Vva chapter 862 september 2010 newsletter

VIETNAM VET “GAZETTE” IssueIssueIssueIssue 99 99 99 99 Together Then ..... Together Now September 2010

Up-Coming Meetings BOD Meeting

2nd Wednesday of the Month

7:00 PM Regular Meeting 3rd Wednesday of Month

At our “New Home”

ROCHESTER VFW

Be Sure To See

Important Dates to Remember

Upcoming Events— Page 17

Page 2 Vietnam Vet Gazette August 2001

COMMITTEES

Executive Board All 724 Area Codes

L. Skip Haswell - -President -843-6930 Mike Mikulich - - 1st V.P.—266-6663 Jon Neely - - - - -2nd V.P.—891-2089 Lee Corfield - - Secretary —775-3027 Bill Muns - - - - Treasurer-—643-9169

Board of Directors

Blaine Allinder——————375-4168 Bob Eiler———————— 457-8234 Bill Harlow——————-—378-0984 Bill Laughner———-———-843-6828 James Montgomery———-—827-2782 John Namath———————847-9296 Nick Pavkovich——————847-0592 Don Villella———————-843-7401 Bill Weiss————————827-2460

Delegates

JoAnna Williamson 1st —— 847-9389 Tracey King ———————513-0389 Reuben Fuller ——————-378-4990

Nominating Committee

* - - Denotes Chairman Bill Bischak - - *- - - - - - - - - 774-4198 JoAnna Wiilliamson - - - - - 847-9389 Tony Squadrito - - - - - - - - - - 643-1714

Agent Orange

Jon Neely- - *- - - - - - - - - - --891-2089 John Helbing - - - - - - - - - - - 843-0706 Tony Yannachione - - - - - - - -770-2267

Associate Liaison

Cheri Pickering - - * - - - - - 643-4397 Dave Tucker - - - - - - - - - - - 774-4074 John Wakeley - - - - - - - - - - -378-6938

Color/Honor Guards

James Montgomery - - * - - - 827-2782 Don Pickering - - - - - - - - - - -643-5267

Community Affairs

John Namath - - * - - - - - - - --847-9296 Don Villella - - - - - - - - - - - - 843-7401 JoAnna Williamson - - - - - - - 847-9389

Constitution & By-Laws

Reuben Fuller - - * - - - - - - - 378-4990 Bill Muns - - - - - - - - - - - - - -643-9169 Tony Squadrito - - - - - - - - - - 643-1714 JoAnna Williamson - - - - - - - 847-9389

Finance Bill Muns - - * - - - - - - - - - - 643-9169 Bill Bischak - - - - - - - - - - - - 774-4198 Lon Hogue - - - - - - - - - - - - - 846-8857 Bill Laughner - - - - - - - - - - - 843-6828

Legislative

Pete Petroskey - - * - - - - - - - 643-8999 Mike Mikulich - - - - - - - - - - 266-6663

Membership

Lee Corfield - - * - - - - - - - - - 775-3027 Bill Harlow - - - - - - - - - - - - -378-0984 Bill Bischak - - - - - - - - - - - 774-4198 Tracy King - - - - - - - - - - - - - 375-4046

Page 2 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE September 2010

POW / MIA

1,711 Americans are still listed by DoD as missing and un-accounted for from the Vietnam War: Vietnam - 1,310 (VN-478 VS-832); Laos – 335; Cambodia - 59; Peoples Republic of China ter-ritorial waters – 7. (These numbers occasionally fluctuate due to investigations resulting in changed locations of loss.) The League seeks the return of all US prisoners, the fullest possible accounting for those still missing and repatriation of all recoverable remains. The League’s highest priority is accounting for Americans last known alive. Official intelligence indicates that Americans known to be in captivity in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia were not returned at the end of the war. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, it must be assumed that these Americans may still be alive. As a policy, the U.S. Government does not rule out the possibility that Americans could still be held. Joint field operations in Laos are very productive. Over the years, the Lao regularly increased flexibility and the number of US per-sonnel permitted in-country in an effort to improve field operations. The Lao approved an archival research program, but results thus far have been disappointing. Agreements between the U.S. and the Indochina governments now permit Vietnamese witnesses to participate in joint operations in Laos and Cambodia when neces-sary, but it is a time-consuming, expensive process that could be at least partially alleviated with a decision in Hanoi to unilaterally provide relevant documents, as President Bush requested during his November 2006 visit to Hanoi and Vietnamese PM Dung’s visit to Washington in June, 2008. He also certified such to Congress on March 20, 2002, as did the Department of State September 7, 2004, July 15, 2005, August 8, 2006 and March 7, 2008. Re-search and field activities in Cambodia have received excellent support with a full-time DIA Stony Beach specialist working in the US Embassy in Phnom Penh. Over 80% of US losses in Laos and 90% in Cambodia occurred in areas where Vietnam's forces oper-ated during the war, but Hanoi has not responded to countless US requests for case-specific records on our losses in these countries. Records research and field operations are the most likely means of increased accounting for Americans missing in Laos and Cam-bodia.

VIETNAM'S ABILITY TO ACCOUNT FOR AMERICANS MISSING FROM THE VIETNAM WAR

The next 2 pages goes into detail pertaining to the Vietnamese ability to account for our Americans Missing from the Vietnam War. They have even admitted to the storage of the remains of our soldiers.

Chapter 862 Officers & Committees

(All 724 Area Codes)

Executive Board

L. Skip Haswell - - -President - 495-9612 Jon Neely - - - - - - -1st V.P. - -891-2089 Pete Petrosky - - - - -2nd VP - - 643-8999 Lee Corfield - - - - Secretary - - 775-3027 Larry Googins- - - Treasurer- -- 869-7090

Board of Directors

Cliff Hawes - - - - - -3- - - - -- 728-5065 Blaine Allinder - - - - 3 - - - - - -375-4168 Nick Pavkovich - - - -3- - - - - - 847-0592 Bill Laughner - - - - -1 - - - - - -843-6828 Tom Robes - - - - - - 1- - - - - - 728-4334 Don Villella - - - - - - 1- - - - - - 843-7401 Rich Kamzelski - - - - 2- - - - - -728-2479 Gary Shaffer - - - - - - 2- - - - - 643-8941 Rich Tindell - - - - - - -2 - - - - - 336-5457

Delegates

Skip Haswell - - - - - - - - - - - 495-9612 Jon Neely - - - - - - - - - - - - - 891-2089 Bill Laughner - - - - - - - - - - - -843-6828 Nick Pavkovich - - - - - - - - - 847-0592 Lon Hogue - - - - - - - - - - - - - 846-8857 Lee Corfield - - - - - - - - - - - - -775-3027 Pete Petrosky - - - - - - - - - - - - 643-8999 Larry Googins - - - - - - - - - - - 869-7090 Rich Kamzelski - - - - - - - - - -728-2479 Phillip Morris - - - ALT - - - - 643-5725

