical records and gatherup the civilian medicalrecords identified by theveteran.

The VA is responsible bylaw to obtain any militarymedical records. The vet-eran is responsible to iden-tify any appropriatecivilian medical treatmentrecords to the VA.

Once there is sufficientmedical documentation theVA Regional Office willmost likely schedule amedical exam for the pur-pose of confirming andmeasuring the amount ofdisability the undiagnosedcondition presents. A Rat-ing Decision will be madeto determine if service con-nection is granted or de-nied. If the decision isfavorable, a monetaryaward will be determined.If the claim is denied serv-ice connection; then infor-mation will be provided forwhy it was denied and howto over come the denial.

What are some of the pit-

falls claiming service con-nection for a medical issuebelieved to be resultant ofservice in Desert Storm?There are some, so a vetwill need to be extra care-ful and start planning andbuilding the evidence be-fore they actually file aclaim.

First, a lack of proof thatthe veteran was actually inthe Kuwaiti Theater of Op-erations (KTO) will kill theclaim before it even gets tothe Rating Board. The vetsDD-214 should be the bestsource to fulfill this re-quirement. The VA isaware many vets who re-ceived the campaign rib-bons had never set foot onor sailed in the KTO.Therefore, have secondaryinformation ready, such aspictures, copies of orders,and/or a history of the unitassigned to.

The medical evidencemust not be exclusive toother evidence or insuffi-cient. The medical docu-ments must show there isan undiagnosed conditionand that it was not there be-fore deployment to theKTO. For complaints, es-pecially issues such aspain, there will be a needfor the medical records toshow continuity of com-plaints. There should bedocumentation of a prob-lem beginning during orshortly after leaving theKTO and it continuing tothis day. The thought hereis “quantity”, as in manyvisits to the doctor over theyears.Several things the vetshould think about thatwould help the claim’s suc-cess. Consider talking to adoctor about what is both-ering him or her and see ifit really meets the diag-

nosed requirement. Beforeactually filing a claim, thevet should plan and assem-ble the claimed issue(s)with the appropriate evi-dence. A service officer(States often have knowle-gable VSOs) can help inunderstanding the legal jar-gon of the VA. With orwithout a service officer’shelp, the veteran must read,and re-read any correspon-dence from the VA forcomplete understanding.These simple steps are la-borious, but they will en-sure a much higherlikelihood of a successfulclaim.

Also keep this in mind;service connected medicalissues can serve as thebasis of benefits for a vet’sfamily. VBA details new proce-dures for handling claimsbased on herbicide expo-sure in Thailand andKorea.

After reviewing docu-ments related to herbicideuse in Vietnam and Thai-land, C&P Service has de-termined that there wassignificant use of herbi-cides on the fenced inperimeters of militarybases in Thailand intendedto eliminate vegetation andground cover for base se-curity purposes.Therefore, when herbicide

related claims from Veter-ans with Thailand serviceare received, RO personnelshould now evaluate thetreatment and personnelrecords to determinewhether the Veteran’s serv-ice activities involved dutyon or near the perimeter ofthe military base where theVeteran was stationed.To see the completeC & Pbulletin visit us on:www.theveteransvoice.com


Saudi Syndrome from a VA Perspective

SouthlandWell DrillersWater Well Drilling

& Service

“Thank you for Our Freedom”

460 Mcleod Rd, St Augustine, FL

904-824-0774

Elijah LeeNecessary

MT National Guard2009-Present

Chemical TechPlains, MT

Missoula, MTJust a note to sayhow proud I am of

my son! Editor-TVV


By Jim Strickland

"Rather than mourn hisdeath, I choose to celebratehis life. He epitomized ourAmerican spirit and ourvalues.”

He was 15 when he lefthome. He was born inHilliard, Florida and even-tually lived as a young fel-low in Hazlehurst, Georgia.His DD 214 says that priorto his entrance to theUSMC that he was a farmhand. Most southern Amer-icans back then were farm-ers or sharecroppers. TheUnited States hadn't turnedthe corner yet to the mech-anized nation we've be-come.

People worked hard then.He knew how to hookmules to plows and whichwas the business end of aflat blade shovel. He pro-fessed a long love for thesmell of tobacco drying ina barn. I knew his parentswell. It seemed natural tome to draw water from awell outside their kitchenand to walk a hundred

yards to the out-house. Bringing in

seasoned wood for thecook-stove was the young-ster's duty. The odor of RedMan and spit wafted fromold Folgers cans in the din-ing room...his mother hadher can nearby at all times.

The life was hard enoughto make him sure that therehad to be a better way tolive. He was an adventurerand a restless spirit and thefirst military uniform hesaw gobsmacked him andhe knew what he had to do.

He was 15 when he lefthome and tried joining theArmy. He almost made it.He was a stout and strongguy then. Ultimately theydidn't accept him. That wasthe Army's loss. He was 16when he became a UnitedStates Marine and went offto the exotic sounding Par-ris Island, South Carolina.

Boot camp didn't troublehim much, but for thegnats. If you aren't familiarwith the South Carolina"low country" you can't un-derstand the terror that apinhead sized winged crea-ture can cause when theyswarm around you by themillions. Dare to slap at agnat who just bit a painful,bleeding, itching hole inyou and you risk the ire ofa drill sergeant. "Themgnats have to eat too re-cruit, don't you DARE killone of my gnats."

He didn't just surviveboot camp, he thrived in it.Not unlike Will Stockdalein 'No Time For Sergeants'this young Marine saw thelife at boot camp as a lotless strenuous than his lifeback on the farm. Threesquares a day, indoorplumbing, a cot to sleep

on...shucks, life in theCorps was a cakewalk. Allthere was to it was hikingand shooting and runningaround a bunch of obsta-cles. Then you got to eat allyou wanted 3 times everyday. How could anythingbe better?

That he was grateful tothe Corps for taking himout of the red dirt farmlandthat was his future is an un-derstatement. He knew thatbut for the USMC he'd bejust another redneck, aFlorida/Georgia crackerwith no education, no skillsand no future. These offi-cers and NCOs were givinghim the chance to be some-body and he wanted themall to know how much heappreciated it. He workedhard at everything he wastold to do and then madecorporal and then sergeantand soon there was littledoubt that he had becomeone of those...a real Ma-rine.

