vietnam veterans of america: Temmuz 2012

http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/31/2856680/shocking-ap-napalm-girl-photo.html#storylink=misearch
MARGIE MASON - Associated Press
Thursday, May. 31, 2012

TRANG BANG, Vietnam -- In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing "Too hot! Too hot!" as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village.

She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava.

She will always be a victim without a name.

It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of America's darkest eras.

But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It's the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would serve as both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life's plan for her.

"I really wanted to escape from that little girl," says Kim Phuc, now 49. "But it seems to me that the picture didn't let me go."
----
It was June 8, 1972, when Phuc heard the soldier's scream: "We have to run out of this place! They will bomb here, and we will be dead!"

Seconds later, she saw the tails of yellow and purple smoke bombs curling around the Cao Dai temple where her family had sheltered for three days, as north and south Vietnamese forces fought for control of their village.

The little girl heard a roar overhead and twisted her neck to look up. As the South Vietnamese Skyraider plane grew fatter and louder, it swooped down toward her, dropping canisters like tumbling eggs flipping end over end.

"Ba-boom! Ba-boom!"

READ MORE: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/31/2856680/shocking-ap-napalm-girl-photo.html#storylink=misearch

Follow Margie Mason on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/margiemasonap

Vietnam Women's Union Speaks Out Over Dow Chemical Sponsorship of Olympics

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"...the Vietnam Women's Union would like to call upon IOC to reconsider your decision to accept Dow Chemical Corporation as a sponsor of the Olympic events"

(HANOI, Viet Nam) - We received hot off the press, the following letter from the Vietnam Women's Union, courtesy of Agent Orange Advocate Len Aldis in London. The women of Vietnam are raising a voice in objection to the inclusion of Dow Chemical as a sponsor in the upcoming Olympic games.

Long story short, Dow was a primary manufacturer of Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam during the US war there. To this day, Dow has never answered to what amounts in the minds of many, to a decades-long war crime that continues to cripple children today, in the fourth generation since the war. This not only takes place in Vietnam, but also in the US and Australia, and in other places related to Agent Orange use and storage.

Attention: International Olympic Committee (IOC)

On behalf of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), I would like to extend my best compliments to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)!

We got to know that Dow Chemical has been made a sponsor of the Olympic Games from 2012 until 2010. Dow Chemical is one of the major producers and suppliers of the Agent Orange which was used by the American Army during the war time in the South of Vietnam for over 10 years from 1961 to 1971. There is no doubt about the horrific damages the dioxin has done to the environment and millions of people from generation to generation in Vietnam, including many women and children who are suffering illnesses, diseases and living in poverty. The Agency Orange has had negative effects on hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese children of the 4th generation who were born with severe congenital deformities.

For decades, international public opinions have denounced Dow's immoral actions and its violations of international laws, demanding it and other companies to compensate the victims of Agent Orange in different countries including Vietnam. However, Dow refuses to accept responsibility or makes compensation to tragic victims.

The Olympic Games are the symbols of the friendship & solidarity between the continents, the fairness, progress and peace in the world. We are concerned that the acceptance of Dow sponsorship will negatively influence the image and reputation of the Olympic Games. With the functions of representing and protecting rights and interests of women in Vietnam, the Vietnam Women's Union would like to call upon IOC to reconsider your decision to accept Dow Chemical Corporation as a sponsor of the Olympic events, thus preserving the good images and reputation of the Olympics.

Success to London Olympic Games 2012!

With kind regards,

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa
President, Vietnam Women's Union

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june022012/vietnam-women-dow-la.php

Agent Orange at base in '80s: U.S. vet Nearby residents of Futenma possibly tainted by leaking barrels

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http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120615a1.html

The U.S. Marine Corps buried a massive stockpile of Agent Orange at the Futenma air http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifstation in Okinawa, possibly poisoning the base's former head of maintenance and potentially contaminating nearby residents and the ground beneath the base, The Japan Times recently learned from interviews with U.S. veterans

READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120615a1.html

Controversy grows over 'Agent Orange corn'

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http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18788754/controversy-grows-over-agent-orange-corn

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH/FOX) - Food safety advocates are raising a red alert over what they call Agent Orange corn.

The problem surrounds a popular farming herbicide known as 2,4-D - one of the chemicals used to make Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

Critics fear farmers will use the herbicide in greater concentrations because of a new breed of corn that is resistant to the chemical.

"2,4-D has to go on a fairly young crop. It's a growth regulator," said farmer Ken Edmondson. "My take on it is it's nonsense. 2,4-D has been around forever. I do not buy into this theory that it's an Agent Orange kind of a compound."

Experts also believe the health risks linked to Agent Orange were caused by a different chemical, not 2,4-D.

The company that developed the new corn also insists the chemical is safe.

"You know, there are something like 4,500 studies and reports that are used to support ongoing uses of the product," said Garry Hamlin of Dow Agro Sciences.

The Environmental Protection Agency rejected a petition to ban 2,4-D in April.

A group of Vietnam vets has now teamed up with environmentalists to ask President Obama to look into the dangers of the herbicide.
WATCH VIDEO: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18788754/controversy-grows-over-agent-orange-corn#

Skeptics doubt VA's claim of breakthrough on claims backlog

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http://www.stripes.com/news/skeptics-doubt-va-s-claim-of-breakthrough-on-claims-backlog-1.180811

WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials say they’re poised to make a major breakthrough on the department’s massive claims backlog, but skeptical lawmakers and veterans advocates say they’ve heard such proclamations before.

VA officials announced Tuesday that they have all but wrapped up work on Agent Orange disability claims that overwhelmed the processing system over the last two years. Nearly 230,000 of those cases have been reviewed and finalized, and officials said fewer than 500 open cases remain.

The VA had set aside 37 percent of the department’s rating staff and 13 resource centers to deal solely with the Agent Orange cases. With the work finished, officials said, those centers and about 1,200 claims processors will begin dealing with the overall disability and pensions backlog.
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More than 911,000 claims remain unprocessed, down from more than 1.4 million last year but still up 60 percent from when the Agent Orange claims push started two years ago. About two-thirds of those cases have been pending for more than 125 days, despite department promises to deal with them quickly.

Members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee called that embarrassing.

“VA continues to struggle with unconscionable backlogs and unacceptable delays in getting our nation’s veterans the benefits they need,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. “It is time for VA to break this cycle of unproductivity and deliver the benefits that the agency was created to provide.”