•••• - - Denotes Chairman

••••

Agent Orange

Jon Neely- - *- - - - - - - - - - - - -891-2089

AVVA Liaison

Linda Pavkovich - - * - - - - - - -847-0592

Color/Honor Guards

Ray Litzinger - - - - - - - - - - - - 378-5855

Community Affairs

Dan Sinclair - - * - - - - - - - - - -846-7475

Constitution & By-Laws

William Weiss - * - - - - - - - - 827-2460

Newsletter Lee Corfield * Editor* - - - - 775-3027

Finance Larry Googins - - - - * - - - - - -869-7090

Legislative

Bart Farzati - -* - - - - - - - - - - -777-2193

Membership

Gary Shaffer - - -* - - - - - - - - -643-8941

Merchandise

Bill Laughner - - - - - * - - - - - 843-6828

Minority Affairs

Reuben Fuller * - - - - - - - - - - 378-4990

Vets 4 Vets Rich Tindell - - - - - - - - - - - -- 336-5457

NATIONAL LEAGUE OF FAMILIES OF AMERICAN PRISONERS AND MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

5673 COLUMBIA PIKE, SUITE 100, FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA 22041 PH ---703/465-7432 www.pow-miafamilies.org FAX ---703/465-7433

VIETNAM'S ABILITY TO ACCOUNT FOR AMERICANS

MISSING FROM THE VIETNAM WAR August 13, 2010 SPECIAL ARTICLE

Family members, veteran organizations and other POW/MIA supporters throughout the country consis-tently opposed steps to improve economic and political relations with Vietnam until their leadership made the decision to cooperate fully to resolve the POW/MIA issue. The League supported a policy of reciprocity – steps by the U.S. to respond to efforts by Vietnam to locate and return remains and provide case-specific archival documents. In the League’s view, important leverage was lost without commensurate re-sults during the normalization process. One way of viewing what the U.S. knows and what Vietnam can do is by looking at what Vietnam has not, but could have done. At the end of the war, U.S. intelligence and other data confirm that roughly 200 miss-ing Americans were last known alive or reported alive in close proximity to capture. Vietnam knows that these are highest priority cases, directly related to the live prisoner issue, but has accounted for relatively few of these Americans by returning identifiable remains, and the archival documentation is incomplete. In all but roughly 30 of these cases, joint field investigations have reportedly been sufficient to confirm death. Logically, if deceased, remains of these Americans should be easiest to recover (other than those who died in captivity in South Vietnam), as they were in captivity or on the ground near Vietnamese forces. Also logi-cally, Vietnam should possess and be able to provide helpful records. U.S. wartime and post-war reporting on specific cases, captured Vietnamese documents concerning the handling of U.S. prisoners and casualties, and debriefs of communist Vietnamese captives, reinforced by U.S. monitored directives and other reporting, form a clear picture of a comprehensive Vietnamese system for collection of information and remains, dating back to the French-Indochina War. Specific sources, such as the mortician in 1979, substantiated by others in the 1980’s, highlighted remains collection and storage as a key aspect of Vietnam’s policy for eventual dealings with the U.S. Indeed, through arduous and sus-tained negotiations, the US and Vietnam reached agreement to return remains of Americans that had been stored for years, though the number repatriated to date does not meet well-publicized US Government ex-pectations. Assessments by community-wide intelligence served as the basis for long-standing U.S. expectations that hundreds of Americans could readily be accounted for by unilateral Vietnamese actions to locate and return remains. In 1986-87, the entire intelligence community maintained much higher estimates, but the num-bers were subsequently further screened to establish the most realistic targets for Vietnam’s government to meet. During the war and since, the Vietnamese government placed great value on the recovery and /or re-cording of burial locations of U.S. remains. In wartime, if jeopardized by imminent discovery or recovery by U.S. forces, burial was immediate to hide remains, which were disinterred and photographed when possi-ble, then reburied or transferred to Hanoi when feasible. Evidence of this process is confirmed by U.S. in-telligence. Forensic evidence serves as another basis for establishing expectations. Scientific evidence of above or below ground storage, or both, exists on 181 of the 605 identified remains returned from Vietnam since the end of the war in 1975. This number (181), confirmed by JPAC forensic scientists, is far below U.S. expec-tations, based on reliable intelligence indicating that over 200 more were stored by the Vietnamese govern-ment and could be repatriated if the current leadership of Vietnam would so authorize.

(Special Article - cont on Page 4)

(Special Article - cont from Page 3) The total number of identified remains returned from Vietnam with scientific evidence of storage (181) is far short of the 400+ reported stored by valid sources and does not come close to the U.S. Government’s long-standing assessments of remains available for unilateral repatriation by the Government of Vietnam. Evi-dence of storage also exists on three remains returned in 1992 and subsequently identified, and an impor-tant signal was sent by the Vietnamese in a1989 stored-remains repatriation. Both instances revealed province-level storage/curation. After two years of no results from the Vietnamese in 1979-80, during a September 1982 ABC “Nightline” program, the late Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Co Thach flatly denied that Vietnam was holding any U.S. remains, as did other senior Vietnamese officials throughout the Carter Administration. Yet, in 1983, Vietnam returned eight remains with clear evidence of storage. Negotiations for a two-year plan in 1985 brought the largest number of remains obtained to that point; nearly all showed evidence of storage. From 1984-1987, negotiations on this subject brought significant repatriations of stored remains, and in 1986, Vietnam returned over 60 remains virtually complete, with clear evidence of long-term storage. Vietnamese officials have admitted storage of remains. In 1985, following up an initiative through a re-gional government, a U.S. National Security Council (NSC) official met privately with a Vietnamese Polit-buro member during an NSC-led U.S. delegation to Hanoi. The carefully drawn plan was for negotiations on live prisoners and remains, but the minister indicated live prisoners were not on the table for discussion. Rather, as discussed through the third party, the subject was hundreds of remains. In order to test the scope of Vietnam’s knowledge, two specific cases were officially presented to officials in Hanoi in 1985/86 with a request for their unilateral assistance; both losses were judged by the U.S. Gov-ernment to have occurred inside Laos, in areas under Vietnamese control during the war. One was re-turned unilaterally in 1988, 98% complete and stored above ground since his 1972 incident along the Lao/Vietnamese border. Vietnam has unilaterally repatriated stored remains from Cambodia and very remote locations spanning the entire war, not just highly populated areas. There is continuity. In 1991 and 1993, the Vietnamese provided graves registration lists with names of un-accounted for Americans. Inclusion of these names was likely purposeful, as was filtering through private channels photographs of dead, unaccounted for Americans whose remains have not yet been returned. The Government of Vietnam directed combat photography; their soldiers did not own personal cameras, much less carry them. Regardless of mixed or conflicting signals, these and other actions by Vietnamese officials were apparently intended to signal the U.S. Government of remains availability for diplomatic/economic purposes. Information obtained from US field operations after the war reveals that central Vietnamese authorities sys-tematically recovered U.S. remains. Eyewitnesses reported central-level supervision of remains recoveries of Americans who still have not been accounted for. Vietnam’s leaders have repeatedly pledged to renew and increase their own efforts to locate and return remains and provide relevant documents, but they in-variably move incrementally, or obfuscate in other ways. President George W. Bush formalized criteria for steps Vietnam should take unilaterally to be fully coopera-tive on the accounting effort. His March 20, 2002 Certification to Congress was followed and further de-fined by Secretaries of State Powell and Rice three additional times and on March 7, 2008, the administra-tion issued its Determination to Congress stating in part, “….we urge Vietnam to work aggressively to im-prove tangibly its unilateral provision of POW/MIA-related documents and records, focused initially on ar-chival data pertaining to Americans captured, missing or killed in areas of Laos and Cambodia under war-time Vietnamese control. Vietnam should also focus greater attention on locating and providing information on discrepancy cases with priority on those last known alive in captivity or in immediate proximity to cap-ture, and to locating and repatriating the remains of those who died while in Vietnamese control that have not yet been returned. The United States also calls upon Vietnam to continue permitting our recovery teams to have access to restricted areas for the sole purpose of conducting our humanitarian accounting operations.”