He married and spentwhat he called his very bestyears in Charleston, S.C. asa "brig chaser". He thoughtthe Corps had made a mis-take when they allowedhim to stay there and chasedown and arrest drunksailors for 3 whole years.Life wouldn't ever be bet-ter. He enjoyed his duty atGitmo and Viegas too...butfor a few hours in a brighimself. That story re-volved around strongPuerto Rican rum andsome sailors itching for afight and I'm not sure I everheard all of it. He didn'tcare for Haiti much. Theabject poverty troubledhim.

There were those timesthat he didn't enjoy somuch. He was 19 when helanded on the shores of Iwo

Jima. He told the story thatafter watching the Navybombard that little islandfor days ahead of the inva-sion he didn't expect anyresistance...nothing couldhave survived theshellings. But the Japanesedid survive and before itwas over he was wounded,nearly 7000 Marines andtens of thousands of Japan-ese were dead. He sawmore death in a couple ofweeks than most profes-sional soldiers will see intwo lifetimes.

At Saipan he saw the is-land's defenders as well ascivilians...women and chil-dren...throw themselvesfrom Banzai Cliff. Theycommitted suicide ratherthan be taken by the Amer-ican devils and there wasno stopping them.His citations from his Pa-cific duty reflect hiscourage under fire.He was a frequent traveler

on those USMC "MedCruises" and talked know-ingly of the island of Creteas well as Libya. Japan wasa frequent stop in his trav-els even as a civilian. Hewas wounded again inKorea during the war andlater went back as a civil-ian tourist. He spent thenight on Tinian just so hecould remember where theEnola Gay launched from.He's returned to thebeaches of Iwo Jima tomeet with others in hopesthat nothing like that wouldnever happen again. Thereare no antiwar sentimentsas strong as those of a war-rior who has seen the futil-ity of battle. He hatedeverything about war.

He had a fascination withAustralia and never met astranger in his tours of thebush country, Ayers Rock

and their cities. Panamawas a place he rememberedbeautiful people and intol-erable humidity.In his spare time he made

a second career with PanAm Airlines security atCape Kennedy, FL and ontheir dime he traveled toEurope.

He had retired after 20 inas a Master Gunnery Ser-geant E-9. He was 36 yearsold. He had achieved the E-9 grade at age 34. Try towrap your mind aroundthat. I have and I still havetrouble with it. He wascited back then as a Ma-rine's Marine. He made thatgrade because he dearlyloved the Corps. He dearlyloved the Corps becausethe Corps gave him his lifeand a reason to live. Everymove he ever made wasaimed at being a goodAmerican and an outstand-ing Marine. Nothing elsemattered. If he got thosetwo things right, he rea-soned, everything else willfall into place.

In recent years my fatherbecame more fragile. Can-cer took his muscle fromhim but couldn't touch hisstrength. He was known toa few close friends as “TheGunny.”

The Gunny refused togive in to the disease andhe refused to suffer. "Painis weakness leaving your

body" was a saying of afriend and The Gunny wasthe master at quelling hisown pain.

A few months ago thecancer caught up to him. Itwas inevitable and he con-fessed to me that this time,he wouldn't beat it back.

He'd been ill since Janu-ary of this year and on Sun-day, May 30th 2010, TheGunny slipped away qui-etly and peacefully. Notlong ago he smiled at meand waved a hand to me...ithad been a while since hewas able to speak. I heldthat hand for a long time. Itwas goodbye and I knew itas well as he did.

Rather than mourn hisdeath, I choose to celebratehis life. He epitomized ourAmerican spirit and ourvalues. He was a true war-rior who would alwaysstop to help anyone lessable than himself. He washumble yet afraid of noth-ing.

I've been told that weshouldn't lead quiet livesand go out peacefully butthat we should work hardand play hard and comescreaming into our destinyas if we were sliding intohome plate for the winningscore.

That makes me think ofmy dad. Let there be nodoubt...the man did it hisway.

Roy L. StricklandJuly 30th 1925 May 30th 2010

They Called Him “The Gunny"Remembering Roy L. Strickland

Robert Perry is a Vietnam era veteranand singer/songwriter who has traveled DCand states in between to sing his powerful,patriotic music to inspire, raise morale and

say thanks to all of America’s heroes.Now, for every $10 donation (check or moneyorder) you will get a CD, and another one will

be donated to a troop (in your name) in Iraq or Afghanistan by,

Supporting Soldiers Mail $10 to: 6150 Moondance Rd.,

Helena, Mt. 59601

I am compiling a book ofletters that service mem-bers from any branch wroteto their loved ones in casethey did not survive whilethey were deployed to acombat zone. I personallywrote one while I was de-ployed with 2D LAR,Alpha Co. during Opera-tion Phantom Fury in 2004.I know that it is not an easyletter to write; however, Ido believe that these lettersproperly demonstrate thesacrifice that service mem-bers are willing to make, aswell as the commitment to

God, country, and familythat they have made.

I would like the first por-tion of the book to be com-prised of letters that werethankfully not sent, and thesecond half of the book tobe letters that families re-lieved from their lovedones after they were killedin combat. I will need a lotof support from the fami-lies for this part because Iwould like to include a bi-ography and picture ofeach of the individuals whodied. It is my way of prop-erly showing respect to thesacrifice they made. Iwould also like to scan inthe original letter that waswritten so that people are ina sense hearing the truevoice of the individual whowrote the letter. I know thatthis is a huge endeavor;however, I believe that it isa worthwhile project, and itis gaining support veryquickly.If you’d like to make a con-tribution to this project,please write to: [email protected]

From page 1would be respected, and nomeans for them to governthemselves in their newlands?The founders knew, how-

ever, that power could notbe its own justification.They recognized that onlyan appeal to overarchinglaws, binding the king asmuch as his subjects, waslegitimate. And abuse ofauthority demonstrated dis-qualification of any gover-nor, whether a monarch ora purported representative.

We would do well toapply this insight to the po-litical debates of today.

Indeed, two competingphilosophies of govern-ment at odds during theAmerican Revolution havereappeared, with the anti-republican form seen inthose politicians whowould seek to gain favorby manipulating languageand misrepresenting theirpositions. Royalists, on theother hand, believed thatthe king was divinely or-

dained to rule over the peo-ple and was thereforeabove the law. This view ismanifest currently in gov-ernment officials—espe-cially our electedofficers—who believe theymay properly command thecitizenry to whatever theyplease, to whichever theypurport to be for the goodof the people.

