Download pdf - Boo Coo News - Vietnam Veterans of America … · Boo Coo News Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154 VVA154.com JULY 2016 WELCOME HOME! VETERANS SUPPORT CENTER 18025 E. 15 MILE

1,619 AmericanStill Missing inSoutheast Asia49 fromMichigan

Boo Coo NewsVietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154

VVA154.comJULY 2016

WELCOME HOME!VETERANS SUPPORT CENTER

18025 E. 15 MILE ROADCLINTON TOWNSHIP MI

48035-2403586-776-9810 PHONE

586-776-9683 FAX

GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETINGS7 p.m. second Wednesday of themonth at American Legion Post 4,

401 N. Groesbeck Highway, south ofElizabeth Road

Boo Coo News deadline: previousmonth’s meeting.

To submit items, photos, supporterad copy: email, mail or deliver to

the Veterans Support Center

NOTICE REGARDING BOO COO NEWS

At the June board meeting, a motion was made to go to an "electronic" Boo Coo News newsletter.As this impacts the entire membership, the motion was brought to the floor at the generalmembership meeting for discussion. There were many differing thoughts about going to the

electronic version but, in the end, the majority of the membership in attendance voted to approve themotion. What does this mean to the membership? Beginning with the August issue of the Boo Coo News we will no longer be mailing out printed copiesof the newsletter. We will instead be getting the newsletter into the hands of the membership in twodifferent ways: one, when the approved proof copy has been received by the president it willimmediately be sent out using our mass email distribution list similar to the way we send out otherforms of notifications. This currently reaches just over 300 members of the chapter. Secondly, thenewsletter is posted and immediately becomes available for viewing on our chapter website,www.vva154.com. This allows you to have access to the newsletter earlier than waiting for yourprinted copy in the mail.

This decision is not made lightly. We recognize that many members like getting the printed copy, andsome are going to be disappointed in losing this familiar friend. However, from a business perspectivewe are spending over $8,000 a year on printing and mailing out the newsletter. This is in spite of havingthe advantage of the reduced bulk-mailing rate. If we still used the old full-fee stamp method we'd bespending three times the mailing costs. We get many newsletters returned to us for bad addresses,snowbird situations and member moves that are not reported to us in a timely manner. For everynewsletter returned to us, we pay over 70 cents in addition to the original bulk rate fee we alreadypaid. Many members tell us that they don't even read the newsletter. That says that it’s time we lookedat a different process. You will receive the newsletter much earlier than in the past. This eliminates the problems with tryingto meet a deadline every month, which sometimes gets the newsletter into your hands late. There areseveral steps involved with getting the newsletter into print, and a delay in any of these can result inlate publication in spite of our best efforts. The newsletter will be sent out via email as a .pdfdocument, which anyone with a computer can access, open and print out if desired. Viewed on acomputer screen the type will be larger, making it easier to read. And the pictures will be able to beviewed in color, making them more interesting and appealing, with more clarity. Currently everypicture has to be converted to black and white, introducing another time delay into the process. Thesame advantages will be realized by those of you who choose to go to the website.

We realize that there are those of you who will say "but I don't have a computer, what do I do"?We're not sure how many people this truly impacts, but most everyone either has access to a computeror can find someone in the family who does. If you're computer-literate but simply don't own acomputer, go to a local library and someone will assist you. In this era of electronic messaging, smartphones, etc. there are avenues. We will be having some printed copies available at the vet center forpeople to pick up. We need to have some printed copies for the VA Hospital visit and for visitors to thevet center. What is the right number to have printed? We'll figure that out over the next couple ofmonths. We hope that you understand the rationale behind this decision and will attempt to work through thistransition with an open mind. All of us realize that our social security checks, VA compensation checksand, in most cases, our paychecks went to direct deposit at some point in our careers. We were allconcerned when that was put into practice but we all got through it. This process will not be anydifferent and we appreciate your cooperation as we work through the new electronic Boo Coo News.

If you are not on the chapter email distribution list, this would be a good time to provide your emailaddress to the president's office so that you will be on the list.