READ MORE: http://www.stripes.com/news/skeptics-doubt-va-s-claim-of-breakthrough-on-claims-backlog-1.180811

8 Temmuz 2012 Pazar

AF Delays Brief to Senator Burr re: C-123 Dioxin Exposure

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For uncertain reasons, the Air Force briefer scheduled to meet with Senator Burr's staff and teleconference participants has delayed his presentation until 11 July. We hope it is for a serious reconsideration of the mounting evidence from outside AF/VA sources which challenge such an unscientific report.

Thus far, other federal agencies as well as university experts have weighed in...none in support of the VA/AF, all in opposition. They cite the failure to respect the Army's TG312, failure to allow reasonable benefit of the doubt, failure to avoid unscientific assumptions, failure to weigh opinions expressed by the CDC's Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, failure to weigh earlier IOM exposure data regarding dermal and inhalation routes of dioxin, and failure to address the greater degree of contamination prior to the first tests conducted on the aircraft.

It is unfortunate that the issue shifts from an examination of aircrew exposure to dioxin contamination on our aircraft, to a detailed expose of why the heck the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine pumped out such an unscientific document.

Let's hope the Air Force Surgeon gets it right this time! All we ask is the benefit of the doubt, to allow the evidence to reach the VA's "as likely to as not" threshold.

We're grateful for the powerful support of the professional societies. We're profoundly grateful to the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America as we continue our struggle. And we look forward to the day we can shut this web site down, go home, and with corrected AF and VA reports, turn to the VA for treatment of our service-connected illnesses.

Update: C-123 Agent Orange Exposure

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The Army's Public Health Command has been asked to review the April Air Force C-123 Agent Orange report, in particular because of the Air Force disregard for the Army's TG312 publication. Elsewhere, we have been contacted by an independent, university-based toxicologist who is reviewing both the AF and the VA reports which he has already labeled "unscientific". Rumors are that a peer-reviewed article is coming - unlike the AF and VA reports which were internal papers without outside critical review (which they haven't survived!)
Here is an interesting question: the Air Force report dismisses the Army TG312 findings, mentioning that the Army meant TG312 for office workers, yet in that report (Chapter One, Page One), the Army states:

"Although this TG focuses on office worker exposures, the general method used to develop an exposure assessment may be adapted for other exposure scenarios by adjusting exposure fact."

Destruction of Toxic C-123, April 2010

Can you see the problem? Can you see what happens when reports are written with a pre-determined outcome and the researchers cherry-pick materials to reach that pre-determined conclusion? Both the VA and the AF needed to insure C-123 veterans were prevented from successful service-connected claims, and their reports were generated with the objective in mind. Al Young must be proud!
Regarding our effort to get justice from the VA, here is where we can use some help:

Michael Turner, Ohio

1. Ohio's Congressional delegation (especially Rep. Mike Turner) should be informed re: the actions of USAFSAM's unscientific report. If the aircraft were indeed safe, why did the AF Museum spend over $50,000 to decontaminate an aircraft (Patches) which didn't need decontamination, and why did the AF spend $120,000 to quarantine the C-123s in Davis-Monthan's Boneyard. And why did the AF destroy the aircraft in 2010 if not contaminated? Answer: the planes were indeed contaminated per many tests, and only veterans' claims for service connection resulted in a political decision that we haven't been exposed!2. We need more universities where we have our veterans (Harvard, BU, Northeastern, Amherst, Wellesley, Tufts, Dartmouth, Indiana, Carnegie-Mellon) to come on board (some already have) with challenges to the AF/VA reports - they need to decry such unscientific activities. We need our veterans (that means YOU!) to sit in front of the university experts and solicit more support - even their professional opinions in letter form are terrific support3. We need results of our veterans' medical exams in which physicians, after examining the veteran and the medical record, find Agent Orange exposure "as likely to as not" to have caused the illness4. We need the American Legion to seek influential experts from Johns Hopkins, NIH, Bethesda, or Howard to review the AF/VA reports5. We need the American Legion and Vietnam Veterans of America to FOIA the entire AF background on their C-123 report or to seek it as a courtesy from USAFSAM & Colonel Benjamin, in keeping with DOD5400.7-R_AFMAN 33-302 which encourages release of information without the need to involve FOIA

6. We need Senator Patty Murray (WA), Chair of the Senate Veterans Committee, to be as involved as Senator Burr, the ranking member - they together have endorsed the Blue Water Navy so supporting us is possible. Can VVA and American Legion approach her or her staffer? 7. We need support from the Army Aviation and Marine Corps Aviation Associations, but we won't get it is we can't get the Air Force Association behind us. Can American Legion and VVA help there?
8. We need professional societies such as the Society of Toxicology to weigh in; SOT was "sucker-punched" when T. Irons and W. Dick (VA Public Health) presented their poster display summarizing the VA's report

9. VA and AF have both constructed an argument new to toxicology - for the first time and contrary to earlier IOM reports, a suggestion is made that contamination does not result in exposure. They have dismissed inhalation as an exposure route without scientific justification. They have dismissed ingestion as an exposure route without scientific justification. And finally, by constructing a hypothesis of "dry dioxin transfer", they dismiss the dermal route of exposure. There is no science behind the VA's hypothesis that crews couldn't have been exposed via the dermal route aboard this "heavily contaminated' airplane which was "a danger to public health" (according to AF toxicologists)10. We need the IOM back on board regarding the VA's proposed special project investigating the C-123 contamination - VA's promised Statement of Work should be submitted and publicly discussed11. ideas?

USAFSAM Invites Veterans' Inquiries

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We're grateful that Colonels Benjamin and Smallwood of the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine have invited questions about their C-123 Agent Orange report, released in late April.

It is hard to be strongly possessed of an opinion contrary to that of these gentlemen, and I'm certain they appreciate the fervor which which we must pursue details about the dioxin contamination of our C-123 aircraft and our potential exposure. Both the VA and AF have taken years of test data, nearly all of which labeled our aircraft "heavily contaminated" and "a danger to public health," yet concluded crews somehow avoided harmful exposure.

We can be (and are) respectful of USAFSAM and its leaders. Yet we must advocate for an interpretation of FACTS which leads to VA allowing service connection for our veterans who be believe have been exposed to harmful TCDD via inhalation, dermal and ingestion methods of exposure.