As Thomas Jefferson ob-served, “Were we directedfrom Washington when tosow, and when to reap, weshould soon want bread.”Yet the prevailing philoso-phy of government pro-poses exactly this—thatdirections from Washing-ton as to how we must con-duct ourselves, in matterslarge and small, will leadinexorably to scarcity andwill inevitably erode ourfreedom.

Our system of govern-

ment today is not so differ-ent from the monarchy weescaped, except that aswarm of bureaucrats havetaken up the throne.

A necessity thus presentsitself to us as well: Wemust reconnect with thetimeless principles that in-spired our Founding Fa-thers; those same principlesthat long ago gave birth toa good, great and God-blessed nation.

“[W]hat do we mean bythe American Revolution?”reflected John Adams. “Dowe mean the Americanwar? The Revolution waseffected before the warcommenced. The Revolu-tion was in the minds andhearts of the people; achange in their religioussentiments, of their dutiesand obligations... This rad-ical change in the princi-ples, opinions, sentiments,

and affections of the peoplewas the real AmericanRevolution.”Let us celebrate this Inde-

pendence Day in a mannerthat Adams himself mightrecognize—with “solemnActs of Devotion to GodAlmighty,” and with arededication to the princi-ples of our necessaryAmerican Revolution. Andas always, in the words ofGeorge Washington,“Guard against the impos-tures of pretended patriot-ism.

One thing they never tell you about child raising isthat for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, youare expected to know your child's name andhow old he or she is.I do not participate in any sport with ambu-lances at the bottom of a hill. Erma Bombeck


Marine Seeking “Letters to Home” for a Book Independence Day

227 S Exeter St Baltimore, MD 21202

410.675.7275

SAINT LEO THE GREATROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

GGoodd BBlleessss OOuurr VVeetteerraannss && OOuurr TTrrooooppss

Help people in need.Donate your car, boat or RV

FREE3 day vacation

to over 80destinations

Free Towing Tax Deductible

Call Toll-Free

1-888-786-4632

Donate y

Help people in need.

wing Toee TrF, boat or Rcarour Donate y


ax Deductiblwing Twing Tax DeductiblV, boat or R


eax Deductibl

FREE

wing Toee TrF ax Deductiblwing Twing Tax Deductibleax Deductibl

ationationation

tinations

1-888-786-4632eeroll-FCall T

deser 80vo ot

3 day vacacac3 day v3 day v3 day v

1-888-786-46321-888-786-4632

Hero ChaseZuberUSMC

Unit: VMA-542Intelligence AnalystHometown: Molalla,

Currently:Jacksonville, NC willbe Spokane, WA in 2

months.

Need Help?Wounded Soldier &Family Hotline

800-984-8523Suicide Hotlines888-649-1366800-784-2433

By Thom Stoddert

Scams against veterans,for veterans, and about vet-erans are everywhere, morethan I ever thought possi-ble! Some people havelearned to stand on the linebetween unethical and ille-gal and still claim to be he-roes.

In one incident a “vet-eran” (who would not meetthe federal standards ofbeing a veteran) was dumbenough to walk into acrowd of veterans oneevening at an event withthree cases of soda pop andsome snacks in arm. Hethen told the people closestto him how he had been outcollecting donations forthem (mostly Viet Nam

vets) from area stores.When Daryl Hunt’s (ofAuburn, Washington)eyes adjusted to the lighthe realized he was wellknown by those present asthe poor Navy Seal blownup in Panama, confined toa wheel chair for life.

Well, “wheel chair Daryl”bugged out real quick onhis own two feet. Unfortu-nately Daryl also playsgames with the VA’s Ortho-pedic Clinic in Seattle.Daryl is the reason the VAhas a hot line to reportfraud.

Over a year ago I went toa Wal-Mart store one day.

In front of each door was a “veteran” collect ing money for homeless

veterans. Wal-Mart worksvery hard with its public re-lations and supports manyveterans’ issues, much totheir credit. When I startedasking the man in front ofthe door about his organi-zation, he became vagueand agitated and could notproduce any documenta-tion except the businesscard of someone who lived60 miles away. For somereason that summer Wal-

Mart did not sponsor theyearly “Military FamilyDay.” May be they hadbeen burned, and decidedto take a low profile.

In Washington(and moststates), if you are collect-ing money for a charity,you must be registered withthe Secretary of State. Asimple call to them will tellyou if the charity is regis-tered and if there have beenproblems. The AttorneyGeneral’s office can alsotell you if there have beencomplaints. In the instanceof lawyers addressing VAissues in nursing homes,there have been lots ofcomplaints made to manydifferent agencies, stateand federal.

Just because a group is aregistered charity with a501 (c) 3 tax- IRS statusdoes not make them legiti-mate. A friend of minekeeps getting calls for do-nations from a particulargroup; one caller evenID’ed himself as a formerMarine Corp chaplain.When my buddy ques-tioned them by email; theytold how they are so gener-ous with the donations col-lected for veterans that they

even paid the airfare forrelatives of their presidentto visit him in the hospital. The writer’s email address

is [email protected] he writes this is onetheir phone numbers 888-296-8044 (it has been veri-fied). Dws2624, did notreally provide any real de-tails, like their location, orfull name of the organiza-tion. If they are legit, theywill welcome a call.

Always check out thegroups operating costs. Ifound a group, Foundationfor American Veterans, onWikipedia which noted thatfor every dollar taken inthey kept 96 cents for theirown operating costs. Theygave just enough away tostay out of trouble with theIRS. Check out their web-site for yourself. I wouldnever give them anymoney.

For weeks now I havebeen looking, talking, andinterviewing lawyers, stateagencies, long term as-sisted living facilities, andthe VA. I also went to aneducational VA benefitsseminar that sounded morelike a pitch for purchasingvacation land than an infor-

mational resource. The in-formation that was not putout was volumes moreabundant than which wasdiscussed. That made mesuspicious, and very nause-ated.

I have written about pen-sion and aid/attendance andwe have given a presenta-tion on the subject to a mil-itary widow’s group. Weaccepted nothing more thana piece of cake and coffee.For most REAL veteranadvocates that was a bit toomuch to receive for justhelping.