VVA 862

COMMITTEES (Cont)

POW/MIA

PTSD

Jon Neely - - - - * - - - - - - - - - 891-2089

Scholarship

Lon Hogue - - - - * - - - - - - - - 846-8857

Sgt of Arms

Roy Barlett - - - * - - - - - - - - -378-0272

Veterans Affairs

Jon Neely - - - - * - - - - - - - - - 891-2089

Hospital Committee

Blaine Allinder - - - - - - - - - - - 375-4168

Auditing Committee

Bill Wright * - - - - - - - - - -- - -775-0738 Wayne Cumer - - - - - - - - - - - -947-3859 Joe Mavero - - - - - - - - - - - - - 494-1505

Webmaster

Lee Corfield - - - - - - - - - - - - - 775-3027

Nominating Committee

Lon Hogue -*- - - - - -- - - - - - -846-8857 Bart Farzati - - - - - - - - - - - - - 777-2193 Gary Myers - - - - - - - - - - - - - 728-8620

Please Note, Next Edition

VIETNAM VET

GAZETTE

DEADLINE

October 6th, 2010

VVA 862 WEBSITE

http://www.vva862.org

Do we have any VVA Musicians?

If you play an instrument and

haven’t played for awhile, and

would like to get together for

some fun,

Please Contact:

Chet Kozlowski @

724-775-4117

SENATOR ELDER VOGEL JR.

PROUDLY SALUTING VIETNAM VETERANS

Senator Elder Vogel Jr. will honor local Vietnam Veterans and their families during a very special recognition ceremony set for 10 a.m. No-vember 6th, in the auditorium of Blackhawk High School,500 Blackhawk Road, Beaver Falls. Along with refreshments and entertainment, a certificate will be pre-sented to each Vietnam Veteran or to a family member attending. “It is appropriate that as we commemorate Veterans Day, a day on which we honor and express our gratitude to the men and women who stepped forward and answered the call of duty.” For more information or to register for the event contact Senator Vogel’s Rochester District Office at (724) 774-0444. Registration deadline is Oc-tober 29th.

Janet George Field Representative Senator Elder Vogel, Jr. 488 Adams St. Rochester, Pa. 15074 [email protected] Phone: 724-774-0444 Fax: 724-773-7384

“Pharmacists” Coming to our meeting

We have several pharmacists coming to our meeting

and if members would like to meet with them....bring a list

of your meds....

It is very important to know what meds you are on

and what they do and how other over-the-counter meds

may cause you a problem with your regular meds.

Brandy Pingatore, from Walgreens will be heading this up.


Minutes from July 21st, 2010 Meeting

Meeting called to order by President Skip Haswell at 7:00 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and an opening prayer by Chaplain Don Villella with 96 in attendance. Veterans “Sick” or “In Distress” – Linda Neely had been taken to the hospital this morning, reason un-known. Skip thanked everyone for all the cards, prayers, phone calls, email etc. Guests and/or Prospective Members – Ed Bryson, Tom Harper, John Bacher, BOD Members Present: 12 - Present 0 - Absent 2 - Excused Minutes were accepted as read in recent Newsletter. Lee gave an explanation about the minutes. Treasurer’s Report: Read by Treasurer Larry Googins to be accepted as read. Pending audit.

Committee Reports:

BOD needs motions to accept the following items -

1. Motion Made by Bill Harlow 2nd by Reuben Fuller to reimburse Lee Corfield $200.00 toward a new VVA computer. Motion Carried. 2. Motion Made by Ralph Cordes, 2nd by Frank Petz to donate a $50.00 Gift Card from Lutz’s Leather to the CB4MH Run. Motion Carried. 3. Motion Made by Chuck Inman, 2nd by John Malack that anything that Jon Neely needs over $200.00 will need BOD approval. Motion Carried. Guest Speakers: Pete Petrosky introduced speakers from Mission Continued. Ann & John Bacher. Pete thanked everyone who helped with the Penn State event & the Parade in Midland. Picnic will be August 18th. Industry Park. Starts around 12:30 PM. Will need help with Clean Up. Spoke about the Snap Tabs which were brought in tonight from Midland Clubs. Bill Laughner spoke about PX items. Membership - VVA - 467 LIFE - 277 // AVVA - 87 LIFE - 35 Legislative - Bart Farzati spoke about a few items that he’s working on. with different Legislators. Duck Race - Aug 28th 2010. Has a work night on Aug 17th in the evening to prepare for the Duck race. Old Bus - Rich Kamzelski spoke about the upcoming Regatta. Will need help. Rich Tindell thanked every-one who helped w/watering the flowers while he was gone. Kokomo - Skip spoke about getting signed up tonight so we know how many vans we need. If you’re going in the van, you must let us know tonight. AVVA - Linda Pavkovich spoke about what our AVVA chapter is doing. Winner of 50/50 was Cliff Plugh. Good of the Chapter - Nick Pavkovich spoke about Cancer Fund that Tom Robes works on every year. Still looking for a family that needs help. VVA License Plate Program - Larry Googins spoke about the License Plate Program. Skip presented the Viet Vet of Year shirt to Rich Kamzelski. Skip stated that the PX will be open after the meeting if anyone wants anything. The VA Health Care out of Butler, July 27th will be here from 10:00 AM till 2:00 PM. Closing Prayer by Chaplain Don Villella Respectfully Submitted, Lee Corfield - Secretary Please Note: Since the July Newsletter, our editor’s computer crashed along with a lot of info that was stored on a Memory Stick.. He is slowly trying to recover what he can from older records. If you don’t see your birth date listed, that could be the reason.