It is impossible to conclude that we are not due at least the benefit of the doubt on this issue.
-It is impossible to understand why no accounting was given of the 2000 GSA testimony of Dr. Ron Porter, the Air Force toxicologist who determined our airplanes to be "a danger to public health."
-It is impossible to understand why the AF spent $57,000 to decontaminate Patches in 1997, only to reinterpret data to find it wasn't contaminated after all
-It is impossible to understand why the AF at Davis-Monthan spent $120,000 to "quarantine" the contaminated C-123 fleet if it wasn't contaminated after all
-It is impossible to understand why the AF canceled formal sales contracts for C-123s, opting to instead destroy them all, if they weren't contaminated after all
-It is imposible to understand why the AF report ignored input from Army TG312, the ATSDR, Columbia University, Boston University, Oregon Health Sciences University and others - all of which argued our aircrews were exposed

Why are these folks against us? Come on, guys...we understand "the system" suggests otherwise, but find a way to give us a break! You wear flight suits, too!

Military Invites Medical Retirees 2001-2009 to Apply for Upgrade!

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Posted by the American Legion in their May magazine, by our generation's Ernie Pile, Mr. Tom Philpott. Tom was the man who first brought our C-123 Agent Orange to the nation's attention in his Gannett article back in May '11
LETTER TARGETS MEDICALLY SEPARATED SINCE 9/11 by Tom Philpott, Military.COMAbout 75,000 veterans medically separated from Sept. 11, 2001, to Dec. 31, 2009, with a service disability rating below 30 percent will be getting a letter this year from a special board. It will invite them to have their military disability rating reviewed for possible upgrade. And it’s an invitation they should accept. But they also don’t have to wait for the letter. These veterans can apply now, to something called the Physical Disability Review Board, to have their ratings reviewed. The online link is www.health.mil/pdbr. The application is only a page long and there is no chance of a rating downgrade.The special mailing is acknowledgement by the Department of Defense that too few qualified veterans even know the PDBR exists or understand what a ratings upgrade would mean in lifetime compensation and benefits.It’s a particularly important opportunity for veterans injured in Iraq and Afghanistan who believe they got low-balled on their original rating by their medical or disability review board. At stake, if ratings are upgraded to 30 percent or higher, is eligibility for a disability annuity back to the date of the original disability decision. Payments would have to be reduced for a while to recoup whatever separation pay was provided at discharge. But also at stake for eligible applicants is access to lifetime military health care for vets and spouses, discount shopping on base and any other privileges tied to “retiree” status.Congress came to realize several years ago that the services had been medically discharging many thousands of veterans using internal rules that under rated disabilities. They either rated only a single “unfitting” condition, leaving other conditions for VA review, or used modified rating tables that were more stringent on certain key conditions than tables used by the VA.As part of a legislative reform package for wounded warriors, Congress ordered the services to begin rating every unfitting medical condition found by disability review boards and to rate those conditions, without exception, using the Veterans Administration Schedule for Ratings Disabilities (VASRD).Importantly, Congress also ordered retroactive relief. The Department of Defense had to establish the PDBR to reconsider any ratings below 30 percent given to vets medically separated back to 9/11. It didn’t make PDRB review automatic, however. Veterans need to apply for reconsideration.The PDBR began accepting applications in June 2009. A full review at one time took 18 months on average. That is now down to 13 months. But 45 percent of completed cases result in recommendations to service secretaries that ratings be raised to 30 percent or higher, the threshold to gain retiree status. To date, the secretary of the Air Force has accepted 100 percent of PDBR recommendations, the Army 98 percent and the Navy 93. But PDBR President Michael F. LoGrande told us the overall number of applications to date is only 2700, or 3.5 percent of the potential pool of eligible veterans. That is far lower than expected when PDBR was launched.For the Department of Defense, Air Force administers the PDBR. Until this year, it relied on periodic news reports, occasional press releases and close contact with veterans’ affairs offices in some larger states to inform and encourage veterans to file applications.The planned mailing, being coordinated jointly by VA and DoD, is expected to be more effective, enough so that the PDBR wants it done in phases to avoiding swamping the board and frustrating applicants. LoGrande first sought permission for a direct mailing two years ago. Because of budget constraints and other priorities, it didn’t happen.By last summer Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) became concerned that too few eligible veterans were seeking rating reviews. He wrote to VA Secretary Eric Shinseki urging VA to conduct a direct mailing and Shinseki agreed.The first batch of letters was to be mailed at the end of January to 15,000 veterans. The PDBR then wants time to judge the response rate and decide how staff must grow, particularly in physicians needed to review of thousands of medical records and assess proper ratings. Once resource demand is known, LoGrande expects 15,000 more letters to be mailed about every two months until all eligible vets with current addresses in the VA files get a letter explaining why the PDBR might be important to them. # # #
Tom Philpott
Military Update

Stolen Valor Act Struck Down by Supreme Court

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Upholding a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court, the Supreme Court recently struck down the Stolen Valor Act, which now makes it "free speech" for military wanna-bees to claim receiving the Medal of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross, Air Force Cross, Purple Heart and other awards for military valor and service.

I understand the free speech bit, but I've had the unpleasant duty of outing a friend and fellow church member who pretended to be a POW, holder of the Combat Infantry Badge, Parachute Badge, Drill Sergeant Badge, Purple Heart and other decorations and badges. He tossed in stuff about being with the 101st Airborne for extra flavor. The man was elderly and quite sick when his wife asked me to help with his veterans benefits which should have flowed from his POW status...didn't take long to uncover the distasteful truth about this phony. Maybe I'd have looked the other way, but the wife showed me his prepared obituary...and I tried mightily to get her to drop the phony stuff before he passed, stuff which certainly wouldn't survive publication upon his death. She wouldn't budge...and the phony stuff hit the fan with a vengeance as the local newspaper, in great outrage, corrected in multiple columns the lies in the obituary.

"Capt" MacKenzie, with Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, etc.
--got 'em the easy way...MAIL ORDER PHONY!

We love the poetry of Robert Burns and attended the traditional Bobby Burns dinner in Salem, Oregon. The distinguished MC was a retired Navy captain, and on his Prince Charlie jacket wore his medals with pride: Navy Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Again, all phony, and this former Navy PO1 never was commissioned, never got a Masters in Film Studies, etc. Admiring the heroism these medals implied, I looked up the Navy Cross citation but was disappointed the last winner with his name got it in the Civil War! So...we dropped a dime on this phony to Doug Sterner, who champions efforts to stop this disgusting and dishonorable garbage.

