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Ernie Allis of Harrisburg, a comradeof Charlotte Post 9488, and PennyCacoulidis of Raeford, a sister ofFayetteville Auxiliary 670, were electedas State Commander and State Ladies

Auxiliary President for 2013-2014 at theDepartment of North Carolina's 83rd

Annual State Convention in Greensboroon June 8th. The convention was held atthe ultra-modem, atrium-style EmbassySuites Hotel at Exit 210 off 1-40, and waspraised by many comrades, sisters, andbrothers as the finest convention theyhad ever attended.

Also elected on the comrades' side ofthe house were Jack Goin of Calabashas Senior Vice Commander, JessieBellflowers of Hope Mills as Junior

Vice Commander, Bruce Edwards ofRaleigh as Quartermaster, Dean Harrisof Newland as Judge Advocate, ChrisSikes of Wilmington as Surgeon, andSteve Smith of Jacksonville as Chaplain.

Appointed to the other major positionsat the Department level were BruceEdwards as Adjutant, Gene Kent ofSparta as Chief of Staff, Glen Phelps ofSouthern Pines as Inspector, and CleoSummers of Winston-Salem as StateService Officer.

Most of the offices were uncontested elec-tions, except for Junior Vice Commanderand Surgeon. In a very close race, JessieBellflowers, the outgoing District 8Commander, narrowly defeated Steve

Amos, the outgoing Chief of Staff, andVictor Letoumeaut, the outgoing District4 Commander. In another tight race,Chris Sikes, who was finishing up a termas the District 5 Commander, defeated

sitting Surgeon Saundra Clagett.

On the Ladies' side of the house, the fol-lowing Ladies were elected: Janice Holmof Brevard as Senior Vice President, B.Mae Harris of Fayetteville as Junior VicePresident, Fran Redfield of Calabash asChaplain, and Joyce Preston of Tryonas Conductress. Eileen Wokosky ofSwansboro was elected as the new Gu ard.For the first time in a historic move, theMen's Auxiliary State Advisory Council

was approved by the VFW Council ofAdministration, and it elected JimmyHinesley of Southern Pines as its ownPresident. The concept was approvedfor this Advisory Council to supply theState Commander and VFW Council of

Administration with advice and informa-tion on Men's Auxiliary concerns, and toconduct fund-raisers at the Departmentlevel.

The Convention itself was a tremendoussuccess from start to finish. The outgo-ing Council of Administration met onThursday, June 6th, and finished oldbusiness. These business matters includ-ed the approval of the Men's AuxiliaryStandard Operating Procedure (SOP),several changes to the State CanteenSOP, which will be posted on the state

website for downloading, and a recessionof last February's Council vote to halt theDepartment's partnership with AmericanIncome Life Insurance Company. As of

June 6th, the partnership with AmericanIncome Life was renewed, and so allcomrades in the state remain covered foran extra $2500 in Accidental Death andDismemberment insurance (in addition

to the small $1000 AD&D free policyproved to each comrade by the VFW).

On Friday, the 7th, the day started withthe recognition by the Department ofthe 2012-13 Scout of the Year, Shaun

Jones, who attended with his parents.The Joint Session, which followed thispresentation, featured Executive DirectorMichael Dakduk of the national Student

Veterans Association (SVA). The VFWhas concluded a National partnership

with the SVA in the hopes of help-ing young veterans currently attendingschool under the GI Bill of the 21stCentury. Also speaking were Chief of

Volunteer Services Ronni Miller of theDurham V A Medical Center, MedicareExpert Charlie Sloan, and District 12Commander John Troutman, who recit-ed a moving poem, called "I Was ASoldier," that he had composed himself.

The remainder of Friday included meet-ings of the three Conferences (Eastern,Central, and Western), and many com-mittee meetings and seminars.

On Saturday, various awards were pre-sented, to include the All State Districtand Post Awards. Chosen for All Statestatus were Districts 4,5, 7, 8, 9, and 17,

which was the largest number of All StateDistricts in many years. Chosen for AllState Post were Raeford 10,Fayetteville 670, Indian Trail 2423,Spring Lake 4542, Morganton 5362,Fayetteville 6018, Concord 6480,Haysville 6812, Sparta 7034, Havelock

7315, Whittier 8013, Jacksonville 9133,Charlotte 9488, Swansboro 9960, HollyRidge 9983, Raleigh 10001, Gamer10225, Boiling Springs Lake 10400, andHope Mills 10630.

Nominations for state office were con-ducted in the morning, and the electionand installation in the afternoon. PastState Commander Elree Smith installednew Commander Allis and the otherCouncil members.

That evening, the comrades, sisters, andbrothers were delighted and stunned bya bravura performance by Dolly Partonimpersonator Wynonah Dove. Ms.Dove's superb singing and acting fit inperfectly with the Installation Banquet'stheme of the Wild West. The collectedcowboys, cowgirls, and Indians cheeredand laughed continuously, showing theirapproval.

On Sunday morning, the incomingCouncil of Administration conductednew business, to include approving the2013-14 state budget, and agreeing tobecome partners with the Doing GoodNetwork and agreeing to opening com-munications with the American Rideand Glide event. Separate stories in theedition of the newspaper are includedon the Doing Good Network and the

American Ride and Glide event.

Near the end of the Sunday morning busi-ness session, Steve Amos of Walkertownand Russ Burleson of Mars Hill bothdeclared they would be running for State

Junior Vice Commander for 2014-15.

Official Publication of the N.C. Department Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States

VOLUME NO. 76 THEVFWLEADER APR/MAY/JUN 2013

Inside:

Pg. 2 - Band4Good Pg 13 - VA Claims

Pg. 3 - Officers Columns Pg 14 - Mail Preference

Pg. 4 - VFW Advocacy Pg15 - Stolen Valor Act

Pg. 5 - L ocal Sister Soldiers Pg16 - Benefits

Pg. 6 - Presidents Column

Pg. 11 - All American Ride & Glide

Pg. 12 - Guitars for Vets

VFW of North CarolinaPO Box 25337Raleigh, NC 27611-5337

Non-Profit OrgUS Postage

PAIDRermit No. 1838

Raleigh N.C.

Allis and Cacoulidis Take Command of the Department

THE VFW LEADER

2013

WEHO

LDTHEFUTUREE

Visit Your Post's Website

Every post in North Carolina has their own website. It takes a minuteto visit your post's site. Just log in to:www.vfwwebcom.org/northcarolina

E rn ie All is, St at e C om and er Pe nny Cac ou li di s, Sta te La di esAuxiliary President

Post Training Set for Aug. SaturdaysThe Department of North Carolina willconduct its annual "Flying Squadron"post and auxiliary training on the threemiddle Saturdays in August - the 10th forthe posts in the Eastern Conference, 17thfor the posts in the Central Conference,and the 24th for the posts in the WesternConference.

The Eastern Conference contains allthe posts and auxiliaries in Districts1,2,3,4,5, and 7. The Central Conferenceincludes all the posts and auxiliaries inDistricts 6,8,9, 10, and 12. The WesternConference contains all the posts andauxiliaries in Districts 11, 13, 14, 15,16, and 17. All District Commanders,District Quartermasters, DistrictPresidents, and District Treasurers arerequired to attend their Conferencesession. Post Commanders, PostQuartermasters, Auxiliary Presidents,and Auxiliary Treasurers are stronglyencouraged to attend. All other com-

rades, sisters, and brothers may attendif they wish to become educated in theprocedures and operations of the var-ious organizations that constitute the

Veterans of Foreign Wars.

The Eastern Conference "FlyingSquadron" training will be all day longbeginning at 9:00 a.m. on August 10that New Bern Post 2514. It is located at3850 S. Butler Road in New Bern. TheCentral Conference training will be allday long beginning at the same timeon August 17th at Sanford Post 5631,located at 1500 Webb Street, Sanford.

The Western Conference, like its twocounterparts, will conduct all-day train-ing beginning at 9:00 a.m. on August24 at Hendersonville Post 5206, locatedin downtown Hendersonville at 900 N.Main Street. Lunch will be provided freeof charge to all attendees.

These three Flying Squadron sessionstake the place of the District schoolsof instruction required in the NationalBy-Laws and Manual of Procedure. Itis absolutely vital that as many com-manders, quartermasters, adjutants,presidents, treasurers, and secretaries aspossible take this training.

Reimbursement procedures areas follows: District Commanders/Quartermasters and Presidents/Treasurers will receive driver reimburse-ment for up to two vehicles per districtat $.30/mile from up to two centrallocations (since these officers frequently

do not reside close to each other). PostCommanders/Quartermasters with oneor no Auxiliaries will receive driver reim-bursement for one vehicle at $.30/milefrom the post home, and posts with two

Auxiliaries will receive driver reimburse-ment for up to two vehicles at $.30/milefrom the post home if both Auxiliariesattend.

Reimbursement forms will be availableat the training site. Attendees will not bereimbursed for any hotel costs or meals.The projected schedule for each FlyingSquadron session follows:

Eagle Scout

Eagle Scout Shaun R. Jones of Boy Scouts ofAmerica Troop 29 of Raeford was awarded theDepartment of North Carolina's Scout of theYear Award at the Department's annual stateconvention recently in Greensboro. Fifteenyoung people competed for the award, deter-mined by State Scouting Coordinator TerryMiddleton and his committee, to include fourGirl Scouts. Shaun was sponsored by VFWRaeford Post 10, commanded by GeorgeBalch.