PAGE 8 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE February 2007 Page 5 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE December 2009

SHORTROUNDS Well it has been a few months since I have typed up “ShortRounds” for our newsletter. Its good to be back! I am doing well I would like to thank everyone for the calls, e mails and cards. They all meant a lot to me. I would also like to thank my Exec. Vice President Jon Neely for taking over and keeping things going in my absence. My wife Pam, who thinks she is a Marine D.I. kept pushing me and that was a good thing.

Aug. was a very busy month. The River Regatta, Hookstown Fair, The Duck Race. Just soooo many people to thank. Kamm, Duck who chaired those events. We sold a lot of PX stuff, duck tickets and gave out many VVA applications, our Annual VVA Picnic and once again, a great job by Pete Petrosky and his committee. I would like to list the many who gave many hours to the events but I know I would forget someone. You know who you are and we thank you!!!!!!!!! We are all ready for Kokomo. I sent a letter out to all those going but forgot to tell you the name of hotel for those using GPS. Courtyard Marriott, 411 Kentucky Drive, Kokomo, In. 46902 / phone 1-765-453-0800 Drive safe and get ready for a great weekend ! I (we) lost a good friend, Mike McLaughlin. Executive Vice President of Harrisburg VVA Chapter. Mike, a Marine and Nam Vet, 1967, died after a tough battle with throat cancer. When I say Mike was a great guy, he was and a true friend. May you rest in peace my Brother! One of our V.V.A. Members (Nam Vet) should be home this month after serving again in Afghanistan. Ron Heitzenrater is one of the few troops who served in Vietnam and is still serving his country! Welcome Home Brother and like I told ya, you are getting too old for combat, time to leave that stuff to the younger troopers (grin) We have one of our VVA members who is going above what anyone would expect. His name is John Barber and he purchased his dress blues for one reason. To stand in honor of any deceased veteran of any wars. Re-cently the funeral home viewing was from 1 to 8 pm. John would stand at the casket for two hours, take a 15 minute rest, stand for two more hours and so on. I would like to thank John for a job well done. The funeral homes know if they need him he is available. Yes, we have the special unit and our V V A Honor Guard but we can always use the extra help. Thanks Brother ! We are always looking for a guest speaker for our VVA/AVVA Spring Banquet. I have met a new friend, Quang Nguyen who was 12 ½ years old when he and his family left Vietnam. He came to America and de-cided he would not become an American Citizen till he learned to speak English. He is a very proud American Citizen and thanks the Veterans for all they have done. Our banquet next year is Saturday May 7, 2011. We hope “Q” will be able to attend. As many of you know, We are the largest VVA Chapter in the state of Pa. with 463 members and 7th. Largest in the nation. Chapters in the small state of Maryland are # 1 & 2 with 1,000 and 701. We have a chapter in N.Y. right in front of us with 478 and a chapter from Ca. closing in on us with 457. Numbers are important but retention of those same members is even more important. If your dues are due I am asking each one of you to send your dues in. If you can’t afford the dues, please contact me and we can work something out. I would love to have every Vietnam Vet to carry a VVA card in his/her wallet. Everyone of us know someone who could become a member. If you need a membership app, let us know.

SHORTROUNDS (cont on Page 8)


PAGE 7 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE September 2005


SHORTROUNDS (cont from Page 7) When our President and elected leaders sent us to war, they didn’t care what the cost would be in those 13 years. The spraying of Agent Orange has killed thousands & thousands of Nam Vet’s in the past 40 years and today over 350 Nam Vets are passing each day. We are dying off faster then the Korean Veterans. Why? Can you say “AGENT ORANGE”??? Diabetes is now the most VA compensated illness ahead of PTSD. With the 3 new presumptive illnesses, Heart Disease, Parkinson’s & certain types of Leukemia, our government is wor-ried about how they are going to compensate these veterans? They didn’t worry about the cost when they sprayed us with Agent Orange. Senator Webb out of the state of Va. is behind the fight against the 3 new pre-sumptive illnesses. A Marine, Nam combat veteran, he has forgotten where he came from. Thank God we have good elected people like Jason Altmire to continue the fight for us. Webb blames these illnesses on the Vets’ aging and says with the age we would have become ill anyway. Many Nam Vets started to get sick in their 40’s. A hearing is set for Sept. 23 and I do not expect many to follow Webb. The reports I have received is Webb has received thousands of phone calls, letters and e mails from Veterans concerning his stand! I hope this Nov. the Vets and Veterans family in Va. do not forget!! POW/MIA / There are 1,711 Americans listed by DOD as missing & unaccounted for from the Vietnam War. The remains of the following have been identified: Capt. Clyde Campbell, USAF, Texas, lost March 1, 1969 over Laos. / 1 Lt. Paul Magers, USA, Nebraska & CWO Donald Wann, USA Oklahoma both KIA/BNR in S. Vietnam June 1, 1971. Yes, I typed the names, but are they just names??? No, they are someone’s son, brother, father, or un-cle. Welcome Home Brothers !!! ………………..A Joint Field Activity is now taking place in Vietnam, an advance team went in about two weeks ago. Two excavation teams & two investigation teams are conducting operations that began Aug. 2nd. and will conclude Sept. 7th. A U.S. Navy ship, with a JPAC underwater arche-ologist & master diver, participated in a side-scanning sonar search in waters off Cambodia waters on a short operation. Also recently three JPAC Recovery Teams participated in a 30 day Joint Field Activity in Laos where they excavated three aircraft crash sites in two Lao provinces with the loss of four MIA’s ………………The National League of POW/MIA Families recently held the 41st. Annual Meeting with over 200 Vietnam War family members attending. I had the honor of attending an annual meeting a few years back and look forward to attending again in the future……National POW/MIA Recognition Day will be held Sept. 17, 2010 Skip

The views and opinions are solely that of the writer and

do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions or poli-

cies of the Vietnam Veterans of America, (National, State

or Local).

All articles written by the editor unless otherwise stated.

Submissions will be gladly accepted by the editor.

Lee Corfield - Editor VVA 862 Beaver County, Pa

140 Knob Vue Drive

Freedom, Pa. 15042

We reserve the right to edit submissions as space allows.

Death Notices

James E. Miller of Aliquippa - was the brother of VVA 862 member Don Miller. All services were pri-vate. James Bunting - VVA 862 member, died last August in Middleburg, Florida. J. Brise Bikerton - VVA 862 member died last De-cember 2009 from Pittsburgh, Pa.