President’s Message # Brian Bobek

Welcome to summer. As I write this column, it's flirtingwith 90 outside with the usual humidity that makes thisMichigan. But even this will pale in comparison to the

upcoming VVA Leadership Conference that will be taking placein Arizona next month. The only salvation will be that it will be"dry" heat. Right! I want to give everyone an update on the new MichiganVietnam POW/MIA Memorial that will be unveiled at theSeptember vigil at Resurrection Cemetery. A couple of monthsago I showed an artist's concept sketch of what the memorialwas going to look like at the general membership meeting.Based on some feedback from some of the membership Irequested some subtle changes be made to their drawing. Forthose of you who saw the presentation, you may recall thatthere were two figures on the memorial that really depictedscenes from the current wars in the Middle East, not our war inVietnam. I went back to the granite company and asked them toresearch their archives and see if they could find artwork thatreflected Vietnam. They came back with just what I requested.The memorial will now definitely have a Vietnam theme to it.They provided a full size drawing of what the memorial will looklike in its finished state. This was reviewed by the board and wehave given the go-ahead based on their concept. I also signedoff on the 49 tiles that will represent our Michigan servicemen

still missing in action. If I'm being evasive in describing what thefinal memorial will look like, I can assure you it's intentional. Icertainly want everyone to come out to the vigil on September16 and see for themselves. What's an unveiling if you know whatwe're going to unveil? Resurrection will soon begin preparingthe area for the memorial and we are assured that it will be inplace for the vigil. This will be a "monumental" event in thehistory of our chapter (no pun intended.) A date has been picked for the long-anticipated slow-pitchsoftball game being sponsored by American House. Bob Gillettehas selected September 10, the day before Patriot's Day, for thegame between American House staff and the amputee warriorsbaseball team being brought into town for this unique event. Ithink I have been successful in keeping chapter members out ofthe actual game by promising Bob the services of our honorguard for the opening ceremonies, along with a singer for thenational anthem. However, if you're disappointed that you can't"cleat up" for the game, I'm sure your participation can bearranged. The game will be held at the new Jimmy John'sStadium in Utica. Times and other details are yet to be released,but I will keep you posted.

Continued on page 3

VVA CHAPTER 154 EXECUTIVE BOARDPresident Brian Bobek 586-524-38061st VP Gary Purcell 586-243-62932nd VP Steve Bago 586-419-2212Secretary Mike Schneider 586-567-0731Treasurer Mike Jacobi 586-504-0781

Board of DirectorsTerms Expiring 2017Leo Lalonde 586-838-9851Larry May 586-791-8116Donn Sinclair 586-243-0222Gary Stephens 586-747-8149Robert Steward 586-504-0781Terms Expiring 2018Greg Bowman 586-650-1800Gil Claunch 586-854-7842Dave Schoenherr 586-940-2568Jim Watts 586-524-9705Ron Squires 586-747-8881

Boo Coo News Publisher - The Board of DirectorsBoo Coo News Editor - Brian Bobek

Typesetter - Linda May

Thank you to our sponsors!

TRUSTEES Gary Sox (2017)Tim Ignash (2018)Tom Puruleski (2019)

VVA STATE DELEGATES Brian Bobek Alt. Delegates Steve Bago, Chris Franklin, Mike Schneider

VVA NATIONAL LIAISON Steve BagoWEBMASTER Mike Sauger

FUNCTIONAL COMMITTEESAgent Orange George SawyerHonor Guard Jim WattsFood Pantry Gil ClaunchFreedom Hill & Eastpointe Memorials Dave PorterHospitalized Vets Tom DuffLottery Jim AuitoMembership Larry MayMerchandise Tim IgnashMichigan Traveling Memorial Dave SchoenherrNominations Tom Puruleski, Doug Zieger, Leo MillerOperation Christmas TBAPOW/MIA Tom DuffScholarship Woody HorneSpeaker’s Bureau Ed ZyskWelcome Home TBA

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 154 - Boo Coo News JULY 2016 Page 2

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEcontinued from page 2

We are investigating the possibility of changing the sign in front of the vet center so that it focuses more on the "VeteransSupport Center" and less on Chapter 154. We've heard manystatements that people think that we're only here for theVietnam vets, so we need to make it clear that the center is, firstand foremost, a center for ALL veterans where we just happento have our offices. Elsewhere in this newsletter are articles about many otherthings that are going on within the chapter so I'm not going tobe redundant in going through those items here. As you may beaware, we lost our VVA service officer recently. This means thatthe Monday and Wednesday walk-in services we were providingare at least temporarily suspended. We are talking with the VVAregional office to see what their plans are to backfill thisimportant service. Having that additional officer here was agreat feature and we're anxious to see what we can do toaddress the needs of veterans who depended on thatconvenience. On August 2, there will be a proposal on the election ballot fora .029 mill increase in property taxes in Macomb County for thefunding of our county service office on Dunham Road. Currentlythis millage sits at .04 mill, and this proposes to raise it to .069.In terms of real dollars, it represents between $2 and $4annually per household (depending on assessed valuation) totaxpayers. The monies raised will allow the service office to addanother service officer, establish another outreach location,increase transportation to the Detroit VAMC, support theveteran's treatment court, and other programs that cannot befunded under the current millage. You may recall that thechapter was very aggressive in the past with getting out to the