A member of both Cub Scout Pack 29 andBoy Scout Troop 29 for 11 years, Shaun bat-tled his way to Boy Scouting's top rank, thatof Eagle Scout. In that troop, he has servedas Chaplain's Aide, Quartermaster, Scribe,Patrol Leader, Troop Guide, Senior PatrolLeader, and Junior Assistant Scoutmaster. Hehas earned many special awards, to includeto the Arrow of Light, the Fireman Chit, theHistoric Trail Award, the Camp Bower award,the Religious Emblem, the Fall Camporeeaward, the Totin Chip, the Flag Ceremonyaward, and the U.S. Heritage award. In addi -tion to these he earned 61 Merit Badges!

Shaun also excelled in his school, MasseyHill Classical High School in Fayetteville.He attained a 5.0 cumulative weighted GradePoint Average (GPA) and a 4.0 cumula-tive unweighted GPA - which translates as"Straight A's." He was ranked 1st in hisacademic class, and served as Student BodyPresident in his senior year.

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Page 2 APR/MAY/JUN 2013 THE VFW LEADER

The VFW Leader is publishedquarterly by the Department ofNorth Carolina Veterans of Foreign

Wars at 917 New Bern Avenue,Raleigh, North Carolina.

Editor...................... .Bruce Edwards

News stories, photographs and othermatters for publication should beaddressed to Editor, VFW Leader,P.O. Box 25337, Raleigh, N.C.27611.

Correspondence regarding sub-scription and circulation should beaddressed to VFW Leader, P.O. Box25337, Raleigh, N.C. 27611.

"Department Headquarters normaloperating hours 8:30 a.m. - 4:30p.m. Monday thru Friday. Closedfor holidays: New Years Day, MartinLuther King's Birthday, Good Friday,Memorial Day, Fourth of July, LaborDay, Veterans Day, ThanksgivingDay, Christmas Day."

THE VFW LEADER

Letters to the Editor

PARTNERSHIP FOR MEDICAREBENEFITS

6 June 13

MEMORANDUM FOR Dept of VFWCommanders

SUBJECT: Medicare Chairman SummerConference Report

1. The VFW VA/NC Partnership wasestablished in 2005 to provide a one-stop information source for all areas ofMedicare health and drug coverage forour 40+ thousand comrades and sisters.Since then, we have been an advocatefor helping guide thousands of themin choosing health and drug plans thatbest fits their needs. More importantly,they have someone they can rely on 24/7

when they need help working throughcomplex medical/prescription billingissues.

2. Biggest issue so far this year is the sky-rocketing cost of Medicare Supplementalinsurance. For many years, premiumincreases to these policies would normal-ly be in the 2-5% per year range, howev-

er, we have been seeing 10-40% increas-es, due to current low interest rates forinvestment and anticipation of loomingcuts to Medicare reimbursement rates.

To help find cheaper rates for our com-rades & sisters, we now have access to anational database that is updated reg-ularly that will list all of the MedicareSupplements in a particular zip codeand their current pricing. We can simplyprint out the list and send it to anyoneneeding help finding a cheaper planpremium.

This data base is an outstanding additionto our tool kit, as we are now routinelysaving our members hundreds of dollarsa year by finding the same coverage at acheaper premium.

Call Comrade Charlie Sloan or JeffMagg anytime at 1-866-633-2226 forassistance.

Charles E. Sloan Partnership Chairman

State News SubscriptionsPosts throughout the state arepublishing stories about localactivities. Are you getting to seethem?Everyone is encouraged to sub-scribe to the free on-line Veteransof Foreign Wars North CarolinaNews feed. It is easy and willensure that you will know what isgoing on around the district andaround the state.

Local news items get publishedby individual posts and the statewebsite locates new news items forbroadcast as subscription news. Itis All My VFW NC News.

How do you subscribe? Just go tothe state website and scan down tothe subscription box. Visit http://vfwnc.org and look for:

Enter your email address to receive news from the My VFW NC Website

Subscribe

FOR A SPOT ON THE LEADER,VISIT THE NC WEBSITE SCAN HERE

Friday, April 12, 2013

Dear VFW Member:

This year over 50,000 of our VFW memberswill be turning 65, making them eligible forMedicare. I am writing to remind you that theVFW has selected Humana, one of the nation'slargest healthcare companies, as its nationalMedicare Advantage plan provider.

Humana has a long history of excellence inmilitary health care services, and is deepeningits commitment to provide innovative healthcare solutions for active duty, retirees, theirfamilies and continued support of veterans'programs. Humana Government Business hasevolved as the subsidiary providing administra-tive services, integrated healthcare and wellnesssolutions to military and veteran populations.Humana Military has been an administrator ofthe TRICARE program for the Department ofDefense(DoD) since 1996. Since 2007, HumanaVeterans has developed solutions to health areissues for the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and the veterans who rely on V A services.

During the past year, Humana launched theHumana Veterans Initiative as part of a plan tohelp veterans and their family members achieveand maintain lifelong well-being. There are sev-eral key parts of the initiative:

On January 29, 2013, Humana announced it

exceeded its goal of hiring 1,000 veterans and/or their spouses by mid-2014. The companyis committed to hiring another 1,000 veteransand/or their spouses during the next two years.In 2011, Humana contributed $1 million to theEntrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans withDisabilities. The program offers cutting-edge,firsthand training in entrepreneurship andsmall business management to post-9/11 veter-ans with disabilities resulting from their ser vice.

Humana supports the Yellow Ribbon Programwhich provides support and education for vet-erans.

As a leading national healthcare compa-ny, Humana has a wide variety of MedicareAdvantage plans and prescription drug plans.

You soon will receive information from Humanaso you can find out more about its products andservices, and what it's doing to help our veter-ans. You also can call 1-800-526-5344 for moreinformation. TTY users, please use 711,

Humana is a Medicare Advantage organizationand a stand-alone prescription drug plan with aMedicare contract.

Sincerely,Robert B. Greene, Quartermaster GeneralVeterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

STEPHEN AMOS, USMC RETIRED

Candidate for Jr-Vice Commander 2014-2015

In 1982 I accepted the most important and only permanenttitle the VFW has to offer, that of Comrade. Regardless ofwhat position you are appointed or elected to we are allComrades. Elected officers should be there to assist the

Comrades at whatever level they are elected at. The goal ofevery elected officer should be to leave that position in

better shape than it was when they were elected. Toaccomplish that goal you must have the support of the

Comrades at the Post and District level. Your state officersshould travel the state to visit Districts and Post. The bestway to encourage Comrades to work membership and thecore programs is to get out into state and work with them.

The most important thing about being a Comrade in the VFWis to honor the dead by helping the living. With the support

of the Comrades of our Department, I will do everything Ican to help all Comrades live up to that motto. No one does

more for Veterans than the Comrades of the Veterans ofForeign Wars. Thank you for your support.

Getting the Word OutChapel Hill - Lee Heavlin, blogmaster

Does your post have an identity prob-lem? Do you do a lot, but the local paperignores you? Do your post members missout on what is going on because theydon't get to meetings? If yes, you are notgetting the word out.

What can a post do? Go into the publish-ing business and start its own newspaperto publish post stories. A post can usethe VFW NC Department website that isprovided to each post at no cost.

Posts can use the information now flow-ing in emails. News coming in to thepost commander, adjutant, quartermas-ter can be cut and pasted into a newsstory for the web. Stories on post web-sites are monitored and picked up dailyfor state-wide distribution.

When post stories are broadcast by thestate, every subscriber gets to see what

is going on at another post. If a post inDurham is hosting a special event or aveterans' stand down, everyone gets theinformation. Your event may encourageother posts to try the same thing.

Local newspapers and radio stations

troll the web for veterans information,people to talk to, people honor, andfor participants in patriotic events. Poststories are often selected to be reprintedin local papers as letters to the editor oropinion pieces. Our views are important!

Local schools have patriotic projects andstudents look to the internet for infor-mation on flag retirements, holidays, thehistory of local veterans and more. Whatis on the web about your veterans?

Another added benefit that is millionsof people have the opportunity to view

what you are writing. Did you know thata short Calabash story on Tuskegee air-men gets read about 300 times a day andthis has been going on for about a year!Our VFW web sites are getting read!

Post web sites also put a face on a localpost. This is invaluable to students seek-ing information on a post to submittheir Voice of Democracy, Patriot's Pen,

or Scouting Scholarship application.Some posts report that they get inqui-ries from Virginia and Tennessee fromNorth Carolina students away at board-ing school. Their home is here and theyneed to submit an application.

VFW Post web sites were given a new

look two years ago. Adding informationis easier and we use WordPress as thesoftware of choice. We load the softwareon a central server and give each post atemplate and space on the server. Thereis absolutely no cost to the posts. No feesfor access and no monthly charges forserver use.

Some posts are worried about the com-plexity of using their website. If some-one can create email, then the post hasthe talent needed. Also, the system isdesigned to be passed on to another postmember to manage. We just grant accessand all existing information stays on-lineand just as it was before the blogmasterschanged.

Want more information? Just look atthe state website at http://vfwnc.org andlook under TOOLS for details on thepost websites, how to use them, and howto add impact to your post stories. You

will also find information on how to

gain access and a password.

Are you ready to put on your editor'svisor and start your post on-line news-paper?

VFW Dept. NC Student Scholarships

Tamara Gatlin Noah Ponton

Recent high school graduates Noah W.Ponton of Wilmington and Tamara D.Gatlin of Vanceboro have won the OtisN. Brown and Billy Ray Cameron collegescholarships in 2013. They were chosenamong twelve applicants who completedan entire packet of paperwork and wereeligible for the scholarship.

In order to apply for these scholarships,which pay $1000 per year for four years,the student must be: (1) be a high schoolsenior, (2) be planning to attend a NorthCarolina college or university, and (3)

be a close relative of a VFW comrade orLadies' Auxiliary sister (son, daughter,grandson, granddaughter).