MAY THEY “REST IN PEACE”

Lee’s Tid Bits Hi Folks,

Wow, a lot has happened since our July newsletter. I got to attend the VVA Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida, which I might add was very informative. Got to meet other Secretaries from all 50 states. It’s fun to sit back and listen to what their chapters are doing and how they do it, and think of our chapter and how successful we are. Just one more reason to be proud of Beaver County Chapter 862. I also got to attend my C7-A Caribou Reunion at Robbins Air Force Base Georgia. This is always a great time. I got to sing my version of “God Bless the USA” which I’ve been doing at several recent Reunions. I must say, I’ve had the pleasure of singing it in some really nice places, but none compare to doing it in the big hanger at Wright Patterson Air Force Museum a few years ago. That was the best it has ever sounded. I even gave myself goose bumps. I also got to lead everyone in the National Anthem at this reunion. I’ve also had my training at the “Cemetery of the Alleghenies” in Bridgeville, Pa. If you haven’t been there, take a ride down and check it out. This place is absolutely Beautiful. If anyone has any questions, I may be able to answer them or put you in touch with someone who can. Only thing I can say right now, If you haven’t made your final arrangements, please consider a National Cemetery. You’ve already paid the price when you served your time in the military. This one is the closest to Beaver County. If you want to read about it, go to our VVA 862 Website and click on the link. The main thing is that all you need is your Discharge pa-pers {DD-214} but just like our Funeral Services that we do now, you have to let your next of kin know “now” what you prefer. That includes where you want to be buried, and if you want our chapter to do the ser-vices like we have done for so many of our members. If you want placed in a National Cemetery, just have your next of kin present your discharge papers to the Funeral home. They will take care of anything else. While I’m on this subject, in July, we received 2 phone calls from families of our members who had died within the past year. Please explain to your family to let us know of any deaths that may occur. The one phone call I got was from a brother of a member who passed last August in Florida and how his sister-in-law was upset that she was still receiving the Veteran and our Vietnam Vet Gazette. If your family doesn’t notify us, how else are we supposed to know. Please go over the above items with your family now. My family knows what I want. I didn’t want to end up with Dementia or Alzheimer’s and not be able to tell them. Next time you have a family function, let it be known to everybody concerned what your wishes are.

Time to get ready for Kokomo. See everybody next month. Lee

PS: If you notice on the Front Page, Our Vietnam Vet Brothers from Pittsburgh VVI are holding a POW MIA Vigil at Soldiers & Sailors Hall in Oakland. Might be very well worth the ride up to visit.

Veterans Important Partners Support VIPS Meetings are held: Time: 7:00 PM till 8:30 PM When: 1st Thursday of the Month Where: Rochester VFW - BOD Room For More Information Call: Connie 412-671-2475


Are you a wife of a Vietnam Vet ? Do you wonder why he can’t get over his war experience? Do you often feel confused, hurt or alone? Would you like to meet other women who share your ex-periences VIPS is a self led group that seeks to encourage & support through sharing of experiences, ideas, educational re-sources appropriate help for ourselves and others.


VVA CHAPTER 862 IS ACCEPTING ORDERS for memorial walkway bricks to be placed at the Vietnam Memorial in Beaver. You may honor Veterans of the armed services, loved ones and friends (both living and deceased) with an “In Memory of” brick. You may also want to honor your American Legion post, your Veterans of Foreign Wars post and/or all Veterans Service Organizations. Orders are accepted year round, with placement every spring and fall. Engraving is donated by Rome Monument in honor of county veterans.

Mail completed forms to:

William Laughner 119 Jonathan Drive Darlington, PA 16115

Chapter 862 Notes:

Pete Petrosky says “Thanks”

Pete was a busy man during June, July & August. He’d like to say Thanks to all who helped with the Beaver County Veterans Expo held at Penn State. He also thanks all those who came down to help deco-rate the Vietnam Veterans Float for the 4th of July Parade, and also thanks those who marched in the Parade. He also wants to say thanks to all who helped with our VVA 862 Picnic last month. It was a great turnout and fun was had by all. And last but not least, he wants to thank the Midland American Legion, Midland VFW, Midland Serbian Club and the Sportsman’s Club for the collection of all the snap tabs. He also said that a young fellow by the name of Parker Henderson (8 years old) from Industry, Pa., also collected a large amount of snap tabs by himself and turned them in also. Great Job, Parker!!! On August 22nd, 2010, several of us attended the Parade and Celebration of all Vietnam Veterans from Southwestern Pa, which was held at the South Park Fairgrounds in Allegheny County. Special “Thanks” goes out to our VVA 862 Honor Guard for attending this event.

Notes from VVA Leadership Conference

75 % of the Vietnam Vets are not using the VA. There are still 62,000 of us in the US.

I had a talk with Alan Oates & Mokie Porter while attending the Agent Orange Seminar. I told them I would be glad to be an Advocate for Agent Orange. Anything they send me, pertaining to Agent Orange will be passed on to all of our members. If you don’t hear it from Jon Neely or Bobbie Morris, you’ll hear it from me. Lee


HAPPY BIRTHDAY

TO OUR

MEMBERS

October Ed Bernstein Oct 3 Sam Boorse Oct 3 Ken Melesky Oct 3 Don Villella Oct 3 Steve Bavaro Oct 5 Mark Johnson Oct 5 Joseph Spanik Oct 6 Livio Pagani Oct 6 Bart Farzati Oct 7 Rose Landsittel Oct 7 Alice Bilbo Oct 11 Sandra James Oct 12 Cam Adamson Oct 13 Ray Dougherty Oct 13 Sue Petrosky Oct 13 Bobbie Morris Oct 15 Aaron Johnson Oct 17 Noreen Allinder Oct 18 Skip Haswell Oct 18 Tom Moore Oct 19 Tom Robes Oct 19 Nick Vujaklya Oct 19 Bill Muns Oct 20 John Sperry Oct 20 John Devlin Oct 23 Ted Muns Oct 24 Rich Orsen Oct 24 Pat Kalish Oct 26 Wayne Kemp Oct 26 Carl Marchionda Oct 29 Alex Wisbeth Oct 29

Please Welcome

To VVA 862

John Bacher

Ed Bryson

Jacob Sokolowski

To: ALL VVA AND AVVA MEMBERS

Re: GOLD STAR MOTHERS’ DINNER

You are invited to attend the Chapter 862 dinner honoring the Gold Star Mothers of Beaver County.

