Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 - August 09 Newsletter

8/14/2019 Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 - August 09 Newsletter

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Ofcers and Board of DirectorsPresident Greg Paulline 388-9068 Dir. Mike DeGeeter 391-8427Vice-President Marlene Marolf 391-9621 Dir. Ed Gaudet 659-5421Treasurer Harold Hansen 391-7776 Dir. Ed Gilmore 762-2415Secretary John Lavelle 355-4213 Dir. Art Heyderman 359-4186Web Master Roger Granbois 650-4958 Dir. Larry Witt 388-7179

Wednesday July 29, 2009.The opening session

was very interesting. Thedelegates were welcomed by apatriotic musical review fromBlue Eyed Soul. An honorguard presented the colorsfrom Ft. Knox. Lt. GeneralRussel L. Honore was theo p e n s p e a k e r f o r t h eceremony and he provided them e m b e r s w i t h a v e r yinspiring speech. After theopening ritual there werecommittee reports. Larry

attended the Veterans BenefitsCommittee along with ArtHeyderman. The committeesmostly met to retire severalconvention resolutions. VB- 1 - 9 5 J u d i c i a l R e v i e w,VB-2-95 Board of Correctionof Military Records, VB-3-95L e s s T h a n H o n o r a b l eAdministrative Discharges,VB-4-95 DVA Overpayments,VB-5-95 Civil Liberties of A c t i v e D u t y M i l i t a r yPersonnel, VB-17-95 CriminalBackground Checks forI n c o m p e t e n t Ve t e r a n s .Resolutions that stayed as is

Delegates Report from Larry LootsVietnam Veterans of America 2009

National Convention

Louisville, KYJuly 29 30 31 August 1, 2009

I N S E R V I C E T O A M E R I C A .

Iowa City VA Hospital is in needof a Service Coordinator. The

individual will be trained to helpveterans and their family workthrough the process with the

VA, for benefits with the VA. Itis an unpaid position, but travel

expenses will be provided.Contact Ed Gaudet.

(563) 343-9456

Service OfficersClarke Barnes309 944-3674

Ed Gaudet

563 343-9456

David Woods563 391-3702

Service CoordinatorsR. Ernest Ledjte563 785-6182

Larry Loots

563 212-8351

T HE SPIRIT OF 776 J U L Y 2 0 0 9 N E W S L E T T E R

V I E T N A M V E T E R A N S O F A M E R I C A C H A P T E R 7 7 6


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Larry felt that he learned a great deal about how our resolutions come to fruition fromcommittee to final approval. It was important to see how just one word could be interpreted indifferent ways. He was quite pleased to be part of this process and hope to take part in manymore to come.Friday July 31, 2009. The day began with election of National Officers and the National Board of Directors. Thislasted from 0800 until 1000 hours. The general sessions reconvened with the committee reportsand the announcement of the Mike Nash Scholarship awards. The readings of and acting on of the resolutions that had been returned to committee were read. The convention adjourned forlunch. After lunch members were offered the opportunity to attend the showing of TakingChance. It is an HBO special that was very emotional with a crowd of over 500 veterans. Thesniffling and quiet tears were deafening. Every veteran in attendance received a DVD of themovie from HBO. Larry also attended the POW/MIA ceremony at the Belvedere RiverfrontPlaza; the Kentuckiana Post that hosted the convention presented this ceremony. It was abeautiful setting and a solemn ceremony. The strong winds kept blowing out the candles.Unfortunately only about 100 veterans were in attendance for this program. Later in the evening

delegates were treated to a music performance by Blue Eyed Soul. These two ladies had beenpart of Dean Martins Golddiggers as well as the Dingalings. They had participated in two of theBob Hope Christmas Shows. They have dedicated their lives to presenting USO type shows forVeterans Groups across the country and visitations to Veterans Hospitals. Larry said it was hardto believe that these two lovely creatures were the same age as many of the vets who wereentertained by them. At the invitation of the girls, Art Heyderman and a few others joined themon stage to perform the chicken dance. Larry has some video and pictures that show Art in all of his glory.

Larry was disappointed that there were only 5 delegates from Iowa taking part in theconvention and hopes that this will change at the next convention.