Noah Ponton is the son of Charles E.Ponton and Wanda C. Ponton, and grad-uated from Isaac Bear Early College(high school) in Wilmington. He is eli-gible for the Otis N. Brown scholar-ship through his grandfather, William J.Costin of Warsaw, a member of WarsawPost 9810. He has applied to and beenaccepted at the University of NorthCarolina at Chapel Hill, where he hopesto major in political science.

Tamara Gatlin is the daughter of DaryleJ. Gatlin (deceased) and Tracy CarolGatlin Hunnings of Vanceboro. She iseligible for the Billy Ray Cameron schol-arship through her grandfather, ClarenceO. Gatlin of Vanceboro, a member of

Vanceboro Post 11119. Tamara graduat-ed from the West Craven High School,and will attend East Carolina Universityin Greenville, where she will study biol-ogy/pre-medicine.

The two Department of NorthCarolina scholarships are named afterNorth Carolina's two past NationalCommanders-in-Chief, Otis N. Brown,

who served in that high position in1939, and Billy Ray Cameron, who wasCommander-in-Chief 1984.

Department Signs On To Bands4Good Challenge

A "Bands4Good Challenge", similar to the popularAmerican Idol competition, will be conducted by theDepartment of North Carolina and other patrioticorganizations from September 29 through November24, 2013 in order to raise money for our many goodcauses. Organized by the Doing Good Network, theevent was approved by the Department Council of

Administration at the annual State Convention on9 June.

Participating in the Challenge along with the VFWare the Patriot Foundation, the Special Forces

Association, Rolling Thunder of North Carolina,the Vietnam Veterans of American (VVA), the PatriotGuards, and Purple Heart Homes.

The Challenge is essentially a music competition,using local artists and supporting Veterans' causes.North Carolina musicians are recruited and chal-lenged to write, perform, and record an originalpatriotic song with lyrics and video the speaks direct-ly to veterans' causes. These videos are posted onthe Doing Good Network's (DGN"s) Bands4GoodChallenge website, and the competition begins.Together, as teams, the musicians and cause-support-ed partners (the VFW included) engage their internet

social networks and compete against similar partnersin a virtual, interactive, American Idol type "donate-to-vote" global fundraising event.

Votes can be purchased in packages such as: 5 votesfor $5, 20 votes for $10, 100 votes or $50, and so on.

All purchased votes are paid into, accounted for, anddistributed by the 501c(3) Doing Good CommunityFoundation, Inc. In this way, VFW supporters (not

just VFW members) will know their donation issecure and they will receive a tax deduction as well.Each organization, to include the VFW, will havea code built into the voting website to insure thatmonies donated by VFW supporters come back tothe Department.

Each music video is then ranked by the number ofvotes it gets, the judges' ratings, and he amount ofdollars raised from votes for that organization. Themore fans that vote, the more exposure the supportgroup receives and the more dollars they raise. Thecompetition builds to a 'live" webcast concert by thesemi-finalists, which gives the VFW supporters a finalchance to push their favorite video into the top spotand raise more money.

The trick to the Department raising a large sum ofmoney is for all comrades, Auuxiliary sisters, and

Auxiliary brothers to engage their social network,such as all their 'friends" on Facebook, in the hopesthose internet contacts will participate. Supportersdo lot have to live in North Carolina to participate.

In the end, the winning musicians get new fans andsignificant music industry exposure n their bid to"hit it big," and the Department gets at least 70% ofthe dollar amount of purrchased votes their support-ers have generated. Additionally, the top 3 veterans'organizations generating the most purchased votesqualify for a matching grant that can push the totaldollars received to 100% or more of the purchased

vote revenue they generate.

Comrades, Auxiliary sisters, and Auxiliary brotherswill hear more about this revolutionary, internetfund-raising event through their districts, posts,email, and The VFW Leader. When ready, all mem -bers need to engage their social networks to makethis a success.

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Thank you for giving me theopportunity to serve as com-mander of this great organi-zation. I will do my utmostto provide leadership that livesup to your expectations. I amexcited about the year ahead ofus. We will build on the legacyof our past, while providing afuture legacy for those who willcome after.

I would like to take this opportu-nity to thank our Commander,Ted Briggs, for his unwaveringsupport and tireless efforts, andall past department command-ers for their leadership that hassustained us to this day.

Despite any challenges we mayhave ahead, there have beennumerous accomplishmentsmade by our members, offi-cers, district, and post com-manders. I have had the priv-ilege of talking with many ofyou who inspire me with yourenthusiasm and dedication toour VFW, our mission, and ourfuture.

In meeting our goals this year, Iwould like to share three mainpoints that are essential for ourcontinued success.

Communicate. We have thetechnology tools in place, andshould not overlook how usingthat technology can keep usinformed and focused on the

important issues. Aside fromtechnology, attending post anddistrict meetings is an import-ant part of the communicationprocess. Make a point of speak-ing with someone you have notmet before and listen to one

THE VFW LEADER APR/MAY/JUN 2013 Page 3

COMMANDERS COLUMN

another's point of view.

Educate. Make sure you andthose serving your post areup-to-date on the bylaws andparticipate in the educationalsessions offered at the FlyingSquadrons and C of A meet-ings. Help one another withwhat you have learned. Spreadthe word in your communitiesand educate the public about

your VFW.

Advocate. Our mission to sup-port veterans and their familiesis unchanged. We exist to helpour comrades, and have a col-lective voice for veterans' issuesin Washington, lest they forget.Based on the US population,only about 1 of our citizenshave ever served in harm's way.We shall not fail them.

Now, don't get too comfortablethinking these basics are theonly goals we have this year.These three things are simplythe framework by which wewill guide ourselves before webegin the real work of our stateand national initiatives. Wewill talk more about those ini-tiatives in future meetings.

Serving as your command-er required that I step downas your Budget CommitteeChairman. I have appointeda new chairperson, who alsoserves as your Senior ViceCommander, Jack Goin. All ofour fine committees and thededicated committee personswill continue to work for you,resulting in another banneryear for our state. Remember,the meetings are open to VFWmembers. Stop in to gain abetter understanding of whatis going on. I assure you it willnot be wasted time.

In closing, I ask that youbecome fully engaged in com-munication, which requires lis-tening as well as talking, educa-tion, which requires learning aswell as teaching, and advocacyfor our veterans, which is whywe exist.

I look forward to serving withyou.

Yours in comradeship,Ernie Allis

SR. VICE COMMANDER COLUMN

JACK GOIN

Comrades

I would like to thank each mem-ber of our great VFW organizationfor electing me as your senior vicecommander for the coming year.It will be a great honor to serve

you and all veterans as we moveforward.

This past year your line offi-cers have been extremely busy,traveling our state and visiting

many posts and meeting so manypost, Ladies Auxiliary and Men's

Auxiliary members. The work thatyou have accomplished in yourposts, in the communities that youreside in and working for veteransis fantastic. Congratulations to allthose post and district command-ers that have achieved all state orall American status.

I had the extreme pleasure of vis-

iting our national home for chil-dren in May and what a rewardingexperience it was. To meet and seethe dedication of all the staff wasoverwhelming. I would encourageall members to visit at some time tosee the set up there and see where

your post and district contribu-tions go.

As we move forward to the comingyear don't forget in August we willhave our flying squadron train-ing, which was so successful last

year. The training is mandatory asper our regulations so if the com-mander can not attend either thesenior or junior vice should attendas should the quartermaster andrepresentatives from the ladies aux.

Also, let's strive to utilize our elec-

tronic reporting system for all theactivities that your post partakesin. This past year 70 of all our postsin North Carolina used the system.Commander Allis and your lineofficers would like to see that num-ber at 100. Don't use the excusethat no one in your post or districtdoesn't know how or doesn't havea computer, take credit for what

you do and your accomplishments.Don't forget our department news-

paper the "Leader". Send in yourpictures and articles, share whatyou are doing. Toot your own horn,maybe what your post did willentice another post to undertake aproject.

Thank you, commander Ted, forallowing me to serve under youas your junior vice commander.

Your "bull dog" has learned someimportant lessons as I move for-

ward these next two years.Thank you my fellow veterans for

your service to your country andthe VFW. Let us all have a success-ful 2013-2014 year.

Yours in comradeshipJack Goin

DEPARTMENT SURGEON'S COLUMN

CHRIS SIKES

I would first like to thank all of the

comrades who came out and madeour state convention a success. I amgoing to start a series of columnsthat appear in the leader concerninghealthcare matters. My first article isgoing to be about heart disease.

What will likely kill you? Heart dis-ease is the most common cause ofdeath in America. It is estimated thatthe number of people who will diefrom heart disease will reach 23.3million by 2030.

WHAT IS HEART DISEAS E?Heart disease is also known as cardio-

vascular diseases (CVDs) and they area group of disorders of the heart andblood vessels that include: coronaryheart disease - disease of the blood

vessels supplying the heart muscle;cerebrovascular disease - disease ofthe blood vessels supplying the brain;peripheral arterial disease - diseaseof blood vessels supplying the armsand legs; rheumatic heart disease -damage to the heart muscle and heart

valves from rheumatic fever, causedby streptococcal bacteria; congenitalheart disease - malformations of heartstructure existing at birth; deep veinthrombosis and pulmonary embolism- blood clots in the leg veins, whichcan dislodge and move to the heartand lungs.

Heart attacks and strokes are usuallyacute events and are mainly caused bya blockage that prevents blood from

flowing to the heart or brain. The mostcommon reason for this is a build-upof fatty deposits on the inner walls ofthe blood vessels that supply the heartor brain. Strokes can also be causedby bleeding from a blood vessel in thebrain or from blood clots.

What are the risk f actors for cardiovas-cular disease?

The most important behavioral riskfactors of heart disease and stroke areunhealthy diet, physical inactivity,tobacco use and harmful use of alcohol.Behavioral risk factors are responsiblefor about 80 of coronary heart diseaseand cerebrovascular disease.