DATE: Wednesday September 29, 2010

TIME: 6:00 PM PRICE: $25 per person PLACE: WOODEN ANGEL RESTAURANT Bridgewater/Beaver, PA

Please choose Stuffed Chicken Breast or Stuffed Pork Chop when making your reservation. A vegetarian entrée will also be avail-able. Dinner includes salad, entrée, beverage and dessert. RSVP: by Wednesday September 22, 2010 TO: Linda Pavkovich or Susan Pierce

112 Linden Street 29 Aspen Ct.

Beaver Falls, PA 15010 Beaver Falls, PA 15010

Home: 724-847-0592 Home: 724-847-3238

Cell: 412-974-6328 Cell: 724-683-5305

Payment and Reservations may be made at the Chapter 862 meet-ing at the Rochester VFW on September 15, 2010. Checks should be made payable to “VVA 862”

WINNERS OF THE 2010 VVA 862 “DUCK RACE”

1st - Wilbur Snyder - Beaver Falls 2nd - Trish Cox - Hookstown 3rd - John McMillen - New Brighton 4th - Jake Barsottini - Beaver Falls 5th - Tony Blum - Freedom 6th - Ginger Muns - Venice Fl 7th - Jack Schimmey - Pittsburgh 8th - Alice Cordes - Freedom 9th - Crystal Hohenshel - Midland 10th - Richard McCracken - Ambridge Last - Jessica McCartact - Unknown

Page 16 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE December 2009 Page 14 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE December 2009 Page 12 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE September 2010

AVVA Update

At the September 15, 2010 meeting of the AVVA there will be discussions held on many of the topics regarding chapter incorporation. It is important for all members to attend. Not only will we be electing the Interim Officers for AVVA 862 (the officers that will be in office until the annual election is held next April), but we will have to make decisions about our board of directors, decide on a chapter address, review and adopt by-laws for the corporation, and review all that must be done to complete the incorporation process. This meeting will start at the usual 6:00 PM time, but will continue through the VVA meeting until our business is finished. We are on a very strict time frame from National AVVA to complete all paper work and organiza-tional items. If you are interested in being on the Board of Directors, the following information from National may helpful to you.

The Board of Directors:

Sets policy Approves the budget Maintains fiscal oversight Approves and monitors the organizations programs and services Ensures sound organizational planning Assists in acquiring necessary resources Enhances the organization’s public image Resolves disputes Upholds the public trust Evaluates own performance on a regular basis Management implements the policies and administers the budget. --AVVA Policies and Procedures, Section 1: 1-17

Legislative Update September 2010 Bart Farzati

• The Supplemental Appropriations Act signed by the President on 29 July contains funding for the three new presumptives (Parkinson's, B cell leukemia's and Ischemic Heart Disease) for Viet Nam service chemical exposure. If you have a diagnosis for any of these conditions, now is the time to file for care and compensation. Representatives Altmire and Murphy supported this legislation. The effective date for the ruling is 31 August 2010 but payments will likely not start on 31 October 2010. The VA has released information on storage, tests and usage of Agent Orange in the US and in vari-ous countries including Thailand. Claims for care related to these locations are specifically related to locations, programs dates and locations. For more info see the VA link below or search "agent or-ange Thailand." http://www.publichealth.va.gov/exposures/agentorange/outside_vietnam.asp

• The DOD ID card center is now located in the McGarrity Army Reserve Center , Moon Township. They accept walk-in customers.

• Planning continues for the new DECA commissary. Studies have started at the McGarrity site and engineering work is in progress. Look for possible groundbreaking in 2011. Please support the current location at the former C.E. Kelly site. Since many of the 160,000+ authorized users think it is closed, sales have suffered. HR 2254 the Agent Orange Equity Act has no action planned in the House. Chairman Filner has said that it is a money issue and if money can be found to satisfy the PAYGO rule he will address this bill.


“INSIDE THE WALL”

At first there was no place to go until someone put up that Black Granite Wall, Now, every day and every night, my Brothers and Sisters wait to see the many people from places afar in front of this Wall. Many stopping briefly and

many for hours and some come on a regular basis. It was hard at first, not that it’s gotten any easier, but it seems that many of the attitudes toward that war we were in-volved in have changed. I can only pray that the ones on the other side have learned something and more Walls as this

one needn’t be built.

Several members of my unit and many that I did not recognize have called me to the Wall by touching my name that is engraved upon it. The tears aren’t necessary but hard even for me to hold back. Don’t feel guilty for not being with me, my Brothers. This was my destiny, as it is yours to be on that side of the Wall. Touch the Wall, my Brothers, so that we can share in the memories that we had. I have learned to put the bad memories aside and remember only the pleasant times that we had together. Tell our Brothers out there to come and visit me, not to say good bye but to say

hello and be together again, even for a short time and to ease that pain of loss that we all share.

Today, an irresistible and loving call comes from the Wall. As I approach I can see an elderly lady and as I get closer, I recognize her….It’s Momma! As much as I have looked forward to this day, I have also regretted it because I didn’t know what reaction I would have. Next to her, I suddenly see my wife and immediately think how hard it must have been for her to come to this place and my mind floods with the pleasant memories of 30 years past. There’s a

young man in a military uniform standing with his arm around her….My God…..It has to be my son! Look at him trying to be the man without a tear in his eye. I yearn to tell him how proud I am, seeing him standing tall, straight and proud in his uniform. Momma comes closer and touches the Wall and I feel the soft and gentle touch I had not felt in so many years. Dad has crossed to this side of the Wall and through our touch, I try to convey to her that Dad is doing fine and is no longer suffering or feeling pain. I see my wife’s courage building as she sees Momma touch the Wall and she ap-proaches and lays her hand on my waiting hand. All the emotions, feelings and memories of three decades past flash be-

tween our touch and I tell her that it’s all right.

Carry on with your life and don’t worry about me….I can see as I look into her eyes that she hears and under-stands me and a big burden has been lifted from her. I watch as they lay flowers and other memories of my past. My lucky charm that was taken from me and sent her by my CO, a tattered and worn teddy bear that I can remember having as I grew up as a child and several medals that I earned and were presented to my wife. One of them the Combat Infantry Badge that I am very proud of and I notice that my son is also wearing this medal. I had earned mine in the jungles of

Vietnam and he had probably earned his in the deserts of Iraq.

I can tell that they are preparing to leave and I try to take a mental picture of them together, because I don’t know when I will see them again. I wouldn’t blame them if they were not to return and can only thank them that I was not for-gotten. My wife and Momma near the Wall for one final touch and so many years of indecision, fear and sorrow are let go. As they turn to leave, I feel my tears that had not flowed for so many years form as if dew drops on the other side of the Wall. They slowly move away with only a glance over their shoulder. My son suddenly stops and slowly returns. He stands straight and proud in front of me and snaps a salute. Something makes him move to the Wall and he puts his hand upon the Wall and touches my tears that had formed on the face of the Wall and I can tell that he senses my presence there and the pride and love that I have for him. He falls to his knees and the tears flow from his eyes and I try my best to reassure him that it’s all right and the tears do not make him less of a man. As he moves back wiping the tears from his eyes, he silently mouths, God Bless You Dad……God Bless, YOU Son…We will meet someday but in the mean-

while, go on your way….There is no hurry……There is no hurry at all.