The lawyer I spoke within the assisted living facil-ity was asked during andafter his presentation howhe is compensated for whathe does in the elder livingfacilities. He repeatedly ex-plained that he is like abank selling Certificate ofDeposits (CDs). The bankpromises a percentage ofreturn on the money in-vested but the bank alsomakes money.

During the next phase ofthe presentation he ex-plained to the group,mostly retirees, that when afinancial relationship is es-tablished through the“repositioning” of assets,the veteran or widow willbe a hundred percent as-sured they will receive VAbenefits in the form of pen-sion and/or aid and atten-dance. In other words, arelationship is established

through the purchase of fi-nancial products, such asannuities, and the VA advo-cacy begins.

Between phase one andtwo, there seems to be anillogical disconnect as thelisteners were left to makemany assumptions tobridge each issue duringthe presentation. I will at-tempt to clarify this in nextmonth’s article. However,an old and trusted veteranfriend with a master’s de-gree in business has helpedme on these articles hassaid; “Never, ever, pur-chase financial productsfrom someone who standsto benefit continually froma sale, instead use fee basedagents/brokers.” They getpaid once and that’s it;there is no prejudice onwhat will get recom-mended or sold. The buyeris best served.”

The focus of my articleshas always been to helpand protect veterans,whether it is dealing withthe Department of VeteransAffairs or things that canbe dangerous to a veteran.This is the motivation forthis type of article. I wishto thank writer Jim Strick-land for his help, knowl-edge and commitment toveterans and the “Voice”for its service. See you next issue; I only

scratched the surface withthis article.

"An optimist will tell you the glass is half-full; the pes-simist, half-empty; and the engineer will tell you theglass is twice the size it needs to be" Anonymous.“In matters of style, swim with the current; in mattersof principle, stand like a rock.”Thomas Jefferson “Republicans believe every day is the Fourth of July,but the democrats believe every day is April15.”Ronald Reagan


Military Health

Hero Eric C .WallaArmy

16th MP BDE SpecialistHelena, Mt

Ride Captain forthe Patriot GuardRider in Montana

Scams, Scams & VA Benefits-Part 2

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia304-567-2351 800-772-8342

The N. Fork of the Potomac River flows just behind the motel and restaurant, offering excellent trout and bass fishing & canoeing.

Enjoy horseback trail rides to top of Seneca Rocks!

Attention veterans! We have excellent facilities for reunions.Log Cabins with fireplaces, fully equipped kitchens and linens & a modern motel too!

Yokum’s Vacationland

Dixie Body Shop-Clarksdale, MSThank you for Our Freedom!

No VA Hearing on Shin-ski’s Agent Orange Deci-sion to add Parkinson’s,heart disease & B-cellleukemia to presumptivelist.

Senator Webb proposed,and senators accepted May27, an amendment to thefiscal 2010 war supplemen-tal funding bill (HR 4899)to limit spending on claimsfiled for these new pre-sumptive Agent Orangediseases for 60 days. Thatwill allow Congress time tostudy the VA decision andexamine more closely thelink found between thesediseases and herbicide ex-posure.

Shinseki's decision andhow the hefty cost -- $42.2billion over 10 years --could impact other VAservices.

That final rule likelywon't be published untilfall, at the earliest, butwhen claims can be paidthey will be retroactive thedate first filed

To stop the regulationfrom taking effect, both theHouse and Senate wouldhave to pass a blocking res-olution. Veterans' serviceorganizations say that isnot likely to happen.VA Announces New Hot-line for Homeless VetsThe telephone hotline will-provide emergency supportand resources to homelessveterans. 1-877-4AID VET Stolen Memorial RewardIncreasesThe Veterans of ForeignWars is reporting that thereward fund for the cross-shaped Mojave Desert Vet-erans Memorial that wasstolen recently has in-creased from $25,000 to

$125,000, thanks to thegenerosity of a decoratedcombat veteran whowishes to remain anony-mous. Anyone with infor-mation relating to the crimeshould call the NationalPark Service Tip Line at 1-760-252-6120. VA Makes Filing ClaimsEasier and Faster for Vet-eransVA has shortened applica-

tion forms to reduce paper-work for Veterans. The newforms, which are beingmade available on VA'sWeb site include:* A shortened VA Form21-526 for Veterans apply-ing for the first-time to VAfor disability compensationor pension benefits. Thisform has been cut to 10pages. It is immediatelyavailable to Veterans viaWeb download, and will beavailable through VA's on-line claim-filing processlater this summer.* VA Form 21-526b forVeterans seeking increasedbenefits for conditions al-ready determined by VA tobe service-connected. Thisnew form more clearly de-scribes the informationneeded to support claimsfor increased benefits.

VA has also introducedtwo new forms for Veteransparticipating in the Depart-ment's new fully developedclaim (FDC) program,which is one of the fastestmeans to receive a claimsdecision.

If VA receives all of theavailable evidence whenthe claim is submitted, theremaining steps in theclaims-decision processcan be expedited withoutcompromising quality.To participate in the FDC

program, Veterans shouldcomplete and submit an

FDC Certification and VAForm 21-526EZ, "FullyDeveloped Claim (Com-pensation)," for a compen-sation claim, or a VA Form21-527EZ, "Fully Devel-oped Claim (Pension)," fora pension claim.

Disability compensationis a tax-free benefit paid toa Veteran for disabilitiesthat are a result of -- ormade worse by -- injuriesor diseases that happenedwhile on active duty, activeduty for training or inactiveduty training. Pension is abenefit paid to wartimeVeterans with limited in-come, and who are perma-nently and totally disabledor age 65 or older.For additional information

visit, www.va.gov/ or callVA's toll free benefits num-ber at 1-800-827-1000.Committee Advances

Legislation to Support VAHealth Practitioners,Offer Chiropractic Careat VA FacilitiesH.R. 1017, as amended –Chiropractic Care to AllVeterans Acts (Filner)This bill will require theVA to expand veterans’ ac-cess to chiropractic careand services at their localVA facilities. This care isintended to help veteransget necessary treatments,especially those whoserved in Iraq andAfghanistan and continueto report musculoskeletalailments. H.R. 5145 – AssuringQuality Care for Veter-ans Act (McNerney)