public and convincing them that the original millage was anecessary tax to support veterans within the county. A lot ofcare went into earmarking these funds strictly for the veterans.It cannot be used for any other purpose and is separate fromthe county general fund. It will behoove each of us to take thesame aggressive position that we have in the past to convincetaxpayers that this millage increase must be approved. Asveterans, it's up to us to carry the torch once again. Please read the article regarding the change in the distributionof the Boo Coo Newsletter beginning next month. This was not adecision that was made without a lot of thought and discussion.Hopefully our members will see the intent of the change and willsupport it. Just as we have done with the scanning of all of ourDD-214s, the move to electronic formats make a lot of sense in anumber of areas. With that thought in mind, we are finally closeto releasing a major update to our website. This has been anarea that has been ignored for some time and we need toseriously upgrade this valuable website. It will be moreextensive than the prior version because I believe we have amuch larger story to tell than was apparent with the old site. Iwill announce when it is complete and published for you to lookat, and we will try to be more diligent about maintaining it in thefuture. We are also going to be releasing a new tri-fold brochurethat everyone will be able to use as handouts for spreading theword about our chapter. Lastly, we have lots of things coming up that should be ofinterest to everyone. July will be the golf outing, August willfeature another car show, September is the vigil, and the listgoes on. Surely there's something to pique your interest and getyou involved with supporting your chapter.

ASSOCIATES of VIETNAM VETERANS of AMERICA AVVA.ORG

Meetings at 7 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month at the Vet CenterAVVA Chapter 154 Associates Meeting

Minutes June 15 – 7 p.m. Meeting called to order with Pledge of Allegiance and moment of silence. Motion to Approve May 18, 2016Meeting Minutes: Anita Puruleski/Pam Charbeneau Discussion raised by Debra Stefani regarding the decision to allow free dinners at the golf outing for volunteers. Members felt thiswas a fundraiser and there should not be any free dinners to volunteers. Motion by Joann Beste seconded by April Bell to require allthat eat pay for their own dinner. Motion passed unanimously. Debra Stefani also passed out the latest volunteer list for the golf outing July 23, is still hoping for more volunteers, and remindingthat volunteers do not have to work the entire day. Please contact Debra to sign up for this important fundraiser. The golf outingcommittee requests the associates to bring in a bottle of wine for the golf outing basket. NEW MEMBER: Welcome Eva Trudeau!

The following items were approved by the VVA Board:• Electronic newsletter is now available on the chapter's website @VVA154.com• The VVA logo was changed to read "Clinton Township" instead of Mount Clemens.• Associates will lay a wreath on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, along with the chapter.• Chapter purchased a drinking fountain for Vets Returning Home.

AVVA minutes continued on page 8


Jim Watts CommanderSteve Bago Vice CommanderJohn Mohan TreasurerTed Szymanski Armorer/Property OfficerGlenn Cash Armorer/Assistant ChaplainRon Drdul Chaplain

Honor Guard Honors WWII VetsOn May 7, the Chapter 154 Honor Guard was requested to present colors atthe opening of a panel discussion at Macomb College. The panel comprisedfour veterans of WWII who gave brief overviews of their experiences during

the war. These veterans are slowly slipping away from us, so the opportunityto hear their stories was particularly meaningful. Moderators for the panel

discussion were provided by the Arsenal of Democracy. Brigadier General JohnSlocum, commander of the 127th Air Wing at Selfridge ANGB, was the keynote

speaker and proved to be a very entertaining speaker. After the event, weasked Gen. Slocum to pose for a picture with the honor guard, and he wasmost gracious in accommodating us. I couldn't pass up the chance to solicit

him as a guest speaker for our upcoming vigil on September 16 atResurrection Cemetery, and he will check his calendar to see if he can attend.

HONOR GUARD REPORT # Jim Watts, commander

Since our last report out to the chapter on May 11, the honor guard has completed thefollowing details:Funerals - 3: 1 - Navy/USAF, 2 - Army, 2 - WWII, 1 - Pre VietnamNames Branch DutyLeonard Fawstyn Army WWIIWilliam Maynard Army WWIIFrancis Kepler Army Pre Viet.