The effects of unhealthy diet and phys-

ical inactivity may show up in individ-uals as raised blood pressure, raisedblood glucose, raised blood lipids, andoverweight and obesity. These "inter-mediate risks factors" can be measuredin primary care facilities and indicatean increased risk of developing a heartattack, stroke, heart failure and othercomplications.

Cessation of tobacco use, reduction ofsalt in the diet, consuming fruits and

vegetables, regular physical activity andavoiding harmful use of alcohol havebeen shown to reduce the risk of car-diovascular disease. The cardiovascularrisk can also be reduced by preventingor treating hypertension, diabetes andraised blood lipids.

Policies that create conducive envi-ronments for making healthy choicesaffordable and available are essentialfor motivating people to adopt andsustain healthy behavior.

There are also a number of underlyingdeterminants of CVDs, or "the causesof the causes". These are a reflectionof the major forces driving social, eco-nomic and cultural change - global-ization, urbanization, and populationageing. Other determinants of CVDsinclude poverty, stress and hereditaryfactors.

WHAT ARE COMMON SYMPTOMSOF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES?

Symptoms of heart attacks and strokesOften, there are no symptoms of theunderlying disease of the blood vessels.

A heart attack or stroke may be thefirst warning of underlying disease.Symptoms of a heart attack include:pain or discomfort in the center of thechest; pain or discomfort in the arms,the left shoulder, elbows, jaw, or back.In addition the person may experiencedifficulty in breathing or shortness ofbreath; feeling sick or vomiting; feelinglight-headed or faint; breaking into acold sweat; and becoming pale. Womenare more likely to have shortness ofbreath, nausea, vomiting, and back or

jaw pain.

The most common symptom of a stroke

is sudden weakness of the face, arm, orleg, most often on one side of the body.Other symptoms include sudden onsetof: numbness of the face, arm, or leg,especially on one side of the body;confusion, difficulty speaking orunderstanding speech; difficulty see-ing with one or both eyes; difficulty

walking, dizziness, loss of balance orcoordination; severe headache with noknown cause; and fainting or uncon-sciousness.

Anyone experiencing these symptomsshould seek medical care immediately.

As a patient it is our responsibility tolive a healthy lifestyle and have regularcheckups. It is recommended you havea checkup every 6 months. You increase

your chance of heart diseases tenfold byusing tobacco, unhealthy diet, lack ofphysical activity, diabetes and eating anunhealthy diet.

We all know that the proper diet andweight loss is a major challenge for allof us. We have to start somewhere inorder to make a change. I will challengeeveryone of you to take 30 minutes outof your day and talk a walk outside.That 30 minute walk might give youanother 30 years of life.

Chris SikesDepartment Surgeon

When you read my articles and when

they are written are months apart.

This submission was written directly

after the Memorial Day weekend.

By the time you are reading this, the

Department Convention has come

and gone. If you are reading my

article, then I was reelected. Thank

you. I will continue to do my very

best to both represent and serve

my Comrades and Sisters in this

Department. I enjoyed last year and

pray to improve this year.

We awarded the first Chaplain of

the Year at this past Department

Convention. I received a good show-

ing of letters of recommendation

of hard working VFW Chaplains

within our Department. It made

the judges work hard to choose a

Chaplain. With your assistance, I

hope to make them work even hard-

er this year. It is possible we could

award an Eastern, Central, Western,

and District Chaplain of the Year at

the next Department Convention.

This can happen, only if we get

the word out and the letters in.

The deadline for submission for this

year's Chaplain of the Year will be

at the close of the Winter CofA.

Let us continue to recognize the

hard working Chaplains within our

Department.

We begin new VFW year with new

faces. New challenges will come up

(as each year does), but we still have

many of the old challenges. I pray

that all have a successful and blessed

year in office.

Peace be with You

SR Smith

CHAPLAINS COLUMN

SR SMITH

ERNIE ALLIS

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Page 4 APR/MAY/JUN 2013 THE VFW LEADER

VFW AdvocacyNational HQ has created the fol-lowing national legislative pri-orities for the 2013 year. Pleasecontact your federal lawmakers toask for their support on these keyissues.

VA HEALTH CARE InsistCongress sufficiently funds theDepartment of Veterans Affairs soit can continue to provide thehighest quality care to all eligible

wounded, ill and injured veterans. Push VA to implement evi-dence-based solutions to the men-tal and behavioral health challeng-es veterans face, and correct short-falls at VA in providing neededcare for those suffering. Ensure Congress prioritizes andfully funds VA research to prevent,diagnose and treat Post-TraumaticStress Disorder, Traumatic BrainInjuries, traumatic vision andhearing injuries, and other inju-ries disproportionately affectingcurrent conflict veterans. Urge Congress to keep wom-en's issues at the forefront, and tocontinually improve and expandaccess to VA programs and ser-vices. Oppose all efforts to curtail thehealth care provision for service

connected veterans by protectingCategory 7 and 8 veterans fromany reduction or elimination inservices or increase in copayments. Provide adequate funding toadminister necessary and propermaintenance on all VA facilities.Suicides & Homelessness Address the national crisis of 18veterans and. one service membercommitting suicide every d'ay. byen suring that Congress properlyfunds Department of Defense andVA crisis awareness and supportprograms. Push Congress to provide VAwith funds necessary to end veter-an homelessness by 2015. Require Congress to continueproviding proper oversight byincreasing per diem rates wherenecessary, and providing educa-tion and career training oppor-

tunities alongside Department ofLabor and other relevant agencies. Strengthen efforts to preventboth suicide and homelessnessby making mental health servicesand substance abuse treatments anurgent priority. Ensure permanent housing solu-tions are available for all homelessveterans, especially female veter-ans with children.

DEFENSE & HOMELANDSECURITY Fully support U.S. troops andtheir mission to prosecute the waron terrorism, as well as to protectour nation's citizens and interestsaround the world. Ensure defense funding fullysupports personnel Quality ofLife initiatives, troop end strengthrequirements, and needed weap-ons systems development andreplacement programs. Halt the development and/orproliferation of weapons of massdestruction, while continuing todevelop and deploy a ballistic mis-sile defense system to protect theU.S. and our allies. Secure America's borders fromall threats, foreign and domestic,and identify and deport illegalaliens who commit crimes.

QUALITY OF LIFE FORMILITARY PERSONNEL Oppose all proposals to changethe current military retirementprogram or increase TRICAREenrollment fees and co-paymentson military retirees and militaryfamilies.

Call on Congress to remainfully committed to improving allQuality of Life programs for activeduty and Reserve Component ser-vice members and their families. Support full concurrent receiptof military retirement pay and VAdisability compensation withoutoffset, and regardless of the ratingpercentage. Support efforts to lower theReserve Component retirement

pay age to 55.

POWIMIA Achieve the fullest possibleaccounting of U.S. military per-sonnel missing from all wars. Ensure the U.S. governmentkeeps the POW/MIA issue elevat-ed as a national priority. Urge the President and Congressto fully fund the requestedamounts for all organizationsinvolved in the Full AccountingMission, and to protect the JointPOW/MIA Accounting Commandbudget from being redirected byU.S. Pacific Command or reducedby the Department of Defense.To also keep the U.S. Russia JointCommission on POW/MIAs intactwith funding and personnel.

VA COMP. AND BENEFITS Urge Congress to use its fund-ing and oversight authority torequire the Veterans BenefitsAdministration to reduce theclaims backlog while improvingthe overall ratings quality. Work to pass legislation inCongress that offers workablesolutions, intent on enhancingtraining and investing in the skillsand knowledge of VA employees. Require higher accountabilityand accuracy standards for pro-cessing claims. Demand that adju-dicators provide veterans with afull explanation of VA's decision. Demand proper oversight fromCongress as VA installs an IT infra-structure that will help transformthe agency into a 21st centuryoperation. A timely, accurate claimshould be what every veteran, ser-

vice member and eligible familymember receives.

SEAMLESS TRANSITION Demand the creation of oneintegrated electronic medical andservice record that follows servicemembers from the time they raisetheir right hand to the time theyare buried in a national cemetery. Ensure the military's newTransition Assistance Programoffers information for transition-ing service members and veterans,and that all relevant governmentagencies and veterans service orga-nizations continue to serve as part-ners in the transition process.

VETERANS EDUCATION &EMPLOYMENT Ensure new programs to fight vet-eran unemployment succeed, andwork with Congress to improveany shortcomings. Close civilian licensing gaps formilitary professionals throughfederal and local legislation. Protect veterans' employmentresources by moving VETS fromDOL to VA. Fight to protect the G.I. Billand ensure well informed veteransreceive the quality education wepromised them. Support legislation that amendsUSERRA to preclude any bindingarbitration agreement employersask service members to sign. Ensure the federal governmentupholds its responsibility to hireveterans

Two Korean War MIAs RecoveredThe Defense POW/MissingPersonnel Office announced theidentification of remains belong-ing to two soldiers who had beenunaccounted-for since the KoreanWar. Were recently identified andwill be returned to their fami-ly for burial with full militaryhonors. Identified were: ArmyPfc. Ernest V. Fuqua Jr., 21, ofDetroit, was buried January 15,in Rochester Hills, Michigan.In late November 1950, units ofthe 35th Infantry Regiment andallied forces were deployed in adefensive line advancing acrossthe Ch'ongch'on River in NorthKorea, when Chinese People'sVolunteer Forces enemy forcesattacked their position. Americanunits sustained heavy losses as theywithdrew south towards the townof Unsan. He was listed as killedin action on November 28, 1950.Army Pfc. Glenn S. Schoenmann,20, of Tracy City, Tennessee, wasburied January 12, in Palmer,Tenn. In late November 1950,Schoenmann and 'elements of the

31st Regimental Combat Teamwere deployed along the easternbanks of the Chosin Reservoir,in North . Korea. Schoenmannwas reported missing in action onDecember 12, 1950, after his unitand U.S. positions were encircledand attacked by the ChinesePeople's Volunteer Forces. In1950, a returning American whohad survived the attack reportedthat Schoenmann had been killedin action on November 28, 1950,as a result of sniper wounds. In1953, that conclusion was amend-ed when an American, who washeld as a prisoner of war, told U.S.

officials that Schoenmann waswounded by a sniper but not mor-tally, held captive by the Chineseon December 2, 1950, and diedshortly thereafter from malnutri-tion and lack of medical care.