H.R. 5145 would increasethe reimbursement for con-tinuing professional educa-tion for all health careprofessionals employed bythe VA. H.R. 3885 – Veterans DogTraining Therapy This bill requires VA toconduct a 5-year pilot pro-gram for relieving veter-ans’ post-deploymentmental health and post-traumatic stress disordersymptoms through trainingservice dogs for veteranswith disabilities. The bills will next be con-

sidered by the U.S. Houseof Representatives.Changes to Some Co-Pays

As previously announcedon January 7, 2010, the De-partment of Veterans Af-fairs (VA) frozeprescription copayment in-creases for six months.Veterans who generallyhave higher income and noservice-connected disabili-ties - referred to as PriorityGroups 7 and 8 Veterans -will now pay an additional$1 for each 30-day supplyof outpatient medications.Taking effect July 1, the in-crease to $9 from $8 is thefirst change in VA’s med-ication copay since Jan. 1,2006.Veterans, Psych Drugs,and DeathsIt has been noted that psy-chotropic drug-inducedsudden deaths are increas-ing in Iraq War Veterans.

Most of the newer psychdrugs are fluoride based

and are known to have car-diac effects among themany problems they cause.

If you suppress respira-tory function enough youwill impact heart functionbecause of low oxygen lev-els. Old studies showedthat low O2 levels in theblood caused more deathsat 4 AM and that oftenthere was evidence of car-diac arrythmia.

Interactions: CombinedSeroquel, Klonopin, Paxil

clonazepam ↔ paroxe-tineApplies to: Klonopin (clon-azepam), Paxil (paroxe-tine)clonazepam ↔ quetiapineApplies to: Klonopin (clon-azepam), Seroquel (queti-apine)MONITOR: Central nerv-

ous system- and/or respira-tory-depressant effects maybe increased in patientstaking multiple drugs thatcause these effects, espe-cially in elderly or debili-tated patients.

paroxetine ↔ quetiapineApplies to: Paxil (paroxe-tine), Seroquel (quetiapine)

MANAGEMENT: Dur-

ing concomitant use ofthese three drugs, patientsshould be monitored forpotentially excessive orprolonged CNS and respi-ratory depression . Ambu-latory patients should becounseled to avoid haz-ardous activities requiringmental alertness and motorcoordination until theyknow how these agents af-fect them, and to notifytheir physician if they ex-perience excessive or pro-longed CNS effects thatinterfere with their normalactivities.

Subscribe Today- 6 Issues - $7.00Name________________________________Address______________________________City__________________________________ST_____________Zip___________________

Call 888-826-3215 or mail check or M.O. to:The Veterans’ Voice, 1145 N 100 W, Layton, UT 84041


GOT QUESTIONS? GET ANSWERS...

*ASK THOMAS STODDERT-FORMER VA RATING SPECIALIST*ASK JIM STRICKLAND-VETERAN’S ADVOCATE*DOC- DR. ELAINE TRIPI- TAKETHE PTSD SELF TESTwww.theveteransvoice.com

Completely confidential!Please be sure to give your e-mail addressif you’d like a response. Questions of general interest may be shared with

readers after names and places have beenchanged to protect your privacy, unless

you request otherwise.

BenefitsUpdate

FREE BIBLE STUDYCOURSES BY MAIL

Write: WBSP.O. Box 2169, Cedar Park, TX

78630

WORLD BIBLESCHOOL IS A WORKOF HOLY LOVE WHICHBELIEVES EVERY SOUL

IS PRECIOUS TOGOD.

COURSES ALSOAVAILABLE BY EMAILWWW.wbschool.org

Bud Keller with his [email protected]

CAN WE ALL JUSTGET ALONG?! It appearsnot! Not as long as thosethat have, keep having topay for those that have not!As I presented the facts inmy last article, “America’sRacist Race,” those of uswho pay taxes,48%, haveto support the other 52%who pay NO taxes at all!Of which, a large portionare illegal aliens.

The president wants toraise our taxes to pay for allhis programs that will notwork, but then, those whopay no taxes, don’t care dothey? Like I said, theydon’t pay any taxes! Folks,do you realize that 70% ofthe people who live in theUS, receive some sort ofpayment from our govern-ment?! Talk about the goatsguarding the garbage! Howin the hell can we keepgoing in the direction thatthis country is heading ----we can’t. At the rate thiscountry is going, we willbankrupt ourselves in avery short period of time.

Most of the illegal tradeis coming from our south-

ern border. Mexico cannotand will not secure theirside of the border. In factthey encourage the Mexi-can people to illegallycome across to the US. Yetwhen we try to enforceOUR laws, to keep the il-legals out, the Mexicangovernment wants to cru-cify us on an open fire! It’s high time we stand up

to the Mexicans, and letthem know that they must,under no uncertain terms,secure their border, or wewill, and use whateverforce necessary to accom-plish the mission. The illegals that come into

this country, are smartenough to use our ownlaws against us, to get whatthey came here for; $$$$.Using the generosity ofgovernment funded pro-grams that are meant tohelp US citizens wholegally have the right tothose $$$$$. The illegalsare bankrupting this coun-try. The illegals get morebenefits than any legalAmerican can ever hope toget, and those that trulyneed our help, can not gethelp. They come here, havea baby, rape our system forall they can get, FREE, andbingo, we have another USCitizen, don’t we? They arecalled “anchor babies”folks, the biggest rip-off inthis country’s history.

The law that allows an-chor babies to become UScitizens, was written about

150 years ago when wewere still growing as a na-tion, it now needs to bechanged! We can’t keepgiving away things whenwe no longer have the re-sources to give them away.

I, for one, am sick andtired of my tax $$$$ beingused to support other peo-ple’s bad work, ethical,moral, family, responsibil-ities, health, cars, bigscreen TV’s, and other badspending/living habits, sothey can lay around ontheir fat asses watching TV,waiting for their nextcheck.