ADDITIONAL HONOR GUARD DETAILS:· Thrilla at the Villa - received a check for $2,500 presented at the last chapter meeting· Memorial @ Cadillac East. If not for Chapter 154, no one would have been there· Memorial event @ American House on 15 Mile, great event· Glenn Cash and I brought in the colors to the State Senate Chambers· Memorial Event at Clinton Grove Cemetery· Memorial Event at Mount Clemens Fire Station· Memorial day event at Resurrection Cemetery; presentation of colors, 21 gun and Tapsat mass· The memorial at the Veterans Section, reading of the names, placing of the roses,reading by the chaplain and special guest, 21 gun and Taps. Following this detail we completed a 21 gun for a veteran killed in Iraq.· Memorial Day detail at Freedom Hill· Marched in the Gratiot Parade· Posted colors, 21 gun and Taps at the 50th Anniversary pinning ceremony at Zuccaro's


VETERANS SUPPORT CENTER18025 E. 15 MILE ROAD • CLINTON TOWNSHIP MI 48035-2403Free Services 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday - Friday 586-776-9810

* * * HELP WANTED: Volunteers to staff the Vet Center and work on the food pantry. * * *

SERVICE OFFICERS from the Macomb County Veterans AffairsOffice file claims and answer questions.

• Mary Barrette, Tuesdays first-come, first-served basis• Lisa Marie Duncan-Edwards, Thursday appointments only

Call ahead as sometimes a service officer's schedule changes on short notice.

Please take advantage of this expanded coverage with any questions you may have

regarding the Veterans Administration.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *SICK CALL & CONDOLENCES# Contact Ron Drdul [email protected] or 586-899-7112 If you know of an illness ordeath of a chapter member or their family, please notify Ron Drdul so that we mayget the information out via email and in the newsletter in a timely manner. All thekind thoughts and prayers offered up by our members are truly appreciated and helppeople through tough times. Keep them coming.SICK CALL• Doug Zeiger had some minor bleeding from the stomach and his blood

pressure was low while at his appointment with his oncologist. The goodnews is the low dose daily chemo is doing its job perfectly and his bloodcount numbers are smack dab in the middle of normal.

• Chapter member Chris Franklin's luck continues to be bad. While recoveringfrom his recent gall bladder surgery, Chris began having some problems inhis upper back. He went to the hospital and they thought he might be havinga heart attack. After some testing they concluded that he was having a boutof shingles. He spent a few days in the hospital and is now home trying torecover from this latest episode.

• Life member Jan Reiter is now undergoing chemo treatment. Jan was amember of the color guard in 1987.

• Chapter member Ron Drdul had repeat surgery on his shoulder. He hadwhat is referred to as a “reversal,” meaning he already had this done andnow has to have the previous surgery undone and redone. The doctor haspromised to keep redoing it until he gets it right! Ron will be recuperating forsome time and it is unclear whether he will get a full range of motion back.

• John Willey (J.W.) has been MIA around the vet center for some time. Johnhad some surgery and is on the road to recovery.

SICK CALL UPDATESChapter member Bill Theut lost his sister, Kathleen Pipe, on June 9.

HOSPITAL REPORT# Submitted by Tom Duff

On June 8, 2016 John Hages, CarleneCremin, Linda Baisden, Judy Haag,Harry Wisniewski, Don Cremin,

Bobby Steward, Gary Purcell and I went tothe VA Hospital. We went to wards A-4north and A-3 north, the substance abuseward and the dialysis ward. We visited with63 vets. We passed out flag stars, personalitems bags, magazines, crossword puzzlebooks, blankets, lap robes, bananas,pretzels, Hostess and Little Debbieproducts, cookies, Rice Krispies treats,chips and suckers. We had a great time andmost of all we let at least 63 vets know thatwe care and they are not forgotten. The next hospital visit will be July 13,leaving the vet center at 8 am.

Scholarships Awarded

At the June general membership meeting, the awards were presented to the studentsselected by the review committee as part of our annual scholarship program. You mayrecall that the total amount of award dollars was increased this year to a maximum of

$10,000 total. This allowed us to make additional awards for deserving students, but alsoallowed the committee to have some latitude in awarding lesser amounts if, in theirdetermination, some students excelled more than others. In essence, that meant that thecommittee had a budget of $10,000 which could be used for “up to” ten students. However,they had the liberty to award less money if they so desired. Under no circumstances were

they required to award the full amount per student, and they were not allowed to exceed ten awards. This was a significant stepforward in our scholarship program and helped the committee by opening the door to additional deserving students. The winningstudents are pictured. They were: Evan Johnson - Dan Jager; Zildjian Brocklin - Pete & Carol Gernand; Sandra McClain – DebbiePiepsney; Morgan Jusko – Dave & Terri Lehrman; Evan Haller – Jerry & Betty Clara; Griffin Schoenherr – Dave & Marge Schoenherr;Evan Horne – Woody & Chris Horne; not pictured: Jaisen Westfall – Gary Sox


mailto:[email protected]

Minutes of General Membership Meeting 6/8/16 # Submitted by Mike Schneider

Meeting called to order by President Brian Bobek. Pledge of Allegiance recited and moment of silence observed. Motion madeby Glenn C, seconded by Doug Z to suspend regular business to present scholarship awards. Motion made by Larry M,seconded by Gary S to return to regular business. Motion passed by the board read to membership and approved. Motion

by Harry W, seconded by Bill T to accept minutes as published in the Boo Coo News. Treasurer's report read by Mike Jacobi statedthat funds are up and food bank is in good shape. Motion made by Doug Z, seconded by Bob B to accept report.