Phonies keep coming out of the woodwork, and the recent decision by the Supremes will only encourage them until such time as Congress enacts a modified Stolen Valor Act, one which grasps the issue more directly without challenge to the First Amendment.

Advice? Earn 'em before you wear 'em.

Sometimes, ya just gotta laugh!

7 Temmuz 2012 Cumartesi

US scientists visit Agent Orange victims

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http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/politics-laws/225715/us-scientists-visit-agent-orange-victims.html

HA NOI — Staff from the American Public Health Association Policy Office on Agent Orange yesterday visited the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.

The US visitors included medical and chemical researchers and care-givers to people with disability, who wish to learn more about Viet Nam's effort to deal with aftermath of the toxin.

They also plan to work with the Health Ministry and visited dioxin-affected people in several cities including Da Nang, HCM City and Hue.

In other developments, PetroVietnam's Veterans Association has donated VND2 billion (US$95,000) to build a boarding school for AO/dioxin victims in central Quang Binh Province.

The Association also presented gifts worth a total of VND120 million ($5,700) to the relatives of revolutionary martyrs who protected the Truong Sa (Spratlys) Islands. — VNS

Dioxin suspected as possible cause of bizarre skin disease

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http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/6/101606/

Doctors in the Children Hospital No.2 in Ho Chi Minh City are now suspecting exposure to dioxin as a possible cause of the bizarre skin disease in patients arriving from Ba To District in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Medical workers take samples of water from a stream where residents of Ba Dien Commune draw water for daily use

More than a week back, the hospital had received three patients suffering from the unidentified skin disease, from Reu Village of Ba Dien Commune in Ba To District. Doctors took a biopsy of skin lesions from all the three patients, Pham Thi Tren, 14, Pham Dinh Hieu, 6, and Pham Quoc Bao, 5.

According to the doctors, the skin disease may be reoccurring due to exposure to toxic and harmful substances like dioxin, which can penetrate air, soil, sediments, food and water.

Dr. Ho Thi Kim Thoa, who is directly treating the above cases, said the children all suffered from severe damage to liver, kidney, heart and hearing, and their cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifndition had not improved, despite blood filtering many times.

The hospital said it had not yet identified the cause of the disease but thinks a possible cause to be dioxin or arsenic poisoning, as hair samples taken from a boy who died at Children Hospital No.1 in HCMC showed high levels of arsenic content. One hair sample contained arsenic levels more than 100 times above normal.

Parents of Pham Dinh Hieu and Pham Quoc Bao said they live in a mountainous region where most of the residents collect stream water for daily use and for growing agricultural produce. Hence, the stream water might be polluted with dangerous toxic substances.

READ MORE: http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/6/101606/

Agent Orange at base in '80s: U.S. vet Nearby residents of Futenma possibly tainted by leaking barrels

Controversy grows over 'Agent Orange corn'

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Skeptics doubt VA's claim of breakthrough on claims backlog

5 Temmuz 2012 Perşembe

History of the League's POW/MIA Flag

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In 1971, Mrs. Michael Hoff, an MIA wife and member of the National League of Families, recognized the need for a symbol of our POW/MIAs. Prompted by an article in the Jacksonville, Florida Times-Union, Mrs. Hoff contacted Norman Rivkees, Vice President of Annin & Company which had made a banner for the newest member of the United Nations, the People’s Republic of China, as a part of their policy to provide flags to all United Nations members states. Mrs. Hoff found Mr. Rivkees very sympathetic to the POW/MIA issue, and he, along with Annin’s advertising agency, designed a flag to represent our missing men. Following League approval, the flags were manufactured for distribution.

On March 9, 1989, an official League flag, which flew over the White House on 1988 National POW/MIA Recognition Day, was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda as a result of legislation passed overwhelmingly during the 100th Congress. In a demonstration of bipartisan Congressional support, the leadership of both Houses hosted the installation ceremony.

The League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag ever displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda where it will stand as a powerful symbol of national commitment to America’s POW/MIAs until the fullest possible accounting has been achieved for U.S. personnel still missing and unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.
On August 10, 1990, the 101st Congress passed U.S. Public Law 101-355, which recognized the League’s POW/MIA flag and designated it "as the symbol of our Nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoner, missing and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainty for their families and the Nation".

The importance of the League’s POW/MIA flag lies in its continued visibility, a constant reminder of the plight of America’s POW/MIAs. Other than "Old Glory", the League’s POW/MIA flag is the only flag ever to fly over the White House, having been displayed in this place of honor on National POW/MIA Recognition Day since 1982. Passage by the 105th Congress of Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act requires that the League’s POW/MIA flag fly six days each year: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day and Veterans Day. It must be displayed at the White House, the U.S. Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense and Veterans Affairs, headquarters of the Selective Service System, major military installations as designated by the Secretary of the Defense, all Federal cemeteries and all offices of the U.S. Postal Service. By law passed in 2002, it must fly year-round at the National Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial.

Freedom Flight's POW / MIA Message From Above

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Jim Tuorila’s most memorable hot air balloon flight comes with a small bit of irony attached to one of its more prominent elements—altitude. The veteran balloon pilot and co-founder of Freedom Flight, Inc., a non-profit organization that raises awareness as well as hot air balloons, had flown hundreds of times. But when one of his passengers requested that he take his distinctive black balloon with the easily recognizable POW/MIA logo to 5,000 feet, Tuorila acquiesced with little enthusiasm.

“I don’t like to fly high,” he said, laughing. “I’m afraid of heights. I can’t lean over the side of a tall building and feel comfortable. I probably wouldn’t be flying this balloon if it weren’t for the issue.”

But the POW/MIA issue and the balloon are inseparable. The striking black craft with its three 30-foot high POW/MIA logos is like no other and is easily spotted even in a sky like Albuquerque’s in October, when mass ascensions at the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta might number more than a thousand colorful balloons in all shapes and sizes gliding over the city.

Tuorila’s three guests that day came with special significance. So he opened up the balloon’s gas burners and the black craft rose into the air. His passengers were women married to men still listed as MIA from the Vietnam War. He doesn’t remember which one asked that he fly to 5,000 feet, but Tuorila has been a psychologist at a VA Medical Center in Minnesota for 20 years; he was curious to see what would happen when they reached that altitude. Balloon flights generally skim the earth, the better to see and be seen. At 5,000 feet, people on the ground are barely able to see the balloon. He couldn’t imagine why his passenger wanted to climb that high.