I will not be part of the“Spread-the Wealth” party.I’m sick and tired of beingtold by this government,they will take the $$$$$ Iearned, by force if neces-sary, and give it to peopletoo damn lazy to earn it.I’m sick and tired of beingtold I have to pay moretaxes to “keep people intheir homes.” Of courseI’m willing to help thosewho have lost their job, orhave become very ill, orother legitimate reason, butnot those who have over-bought from Fannie-Maeor Freddie-Mack, whonever could and neverwould be able to affordthem! Yeah, we have oleBarnie “freaky-frack”Franks to thank for thatone. I’m sick and tired of all

this “political correctness”crap! The bowing down to

other countries because wemight offend them. TheMexican government is allin a tizzy because Arizonais trying to protect herselffrom all the illegals comingacross their border killingher citizens, running drugsand human contraband.Mexico, you are thebiggest bunch of hypocritessouth of the border! Inno-cent people in the US arebeing killed by your scum-bag, low-life criminalscoming across our borderillegally, and you piss-antsblame us for that, and theMexican president has the“Brass-Balls-Banging-out-SOS,” to accuse us ofbeing racist.

Well Mr. President, take areal good look at who’scalling the kettle black! Idon’t want to hear yoursad-sack stories about howyour government is tryingto help with the borderproblem. You sir, are notgetting it done! We, theUnited States of America,pay you billions of $$$$$to help you with YOURproblem! Mr. President,what the hell are you doingwith all the money we havegiven you up to now? Idare say sir, not much.Mexico has had nothingmore than a thorny basket-case government, that can’trun its own country, andhas, like many of its peo-ple, its hand out for a handout from the US tax payingcitizens. You, sir, are atyrannical, hypocritical,

bastard! There was a 15 year old

young-man killed onour/your border the otherday, by one of our borderagents. Sad as that is, thatkid was not a saint! He hada record of human/drugtrafficking as long as yourarm. He was a criminal, abad guy, breaking our laws,and bout as brainless as apopcorn fart! Anybody,who tries to hurt a cop,who also, by-the-way, hasa mighty big gun, is a totalass and deserves what hegets for throwing a soft-ball sized rock with the in-tent to do bodily harm tothat agent! Our Agent wasprotecting himself from arock that could have beentraveling at up to 60/70+MPH. If that had hit theAgent, it very well couldhave killed him! Self de-fense folks, self-defense.That kid was far more adultthan he was kid, and hepaid the price for his stu-pidity!

It’s not just the Mexicangovernment that’s throwingrocks! It’s just as bad hereat home. The illegals thatare here, think they have aright to be here, don’t they?Although the problem is allthroughout the US, thebiggest problems tend to bein our southern borderstates, primarily CA, AZ,NM, NV, and TX. But I’monly going to cover CA.AZ. NV. and NM. for now.For those sad, despondent,cry babies who feel sosorry for the illegals whoare in this country just tofind work, supposedly, thatno one else will do, under-stand this my friends, theyare a criminal the minutethey cross over into ourcountry. And that meansthat those folks that are

“honest and hard working,”are now criminals whohave broken our laws. Thatin itself, means they are nolonger honest. Many ofthese so-called honest hardworking people, wellmaybe aren’t so honest andhard working after all.

The following facts arecompiled from our FBI andthe Dept of Homeland Se-curity.

Did-Ya-Know:* 86% of warrants for mur-der in Albuquerque, and83% in Phoenix, are for il-legal aliens? *75% of those on the mostwanted list in L.A.,Phoenix, and Albquerque,are illegal aliens. *25% of inmates in CA.,fourty percent of inmatesin AZ., and fourty eightprecent of inmates in NM,are Mexican Nationals!^29%(630,000) of inmatesare convicted illegal alienfelons. They fill our stateand federal prisons at a costof $1.6 Billion annually. *53% of all investigatedburglaries reported in CA.,NM., NV., AZ., and TX.,are perpetrated by illegalaliens. *50% of all gang membersin L.A. are illegal aliens.*71% plus of all appre-hended cars stolen in the 5above states, were stolenby illegal aliens or “trans-port coyotes”. *47% of cited/stoppeddrivers in CA. Have nodrivers license, no insur-ance, and no registrationfor the vehicle. Of that47%, 92% are illegalaliens, 63% in AZ., 97%are illegal aliens, 66% inNM., 98% are illegalaliens. And last but not least, my

favorite, Did-Ya-Know is:*380,000 plus “anchor ba-


Divided We Stand-Are We Headed for Another Civil War?

8090 South State Street, Midvale, Utah 84047 Phone (801)255-7151

Independence Day www.theveteransvoice.com 18bies” born in the US to il-legal alien parents in justone year, making a whoop-ing 380,000 plus babies au-tomatically US citizens!AND, over 97% of all costincurred from those sweetlittle babies being bornhere, YEP, you got it, the48% of us who do have topay taxes, get stuck withthe bill! And we haven’teven touched on foodstamps, subsidized hous-ing, Medicare/Medicaidcosts, and educationalcosts, such as special teach-ers and the lot!

Are you seeing the prob-lems here folks? They arevery grave and for those ofus who do pay taxes, holdonto your wallets, it’s onlygoing to get worse. So I askyou my friends, just whatpart of ‘illegal’ doesn’t ourgovernment understand? Ifear that if this countrydoesn’t get its ship, ship-shape, we will be in for aAmerican/Mexican WAR!

Our progressive liberalfar left is driving a bigwedge in our country, all toget the Hispanic/minorityvote. Many Hispanic or-ganizations, especially inCA., are calling for a revo-lution to take back whatthey think is “THEIR”country. Trust me Mexico,and you Mexican sympa-thizers who call yourselvesAmericans, you do NOTwant to start anything withthe US that you cannotwin, anyway, any shape,any form.

Here are some pretty out-landish quotes from theHispanic community; *Augustin Cebada, of theBrown Berets said , “Goback to Boston! Go back toPlymouth Rock, Pilgrims!Get out! We are the future.You are old and tired. We

have beaten you. Leavelike beaten rats. You oldwhite people, it’s your dutyto die! Through love ofhaving children, we aregoing to take over.” Mr.Cebada, the only thing youhave ever beaten sir, well Ihope you have a few bandaids handy! *Mr. Richard Alatorre aL.A. city councilor, “Theyare afraid we’re going totake over the governmentaland other institutions.They’re right, we will takethem over….we’re here tostay.” Hey Mr. Alatorre, you just

might want to re-think thatthought sir! *From a Mexican nationalnewspaper, the Excelsior,“The American Southwestseems to be slowly return-ing to the jurisdiction ofMexico without firing asingle shot!”