Saturday August 1, 2009The final day Convention General Session convened at 0900 with reports from the variouscommittee members. The election committee said there was no need for a run-off election as theresults were clear. Larry included a copy of the results with the report. Several guest speakersfollowed. Two Congressmen spoke, Chet Edwards and Bob Filner, who are both members of theVeterans Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives. Both of them outlined andhighlighted the new legislation for the new G.I. Bill. These two men were quite obviously strongproponents of the veterans and act as advocates for veteran issues. The next speaker was HeatherFrench. A former Miss America. She started the Heather French Foundation for Veterans,because as she explained to the crowd she has seen the suffering first hand of two of her loved onesbecause of prostrate cancer related to Agent Orange. She got a laugh from the crowd when shesaid, Ill bet nobody in this room expected to hear from a petite, former Miss America aboutprostate exams. Her foundation also works on making a difference with Type II Diabetes, SpinaBifida, and Vietnam Veterans with Hepatitis C. The next speaker was Jose Ramos, the founder of Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day. This is a non-profit 5013 organization that hascampaigned since 2000 to organize a day once a year to celebrate and properly recognize VietnamVeterans. In 2007 Congress passed a resolution proclaiming March 30 as National Welcome


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Vietnam Veterans Day. They began celebrating in 2008 and 2009 in Whittier, California withfestivals.

Jose rode his bicycle from California to Washington D.C. visiting Veterans Hospitals andVeterans Organizations along the way trying to get support for this effort. He did not get muchsupport. Recently he received support from actor Jon Voight whom he met at a USO function. Heintroduced Mr. Voight to the delegates and he gave an inspiring presentation to the audience. He

spoke about his own life during the war years and also apologized for not being more involved inthe issues of Vietnam Veterans back then. After his presentation he spoke with individuals for alengthy period of time, signing autographs and providing photo opportunities. He has become astrong advocate of the issues Vietnam Veterans face. The 2010 Welcome Home Vietnam VeteransDay will be observed on Sunday March 28 th , as March 30 th is a weekday.

The closing event for the convention was the swearing in of the officers and board of directors. The honor of doing this fell to Jon Voight. The retiring of the colors followed andPresident Rowan adjourned the convention. The next convention will be held in Reno, Nevada in2011.

Larry felt that the convention was a wealth of information. He brought back several

brochures and informational packets from the various organizations that were present. Larry willbe willing to answer any questions at the August meeting on the events that took place at the VVANational convention. He thanks the chapter for the opportunity to attend and take part in thisconvention and hopes to be able to take part in future events of this nature.

Larry Loots speaks with actor Jon Voight at the VVA National Convention closing.


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LEFT. When BlueEyed Soul asked for

volunteers, Art Heyderman knew that his time to shine was at hand. Soon he wasdancing like Fred

Astair to the roar of the crowd. BELOW.Larry Loots, John

Bishop, and Art Heyderman allattended the POW/MIA ceremony inLouisville on Saturdaymorning. The solemngathering commemorates those

who have not yet beenreunited with theirloved ones back homefor over forty yearstheir plight is stillunknown.


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Fellow squad members from Platoon Co. B 4/31 196th InfantBrigade join Lyle Peterson and MDeGeeter. These men were jointogether in the jungles of Vietnam

years ago. Today they enjoyedQuad City area and a dinner cruion the Mississippi river. They all where in Davenport nine years agoreminisce and catch up on the currelives they live. They talk about soof the guys from the bush and abwhat they know of those who wunable to make the trip and as alwathey remember the tasty C-ratioand laugh. They talk about their livtoday and their families.

Welcome Home Boys.