COMMITTEESPOW/MIA, hospital, color guard to follow.No scholarship, raffle, merchandise ormembership reports. Speakers Bureau: We visited 7 schoolsbefore the school year ended. Any groupsmay request a presentation by thespeakers bureau. Food Pantry: 75 families and a total of204 people taken care of last month. Wereceived 5 gaylords of food from the mailcarriers food drive. We would like to thankthe Young Marines and football playersfrom Warren Cousino football team forhelping at the post office. Thanks for allyour hard work. Agent Orange: A new sponsor of a bill forbenefit for Blue Water Navy has beenpresented. More effects of exposure inCamp Lejeune have been listed. Bladdercancer, hyperthyroid and early Parkinson'sbeing considered for compensation.Looking to hypertension also. Traveling Memorial: We were at a carshow at the Knights of Columbus, PortHuron for Art on the River, Manistee forRolling Thunder and the Stars and Stripesfestival at Freedom Hill. State Council: Information from thestate council lists Life Membership in theAVVA to be $100 for those 60 and olderand $175 for those 59 and younger. Oneand three year memberships still availableat regular rates. AMBIT is refurbishinghouses at Selfridge ANGB for those inneed. Melanie Thon has left the VVA VSOprogram for the American Legion, thanksMelanie, for your hard work for veterans.Phil Smith will visit once a week for now,schedule to be determined. Associates: The golf outing is just aroundthe corner and we hope it is a big success. Car Show: The August car showscheduled for Gibraltar is gearing up. Weneed box raffle items, trophy sponsorsand, of course, cars. Please help to make itanother successful event.

OLD BUSINESSMotion made by Ron M, seconded by Dave S to go to electronic Boo Coo Newsinstead of hard copy, more to follow. Motion made by Steve B, seconded by Ben E todonate $500 to Young Marines for their help at the food drive. POW/MIA memorialfor Resurrection had changes made and approved and the grounds at the cemeteryare being prepared for its installation.

Brian Bobek and Steve Bago will be attending the leadership conference in Tucson inJuly. The food pantry DD214s have been scanned. Bob Gillette has planned a baseballgame at the new Jimmy John's stadium for September 10. The color guard willpresent colors and Julie Cremin will perform the national anthem, more to follow.

At the pinning ceremony at Zucarro's more than 200 pins were awarded. We mayhave another ceremony later for those who missed out. We are investigating thereplacement of the lighted sign out front to emphasize "Veterans Support Center."

The house and senate have resolutions for research for effects of Agent Orange onour offspring. Please inform doctors of your exposure. The Great Lakes Nationalcemetery has over 30,000 burials and their new columbarium will accommodateanother 8,000.

NEW BUSINESSA roundabout is under construction at the main entrance to Selfridge. What, meworry? I read MAD Magazine! Lisa Marie Duncan-Edwards is the county vet rep onThursday and has done a great job helping vets and takes a personal interest in them.All of our county vet reps have been doing great work for vets.

Senate Bill S961 would make permanent disability "permanent," thus eliminating theneed to certify every year for tax exemption. A proposal will be on the ballot inMacomb County to raise the veteran millage, the amount will be minimal buteffective. The vigil for POW/MIA day will start at 2 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 16. We willplace an ad in the Macomb Daily; this is the 30th anniversary of our vigil. Gen. Slocumfrom Selfridge will be asked to be a guest speaker, along with others.

A bowling fundraiser sponsored by Joann Beste is scheduled for Sept. 25, more tofollow. Gary Purcell thanked all who helped both weekends at the Kroger store duringour fundraiser for the food pantry. People were very, very generous and theemployees and management of the store treated us like royalty. Thank you store#528 for all you did. We collected more than a gaylord of food plus monetarydonations.

VVA reps at our vet center have been a problem over the years and we may have tolook to others for help.

50/50 ticket #655446 won by Bill Theut who donated $100 back to the chapter. Thankyou Bill. Motion to adjourn made by Gary S, seconded by Leo L.