Well now partner, don’tgo a holdin your breath onthat one, our powder isvery dry, and our aim isvery straight forward!*Chairman of the Demo-cratic Party, Art Torres;“Remember 187---proposition to deny tax-payer funds for services tonon-citizens---was the lastgasp of white America inCalifornia.”

Hey Mr. Torres, that’s amighty interesting number,that there number 187, yousee sir, that is the numberof men who kicked-ass onabout 5000 Mexicans at theAlamo in San Antonio TX.If memory serves me right,them boys took out bouthalf of ole Santa Anna’sArmy didn’t they? Whatthe hell makes ya think youcan do any better this timearound?*Mexican Consul General,Jose Pescador Osuna, “We

are practicing ‘La Recon-quista’ in California.” Mister, you are going to

need all the practice youcan muster up! *Professor Jose AngelGutierrez, University ofTexas; “We have an agingWhite America. They arenot making babies. Theyare dying. The explosion isin our population….I loveit. They are “shitting intheir pants with fear, I loveit.”

That’s OK, professor,here in America, we gotslots of toilet paper, and a lotmore bullets than you willever have. So, you see myfriends, these are quotesfrom Hispanic leaders whowant to make and stir uptrouble, and if it’s troublethey want, I’ll be only toohappy to oblige!

Mexico has never extra-dited a Mexican Nationalaccused of murder in theUS in spite of agreementsto do so! According to theLA Times, Orange County,California is home to 275gangs with 17,000 mem-bers; 98% of which areMexican and Asian. How’syour country doing? Ac-cording to the New YorkTimes article dated May19th, “twenty years afterthe great influx of legal im-migrants from SoutheastAsia, 30% are still on wel-fare compared to 8% ofhouseholds nationwide.” AWall Street Journal edito-rial stated, quoting law en-forcements officials, thatAsian mobsters are thegreatest criminal challengethe country faces. Not badfor a group that is stillunder 5% of the popula-tion. This is a statement from a

teacher who has taughtschool in the L.A. school

system for over 20 years,“Imagine teachers inclasses containing 30-40students of widely varyingattention spans and motiva-tion, many of whom aren’tfluent in english. Educatorsseek learning materialslikely to reach the majorityof students and that meansfewer words and mathproblems and more pic-tures and multicultural ref-erences. Therefore, thevery reason for the highdrop-out rate we experi-ence here” One wouldthink a job darn near im-possible.

When I was young, boywhen I was young…thatwas along time ago folks! Iremember hearing aboutthe immigrants that camethrough Ellis Island. Mygrandparents included,straight off the boat fromIreland. They wanted to

learn english, they wantedto breath the free air. Theywanted to become Ameri-cans more than anythingelse, and demanded noth-ing in return----just theright to be free men towork and raise their familyin the same way. Immi-grants did what it took tobecome Americans. Now,too many immigrants comehere with demands! Theydemand to be taught intheir own language, theydemand special privileges---such as affirmative ac-tion! They demand ethnicstudies that glorify theircultures. Folks, you want tocome to my country, youMUST learn to live by thesame rules as we do. Ifthat’s not acceptable toyou, leave! I/we don’t wantyou here imposing yourways of doing things, onus, trying to make US do

the changing----ain’t agonna happen, not on mywatch! I/we welcome allpeoples who are here,legally, to better them-selves! We no longer canafford to baby-sit and carefor the world’s poor! Wehave way to many of ourown to take care of, and weneed to do a much betterjob of that.

God Bless America andall our troops in harms way.May they all come homesafe and soon. HappyBirthday America, every-one have a great 4th ofJuly!

Patriotically yours, BudKeller--- cowboy [email protected]

"The way taxes are, youmight as well marry forlove." Joe E. Lewis. I'm not cynical. Just ex-perienced.

$850VALUEFREEHome Security

System!at NO COST to you for parts and activation with only a $99 Installation Fee and the purchase of alarm monitoring services. Terms and Conditions below.

Our state-of-the-art system includes:� Front and Back Doors Protected� Infrared Interior Motion Detector� Digital Keypad with Police, Fire, and Medical Emergency Buttons� Interior Siren� Control Panel with Battery Back-up� Lawn Sign and Window DecalsYour home security system is monitored by ADT professionals 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As an added bene�t, installing a Security System may qualify you for a Homeowners Insurance discount.

Act Now and Receive a FREE

Reservation Code: DF-MBIDS-09

Wireless Remote Control$99 Value! To take advantage of this promotion, you must call no later than 30 days from the postmark of this advertisement. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Must mention this coupon.

Act Now and Receive a FREE

Reservation Code: DF-MBIDS-09

Medical & Fire Panic AlertTo take advantage of this promotion, you must call no later than 30 days from the postmark of this advertisement. Not valid with any other offers or discounts. Must mention this coupon.

Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-Midnight EST Sat-Sun 8am-8pm EST

$99.00 Customer Installation Charge. 36-Month Monitoring Agreement required at $35.99 per month ($1,295.64). Form of payment must be by credit card or electronic charge to your checking or savings account. Offer applies to homeowners only. Local permit fees may be required. Satisfactory credit history required. Certain restrictions may apply. Offer valid for new ADT Authorized Dealer customers only and not on purchases from ADT Security Services, Inc. Other rate plans available. Cannot be combined with any other offer.Licenses: AL-09-1104, AZ-ROC217517, CA-ACO6320, CO-110357041, CT-ELC.0193944-L5, DE: 07-212, FL- EC13003401 GA-LVA205157, ID: 39131, IL-127.001042, KY-City of Louisville: 483, LA-F1082, MA: 1355-C, MD: 30339155,107-1375, MI- 3601204877, MN- TS01807, MO-City of St. Louis LC7017450,CC354, MS-15007958, NC- 25310-SP-LV, NE-14451, NJ- 34BF00021800, NM-353366, NV-68518, City of Las Vegas: B14-00075-6-121756, C11-11262-L-121756, NY-Licensed by the N.Y.S. Department of State UID# 12000286451, OH- 53 89 1446, OK-1048, OR- 170997,RI-3428, SC- BAC 5630, TN- C-1164, TX-B13734, UT-6422596-6501, VA-115120, VT-ES-2382 WA- 602 588 694/PROTEYH934RS, WI- City of Milwaukee M-0001599, WV- WV042433, WY-LV-G-21499. For full list of licenses visit our website www.protectyourhome.com/MBIDS