He said that the moment they reached the requested altitude will stay with him forever.

“We get up there and she says this is the altitude the military said her husband was at when he ejected from his plane over Vietnam,” he said. “She wanted to see what the world looked like when he ejected. It touched me so deeply that I’ll never forget that flight with those women.”

Freedom Flight, the POW/MIA Hot Air Balloon Team, has flown in more than seven hundred events since its first flight in November 1989. The non-profit now has three balloons that attend 35 to 45 events a year, staffed entirely by volunteers. The organization grew out of Tuorila’s vocation—psychology—and his avocation—hot air balloons.

In 1981, while attending graduate school at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he worked with a group of World War II ex-POWs called the “Lost Battalion,” all of them survivors of more than three years in Japanese prison camps. That work inspired Tuorila to write his doctoral dissertation on the effects of captivity, especially regarding the work of Victor Frankl and his famous writings following his own imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps.

While doing his doctoral internship at the Topeka, Kansas, VA Medical Center, Tuorila and his wife volunteered to crew for a hot air balloon. When he went to work in Minnesota, they saw a balloon in flight one day and decided to volunteer again.

In 1987, he appeared on a local TV program to talk about the emotional difficulties families face when a loved one returns after years of captivity. On the program he met the daughter of a Navy pilot shot down and declared MIA. The daughter told him that the government story of her father’s disappearance was very much at odds with the story told by her father’s wingman, who made a point of finding the pilot’s family to tell them the true story of the incident.

By then, Tuorila and his wife were crewing on a balloon flown by a Vietnam veteran who had been encouraging him to set up a non-profit with an eye toward calling attention to the POW/MIA issue.

Then one day at work, his professional life and his weekend life coalesced.

“I told my co-therapist, ‘You know, I’ve been flying and working with balloons for five years now. What about a black POW/MIA balloon? What kind of attention would that get?’ “

The co-therapist and co-founder of Freedom Flight, Vietnam veteran Bill Nohner, thought it was a great idea. A year later, Freedom Flight, Inc., obtained status as a non-profit educational organization.

In 1989, the first flight went up. Its first passenger was Henry Sha, a World War II veteran and ex-POW who happened to stop his car when the balloon landed nearby. Invited onboard, he didn’t hesitate.

Now in its sixteenth year, Freedom Flight continues to attract attention, sometimes through a little luck. At the 2005 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Tuorila volunteered to give rides to the media. A Voice of America camera crew making a documentary on the balloon fiesta accepted his offer. When the crew members found out who they were flying with, a new angle for the documentary emerged.

“When they found out what we were doing with the balloon, I think the program changed to include Freedom Flight and everything we were doing,” Tuorila said.

The change was in keeping with how Tuorila describes the past sixteen years. “The reception we’ve gotten over the years make the hair on the back of my neck stand up,” Tuorila said. “It’s been incredible. I’ve had what I assume to be a Vietnam veteran come up, put $100 in my pocket and say, ‘Keep it up,’ then walk away. I’ve had family members of the missing come up to me with tears in their eyes. I’ve had ex-POWs come up and thank us. Everywhere we go, the reception has been positive and overwhelming, and that keeps us flying.”

For more information on Freedom Flight go to www.freedomflight.org or call Jim Tuorila at 320-252-7208.

The purpose of Vietnam Veterans of America's national organization

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The purpose of Vietnam Veterans of America's national organization, the state councils, and chapters is:

* To help foster, encourage, and promote the improvement of the condition of the Vietnam veteran.
* To promote physical and cultural improvement, growth and development, self-respect, self-confidence, and usefulness of Vietnam-era veterans and others.
* To eliminate discrimination suffered by Vietnam veterans and to develop channels of communications which will assist Vietnam veterans to maximize self-realization and enrichment of their lives and enhance life-fulfillment.
* To study, on a non-partisan basis, proposed legislation, rules, or regulations introduced in any federal, state, or local legislative or administrative body which may affect the social, economic, educational, or physical welfare of the Vietnam-era veteran or others; and to develop public-policy proposals designed to improve the quality of life of the Vietnam-era veteran and others especially in the areas of employment, education, training, and health.
* To conduct and publish research, on a non-partisan basis, pertaining to the relationship between Vietnam-era veterans and the American society, the Vietnam War experience, the role of the United States in securing peaceful co-existence for the world community, and other matters which affect the social, economic, educational, or physical welfare of the Vietnam-era veteran or others.
* To assist disabled and needy war veterans including, but not limited to, Vietnam veterans and their dependents, and the widows and orphans of deceased veterans.

Strategic Plan - VVA's Roadmap to the Future

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VVA, like most service organizations these days, is in a period of transition. This is not unusual since change or evolution is natural, and historically VVA has been a catalyst for change within the veterans service community. What is different today is the rapid pace and complexity that these changes have and will continue to have on VVA's ability to be a relevant factor both to ourselves and to society as a whole. The VVA leadership recognized that VVA would need a method or process to address the multitude of opportunities to emerge and to meet the challenges it would encounter in this fast-changing "reality" that is taking us into the 21st century.

In earlier years, VVA utilized a strategic plan that was developed and approved by the national board of directors in 1989. A review indicated that indeed this plan had actually served VVA very well as it focused the entire organization on the issues and concerns that were relevant and important during that time period. Many of VVA's successes and victories can be traced back to the clarity of purpose that the plan brought forth to the entire organization. What the plan lacked was a process that continued its implementation and kept the plan alive as the dynamics of VVA leadership at all levels evolved and changed.

The need to create a comprehensive process or methodology for the development and implementation of a new strategic plan for VVA was recognized by the VVA national president James L. Brazee, Jr., and a Strategic Planning Committee was established for this purpose.

The president appointed VVA national treasurer Jack McManus to chair the new Strategic Planning Committee, and he, in turn, appointed committee members that represented the diverse interests of the various constituencies and organizational levels within VVA. It is important to recognize that the committee was intentionally structured to include representation from large and small chapters, large and small state councils, the VVA staff, VVA associates, non-BOD committee chairs, national BOD members, minority and women veteran members, and elected national officers.

The reasoning behind having such diversity in the committee makeup was ultimately the plan would need to reflect the real differences of interests within the organization at each level. The intent was to be truly representative of our memberships' interests so that the individual members could embrace and own the plan. The committee believes that if the entire organization claims ownership in the Strategic Plan, then the implementation of the various elements of this plan will be more successful at all levels.