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Minutes for Membership Meeting July 22, 2009President Greg Paulline called the meeting to order at 1900 hours. The members recited the pledge of allegiance followed by a moment of silence observed for all POW/MIA and all those still serving ourgreat nation in harms way. The members each introduced themselves by name, as is our practice.Present were Secretary John Lavelle, and Treasurer Harold Hansen. The minutes for the June meetingwere accepted as published in the newsletter. Harold Hansen informed the membership that two checksare outstanding and have yet to be deposited, a check to the Iowa City VA hospital for $200 and a checkto Vets Day Iowa for $150. Larry Witt, membership chair informed the group that we have 114 VVAmembers and 18 AVVA members. Martha Lavelle is now a life member of AVVA. The honor guardcontinues to work with Chapter 299 for funerals and this month there were no parades scheduled. EdGaudet told the group that the VSO have worked on 4,500 claims this past month and right now it takesapproximately 90 days for adjudication. In Scott County 270 claims were completed in the past quarterfor a total of $90,000 for veterans and $58,000 in back pay. As of July 1, every county in Iowa will berequired to have a certied VSO. The population of veterans in that county will determine the hours foreach VSO to work. Hours will range from 20 hours per week to 40 hours per week. Ed Gaudet andDave Woods both attended the St. Ambrose G.I. Bill workshop and felt that it was very informative; thebill is a cast improvement for veterans. Art Heyderman, the public relations chair, said that the North

Scott Press would publish information about our chapter projects. He also spoke about having thechapter investigate the memorial stones at the R.I. Arsenal Veterans Cemetery. Cost for a stone wouldbe somewhere in the neighborhood of $2,655. This was tabled for future discussion. Bill Pinault spokeabout the new G.I. Bill and also about nances for veterans small business assistance. Information onthis can be obtained at vetsuccess.gov and also any vet who is considering starting a business cancontact Bill directly. Work Force Development is doing a shoe drive; slightly worn or new shoes can bedonated by calling 445-2319 and through either Craig Norris or Jason Kerr. Lyle Peterson asked for anyideas for community service for the coming year. If you have an idea on how we can positively impactthe community contact Lyle. Members in distress included Mike DeGeeter. Mike had four stintsimplanted to help open his blood vessels and also Bill Pinault recently with some heart concerns. HonorFlight has 650 WWII veterans and 300 guardians signed up. There will be two ights in October; eachwill take 162 veterans and their guardians. At present 45% of the veterans have asked for specicguardians to accompany them on the trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials. The October ightswill be on the 9 th and 10 th of October and will have four brothers, all WWII veterans going together.There is a possibility of a November ight and further down the road a possible June ight as well. Theorange clover sales were very successful and we broke last years record. We would have done evenbetter, but we ran out of clovers on Sunday. Art Heyderman and Sam Jones were the top moneygatherers. Richard Hawkins had an additional $26 from clover sales that he turned in during themeeting. Discussion for next years fundraiser already began with the suggestions that we approach thenew Aldis on 53 rd for next year. This is all good, but as Roger Granbois accurately pointed out we needmore volunteers more than we need more locations. On August 15 th the chapter honor guard willpresent the colors for the River Valley Car Club at North Park Mall and members will assist with a 50/50rafe. Art Heyderman made a proposal that our share of the 50/50 go to support Honor Flight and ArlenBeck seconded that proposal, after a brief discussion the motion passed. Further discussion andinvestigations for a location for future meetings continued and are yet to be resolved. Bill Pinault spoketo the members about the On-Line Silent Auction and read the letter of solicitation for items from localbusinesses to auction on the site. Roger Granbois said the site will be ready and asked that membershelp him with testing of the site on a future date. Bill Pinault, David Woods, Steve Bredar, and GregPaulline will work as a committee to meet and iron out more on the project. The members discussed therequest by Illinois VVA Chapter 299 to set up donation cans on the Iowa side to fund raise for amemorial to be located in the parking lot of Jumers Casino. The members rejected the request. Chapter776 feels it is more important for us to assist veterans and our community than to construct memorials.It has been the purpose of this chapter since its inception to nd ways to positively impact the veteransin our community and our community in general through fund raising projects. Last year this chapteractually paid out more money to these types of projects than we raised. Our legacy is to be rememberedas those veterans who served. Art Heyderman set the date for the next Iowa City VA Hospital visit forWednesday September 23 rd. Those attending will meet at The Machine Shed at 0700 hours. Themeeting was adjourned. Minutes submitted by John P. Lavelle, chapter secretary.

Documents

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 776 - August 09 Newsletter