As I see them walk off in the distance, I yell out to them and everyone there today, as loud as I can…..Thanks for remembering and as others on this side of the Wall join in, I notice that the U S Flag that so proudly flies in front of us

everyday, is flapping and standing straight out in the wind today…….Thank you all for remembering!


Vietnam Veterans of America Applauds Publication of the Final Rules on Agent Orange New Presumptive Diseases (Washington, D.C.)—“Vietnam Veterans of America welcomes the long-anticipated final rules gov-erning the addition of three new diseases to the list of diseases presumptively service connected for exposure to Agent Orange. Under these new rules, published today in the Federal Register by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), veterans who served in Vietnam between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975, are presumed exposed to Agent Orange for Parkinson’s disease, B-Cell leuke-mias, and ischemic heart disease (IHD),” said VVA National President John Rowan. The effective date of the rules, which appear http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2010/pdf/2010-21556.pdf, is August 31, 2010. However, VA cannot start paying benefits under the rules, as the Congressional Review Act (CRA) requires a 60-day wait. “It is anticipated that the VA will start pay-ing on the back claims on or after October 31, 2010, and unless Congress acts to deny implementa-tion of the rules, Agent Orange-exposed veterans suffering from any of these diseases will get the help they need and have earned,” noted Rowan. The published rules state Parkinson’s disease is covered, however the rules do not include parkin-sonian syndromes and/or parkinsonism, as well as multiple systems atrophy (MSA), progressive su-pranuclear palsy (PSP), and other parkinsonism caused by stroke, encephalitis, meningitis, corti-bosasal degeneration, certain antipsychotic and metoclopramide medications, other toxins, and head trauma. The rules add all chronic B-Cell leukemias to the presumptive list, including 14 kinds of lymphomas involving B-cell leukemias. B-Cell leukemias include B-Cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lym-phocytic lymphoma; Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, mature B-cell type; B-cell prolymphocytic leuke-mia; Precursor B lymphoblastic leukemia; and Hairy cell leukemia. For Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), the rules outline what the VA will and will not recognize: Accord-ing to the published rules, the VA “interprets IHD, for purposes of service connection, to encompass any atherosclerotic heart disease resulting in clinically significant ischemia or requiring coronary re-vascularization. In the notice of proposed rulemaking, we explained that the term ‘ischemic heart dis-ease’ does not encompass hypertension or peripheral manifestations of arteriosclerotic heart dis-ease, such as peripheral vascular disease or stroke.” VA points out that IHD includes “Prinzmetal’s Angina, and Stable and Unstable Angina.” Veterans exposed to Agent Orange herbicides and who suffer from one of these diseases should file a claim immediately, and may apply on line at: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp. Ex-posed veterans who filed a claim prior to August 31, 2010, may be covered under a court class rul-ing, Nehmer v. Department of Veterans Affairs (Nehmer), which, in most cases, provides for pay-ment back to the date of the original claim filing date. Nehmer also allows payment of back benefits to the surviving spouse or to the veteran’s estate. Veterans who have filed a claim prior to August 31, 2010, should contact a Veterans Service Officer to ensure all benefits are received. “We urge all veterans with past claims for one of the new diseases to call the VA at 1-800-827-1000 and inform them that their claim may be subject to the Nehmer court ruling,” said Rowan. Noted Rowan, “VVA contends that many Vietnam-era veterans were also exposed in their service elsewhere in Southeast Asia during the war, including in Thailand and Laos, and aboard Navy ves-sels off the coast of Vietnam, as well as certain military bases located in the continental U.S. and its territories. We will continue to fight for all who suffer long-term health effects as a result of their ser-vice to our nation.”


VA Adds Ships to Agent Orange Exposure List

This week the VA has added the below named ships to the already existing list for Navy and Coast Guard ships and vessels that are presumed to have been exposed to Agent Orange. If you served on any of these mentioned ships and you have had a claim denied, you should reapply citing the VA list as the source for your reapplication. NAUS is told the VA is already working on a third list that will have more ships listed. If you have a claim and evidence the ship you served on was in Vietnamese waters and/or actually tied up to a dock there, make sure you include that with your claim. Vessels that operated primarily or exclusively on the inland waterways All U.S. Coast Guard Cutters with hull designation WPB [patrol boat] and WHEC [high endurance cutters] USS Mark (AKL-12) [light cargo ship]; USS Brule (AKL-28) USS Patapsco (AOG-1) [gasoline tanker]; USS Elkhorn (AOG-7) USS Genesee (AOG-8); USS Kishwaukee (AOG-9) USS Tombigbee (AOG-11); USS Noxubee (AOG-56) USS Okanogan (APA-210) [attack transport]; USS Montrose (APA-212) USS Bexar (APA-237) USS Benewah (APB-35) [self-propelled barracks ship]; USS Colleton (APB-36) USS Mercer (APB-39); USS Nueces (APB-40) Barracks Barge (APL-26) [sleeping quarters] ); Barracks Barge (APL-30) USS Tutuila (ARG-4) [repair ship]; USS Satyr (ARL-23) [repair ship] USS Sphinx (ARL-24); USS Askari (ARL-30); USS Indra (ARL-37) USS Krishna (ARL-38) USS Belle Grove (LSD-2) [landing ship dock]; USS Comstock (LSD-19) USS Tortuga (LSD-26) USS Asheville (PG-84) [patrol gunboat]; USS Gallop (PG-85) USS Antelope (PG-86); USS Ready (PG-87); USS Crockett (PG-88) USS Marathon (PG-89); USS Canon (PG-90) Floating Base Platform (YRBM-17) [repair, berthing, and messing barge] Floating Base Platform (YRBM-18); Floating Base Platform (YRBM-20) Winnemucca (YTB-785) [harbor tug]