1-877-389-2499

EFREyylnohtiwnoitavitcadnastraprofuoyotTSOCONta

!mettesstyysSSyiruceSemoHE

y otinommralafoesahcrupehtdnaeeFnoitallatsnI99$ay

y tty i

.erms and Conditions belowT.secivresgniro

Window DecalsLawn Sign and � anel with Battery Back-upControl P�

Interior Siren� lacideMdna,ee,riF,ee,ciloPhtiwdapyeKlatigiD�

Infrared Interior Motion Detector� ront and Back Doors ProtectedF�

Our state-of-the-art system includes:

snottuBycnegremE

sie dcnarusns Irenwoemor a Hou foy yfilauy qamatsn, it�ened beddn as a. Akees a wya, 7 dyaa dT pDy Ad berotinos mm ietsyy stirucee smor huoY

2-983-778-1

-G-21499.V-LWYWV042433,- WVee M-0001599,aukWI- City of MilwWI- City of Milwauk,TEYH934RS694/PRO OH- 53 89 1446, Department of State UID# 12000286451,..S.Y.Y.S-Licensed by the N NY NY-Licensed by the N11262-L-121756,

Louis LC7017450,CC354, MO-City of St.TS01807, MN- MI- 3601204877,30339155,107-1375,-ELC.0193944-L5, CT CO-110357041,CO6320, CA-AAZ-ROC217517,AL-09-1104,Licenses: . Cannot be combined with any other offer.ailable Other rate plans avInc.

Satisfactory credit history required. Local permit fees may be required..homeowners onlyAgreement required at $35.99 per month ($1,295.64). 36-Month Monitoring .$99.00 Customer Installation Charge

.tnuocsm etsyy Stiruceg a Snills ruo4 hs 2lanoisseforT p

nuS-taSTSEirF-noM:sruoH9942

.com/MBIDS.protectyourhomeor full list of licenses visit our website www F-G-21499.-6422596-6501, UTTX-B13734,TN- C-1164,C 5630,A SC- B OR- 170997,RI-3428, OK-1048, OH- 53 89 1446,-68518, NV NM-353366, NJ- 34BF00021800, NE-14451,,VV, NC- 25310-SP-L MS-15007958, Louis LC7017450,CC354,

-City of Louisville: KY KY-City of Louisville: IL-127.001042, 39131, ID:A205157,V FL- EC13003401 GA-L DE: 07-212,-ELC.0193944-L5,

Authorized Dealer customers only and not on purchases from ADT alid for new Offer v. Certain restrictions may apply Satisfactory credit history required.orm of payment must be by credit card or electronic charge to your checking or savings account. FAgreement required at $35.99 per month ($1,295.64).

TSEmp8-ma8t hgindiM-ma8i

WA- 602 588 -ES-2382 VTA-115120,V-6422596-6501, C11- B14-00075-6-121756,egas:V City of Las -68518,

MD: 1355-C, MA: LA-F1082, 483,-City of Louisville:

,ADT Security ServicesAuthorized Dealer customers only and not on purchases from Offer applies to orm of payment must be by credit card or electronic charge to your checking or savings account.

Honoring Our Volunteers

Shown above are supersupporters of Veterans!These ladies volunteertheir time to quilt lap blan-kets for veterans in ourstates' nursing homes. Lastyear they provided 80 blan-kets to the Vet home in Co-lumbia Falls and thisspring we(DAV) delivered6 to a nursing home inMiles City and 80 to thevets in Glendive, MT. Pictured above are 9 of

the 24 volunteers. Fromleft back row: Avalon Bil-lquist, Angie Blaz, SueCahill, Ada Ewan andDorothy Hogg. Front fromleft: Mary Ann Jurcich,Mary Ann Kindle, PegPatterson and Clara Scott.

DAV Chapter 13, Ana-conda, MT presented allwith a letter of apprecia-tion. Barry DeChaine

“Well done ladies!”

Our last livingWWI Veteran

By Kenneth BusterI was invited to DC to be

with the Blackfeet Warriorsas they lay a wreath at theTomb of the Unknown Sol-dier and presented the col-ors at the ceremony onMemorial Day. I took themto meet my Great-UncleFrank Buckles(Last livingWWI Vet).Picture of America's last

living WWI Veteran,109year old Frank WoodriffBuckles from West Vir-

gina. Frank is also an Ex-POW of the Japanese dur-ing WWII. Also in pictureare The Blackfeet Warriorsfrom Montana,(top row,leftto right),Craig FalconUSMC,Keith HeavyrunnerARMY, Bruce Run-ningcrane USMC,EarlHeavyrunner retiredARMY (Desert Storm,Bosnia,Iraq),Walter Run-ningcrane ARMY(Viet-nam, Silver Star,PurpleHeart), Bill OldChief USMC, and GeorgeRutherford USMC.(Bot-tom row, left to right),KenBuckles of RememberingAmerica''s Heroes fromOregon, retired 3 Star Gen-eral Russell Davis ARMYand National President ofTuskegee Airmen fromVirgina, Frank WoodriffBuckles ARMY(WWI andEx-POW WWII), ApacheWarrior, Robert DelsiUSMC(Vietnam,Purple

Heart) from Arizona,andSouix Warrior and National

Commander of AmericanIndian Veterans, Don

Laudner ARMY(Korea)from South Dakota.


Assisted Living Facility2232 Tongue River Road

P.O. Box 598, Ashland, MT 59003

Experience the qualityservice, enjoy the tasty meals,and visit with our residents

and friendly staff. Decide afteryour stay if you would like tomake your home here with us.

Visit us and enjoy a complimentary week, or weekend as our guest. Call Dewanda Little

Coyote for reservations:406-784-2840

*Private Apartments are fully furnished and include a refrigerator & microwave.

*Housekeeping services*24 hour emergency assistance*Three meals served daily*Laundry area

Eastern MT Hospital Service Coordinator-Billings 406-651-2143Western MT Hospital Service Coordinator- 406-447-7760

Montana Disabled American Veterans

NOBLESWESTSIDELIQUORTThhaannkk yyoouu

ffoorr OOuurr FFrreeeeddoomm!!

623 First Ave., NW Great Falls, MT

406-454-3612

Documents

The Veterans' Voice