Core Values

Advocacy:

We are committed to unrelenting advocacy for fairness in the treatment of veterans so that never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.

Meaningful Achievement:

We want to make a difference, focusing on issues that stand as critical barriers to a fulfilling life for veterans and all Americans.

Integrity:

We tell the truth and take responsibility.

Compassion:

We care about comrades and others in needs.

Camaraderie:

We support each other and feel we're all members of one family.
Vision & Mission Statements

Vision:

We are leading the challenge to do what is right for America and its veterans.

Mission:

Using the shared vision of our membership:

· we aggressively advocate on issues important to veterans;

· provide programs and services that improve the well-being of all veterans and their families;

· and serve our communities.

Goals, Rationales, and Strategies

Membership Goal:

To proactively recruit, retain, and develop an informed and personally effective membership dedicated to VVA's values, mission, and goals.

Membership Rationale:

The operative phrases in the membership goal are: Informed, personally effective, and dedicated membership who embrace VVA's values, mission, and goals. In other words, as we seek to expand our membership, we offer opportunities for increasing personal effectiveness to those who share our values and commitment. The new strategic plan will let prospective members know the kind of organization they are joining. Vigorous pursuit of the goals and strategies by chapters offer many opportunities for the full use of prospective members' talents according to the interests. The strategy calls for an effective external communications program to aid recruitment, combined with training to promote personal and professional development for members through their participation in chapter activities.

Membership Strategy:

Develop and implement a comprehensive master plan, which includes all levels; a targeted effort to recruit members (using professional and personal contact and face-to-face marketing resources); and a program to retain them.

Advocacy Goal:

Identify and prioritize legislative and administrative objectives to focus our energy and resources as an effective catalyst for the retention and improvement of veterans benefits.

Advocacy Rationale:

America has an "unfinished agenda" for public policy and funding of programs affecting veterans. Health care looms large at all levels of government. Other issues range from protecting and improving service-connected compensation benefits and veterans employment preferences to advocating research and/or programs addressing Agent Orange, PTSD, and homelessness as well as specialized programs relating to women, minority, and incarcerated veterans. In an age of government downsizing, veterans benefits across the board are at risk. There is an enormous educational job to be done among Vietnam veterans, public policymakers and the general public.

When it comes to passionate and powerful advocacy, VVA is clearly a leader in the veterans community, and the situation is ripe for action. More and more Vietnam veterans are being elected at all levels of government. In short, the Vietnam generation is in charge. But there are many challenges: Advocacy goals are not focused sufficiently to establish a clear agenda in order to concentrate efforts to achieve it. Not all VVA members accept a "political" role for the organization; veterans service organizations have competing legislative and administrative agendas; and VVA's own advocacy efforts are often scattered. Thus, there is a need to establish key legislative and administrative priorities in VVA and among veterans service organizations.

Advocacy Strategy:

Identify and prioritize legislative and administrative objectives, consolidate existing VVA advocacy functions and focus our energy and resources to most effectively advocate for the advancement of veterans' concerns.

Direct Services Strategy:

Maintain, expand, and support our network of veteran service representatives nationwide. Publicize direct service information and conduct training on how to build community-based coalitions. Offer the tools necessary; information and training for providing direct services and for building community-based coalitions to meet the needs of veterans and their families.

Direct Services Rationale:

VVA seeks to assure a decent, positive lifestyle for veterans by working at two levels: Actually providing VVA-sponsored services and by building the community's commitment and capacity to provide essential services to veterans and their families.

VVA has a strong base expertise in veterans benefits and provides representation for veterans to receive benefits due them. As our population ages, new concerns ranging from long-term health care to career upheavals and retirement need to be anticipated. While we continue to provide direct services, we need to help members understand the complexity of emerging needs. And we need to train members in how to build community-based coalitions to address these needs.

Direct Services Goal:

Participate in providing direct services needed by veterans and their families.

Community Service Goal:

Enable VVA members to their community and promote positive social change.

Community Service Rationale:

Creating safe and viable communities, whether rural, urban, or suburban, is high on America's agenda. The opportunity to provide meaningful service to his/her community is an important reason for any veteran to become and remain involved in a VVA chapter. VVA has a history of community involvement-chapters have conducted a wide variety of creative, effective programs attacking gang warfare, drug addiction, family strife, homelessness, help to the elderly and disabled, and education on the Vietnam War at various academic levels.

However, these efforts are largely isolated. There is no organized network for communication among community service efforts, no mentoring program, and no designated responsibility at any level of VVA. Therefore, the first step is to document how chapters are serving their communities and to organize a mentoring program among chapters to inspire continued innovation.

Community Service Strategy:

Create a database of current and past community activities and develop and implement a commmunity mentor program, which stimulates community service activities.

Financial Goal:

Continuously expand the financial base to assure adequate resources to support VVA's mission at all operational levels.

Financial Strategy:

Develop and implement a comprehensive Financial/Funding Master Plan that provides a diversified funding base for all operational levels of the organization. The plan would include: A description of the current situation, needs and priorities, existing and potential resources, training needs, opportunities and methods at all levels, restrictions, allocation formulas, and means for monitoring and evaluating achievement of goals.

Financial Rationale:

VVA has tremendous potential for fundraising. Members recognize the need to devote energy to obtaining resources. The VVA name is well established, and we have a record of success. Moreover, many Vietnam veterans who are nearing their peak earning years in successful careers represent an important and largely untapped source for financial support.

On the other hand, we lack a comprehensive approach, relying too heavily on funding from just a few sources. We need a plan based on modern fundraising techniques plus training and technical assistance to enable chapters, state councils, and the national office to participate in a well-coordinated effort. The plan should also describe how resources will be shared to support national, state, and local operations.

Communications Goal:

Create a clear communications system/structure identifying responsibility throughout VVA, effectively using new and existing technology.

Communications Rationale:

Effective, two-way communication inside VVA and with various publics is critical to our success. VVA wants to be the authoritative voice and clearinghouse for information on topics of interest to veterans. The information age is producing increasingly accessible technology for inter-personal communication through the Internet and for mass media. VVA may not be taking full advantage of these channels. Some of the technology has not reached every chapter or member. Most important, responsibility for conveying information and providing feedback has not been established throughout VVA. Hence, the need to create a clear strategy for communicating with external audiences and to establish a system and structure that defines responsibility at all levels for our internal communications.

