The
CONNECTION
A Publication of Connecticut Greater Hartford Chapter 120
Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
September 2009

 

Chapter and Local News

Chapter 120 Newsletter Receives National Award

The Chapter 120 Connection received the VVA National award for Chapter e-Newsletter of the Year at the National Convention in Louisville KY. Chapter 120 President Paul Barry Jr. accepted the award from VVA National President John Rowan.

Thanks to the continuing support from our members, the Connection has now become recognized at the national level.

25th Anniversary DVD

Several 25th Anniversary DVDs are available for a cost of $6 (includes postage). There are a limited number of DVDs left. Please call the Chapter office at 860-568-9212 to reserve your copy today!

Phone Cards for Service Members
The Chapter still has phone cards available for service members who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the Chapter is limited to the number of phone cards we can give, we ask that these military service personnel be related to Chapter members. Any Chapter members who have a relative serving in Iraq or Afghanistan are urged to contact Mary Beaulieu at 335-2681 or via e-mail at mbeaulieu2@cox.net

Chapter 120 Bus Trip to Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum
 Chapter 120 Vice President Bob Burgess is planning a one-day bus trip to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City in October 2009. Admission to the museum is $13 for veterans. The cost of the bus trip will depend upon the number of members wishing to go on the trip. More information will be available at the Chapter meeting on September 3, 2009. Click on the Intrepid logo below for a virtual tour.

Important!
Please Notify us of your address and telephone number changes. Without your up-to-date address, we cannot send the newsletter or any other important correspondence to you. In several instances, we have attempted to contact members without success because the member's address and/or phone number had changed without our notification.

Membership Renewals
Is your membership renewal about to become due? Please renew today so you can continue to receive the award winning Chapter newsletter, as well as The VVA Veteran! And as you renew, please consider joining the other 129 members who have chosen Life membership.

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Marine Spends Time with Family prior to 3rd Deployment
Marine Corporal Michael Gero, grandson of Chapter member Nancy Rousselle, spent time with his family and friends prior to his third deployment to Iraq on August 19, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Chapter 120 gave phone cards to Michael during his visit. Through efforts began by Mary Beaulieu, Chapter 120 offers free phone cards to military service personnel related to Chapter members.  

Corporal Gero is now on his way to Iraq, with his New Haven based USMC Reserve unit - Detachment 1, Direct Support Motor Transport, Company B, 6th Motor Transport Battalion, 4th MLG. He and his unit are scheduled to return in March 2010.

Our prayers are with Michael and his unit. May they return safely to their family and friends.


Connecticut Department of Veterans' Affairs

 Connecticut Stand Down 2009
“Connecticut Cares” is the slogan of this year’s Stand Down, to be held on Friday, September 18, 2009 at the Rocky Hill Veterans’ Home.

We need your help to inform veterans in need in your local community about Stand Down. We are asking you to help and encourage any veteran in need to get to Rocky Hill on Friday September 18th. Your assistance with pre-registration and transportation arrangements will contribute to our success in serving needy veterans.

Veterans in need or those who might be helping to care for them can pre-register. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required to attend Stand Down. Free shuttle busses will be operating from the state’s major urban centers to Rocky Hill. A complete transportation schedule (and any updates or changes) is posted on the CT DVA website. You may also call our Stand Down Info Line at 1-800-550-0000 X 5831 or visit www.ct.gov/ctva

Stand Down 2008 served 1,000 homeless and needy veterans. We expect to serve many more at Stand Down 2009! Together, we can help our neediest veterans and meet our state’s mission, “To Serve Those Who Have Served”

2009 Veterans' Resource Guide Available
The CT Dept of Veterans' Affairs has created the 2009 Veterans' Resource Guide.

POW/MIA

National POW/MIA Recognition Day
National POW/MIA Recognition Day will be observed on Friday, September 18, 2009 at the Newington VA campus. The ceremony will start at 9:00AM in the courtyard to the right of the lobby entrance. As was last year, Chapter member and POW/MIA advocate Mary Beaulieu will be the keynote speaker. Please attend if at all possible. 

DPMO News Releases
For the latest news releases from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO), click HERE  

On The Hill

VA Appropriations Bill HR 3082
The House passed their version of the Military Construction/ Veterans Affairs appropriations bill on July 10. The Senate has yet to consider their version of the bill (S.1407). With less than a month remaining before the beginning of the fiscal year, it seems doubtful that an appropriations bill will be ready for the President’s signature by that time.

Filner Bill Allows Elderly Veterans to Use Their Earned Medicare Dollars for VA Health Care
Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Bob Filner introduced H.R. 3365 to allow veterans to use their earned Medicare benefits to receive health care and services from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). See Press Release

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News & Info Links 

 

Veterans' Affairs News

Secretary Shinseki Moves to Simplify PTSD Compensation Rules
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki announced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps to assist Veterans seeking compensation for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“The hidden wounds of war are being addressed vigorously and comprehensively by this administration as we move VA forward in its transformation to the 21st century,” said Secretary Shinseki.

The VA has published a proposed regulation in the Federal Register to make it easier for a Veteran to claim service connection for PTSD by reducing the evidence needed if the stressor claimed by a Veteran is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. Comments on the proposed rule will be accepted over the next 60 days. A final regulation will be published after consideration of all comments received. See proposed rule

VA Blames Coding Error for Fatal Disease Scare
The Veterans Affairs Department on Aug. 27 blamed a computer coding error for letters it wrongly sent to

 about 620 veterans last week informing them they had the fatal Lou Gehrig’s disease. See VA blames coding error

VA Continues Gulf War Research, Cancels Contract with UTSW Medical Center
Citing persistent noncompliance and numerous performance deficiencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will not exercise the third year of a five-year, $75 million contract with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC) to perform research into Gulf War Veterans’ Illnesses (GWVI). See VA Press Release

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2009 Federal Veterans' Benefits Now Available
The 2009 Federal Veterans' Benefits booklet is now available on the VA website. Click on the picture to the right.

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From the National Multiple Sclerosis Society magazine, the "Momentum"
 Reaching Veterans with MS – via Nurses
"When my mother was diagnosed many years ago, there were no treatments for MS," said Carol Johnson, RN, a registered nurse at the Veterans’ Hospital in San Diego. "I grew up thinking that there was nothing you could do about it. That all changed when I went to a program at the Veterans’ Administration." See Reaching Veterans with MS
A veteran - whether active duty, retired, or national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America," for an amount of "up to and including my life." That is honor, and there are "way too many" people in this country who no longer understand it.
 
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