Between 1991 and 1994, NorthKorea gave the United States 208boxes of human remains believedto contain the remains of 200-400U.S. servicemen. North Koreandocuments, turned over with some

of the boxes, indicated that someof the remains were recovered fromthe area where Fuqua was believedto have died in 1950, near theCh'ongch'on River; and whereSchoenmann was last seen.

To identify the remains, scien-tists from the Joint POW/MIAAccounting Command and theArmed Forces DNA IdentificationLaboratory used circumstantialevidence, and forensic identifica-tion tools such as dental compar-isons, mitochondrial DNA whichmatched Fuqua's brother.

Using modem technology, identifi-cations continue to be made fromremains that were previously turnedover by North Korean officials.Today, more than 7,900 Americansremain unaccounted for from theKorean War. Identifications con-tinue to be made from the remainsthat were returned to the UnitedStates, using forensic and DNAtechnology.

Mojave Cross, Stolen in 2010Nov 07, 2012 San Jose Mercuryby Eric Kurhi - More than twoyears after it vanished from itsrocky perch in the Mojave Desert,a controversial cross reappearedMonday, wrapped up and zip-tied

to a fence post along Highway 92in San Mateo County.

The Mojave Cross was at the cen-ter of a Supreme Court case aboutwhether the cross was an appro-priate memorial for federal land:Two weeks after the court ruledto allow the 7-foot tall metal crossto remain on the land, it vanishedin May 2010, prompting outragefrom veterans groups that vowedto replace it.

"This cross is an important his-torical artifact," read a note thatwas attached to the cross, whichwas' found along the road nearHighway 35 by deputies actingon a tip from a television newsstation. "It is in fact the MojaveCross, taken on the evening ofMay 9, 2010, from Sunrise Rockin the Mojave Desert. I would be

very grateful i f "you would be sokind as to notify the appropriateauthorities of its presence here."

According to the San MateoCounty Sheriff's Office, there is a

$100,000 reward for informationleading to the arrest and convic-tion of those who stole it.

The cross is in good condition,according to a sheriff's officenews release. A Mojave Desertpolice officer who is familiar withthe cross was contacted, and hewas able to confirm that the crossis indeed the missing memorial.

The sheriff's office said it willcontact the San Francisco branchof the National Park Service totake custody of the cross.

The memorial was taken fromwhere it stood atop a rock in the1.6 million-acre Mojave NationalPreserve, about 70 miles south ofLas Vegas.

The first cross was erected at the

site in 1934 by the Veterans ofForeign Wars to honor soldierskilled in World War I. Variousversions have been vandalizedthrough the years, and the metalone went up in the late 1990s.

Federal courts previously ruledthat the presence of the cross in anational preserve was an uncon-stitutional violation of the separa-tion of church and state.

After it vanished, the theft raisedthe ire of veterans groups and civillibertarians alike.

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Miles sisters graduated fromHiwassee Dam, before joining AirForceBy DWIGHT OTWELL

The Cherokee County sisters, whoplayed about every sport avail-able to girls at Hiwassee DamHigh School, were reunited inAfghanistan, where they serve indifferent U.S. Air Force units.

Staff Sgt. Danna (Miles) Pash,25, and Capt. Randi (Miles)Ludington, 31, had the opportu-nity to get together in Bagram,Afghanistan, on April 13, thenagain on April 24.

The Miles family moved to theRanger community in 1994. BetsyMiles-three daughters went to

Ranger Elementary /Middle Schooland then to Hiwassee .Dam HighSchool, where they all excelled insports.

'They played volleyball, basket-ball, softball and cross country,"Miles said. 'They played every-thing they could. They gave it theirall. They were good at every sportthey tried."

Pash played basketball, softball,volleyball, cross country and track.She graduated in 2006 "I excelledthe most at track, even thoughbasketball was my favorite becauseeveryone always came out to watchthe ball games," Pash said. "I wentto state level three out of four yearsfor track and field."

Ludington played basketball soft-ball and cross country. and gradu-ated in 2000.

"I was the offensive and defensiveplayer of the yea* in softball mysenior year," Ludington said. "Iwon first or second place in all mycross country meets while in highschool."

Ludington earned a business degreeat Western Carolina University,then joined the Air Force. Shewent through Officer's TrainingSchool. Pash enlisted after one yearin college.

Ludington is on a 365-day deploy-ment to Kabul, Afghanistan,and is assigned to U.S. Forces -Afghanistan. She is the command-

er's Emergency Response Programmanager for Afghanistan, Milessaid. Her duties include provid-ing guidance and oversight for a$200 million program to includestaff asisted visits and inspectionat each regional command acrossAfghanis tan. Ludington coor-dinates the review and approvalof-high level projects up to U.S.Central Command and the Officeof Secretary of Defense.

Pash is serving a short-noticedeployment, having deployedto Afghanistan in March to fillin for an injured teammate.She is assigned to the 455thExpeditionary Security ForcesSquadron, Delta Sector Spartans.Her duties include searching vehi-

cles and personnel for the largestentry control point at Bagram.Vehicles and personnel are X-rayedfor suicide vests and vehicle bombsbefore they enter the base, Milessaid. She is scheduled to comehome at the end of the month.

Capt. Ludington married BradLudington in July. Her home baseis in Dayton, Ohio. Ludington wasin the military but now works infinance. They have no children yet,

Pash married Chandler, who is amaster sergeant in the Air Force.They met in the service. She is sta-tioned in Mountain Home, Idaho.They have one child together,Miles Pash, who is almost 2 yearsold. She also has two step children- Tristin and Savannah.

In addition, a middle sister,Michele Miles, 28, is a probationand parole officer working inMurphy. She also played multiplesports at Hiwassee Dam. She has adaughter, Braylee, 8.

Miles has worked in customer ser-vice for Snap-on Tools in Murphyfor seven years.

"I was in the Air Force and theirfather, Mike Miles, retired fromthe Air Force," Miles said." Wewere happy for (Air Force daugh-ters). It was a good life."

''While attending Hiwassee DamHigh School, I enjoyed the downhome feeling of a small country

town - especially the love of sportsand incredible competition," Lud-ington said.

"The Hiwassee Dam/Ranger areawas a great place to grow' up,"Pash said. "I loved how both

schools were smaller and that you 'knew everyone.

"It makes classmates grow togeth-er as they grow up through highschool."

THE VFW LEADER APR/MAY/JUN 2013 PAGE 5

Carolina Field of Honor Breaks GroundThe Carolina Field of Honor,located on an 8-acre site donatedby Guilford and Forsyth Countiesin the heart of the Triad region ofNorth Carolina has broken groundand started construction. It willbe the largest veterans' memori-al park in the country south ofWashington, D.C. Past State JudgeAdvocate Al Edwards states thatthe dedication is projected forVeterans Day week.

When completed, the memorialwill honor all who serve in theArmed Forces. It will include atribute to each branch of the ser-vice in a manner that remembersall who served in the military, pas,present, and future, along with keyhistorical facts. A flag walk willexplain the history of the growthof the United States starting withthe 13 colonies.

Also included will be an enter-tainment platform in an open

air amphitheater design, wherespring and summer concerts willperform to a projected thousandsof spectators. A Parade Deck willprovide a setting for the military,and other organizations like theBoys Scouts, county schools, lawenforcement, and firefighters, toconduct a variety of patriotic cer-emonies. A Meandering Walkwaywill tell the story of other import-ant contributors to the nation's

military history with monumentssuch as the Canine Corps, MIA/PIA, Red Cross, Merchant Marine,and the like.

The memorial can be sup-ported with the purchase of aRemembrance Brick, to be usedin the various memorial walkways.The buyer can specify a branchof service, and even the brick'slocation. The brick will have threelines of writing with a maximumof 16 characters a line. They can bepurchased by visiting www.ncwmf.

org. Costs are $200.00 for a 4" x 8"brick, $500 for a 8" x 8" brick, and$2000 for a 16" x 16" brick andrecognition on the bronze plaquedonor wall at the park.The granite stone for the cen-terpiece of the memorial hasbeen designed by the MountAiry Granite Quarry. The goalof the memorial commission is$5,000,000, which they are closeto reaching. Kernersville VFW Post

5352 has already collected anddonated more than $5,600 to theproject.

The park is located on MountainStreet, close to where I-40 Businessintersects. If one approaches thesite from NC Highway 68 (thehighway that our Conventionhotel is on), turn at West MarketStreet towards Kernersville andWinston-Salem, which becomesMountain Street. It is also close tothe intersection of Mountain Streetand Sandy Ridge Road.

LOUISBURG /Families ofdeployed North Carolina NationalGuard soldiers are able to have

their care packages mailed to theirloved ones in part through ingenu-ity and dedication of other soldierslike Staff Sgts. Aaron and AmandaJones.

Amanda is able to send large lotsof packages, helping families avoidshipping costs. She ships the pack-ages directly to her husband, whodistributes them among the sol-diers of 5th Battalion, 113th FieldArtillery Regiment, who have beendeployed to the Sinai Peninsula inEgypt since October of 2012.They have distributed more than1,000 packages since the deploy-ment began."We started this back inDecember," Amanda said. Families

will show up in groups, support-ing each other, as they drop offpackages.