Communications Strategy:

Establish effective communication channels and assign responsibility at all levels. Make effective use of new and existing technology to assure accurate information exchange within these channels and encourage use and feedback between all levels.

Organizational Effectiveness Goal:

Continuously improve the ability of VVA at all levels to service a growing membership.

Organizational Effectiveness Rationale:

Assuring a positive future for VVA requires an ongoing effort to continuously improve the effectiveness of the organization itself. Success depends on: a) commitment to VVA's values and vision, b) cooperation in the pursuit of clear goals and strategies c) agreement on roles-who gets to do what d) constant, accurate feedback from VVA's members and external audiences to anticipate needs and to measure accomplishment and e) effective leadership. Making this happen is not a one-shot project. It is an ongoing process, requiring constant attention and resources. Equipping VVA's leaders for continuous improvement of the organization begins by helping them to explore implications of the strategic plan through planning with their constituencies. Feedback from these discussions about VVA's directions and ways to implement the plan at national, state, and local levels will provide the basis for designing a systematic, continuous improvement process to keep VVA strong. There must also be an ongoing, periodic review of VVA's organizational and committee structure to make VVA's operations as efficient and effective as possible and to ensure that VVA's structure changes appropriately as the organization j evolves. Additionally, VVA's resource allocation must be constantly geared to making the best possible use of limited fiscal and staff resources. Doing so will necessitate prioritizing national convention and board resolutions and directives so that VVA's priorities will be determined by a deliberate process and not by reactions to emerging and changing events.

Organizational Effectiveness Strategy:

Develop and implement a process to address the purposes, roles, and responsibilities of each organizational element within VVA and define the means for the leadership of element within VVA and define the means for the leadership of each organizational elements to measure and reward accomplishments.

Implementation Roles

Role of the Board:

Approve the strategic plan; act as spokesperson for VVA's vision, values, and strategic directions; provide policy; and prioritize resources for plan implementation.

Role of Committees:

Review strategic plan; adjust agendas/objectives to support the strategies; develop work plans to measure achievement of objectives.

Role of State Council:

Review the strategic plan; develop objectives for state-level activities; provide technical advice and support to chapters.

Role of Chapters:

Review national and state strategies and objectives; decide how they are able to support them; implement appropriate activities.

Role of Conference of State Council President:

Act as advisory and leadership development resource amongst state council presidents, providing knowledge, evaluation, and feedback on the various objectives and activities implemented to fulfill the plans' goals and strategies from VVA's chapters and state councils.

Role of National Staff:

Internally - develop and implement objectives in support of the strategic plan, report to the board on implementation.

Externally - provide resources, training, and technical support to state councils and chapters to support their strategic planning and evaluation processes.

Methodology

VVA's Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for building a positive future for our organization. The strategic plan spells out the core values we share, affirms our fundamental purposes through our mission statement, and establishes a framework of goals and strategies to focus our energies and resources. The plan presents a simple and necessarily concise framework for subsequent planning and actions that must take place at all levels.

To assist the committee, we engaged Mr. Dwight Fee, a well-respected expert in strategic planning and organizational development to act as the facilitator for the planning process and to keep the committee focused.

The committee utilized the illustrated planning model as a guide through this Strategic Planning process. In addition, the Strategic Plan from 1989 was utilized from the perspective of "lessons learned," building upon the fine work of that earlier plan.

Further, the committee conducted a survey of VVA members and leaders-from chapter and state council presidents to the BOD, the national officers, and staff. The survey asked them to identify trends in society likely to affect VVA and its members. It also asked them to suggest how VVA may need to change.

The utilization of this survey data assured the committee that the "voice of the membership" was also fully recognized and incorporated into the planning process.

The committee also examined the strengths and limitations of VVA, seeking to match our strengths to the emerging opportunities in the world around us.

Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for building a positive future for our organization. The strategic plan spells out the core values we share, affirms our fundamental purposes through our mission statement, and establishes a framework of goals and strategies to focus our energies and resources. The plan presents a simple and necessarily concise framework for subsequent planning and actions that must take place at all levels.

To assist the committee, we engaged Mr. Dwight Fee, a well-respected expert in strategic planning and organizational development to act as the facilitator for the planning process and to keep the committee focused.

The committee utilized the illustrated planning model as a guide through this Strategic Planning process. In addition, the Strategic Plan from 1989 was utilized from the perspective of "lessons learned," building upon the fine work of that earlier plan.

Further, the committee conducted a survey of VVA members and leaders-from chapter and state council presidents to the BOD, the national officers, and staff. The survey asked them to identify trends in society likely to affect VVA and its members. It also asked them to suggest how VVA may need to change.

The utilization of this survey data assured the committee that the "voice of the membership" was also fully recognized and incorporated into the planning process.

The committee also examined the strengths and limitations of VVA, seeking to match our strengths to the emerging opportunities in the world around us.

This exhaustive examination not only informed our planning, it also yielded some important implications for the way we operate.

The single most important conclusion is that merely producing a strategic plan will not be sufficient to move VVA successfully into the 21st century. What is required is a planning and evaluation process that cascades through all levels of the organization to align our energies to implement the plan. Without such a process, supported by members skilled in facilitation, meaningful implementation is highly unlikely.

A second overarching conclusion is that implementing our roadmap for the future depends on empowering people at all levels through strong leadership, clear responsibility and authority, sufficient resources, and above all, a new level of cooperation among all elements of the organization.

Like every organization these days, VVA is in transition. To grow and remain relevant, we must change in order to respond to changes occurring around us. The new global economy, the march of technology, and the maturing of our membership are just a few of the forces already impacting us. Not only do we need to change, we need to change fast just to stay up.

The core values expressed in the plan are those things that our members believe are why they joined VVA and what needs to be here for them to remain committed to VVA. The committee utilized these core values to guide its decision-making during the planning process and are important to be considered when implementing the plan.

The vision statement is how we want the organization to be viewed by our members, our staff, and the public at any ideal point in the future.

The mission statement: simply addresses how and what we do as an organization based upon rethinking our basic purposes.

The goals define areas from our mission statement where we can achieve specific results.

The rationale is a summary analysis of the forces likely to effect the achievement success of the stated goal.

The strategy for each goal defines in a broad sense what should be accomplished to attain specific achievements.

Objectives and workplans committees at all levels, including chapters and state councils and the national staff, are asked to establish objectives and work plans for each goal and strategy, including measurable outcomes. This will require the committee and national staff to rethink their work and shift their resources and energy to align their work with the Strategic Plan.