POW/MIA ReportsSubmitted by Tom DuffWelcome Home!1,619 Missing49 from Michigan

REMEMBER THE POW/MIAsfrom MICHIGAN for JULY

Cdr. David Greiling, Hillsdale, missing 7-24-68, North Vietnam, Navy

Maj. Jeremy Jarvis, Warren, missing 7-25-67, North Vietnam, Air Force

SSgt. Marshall Kipina, Calumet, missing 7-14-66, Laos, Army

PFC Earl Seablom, Ishpeming, missing 7-18-68, South Vietnam, Army

Legacy Dog Tag Program Moving Along

We have begun posting the dog tags in ourconference room at the vet center,purchased as part of our legacy program. We

have filled in the front wall area of the room and nowwill be proceeding down the sidewalls. We encourageanyone who wishes to have their name, unit, etc.memorialized in our vet center to fill out a requestform and we will get the plaque made and displayed.Remember, you can purchase a dog tag for anotherveteran or a deceased chapter member as well. Theylook really nice and we would love to have your nameup on this wall of remembrance and honor. The costis $75 and the forms are available at the vet center.

“I was prepared to be wounded --- prepared to be captured --- even preparedto be killed. I was not prepared to be abandoned by my country.” – Former

POW U.S. Navy Captain Eugene “Red” McDaniel•

A man is not dead until he is forgotten. We will never forget. Welcome Home!

•“When one member of the armed forces is not worth the effort to be found,

then we have lost our honor.” ~~ VVNW* * *

Support your POW/MIAs. Fly your POW/MIA flag. Display a POW/MIA decal. Ifyou need a POW/MIA decal for your car, truck or bike, or certificate of

appreciation for flying a flag, see Tom Duff. If a company or homeowner isflying a POW/MIA flag, let Tom Duff know so we can give them a certificate.

RECENT RECOVERIES

VIETNAMLCDR Frederick Crosby, Navy, from Florida. Listed as KIA/BNR North Vietnam

on 6-1-1965. He was identified 5-25-2016.Major Dean Klenda, Air Force, from Kansas with 67th Tactical Fighter Squadron

MIA North Vietnam 9-17-1965. Remains recovered 12-8-2014 and identified12-30-2014.

There are still 1,619 missing.49 from Michigan.

WWIIFireman 3rd Class Edwin Hopkins, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 PearlHarbor; accounted for 5-4-2016.Fireman 2nd Class James Boring, Navy USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 PearlHarbor; accounted for 5-5-2016.Ensign John England, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 Pearl Harbor;accounted for 5-6-2016.Ensign William Finnegan, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 Pearl Harbor;accounted for 5-9-2016.Lt. Aloysius Schmitt, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 Pearl Harbor;accounted for 5-18-2016.Fireman 1st Class Frank Nicholes, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 PearlHarbor; accounted for 5-20-2016.Seaman 2nd Class Challis James, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 PearlHarbor; accounted for 5-20-2016.Warrant Officer Daryl Goggin, Navy, USS Oklahoma. Missing 12-7-1941 PearlHarbor; accounted for 5-25-2016.PFC Roland Schraede, Marine Corps, 2nd Marine Division. Missing 11-20-1943 inthe Gilbert Islands; accounted for 5-6-2016.Pvt. Harry Tye, Marine Corps, 2nd Marine Division. Missing 11-20-1943 in the Gilbert Islands; accounted for 5-6-2016.Pvt. James Mansfield, Marine Corps, 2nd Marine Division. Missing 11-20-1943 in the Gilbert Islands; accounted for 5-6-2016.1st Lt. Donald Beals, Army/Air Force, 48 Fighter Group 9th Air Force. Missing 4-17-1945 in Germany; accounted for 5-10-2016.More than 73,000 still missing.KOREASgt. 1st Class James Shunney, Army, 1st Cavalry Division. Missing 11-2-1950 in North Korea; accounted for 5-3-2016.Sgt. Harold Sparks, Army, 1st Cavalry Division. Missing 11-2-1950 in North Korea; accounted for 5-11-2016.Sgt. 1st Class Richard Davis, Army, 1st Cavalry Division. Missing 11-2-1950 in North Korea; accounted for 5-23-2016.There are more than 7,000 still missing.COLD WAR There are 126 missing. There are 6 missing from Iraq and other conflicts.


