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“It won’t happen in my lifetime,” Bob Shearer said as he added his name to the registry of Vietnam veterans diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Shearer was exposed to Agent Orange but never thought service connection to the disease would pass in time. His wife kept pushing though. Bob and Brenda Shearer ...
Not since the Vietnam War has a VFW Post been able to claim as many active-duty members deployed to war zones. Post 8073 in Whiteville, N.C., currently counts nearly 20% of its membership serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In April 1966, Post 9723 on Okinawa consisted mostly of officers and enlisted men from bases on the island. Membership totaled 2,...
WASHINGTON— The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. recently returned from a 12-day trip to Europe to urge the Russian government to revitalize the U.S.-Russia Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, and to meet with American service members stationed in Italy to discuss how VFW can better serve them and their families. In M...
In 2002, while training for the U.S. Army in Fort Rucker, Alabama, football enthusiasts Nathan Thompson and his friend Joe Lusk dreamed of traveling the United States in an RV during football season. They would visit each of the thirty one NFL stadiums across America, watching a different matchup at a different venue each Sunday, and even catching ...
WASHINGTON— The president signed into law today legislation that will enable the Department of Veterans Affairs to know its health care budget a full year in advance. "This is a huge victory for veterans," said Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S., who has been advocating for years with othe...
WASHINGTON— Representatives of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will be telephoning Veterans across the country to explain their education benefits under the new Post-911 GI Bill and ensure beneficiaries are able to receive payments due them. “The Post-9/11 GI Bill is one of our highest priorities,” said Secretary of Veter...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This past July, as Staff Sgt. Brett M. Bennethum lined up in formation at deployment, his 4-year-old daughter, Paige Bennethum, just “didn’t want to let go.” The picture of Paige holding her father’s hand as he prepared to deploy immediately touched hearts around the world, especially those at the VF...
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is concerned that the intense debate in Washington over the assessments and recommendations by the U.S. military commander in Afghanistan is posing a direct threat to troops as well as to the nation’s defense. In a statement, Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., ...
The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, established on October 13, 1775. It consisted of two armed vessels to cruise in search of munitions ships supplying the British Army in America. From the Dec. 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor to the Oct. 12, 2000, attack on USS Cole, the U.S. Navy has proven to be the most formidabl...
WASHINGTON — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. is applauding Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki’s decision to increase by three the number of illnesses that can now be linked to the herbicide defoliant Agent Orange, which was used extensively during the Vietnam War. Today’s addition of hairy cell leukemia, Parkins...
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