"We're like one big family now,"she said.

Along with building close bondsamong the families, the shippingsystem has become a way for thefamilies to more easily put a smileon their soldiers' faces.

"There are several families whocouldn't really afford to continu-ously send care packages," Jonessaid. "They are thrilled to havethe opportunity to put togethertheir own care packages and sendit over."

All of the work Jones has put intoensuring the deployed Guardsmen

have something to look forward tois worth the sweat.

"If I can help out one family orone soldier overseas to put a smileon his or her face over there, thento me, it's all worth it," said Jones.The packages have been takingapproximately one month to reachthe soldiers, deployed to the SinaiPeninsula. Jones intends for thelast shipment of packages to besent to the soldiers in June. Thesoldiers are scheduled to return toNorth Carolina by the fall of 2013.

Army Staff Sgt. Kelsey BlankenshipReprinted from the NC Dept. of Safety's internet magazine, "OnThe Scene." Sgt. Amanda Jones isa member of Ladies Auxiliary of Wake Forest Post 8466.

Shipping Smiles, Love to Soldiers Deployed Overseas

Local Sisters Reunite in Afghanistan

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Sisters: "Thank You" for your vote ofconfidence in my ability to lead thisDepartment by electing me as yourPresident for the ensuing year. I willrepresent you all to the best of my ability.By now you have had the opportunity tolook at the Department Program Diskand see what an exciting year the LineOfficers and Chairmen have planned foryou. Check out the Department Auxiliaryweb site for all the latest information.My promise to you is, as it says in ourinstallation oath "I will faithfully andimpartially discharge my duties to thebest of my ability." I have promised to dojust that. My intent this year is for all tobe positive in attitude and leave negativi-ty and petty grievances at the door of anyAuxiliary room, so we can continue towork for the Veteran which is the reasonyou joined our great organization.

This year is dedicated to the MilitaryHeroes of my family, as we promote

the "Keepin the Wheels Rollin for ourVeterans" and doing it with a "Can Do"attitude. We are a TEAM promoting ourmembership and programs to the full-est. There should be NO "I can't doit" responses or attitudes if our qua-druple amputees from these Iraq andAfghanistan wars can continue to Doit with a smile. One our own WWIIVeterans still continues to DO it at age97 by volunteering at the VA Hospital inFayetteville. We also CAN DO!

The will be 3 Flying Squadron Trainingschools again and all District andAuxiliary Presidents, Officers and chair-men and members are invited to attend.During this year my intent is to meet asmany of our members as I can either atthe Council Meetings, District Meetingsand at Auxiliary Meetings. My promise isto visit as many as I can and participatein activities sponsored by the Auxiliary asmy schedule will allow.

We have an exciting VFW Store in theDepartment which I encourage you toutilize. They can find most any item youwish. With a revival of the HistorianChairman and a new Chairman in whichI totally believe in, that of Mentorship,the Membership Team has worked hardto get new ideas to help with your mem-bership issues. They are a Team that workstogether, and have planned many differ-ent things to promote membership. In1795 Sir William taught us that the 3 R'smeant Reading, Writing and Arithmetic- NOT - for us it means RECRUIT,RETAIN AND RENEW membership. See

YA, God Bless ...

Penny Cacoulidis, State President

Page 6 APR/MAY/JUN 2013 THE VFW LEADER

Auxiliary Erline MayberryScholarships Announced

Brevard Comrade's Memoir

PENNYCOCOULIDIS

PRESIDENT'S COLUMN

The Ladies Auxiliary, Department of NorthCarolina, has announced three ErlineMayberry Scholarship winners for 2012-2013. They are William G. Anderson ofWest End, Sean P. Bennett of San Diego,California, and Jasmine U. Cooper of GoldHill. Each winner will receive a $1000scholarship during their freshman year incollege.

The Erline Mayberry Scholarship is namedafter the Department of North Carolinas

only Ladies Auxiliary National President,Erline Mayberry. They are selected each yearby a special committee of Ladies Auxiliary,the criteria being the same as the VFWs

Otis N. Brown and Billy Ray Cameronscholarships, the only difference being thatthe student does not have to attend collegein the state of North Carolina.

William Anderson is the son of Thomasand Kathleen Anderson of Wes End. Mr.Anderson is in the construction field andMrs. Ander is an elementary school teacherassistant. William is eligible for the awardunder his grandmother, Ms. MadelineBuck. He plans to attend North Carolina

State University in Raleigh.

Sean Bennett is the son of Robert andAngela Bennett of San Diego, California.

He is a systems engineer with AndersonAudio Visual and she is a lead sales admin-istrator with the Waxie Sanitary SupplyCompany. Sean is eligible for the schol-arship under his grandmother, Ms. AnnCamp, of Columbus, North Carolina.He will attend school at San Diego StateUniversity in California.

Jasmine U. Cooper is the daughter ofGregory Cooper of Gold Hill. Her fatheris a house builder with H.B.D. Industries.

She is eligible for the award through hergrandmother, as well, Ms. Linda Cooper.She plans to attend college at the Universityof North Carolina at Wilmington.

William G. Anderson Sean P. Bennett Jasmine U. Cooper

By DEAN POLING THE VALDOSTADAILY TIMES

LAKE PARK The subtitle draws read-ers immediately into area author Warren"Molly" Knight's book, "Co1d WarWarrior: A Memoir.

The subtitle reads: "From: Clerk Typist To:Spy To: U.S. Air Force First Sergeant."Describing himself as an All AmericanBoy from North Carolina, the book sharesKnight's work at the height of the cold warbetween the United States and the SovietUnion.

As a Russian linguist in the United StatesAir Force Security Service, Warren Knightbore witness to the construction of theBerlin Wall, the U-2 incident, the CubanMissile Crisis and an adversary's Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile test," accord-ing to information from the book.

Knight shares stories of assignments to a

listening post on the Far East island aswell as a jungle survival course in thePhillipines. He joined the military in 1951& served in the Korean War .

For the next 26 yeats, until the late 1970she served as an Air Force "intelligenceasset."

He blends personal history with nationaland world history in a readable, compel-ling, you are there style.He wanted to write the book now becauseKnight finally felt like he could share hisexperiences.

"As I said in the book, a young leaveshome for military service and through var-ious turns of events finds himself flying inrecon-planes in hostile environments, andhe can't even tell his mom and dad whathe's doing," Knight says.

Older readers will be reminded of the Cold

War's perils while younger readers willcome to better understand them.

"The Cold War was far more dangerousthan most people realize," Knight toldThe Times. "Never before or since has thewhole world been on the brink of totalannihilation. For decades, the U.S. and theSoviet Union stood toe to toe, each holdingdevastating explosives with very short fuses.It is nothing short of miraculous that theCuban Missile Crisis did not see the use ofnuclear weapons."

Yet, even amidst the danger, Knight sharesstories of a young man discovering thethrills of life, and the passion for beinginvolved."Flying was the thrill of a lifetime," hesays. "We were in customized aircraft con-taining the most sophisticated aerial recon-naissance equipment in the world, flyingin places that were jam packed with airdefenses bent on taking us out. There were12 shoot downs by the Soviet of U.S. reconduring the period of the Cold War".

As for what event had the most impact onhim, given the vast panorama of historyand personal situations, it's impossible tosay.

"I was witness to so much history theconstruction of the Berlin Wall, Sovietnuclear tests, the crisis in Cuba, the U-2incident the loss of friends in fatal crashes,Vietnam," Knight says, "How does onepick from such a list?"

Now 81 Knight moved to Lake Park in June2003. His wife, Ellen was from Valdosta,she passed away Feb. 11, 2003.

His military service defined his career:"Serving my country for nearly 30 yearswas singular honor," Knight says. "Nothingelse in my lifetime compares."

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THE VFW LEADER APR/MAY/JUN 2013 PAGE 11

The Department of North Carolina'sCouncil of Administration approveda motion to support the upcoming AllAmerican Ride and Glide event, to occur on2 November in Wake Forest. The supportwill include communicating the event to thecomrades, Auxiliary sisters, and Auxiliarybrothers, and urging the posts to put theevent on their calendars. The Departmentwill not contribute funds for the event, butposts are allowed to help fund it from their

Relief Fund if they desire to do so.

The idea for the event got started by a groupcalled the Wake Forest Veterans Memorial.Its original intent was merely to maintainthe veterans' memorial site in Wake Forest,but their focus is now on soldiers returningfrom Iraq and Afghanistan who have lostlimbs to lED's and other combat causes.The Memorial group is concerned thatmobility for limbless veterans is an issuethat will not heal and does not get better.Fatigue is an issue with these veterans,and covering long distances is still out ofrange for many of them. The organization'sanswer to this problem is to issue SEGWAYmoving devices to deserving veterans.

Segway devices allow for fast, long range,all weather, all terrain navigation and has

a zero turning radius. Riders can standupright on the Segway, holding on theshoulder-level handlebars. The problemwith the issuance of the device to deserv-ing veterans is that it was not designedand is not designated as a medical device.Therefore, it is not able to paid for bymedical insurance, benefits, or any type ofgovernment grant, to include VA.

The device enables disabled veterans to

stand up and move about at the same headlevel as normal people, instead of beingconfined to a sitting position in a wheel-chair or electric cart. Each Segway costsabout $10,000.

Supporting this event along with theVFW are organizations that include theHendrick Automotive Group, GoldenCorral restaurants, Blue Cross Blue Shieldof North Carolina, the Whitley LawForm, and Segs4Vets, a charity with sim-ilar goals. Major General Bert Maggart,former Executive Vice President of RTIInternational, has signed on to assist withstrategic planning.