AVVA MINUTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3EVENTS:July 30-July 3 Memorial at Stars & Stripes Festival, Freedom HillJuly 23: Golf Outing @ Fern HillAug. 13: Reminder of Associates annual gathering at Karen &Tom Mack's cottage. Please bring a dish to pass and beverage.Bring water shoes and bathing suit if you want to swim.Aug. 27: Gibraltar Car Show. Mike Jacobi needs VOLUNTEERS.Sept. 9, 10 & 11: American House is flying in a team of disabledveterans to play baseball at the new Jimmy Johns Baseball Field.The chapter is expected to participate. Please sign up at theSupport Center.Sept. 16: National POW-MIA Day. Gary Purcell will educate thepublic about the importance of remembering this day byhanding out brochures on the corner of M-59 & Gratiot. Sept. 16: 24-hour vigil honoring Vietnam Veterans @Resurrection Cemetery. Karen passed around a beautifulrendering of the new tablet created by Resurrection that willmemorialize those soldiers that are still missing. Donations ofdesserts and cookies are appreciated for the men that standguard all night.Sept. 23: Cousino HS Patriotic Football Event and gameSept. 25: Bowling Fundraiser benefitting chapter 154. Put on byJoann & Steve Beste. Cost $20. Participants will get a raffle ticketfor every can of food brought in. Please mark your calendar.ANNOUNCEMENTS:•The Vet Support Center sign out in front of the building will beupdated featuring Veterans Support Center at the top and VVAChapter 154 underneath in smaller letters. This is to address

that the support center is a service to all veterans, not just thosefrom the Vietnam War.•Don't forget to vote in the Aug. 2 primary election. A veryimportant initiative that increases funding for Macomb Countyveterans is on this ballot and needs your support. •Great Lakes National Cemetery is in the top 10 for growth inour country.•The hospital committee visits the Detroit Veterans Hospital onthe second Wednesday of each month. The men in the hospitalgreatly appreciate visitors, bananas and snack items. They alsoneed travel size bottles of shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes,soap etc.•POW/MIA: 6 remains were recently identified from the USSOklahoma in Pearl Harbor. Several others from WWII, Korea,and Desert Storm.•Traveling memorial did 5 events in May: Stockbridge,Schoolcraft, 50th Anniversary pinning, American House and St.Clair Shores Memorial Day Parade.•The speakers bureau spoke at 7 schools this spring.•The food pantry provided food to 75 families and 204 people inMay.•The Postal Food Drive gave the chapter six gaylords of food.•Both Kroger weekends resulted in cash donations and 1.5gaylords of food.•New prices for AVVA Membership: 59 and under - $175; 60 andover - $100 Adjourned @ 8:08 p.m. Karen Mack/Debra Stefani

STATE COUNCIL CONVENTION HELD IN SAGINAWSecond Vice President Steve Bago and President Brian Bobek attended the VVA State Council Convention in Saginaw June 3-5. Thisconvention is aimed at getting all the VVA chapters in the state to attend and be kept aware of the issues impacting all the Vietnamveterans (and all veterans) across the state. To say the turnout was less than expected would be an understatement. When youconsider that there are many very small chapters spread across this state, I guess it’s not surprising that they can’t find the fundingto send representatives to these kinds of events. There was a lot of discussion about the performance of the VVA Service Program. As you know, a serious lack of funding severalyears ago really hit the VVA program hard and, although the funding has been stabilized, there are still some systemic problems. Inspite of that, the Detroit Regional VVA Office processes $1M per month in recoveries for their veterans. We currently have two newservice officers in training but that process requires about 18 months to get certified and additional time to get up to speed. Legislation of importance to veterans was discussed. As we have been publishing, HR1769 and S901, which are the bills dealingwith the effects of Agent Orange on our offspring, have moved out of committee and onto the floor for discussion and voting. Although the recent HB5169, which attempted to eliminate property tax exemption for disabled veterans was withdrawn, we canexpect it to gain a second wind and reappear again. S961, which redefines “permanent” disability for purposes of eliminating theneed to recertify every year with your tax department is now being discussed. Four new diseases are being looked at for possible links to Agent Orange exposure: bladder cancer, hyperthyroidism, early-onsetParkinson’s and hypertension. Expect hypertension to be a dog-fight. These conditions are being evaluated for cost implications andthat will play a big part in the decisions going forward. The installation of new State Council officers took place, and the results are: John Riling – President (incumbent); Ken Rogge – 1st

Vice President; Tom Meinhardt – 2nd Vice President (incumbent); Gary Estermyer – Secretary; Floyd Carmichael - Treasurer The weekend concluded with a banquethosted by VVA Chapter 494. Liveentertainment was provided by “duelingpianos” and Sir Elton John dropped in toentertain the attendees. Surprisingly, helooked a lot like President John Riling!


Comments from Willow Woods StudentsThese notes were given to us by the students from

Willow Woods Elementary School at the recentAmerican House "Day of Honor" ceremony.