Chapters and state councils should undertake an assessment of their respective entity to determine how they can best align their objectives and activities to best support this Strategic Plan.

The roles identify the responsibilities that each entity within the organization could be expected to perform for the successful implementation of the Strategic Plan.

Follow-up a continuing effort will be undertaken by leaders of VVA to: Communicate the values, mission, goals, and strategies throughout VVA; support committees, national staff, state councils, and chapters in their efforts to achieve the goals; and measure and recognize achievement.

The Proposed Strategic / Operational Planning Model

* The model is constructed from the bottom up.
* After the plans are completed, one can easily check the consistency of current activities with agreements made in preceding blocks.
* Thus, the strategic plan serves to keep the organization on course: in pursuit of its mission-consistent with realities in the environment- and aligned with the core values of its members.

Workplans - Action plans of individuals responsible for achieving the objectives.
Objectives - Major results needed to implement the strategy in certain time.
Roles - Who gets to do what to align resources and people with the plan.
Strategies -The grand design for achieving each goal.
Goals - Four of five "chunks" of the mission (area for achievement).
Mission - The "match" between the core values and the realities of the environment
determines the core business of the organization.
SWOT Analysis - Organization's strengths and weaknesses, plus anticipated opportunities and threats in the environment.
Core Values - Specific aspirations members hold for the organization.

Jackpot! VVA's Twelfth Biennial Convention

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Any way you look at it, VVA’s 12th biennial National Convention, which was held Aug. 10-13 at the Silver Legacy Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada, was a huge success. A record number of Convention delegates, 736 from across the nation, rolled up their collective sleeves and spent three and a half days debating and enacting a series of resolutions that will guide the organization through the next two years. On Friday, the delegates cast their votes for VVA’s four national officers and nineteen members of the Board of Directors. More than a thousand delegates and guests—including some 125 AVVA members taking part in the organization’s National Leadership Conference—took in the stirring opening ceremonies that kicked off the Convention and the moving (and rocking) Saturday Night Awards Banquet, which ended the event.

“We did ourselves proud in Reno,” said outgoing VVA President Tom Corey, who stepped down after two terms. “The delegates showed a seriousness of purpose that we have come to expect at VVA Conventions. The election campaigns were hard fought. And after the votes were counted, we came together in support of our new national leaders who will guide us through another two years. I look forward to working with them.”

John Rowan of Middle Village, New York, the New York State Council president who had served as the chair of VVA’s Conference of State Council Presidents and three terms on the Board of Directors, was elected VVA’s sixth national president, defeating former VVA Vice President Ed Chow. Jack Devine of Dimondale, Michigan, a former VVA Board member who chairs VVA’s Project 112/SHAD Task Force, was chosen as national Vice President. Barry Hagge of Boyertown, Pennsylvania, the long-time chair of VVA’s Constitution Committee, was elected national Secretary, and Alan Cook of Castro Valley, California, won re-election as national Treasurer.

“It’s a great honor to serve as VVA’s national President,” Rowan said. “We have a great team in place to run this great veterans’ service organization for the next two years. I am looking forward to working with VVA members all across the nation on every level to support Vietnam veterans and their families In Service to America.”

The Convention got off to an exuberant start at 9:00 on Wednesday morning with the Opening Ceremonies, which began with rousing renditions of the Vietnam-War-era songs “Run Through the Jungle” and “Fortunate Son” by an uncannily realistic John Fogerty (of Creedence Clearwater Revival) impersonator as black and white war-time images were displayed on four huge video screens. The ceremonies also included moving tributes to former VVA National President George Duggins (who died just a week before the Convention) and other VVA members lost in the previous year, as well as warm welcomes from Nevada State Council President Virgie Hibbler, Jr., Reno Mayor Robert Cashell, and AVVA President Mary Miller.

Most of those on hand agreed that the highlight of the morning was the powerful Keynote Speech delivered by VVA member Allen Hoe, a former Americal Division medic from Honololu who today is one of Hawaii’s most prominent attorneys—and whose son, U.S. Army Lt. Nainoa Hoe, was killed in action in Iraq in January.

“I have stopped trying to understand why the events in my life have come to me in the manner they have and at the times they had,” Hoe said. “Sayings like ‘there but for the grace of God’ have true meaning in my world. I learned many lessons on the battlefields of Hiep Duc and Que Son Valley—when all is lost, you need to remember: someone else has it twice as bad as you.”

The delegates put in long hours on the Convention floor on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and during evening caucuses with the officer and board candidates. On Thursday, the delegates heard from Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield, the No. 2 person in the VA. On Friday, the delegates honored Tabeatha Allen, a security guard at the hotel who all week had been thanking VVA members for their service. When members learned that Allen was a twice-wounded veteran of the war in Iraq, she was prevailed upon to come onto the Convention floor and be introduced. What followed was a thunderous ovation, as Convention delegates showed their allegiance to VVA’s founding principle: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.”

With the work of the Convention complete by noon on Saturday, nearly everyone joined in the autographing and book-signing event featuring Raquel Welch, who signed photos for more than two and a half hours. Also taking part was John Hulme, who directed the acclaimed HBO documentary, Unknown Soldier: Searching for a Father, the story of his quest to learn about his father, U.S. Marine Lt. Jack Hulme, who in 1969 was killed in action in Vietnam when John Hulme was three weeks old.

Raquel Welch, who made a Bob Hope tour trip to Vietnam in 1967, and John Hulme received the VVA President’s Award for Excellence in the Arts at the Saturday night Awards Banquet, which was emceed by VVA member Troy Evans, the veteran Hollywood character actor best known for his recurring roles on China Beach and ER. Evans, in fact, reprised one of his China Beach bits, “Sarge’s Rules for How to Stay Alive in Vietnam” on stage. That included the old chestnut: “When you’ve secured an area, don’t forget to tell the enemy. They may have other plans.”

Also receiving an Excellence in the Arts Award: Wayne Karlin, the author of—among many other acclaimed works—the novel Lost Armies and the memoir Rumors and Stones. Karlin, a former Marine helicopter doorgunner, is one of the finest, most accomplished, and most honored writers to come out of the Vietnam War.

The Awards Banquet concluded with a tribute to retiring VVA President Tom Corey, who said that while he was stepping down as President, he would continue to be an active veterans’ advocate and work with VVA for years to come.