Posts are encouraged to communicate withthe Memorial's action officer, Mr. LesterBurleson, at les.burleson@gmail.

com. Registration for the Ride and Glideis at www.sportoften.com, keyword search"All American." Post support could includedonations from the Relief Fund, commu-nicating to its members, showing up forthe actual event with cap on Saturday, 2November in Wake Forest, and possiblyparticipating in the 30-60-100 mile bikeride.

Columbus, Georgia, Associated Press -Basil L. Plumley, a renowned career soldierwhose exploits as an Army infantrymanwere portrayed in a book and the movie"We Were Soldiers", has died at 92 - an agehis friends are amazed that he lived to see.Plumley fought in World War II, the KoreanWar and Vietnam and was awarded a medalfor making five parachute jumps into com-bat. The retired command sergeant majordied Wednesday.

Friends said Plumley, who died in hospicecare in west Georgia, never told war storiesand was known to hang up on people whocalled to interview him. Still, he was nearlegendary in the Army - and - gained morewidespread fame through a 1992 VietnamWar book that was the basis for the 2002movie starring Mel Gibson. Actor SamElliott played Plumley in the film.

Plumley didn't need a Hollywood portrayalto be revered among soldiers, said GregCamp, a retired Army colonel and formerchief of staff at neighboring Fort Benningwho befriended Plumley in his later years.

"He's iconic in military circles," Campsaid. "Among people who have been inthe military, he's beyond what a movie starwould be and his legend permeates threegenerations of soldiers."

Debbie Kimble, Plumley's daughter, saidher father died from cancer after spendingabout nine days at Columbus Hospice.Although the illness seemed to strikesuddenly, Kimble said Plumley's healthhad been declining since his wife of 63years, Denisee Plumley, died last May onMemorial Day.

A native of Shady Spring, West Virginia,Plumley enlisted in the Army in 1942 andended up serving 32 years in uniform.In World War II, he fought in the Alliedinvasion of Italy at Salerno and the D-Dayinvasion at Normandy. He later fought withthe 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment in

Korea. In Vietnam, Plumley served as ser-geant major - the highest enlisted rank inthe 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment.

"That puts him in the rarest of clubs,"said journalist Joseph L. Galloway, whomet Plumley while covering the VietnamWar for United Press International andremained lifelong friends with him. "Tobe combat infantry in those three wars, inthe battles he participated in, and to havesurvived...that is miraculous."

It was during Vietnam in November 1965that Plumley served in the Battle of laDrang, the first major engagement betweenthe U.S. Army and North Vietnameseforces. That battle was the basis for thebook "We Were Soldiers Once ... AndYoung", written nearly three decades laterby Galloway and retired Lt. Gen. Hal G.Moore, who had been Plumley's battalioncommander in Vietnam.

In the 2002 film version, Mel Gibsonplayed Moore and Elliott played Plumley.Galloway said several of Elliott's gruffone-liners in the movie were things Plumleyactually said, such as the scene in which asoldier tells the sergeant major good morn-ing and is told: "Who made you the (exple-tive) weather man?"

"Sam Elliott underplayed him. He wasactually tougher than that", Galloway said:"He was gruff, monosyllabic, an absoluteterror when it came to enforcing standardsof training."

That's not to say he was mean or inhuman,Galloway said. "This was a man above allelse who had a very big, warm heart that heconcealed very well."

Plumley retired with the rank commandsergeant major in 1974 at Fort Benning,his last duty station. He then took a civil-ian job doing administrative work for thenext 15 years at Martin Army CommunityHospital.

Camp said Plumley remained strong untiljust a few weeks before his death. Hehelped open the Army's National InfantryMuseum at Fort Benning in 2009. Camp,who now works for the museum's fund-raising foundation, said Plumley helpedhim get Elliott to come narrate a ceremo-ny dedicating the parade ground outsidethe museum. When Camp mentioned theactor's name, Plumley handed him Elliott'scell phone number.

After Plumley became ill, Gallowaymentioned his worsening condition onFacebook. Fans of the retired sergeantmajor responded with a flood of cards andletters. The day before he died in hospice,Camp said, Plumley received about 160pieces of mail.

"He was dad to me when I was growingup," said Kimble, Pl umley's daughter. "Weare learning every day about him. He wasan inspiration to so many. He was a greatperson, and will always be remembered."

Veterans Retraining BenefitsAccording to the VA, over 94,000veterans have applied for Veterans

Retraining Assistance Program(VRAP) education benefits. To date,the VA has approved over 77 ,000Certificates of Eligibility. However,

just over 27,000 of those eligibleveterans have begun using their ben-efits. The VA is encouraging vet-erans to finish the process and getenrolled in eligible education pro-grams as soon as possible. A VA offi-cial recently stated, "We do not wantany of the 99,000 slots to go unused.The program is only two years long.By law, we can only accept appli-cations until September 30, 2013,and the last payment can be madethrough March 31, 2014." VRAPparticipants that do not enroll inschool by March of this year will notbe able to receive a full 12 monthsof training. VRAP participants arebeing warned that they must applyand begin using their benefits as

soon as feasible, or, notify the VA tocancel their Certificate of Eligibility

to make room for other veterans touse the benefit.

VRAP GI BILL FACTSHEETThe Veterans Retraining AssistanceProgram (VRAP) GI Bill offers up to12 months of Montgomery GI Billbenefits for older unemployed veter-ans. Unemployed veterans betweenthe age of 35 and 60 may apply foreducation benefits worth as muchas $17,600 ($1,473 a month). Thisnew GI Bill program was created asa part of the VOW to Hire Heroes

Act of 2011.

To be eligible for the VRAP GI Billyou must: Be at least 35 but nomore than 60 years old. Be unem-ployed (as determined by DoL). Not have a dishonorable discharge. Not be eligible for any other VAeducation benefit program. Not

be drawing VA compensation due tounemployability. Not be enrolled

in a federal or state job trainingprogram.

Here's what you should know aboutthe new VRAP before you apply: This benefit can only be used to earnan Associate Degree, NonCollegeDegree, or a Certificate, ,and train

you for a high demand occupation According to the VA, the programshould begin processing VRAP ben-efits on July 1,2012. This newbenefit will be limited to 45K vetsin FY2012 and 54K from October1, 2013 through March 31, 2014. Once you have completed the VRAPeducation program, the Dept. ofLabor will provide employmentassistance.

Be sure to visit the http://benefits.va. gov /vow /education.htm to learnmore and apply.

N.C. VFW to Support The AllAmerican Ride & Glide Event

Legendary Veteran

Plumley Dies at 92

Veterans Memorial of Macon County

Come visit the memorial on itsfourth Anniversary!

A new destination has been createdin Western North Carolina in thepast seven years. Covering 2/3 ofan acre makes it an awesome sight

to see. The Veterans Memorial ofMacon County was built to honor allVeterans of all the Wars. It was bornin the minds of a few veterans whohad been wanting to see a memorialespecially created to honor those

who gave their all for our country.

In the early months of 2007, a smallgroup of veterans came together atthe VFW Post 7339 in Franklin anddiscussed with one of the countycommissioners about the possibilityof building a memorial. They weregiven the go ahead to come up witha proposal. Out of that meeting,a group of 12 volunteer veteransformed a committee. This commit-tee then decided where they wouldlike to build it.

Macon County has had a Recreational

Park for many years, located justsouth of Franklin on US 441, and itreally had not been formally named.The Committee found part of it tobe just right for a Memorial. TheCommissioners were asked to meet

with them at the park to get their

approval to proceed with plans tobuild.

At the next Commissioners meet-ing, they asked the Commissionersto rename the park, "The VeteransMemorial Recreation Park," and toprovide necessary funds to begin.

Funds from the Town of Franklinand the Town of Highlands camelater. Am. Legion Post 108 and VFWPost 7339 also provided funds. Sincethen all funds have come from thecommunity and individuals from allover the country.

The hard work to decide what wasto be done began. Ideas floated anda search was done to consider othermemorials and what they had doneto Honor veterans. An architect vol-

unteered to come up with a printusing the ideas that the committeethought would work. With this pre-liminary plan, the project began.Groundbreaking was held on D Day2007. Work began shortly thereafter.The land was in a flood plain and

this required raising the plot 4 feethigher.

A wall was built and it took 465truckloads of dirt to bring the areaup to grade. Most of this was doneby volunteers. All underground

work was completed and concreteslabs were poured. The walkways

were done by alternating concreteand old bricks that had been aroundthe county courthouse.

A local timber frame companyand their employees volunteeredto design and build and erect theGazebo. For the roof, two 160-year-old red oak trees from the US ForestService were felled, 4,000 shakes forthe roof were made by volunteers,and the local Habitat group stainedand finished it. All construction

equipment for the entire project wasfurnished free of charge.

The rear area has the time line ofplaques of all our wars. HonorBricks of those from Macon County

who were killed in action beginning

with WWI to present are laid alongthe walkway. Also, a flag pole honorsKIA/MIA/POW Veterans with POWHonor Bricks placed at the base ofthe pole. This area also has a plaquehonoring all GOLD STAR families.

Around the main circle flags of allthe Services, including the MerchantMarine Flag, head up the walkwaysto the large granite monuments withsculptured marble slabs mounted onthem honoring those in each of theservices. Along side of these walk-

ways are the Honor Bricks of thosewho have served in that branch ofservice.

There are over 2,500 so honored atpresent. Many of those have neverbeen to or lived in Macon County.

In the center, the US Flag flies highover a large granite pedestal topped

with a giant granite Eagle facing themain entrance.

Dedication was held on July 4,2009.Over 200 volunteers worked on this

project. Most were members of VFWPost 7339, Am. Legion Post 108 andThe Sons of the Legion. Many others

were sons of veterans. It is truly acommunity built Memorial and is atribute to the spirit of love that thecommunity has for its Veterans.

Visit it at anytime. It is always opento the public. Honor Bricks can bepurchased at any time.