POSTAL WORKERS FOOD DRIVE A SUCCESSAgain this year, Chapter 154 participated in the annual Postal Workers Food Drive. Each yearthis drive brings in a significant amount of canned and staple food items to help us stock our

shelves in our food pantry. Greg Bowman is always the driving force behind this event, and hewas committed to making sure we didn't get short-changed this year. It's always an intense day

of manual labor, working on the loading docks at the Shelby Township Post Office. As ourmembers are getting a little long-in-the-tooth, we managed to draft some young backs in theform of the Young Marines and the football team from Cousino High School. These youngstersmade a tough job a lot easier. We ended up getting five gaylords of food from this drive, and

that goes a long way to helping feed the veterans of Macomb County.

“A Day of Honor” at American House

On May 23, Chapter 154 co-hosted a Memorial Day event at the SterlingHeights American House on 15 Mile Road. This is the event we have done forseveral years at their Rochester Hills facility, but this year they decided to

move the event to Sterling Heights to reach new groups of participants. We hostedthe Willow Woods Elementary School students, teachers and general public. As inthe past, we had our military display of vehicles and memorabilia for everyone tolook at. We split the students into four groups and ran them through a cycle ofthings to see. We had the vehicle display, our military equipment display, ourTraveling Memorial and a short video for them to see. This is the event where wedress the kids up in our equipment from days past, and they always enjoy getting to“play soldier” for a brief time. The students came during the morning session, andwe presented every one of them with a certificate of appreciation for attending. In the afternoon, our honor guard conducted a formal presentation for theAmerican House residents and general public. It was well attended withapproximately 200 people in the audience. Unknown to us until just before theevent, documentary producer Keith Famie was invited to film the entire event and aDVD of the ceremonies was given to our chapter as well as being posted onYouTube. If you're interested in seeing the video, go to YouTube, type in “A Day ofHonor American House” and it should come up for you. It's only about sevenminutes long and shows the good time that was enjoyed by all in attendance.Thanks to our honor guard who turned out to interface with the students, to ChrisScalise for bringing his gun jeep, Mike Bilyk for bringing his “Marine mule,” DaveSchoenherr and his “wallflowers” for setting up the memorial, and to the entireAmerican House franchise for their continued support and involvement withChapter 154.

Doing What We Do BestThe young man pictured here is an example of the kindsof things that our chapter does and does well. This youngman came into the vet center recently and was obviouslyin some distress. He had some substance abuse issuesand was homeless. Gary Purcell immediately called VetsReturning Home and got him a place to live. As this is a“clean” facility, the young man was required to live bythe rules, and the picture speaks for itself for the resultsof this intervention. Chapter member Bobby Steward andAssociate member Andrea Dreucsan were at Costco

recently and ran into him. He is back in control of his life, now has a job and waseven given a car by another resident of Vets Returning Home. Another fineexample of what this vet center is known for. We should all be proud that we’rethere to help these veterans in need.



Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

JULY 20161

June 30-July 4travelingmemorial atStars & Stripes

2

Stars & Stripes

3

Stars & Stripes4

Stars & StripesINDEPENDENCEDAYVET CENTERCLOSED

5

County ServiceOfficerIn-country vetsmeeting

6

Board Meeting7County ServiceOfficerAl Anon

8United MilitaryFamilies

9

10 11

PointmanMinistries

12

County ServiceOfficer/In-country VetsMeeting/HonorGuard Mtg

13

ChapterGeneralMeeting

14

County ServiceOfficerAl Anon

15

United MilitaryFamiliesTravelingMemorial inSaginaw

16

Memorial inSaginaw

17

Memorial inSaginaw

18

July 19-24 VVALeadershipConf. TucsonAZ

19

County ServiceOfficer;In-country VetsMtg

20

AssociatesMeeting

21

County ServiceOfficer Al Anon

22 23 Chapter golfouting

24 25 26

County ServiceOfficerIn-country VetsMeeting

27 28

County ServiceOfficer

29 30

LOOKING

AHEAD Aug. 2-6 Memorial inChesaning

Aug. 19-21Memorial atBlueberryFestival

Aug. 27Memorial atOxford

Aug. 27Car Show atGibraltar

231J21213a06n08u18a3ry SMTWTFSurauhioetneudundsdrardsdnayddaaeyaayysyyday

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 15418025 E. 15 Mile RoadClinton Township MI 48035-2403

1,619 still unaccounted for;

49 from Michigan

OPEN to read the GOOD NEWS about Chapter 154WWW.VVA154.COM

a VVA CHAPTER OF THE YEAR!

JULY 2016 issue of BOO COO NEWS

Veterans Support Center18025 E. 15 MILE ROAD ! CLINTON TOWNSHIP MI 48035-2403

586-776-9810 phone • 586-776-9683 fax

Hours of Operation 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Monday - Friday

All Volunteer-Run Chapter Business Center!

Veterans Food PantryEmployment Assistance

Veterans Benefits Service OfficerFree Counseling

InformationCamaraderie

Drop In & Hang Out & Help Out