Vessels that operated temporarily on Vietnam's inland waterways or docked to the shore: USS Card (ACV-11) [escort carrier] mined, sunk, and salvaged in Saigon River Harbor during May 1964 USS Maury (AGS-16) [mapping survey ship] conducted surveys of Mekong Delta and other coastal areas and rivers beginning November 1965 through 1969 USS Henrico (APA-45) [amphibious attack transport] operated on Hue River during March 1965 and conducted numerous troop landings through March 1967 USS Montrose (APA-212) operated on Song Hue River during December 1965, operated on Long Tau River during March 1967, and operated on Cua Viet River and at Dong Ha during May 1967 USS Talladega (APA-208) operated on Saigon River during October 1967 USS Bolster (ARS-38) [salvage ship] crew operated on land. USS Canberra (CAG-2) [guided missile cruiser] operated on Saigon River from March 31 through April 1, 1966, on Cua Viet River during December 15, 1966, and on Mekong Delta Ham Luong River during January 15, 1967 USS Sproston (DD-577) [destroyer] operated on Mekong Delta and Ganh Rai Bay during January 1966 USS Picking (DD-685) operated on Saigon River during November 16, 1965 USS Epperson (DD-719) docked to Da Nang Pier on October 4, 1970 USS Southerland (DD-743) operated on Song Nga Bay and Saigon River during July 1966 USS John W. Thomason (DD-760) operated on Nga Be River during 1969 USS Buck (DD-761) operated on Mekong River Delta and Saigon River during October 1966 USS Preston (DD-795) operated on Mekong River Delta, Ganh Rai Bay, and Saigon River during September 28 - 29 and December 27 - 29, 1965 USS Warrington (DD-843) operated on Mekong River Delta Rung Sat Special Zone, North of Vung Gahn Rai Bay during March 1967 USS Dyess (DD-880) operated on Saigon River and Rung Sat Special Zone from June 19-July 1, 1966 USS Perkins (DD-877) operated on Saigon River during June 1969 USS Orleck (DD-886) operated on Mekong River Delta during July 1969 USS Joseph Strauss (DDG-16) [guided missile destroyer] operated on Mekong River Delta and Ganh Rai Bay during November 7 and December 7, 1968 USS Waddell (DDG-24) operated on Cua Viet River during March 1967 USS Newell (DER-322) [radar destroyer escort] docked at port of Nha Trang during December 22-24, 1965 USS Duluth (LPD-6) [amphibious transport dock] docked to pier at Da Nang during March and Octo-ber 1971 USS Cleveland (LPD-7) operated on Cua Viet River and at Dong Ha, as well as Hue River, from No-vember 1967 through 1968 and Saigon River during September 1969 USS Dubuque (LPD-8) docked at Da Nang on March 15, 1970 USS Boxer (LPH-4) [amphibious assault ship] docked to pier at Cam Rahn Bay on September 9, 1965 USS Carter Hall (LSD-3) [landing ship dock] operated on Cua Viet River and at Dong Ha during De-cember 1967

Hope this helps some of our VVA 862 Navy Guys. If I can find more info, you’ll be sure to get it.

Lee

Calendar of Events for 2006 PAGE 12 VIETNAM VET GAZETTE January 2006

‘TOGETHER THEN” “TOGETHER NOW”

Calendar of Events for 2010

#241993


Kokomo — 28th Annual Vietnam Veterans Reunion September 16th, 17th, 18th & 19th 2010

Howard County Vietnam Veterans Organization

http://www.hcvvo.org/

Go to this Website and check out what goes on at Kokomo.

They have a New Blues Band for Saturday Evening.

“TOGETHER THEN” “TOGETHER NOW”

September

Sept 1 Newsletter Deadline Sept 6 “Labor Day” Sept 8 VVA BOD Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM Sept 11 POW / MIA Run & Memorial Program

Leaves Rochester VFW at 4:00 PM Sept 15 VVA Regular Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM Sept 16 - 19 Kokomo, In. Vietnam Vet Reunion We leave 6:30 AM Sept 18 US Air Force Birthday 1947 Sept 18 - 19 POW Vigil Soldiers & Sailors Oakland, PA This event being sponsored by our Vietnam Brothers VVI (Vietnam Vets Inc) of Pittsburgh Sept 26 “Gold Star Mothers Day”

October

Oct 6 Newsletter Deadline Oct 13 U. S. Navy Birthday Oct 13 VVA BOD Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM Oct 16 - 17 PASC Meeting State College Pa Oct 20 VVA Regular Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM AVVA meets @ 6:00 PM Oct 23 Hi-Way Clean Up Meet @ Baden McDonald’s 9:AM

Clean Up detail starts at 10:00 AM Oct ?? Agent Orange Poppy Days

November

Nov 2 “Election Day” Be Sure to Vote’ Nov 3 Newsletter Deadline Nov 7 Daylight Savings Time Ends Nov 10 US Marine Corp Birthday Nov 10 VVA BOD Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM Nov 11 Veterans Day Parade in Beaver Pa Nov 17 VVA Regular Meeting Rochester VFW 7 PM Nov 25 “Happy Thanksgiving”

December

Dec 1 Newsletter Deadline Dec 7 “Pearl Harbor Day” Dec 8 VVA BOD Meeting Rochester VFW PM Dec 15 VVA Regular Meeting Rochester Elks 7 PM Dec 25 “Merry Christmas” Dec 31 New Year’s Eve

Please Note: As of July 31st, 2010

VVA 862 is still the 7th Largest VVA Chapter

in the U. S. with 463 members

VVA chapter 20 in New York has 478 is above

us with 478. That’s only 15 members difference.

Bring a guest to our next meeting

Sept 15th, 2010 7:00 PM

Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc Beaver County Chapter 862

Lee Corfield, Editor 140 Knob Vue Drive Freedom, PA 15042

Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc

Beaver County Chapter 862

Lee Corfield, Editor

140 Knob Vue Drive

Freedom, PA. 15042

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID PERMIT NO. 862

ROCHESTER PA. 15074

VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA MEMBERSHIPVIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA MEMBERSHIPVIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA MEMBERSHIPVIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA MEMBERSHIP

IS OPEN TO ANY VETERAN WHO SERVEDIS OPEN TO ANY VETERAN WHO SERVEDIS OPEN TO ANY VETERAN WHO SERVEDIS OPEN TO ANY VETERAN WHO SERVED

ANYWHERE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR ERAANYWHERE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR ERAANYWHERE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR ERAANYWHERE DURING THE VIETNAM WAR ERA

Name:______________________Phone:_______________Birthday___/___/___ Address:__________________-City:________________State:______Zip______ ____I served in the US military (for other than training purposes) between 8/5/64 & 5/7/75

Or ____I served in the US military in Vietnam between 2/28/61 and 5/7/75 ____DD-214 enclosed (Applications without DD-214 will be processed as Associate Memberships) ____Renewal Membership Card #_________________New Member:_____________ ____I wish to join the (AVVA) - Associates of the Vietnam Veterans of America $20.00 P/Year Type: __ 1 Year Individual Member- $20.00 __ 3 Year- $50.00 __ Life Member Optional Time Payment $50 down/ $25/mth __ $250.00 (Ages 49 and under) __ $225.00 (Ages 50-55) __ $200.00 (Ages 56-60) __ $175.00 (Ages 61-65) __ $150.00 (Ages 66 + )

Return this form to:

GARY SHAFFER

VVA CHAPTER 862

709 OHIO AVE

MIDLAND, PA 15059

Documents

Vva chapter 862 september 2010 newsletter