At present an effort is being made toraise more funds for the continuedmaintenance. For more informationgo to the internet at www.veterans-memorialmaconcounty.org.

Frag CircleTime line of all US Wars

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THE VFW LEADER APR/MAY/JUN 2013 PAGE 13VA Expedites Claims

WASHING TON - TheDepartment of Veterans Affairsannounced today it is imple-menting an initiative to expeditecompensation claims decisionsfor veterans who have waited one

year or longer. Effective today, VAclaims raters will make provision-al decisions on the oldest claimsin inventory, which will allow

veterans to begin collecting com-pensation benefits more quickly,

if eligible. Veterans will be ableto submit additional evidence forconsideration a full year after theprovisional rating, before V Aissues a final decision.

"Too many Veterans wait toolong for a decision, and this hasnever been acceptable," said VASecretary Eric Shinseki. "Thatis why we are implementing anaggressive plan to eliminate thebacklog in 2015. This initiativeis the right thing to do nowfor veterans who have waited thelongest."

Provisional decisions will bebased on all evidence provided todate by the Veteran or obtainedon their behalf by VA. If a VAmedical examination is neededto decide the claim, it will beordered and expedited.

"Issuing provisional decisionsnot only provides Veterans withapplicable benefits much morequickly but also gives them anadditional one-year safety net tosubmit further evidence should itbecome available. Our door willremain open and if a veteran hasadditional evidence, their case

will be fast tracked," said AllisonHickey, undersecretary for ben-efits.

If any increase is determined tobe warranted based on the addi-tional evidence received, benefits

will be retroactive to the datethe claim was initially filed. The

initiative protects the veteran'sright to appeal the decision. If nofurther evidence is received with-in that year, VBA will inform the

Veteran that their rating is finaland provide information on thestandard appeals process, whichcan be found at www.bva.va.gov/.Throughout this initiative, VA

will continue to prioritize claimsfor homeless veterans and thoseclaiming financial hardship, the

terminally ill, former PrisonersOf War, Medal of Honor recip-ients, and veterans filing FullyDeveloped Claims. More infor-mation about filing FullyDeveloped Claims is available at:

www.benefits. va. gov /transfor-mation/fastclaims.

Claims for Wounded Warriorsseparating from the militaryfor medical reasons will con-tinue to be handled separate-ly and on a priority basis withthe Department of Defensethrough the Integrated DisabilityEvaluation System (IDES).

Wounded Warriors separatingthrough IDES currently receive

VA compensation benefits inan average of 61 days followingtheir separation from service. Asa result of this initiative, met-rics used to track benefits claims

will experience significant fluc-tuations. The focus on process-ing the oldest claims will causethe overall measure of the aver-age length of time to completea claim - currently 286 days - toskew, rising significantly in thenear term because of the numberof old claims that will be com-pleted.

Over time, as the backlog of old-est claims is cleared and moreof the incoming claims are pro-cessed electronically through

VA's new paperless processingsystem, VA's average time tocomplete claims will significantlyimprove. in addition, the average

days pending metric - or the aver-age age of a claim in the invento-ry - will decrease, since the oldestclaims will no longer be part ofthe inventory.

While compensation claims arepending, eligible Veterans areable to receive healthcare andother benefits from V A. Veterans

who have served in recent con-flicts are eligible for 5 years of free

healthcare from VA. Currently,over 55% of returning Iraq andAfghanistan veterans are usingVA healthcare, a rate of utiliza-tion greater than previous gen-erations of veterans. Veterans canlearn more about disability ben-efits on the joint Department ofDefense- VA web portal eBenefitsat www.ebenefits.va.gov/ ebene-fits-portallebenefits.portal.

The newly renovated

and painted VFW State

Recruiting Trailer is

available for sign out

and pick up by

contacting the State

VFW

Headquarters at

919-828-5058.

It comes complete with

recruiting documents &

Patriotic Giveaways.

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Stolen Valor ActStolen Valor Act Passes Congress!VFW-supported legislation now headsto president

WASHINGTON (May 23, 2013) - Thenational commander of America's larg-est and oldest major combat veteransorganization is applauding Congressthis week for passing the Stolen ValorAct of2013, which now heads to theWhite House for the president's sig-

nature.

John E. Hamilton, a triple PurpleHeart recipient who leads the Veteransof Foreign Wars of the United States,said Congress followed the road maplaid out by the U.S. Supreme Courtwhen they overturned the Stolen ValorAct of 2005 last year. In their writings,the high court suggested any futurelegislation had to be narrower in focusthan just to penalize people for simplelying, which they ruled as protectedspeech in a 6-3 decision.

"Now the new language is bul-let-proof," said Hamilton, "becausethe focus is on the intent to profitfrom the lie, to obtain money, proper-ty or something of a tangible benefit,which is what con artists have beendoing throughout history."

The VFW-supported legislation wasintroduced by Rep. Joe Heck and Sen.Dean Heller, both from Nevada. H.R.258 passed overwhelmingly in theHouse on Monday by a vote of 390-3.The Senate passed its companion, S.210, last night by unanimous consent.Not every combat award is covered,but the ones most worn by wannabeheroes will be protected once the billbecomes law. Protected are the Medal

of Honor, service crosses, Silver Star,Purple Heart, and combat badges suchas the Combat Infantryman's Badge,Combat Action Badge, CombatMedical Badge, Combat ActionRibbon and Combat Action Medal.The maximum punishment under thebill would be a $100,000 fine and upto one year in jail for each offense."The VFW is very pleased withCongressman Heck and Senator

Heller and all their co-sponsors," saidHamilton, who served in Vietnam as aMarine Corps rifleman. "We want allcon artists to pay a very severe penalty- and a very public price - for daringto steal the valor of those too few whosurvived and of the great many whodid not."

ABOUT THE VFW: The Veterans ofForeign Wars of the U.S. is a non-profit veterans' service organizationcomposed of combat veterans and eli-gible military service members fromthe active, Guard and Reserve forces.Founded in 1899 and chartered byCongress in 1936, the VFW is thenation's largest organization of warveterans and its oldest major veterans'organization. With almost 2 millionmembers located in more than 7,200VFW Posts worldwide, "NO ONEDOES MORE FOR VETERANS."The VFW and its Auxiliaries are ded-icated to veterans' service, legislativeadvocacy, and military and commu-nity service programs worldwide. Formore information or to join, visit ourwebsite at www.vfw.org.

Contact: Joe Davis, Director of PublicAffairs, VFW Washington Office, (0)202-608-8357, jdavis@vfw.org.

West Brunswick High School Army JROTC cadets receive the VFW's coveted Voice of Democracymedals from Calabash Post 7288 Commander Ray Ketchum and Senior Vice Commander George

Bissette. The cadets are Joseph Hurst, Allison Childrers, and Bre Macadoo.

Calabash Post 7288 honors World War II veteran and former U.S. Army Air Force POW Pat

Patterson, shot down over Germany. The featured Memorial Day speaker was Colonel TrevorBrendenkamp, Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team.

Comrades of Calabash Post 7288 distribute Buddy Poppies at the Food Lion on Highway 17 inLittle River SC. Poaching on the gronds of the VFW Department of South Carolina, but in a great

cause! Shown here are Frank Pinkerton and Mark Mason, thanking a donating citizen.

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Veterans Claims &

Benefits UpdateThis information is providedby the Department's VeteransService program, which helpsveterans and survivors fileVA claims. Call State HQ at((919)828-5058 or visit www.vfwnc.org for the nearest VFWService Office.

VA FIDUCIARY PROGRAM?The VA Fiduciary Programprotects veterans and benefi-ciaries who are unable to man-age their VA benefits throughthe appointment and oversightof a fiduciary. If you have beendetermined unable to manageyour VA benefits, the VA con-ducts a field examination toappoint a fiduciary to assistyou.

THE VA FIELD EXAMINATION

A VA field examination will bescheduled to appoint a fidu-ciary to assist you in manag-ing your VA benefits. Duringthe field examination, pleasehave the following informa-tion available for review by thefield examiner: Photo identifi-cation, The source and amountof all monthly bills, recurringexpenses (annual, biannual,

quarterly, etc.), and income A list of all assets, to includebank accounts, owned prop-erty, stocks, bonds, life insur-ance, burial plans, etc.

A list of all current medica-tions Name, phone number,and address of your prima-ry care doctor; and Name,phone number, and address ofyour next of kin

SELECTION PROCESSDuring the selection process,the VA will first seek to qualifythe individual you desire toserve as your fiduciary. The

fiduciary selection is based onan assessment of the qualifica-tions of the proposed fiduciary.When seeking a fiduciary thefollowing individuals may beconsidered: A spouse or fam-ily member Court-appointedfiduciaries Another interestedparty, or A professional fidu-ciary An assessment of thequalifications of a proposedfiduciary includes, but is not. limited to: The willingnessto serve and abide by all agree-ments An interview with a VArepresentative Credit reportreview An inquiry into thecriminal background, and Interviews with characterwitnesses.

WHAT ARE MY RIGHTS?The determination that you areunable to manage your benefitsdoes not affect your non-VAfinances, or your right to voteor contract. You have the rightto appeal VA's decision findingthat you are unable to manageyour VA benefits. You have theright to appeal VA's selectionof the fiduciary. If you disagreewith the VA on either of thesematters you may: Appeal to

the Board of Veterans' Appeals(Board) by telling us you dis-agree with our decision andwant the Board to review it, or Give evidence we do notalready have that may lead usto change our decision.

GUN RIGHTSThe Brady Handgun ViolencePrevention Act prohibits youfrom purchasing, possess-ing, receiving or transportinga firearm or ammunition ifyou have "been adjudicatedas a mental defective or beencommitted to a mental insti-tution."

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Comrades and