| ALR NEWS |
| Submitted by South Carolina Post 178 New Law Authorizes Veterans to Salute during National Anthem WASHINGTON -- Veterans and active-duty military not in uniform can now render the military-style hand salute during the playing of the national anthem, thanks to changes in federal law that took effect this month. The military salute is a unique gesture of respect that marks those who have served in our national armed forces, said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. This provision allows the application of that honor in all events involving our national flag. The new provision improves upon a little known change in federal law last year that authorized veterans to render the military-style hand salute during the raising, lowering or passing of the flag, but it did not address salutes during the national anthem. Last year a provision also applied to members of the armed forces while not in uniform. Traditionally, members of the national veterans service organizations have rendered the hand-salute during the national anthem and at events involving the national flag while wearing their origanizational official head-gear. The most recent change, authorizing hand-salutes during the national anthem by veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel, was sponsored by Sen. Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, an Army veteran. It was included in the Defense Authorization Act of 2009, which President Bush signed on Oct. 14. The earlier provision authorizing hand-salutes for veterans and out-of-uniform military personnel during the raising, lowering or passing of the flag, was contained in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008, which took effect Jan. 28, 2008. 10 November 2008 |
| Submitted by Gary Lemonds Loganville Georgia Post 233 INCREASED SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFIT FOR VETS Since 1957, if you had military service earnings for active duty (including active duty for training), you paid Social Security taxes on those earnings. Since 1988, inactive duty service in the Armed Forces reserves (such as weekend drills) has also been covered by Social Security. Under certain circumstances, special extra earnings for your military service from 1957 through 2001 can be credited to your record for Social Security purposes. These extra earnings credits may help you qualify for Social Security or increase the amount of your Social Security benefit. Special extra earnings credits are granted for periods of active duty or active duty for training. Special extra earnings credits are not granted for inactive duty training. If your active military service occurred * From 1957 through 1967, we will add the extra credits to your record when you apply for Social Security benefits. * From 1968 through 2001, you do not need to do anything to receive these extra credits. The credits were automatically added to your record. * After 2001, there are no special extra earnings credits for military service. http://www.ssa.gov/retire2/military.htm |
| OPERATION COMFORT WARRIOR By American Legion National Commander David K. Rehbein, American Legion Auxiliary National President Desiree´ A. Stoy, and Sons of the American Legion National Commander Tommie Cisna We need your help. Most importantly they need you. They are our warriors, our guardians, our protectors. They are liberators, peacekeepers and nation-builders. They are our neighbors, friends and family members. They are the men and women of the United States Armed Forces. And now they are hurting. The U.S. government does a good job providing for the essential needs of the men and women recovering from war injuries in hospitals like Walter Reed, Brooke Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Medical Center, just to name a few. But what about the so-called nonessentials, the items that don't show up as a budget-line on a government spreadsheet? Nonessential comfort items such as loose- fitting sweat suits that can cover a soldier's healing body without adding pressure to the burns he suffered during an RPG attack in Ramadi? Or an I-Pod to help drown out the tinnitus that has plagued the medic ever since she drove too close to a roadside bomb in Afghanistan? Or a gripping novel that provides a welcome distraction from PTSD? In 2007, Past National Commander Paul Morin, Auxiliary National President JoAnn Cronin and SAL Commander Earl Ruttkofsky challenged The American Legion family to raise $50,000 to purchase comfort items for our wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Legion family members and other caring Americans responded in a big way. Thanks to their generosity, nearly $350,000 was raised and spent directly on the troops. In fact, Operation Landstuhl was so successful that we want to accomplish a similar endeavor at other military and VA medical centers. We are calling on you to once again help us meet our goal of raising $50,000 by the holidays. When the Red Cross notified The American Legion that zip-up sweatsuits were in short supply at Walter Reed, the Legion immediately ordered 100 sets. But it's just a drop in the bucket. We have been told there is an even greater need for items at Fort Hood and Fort Bragg. Consider that there are 67 other U. S. military inpatient facilities and 1,369 VA inpatient and outpatient centers, and you can grasp the enormous need. Their size and needs, however, are dwarfed by the obligation that America has to these heroes. The American Legion family is calling this effort Operation Comfort Warriors. Contributing is effortless. No trips to the post office or packaging of comfort items are needed. We will handle all of that. You can use your credit card to make an online donation (click here) You can also mail a check to: Operation Comfort Warriors, PO Box 1055, Indianapolis, IN 46206. Administrative and promotional costs for Operation Comfort Warriors will be paid by The American Legion, so you can be sure that your entire donation will go directly to the troops. Many centers are not equipped to store large quantities of care packages, so monetary donations are needed in order to purchase items that are truly needed. Shortly after the bombing of the Marine Corps barracks in Beirut, Gen. P.X. Kelley visited a severely injured Marine in the hospital. Gen. Kelley said the young Marine had "more tubes going in and out of his body than I have ever seen in one body." The injured Marine could not see his Commandant very well. Gen. Kelley recalled,"He reached up and grabbed my four stars, just to make sure I was who I said I was. He held my hand with a firm grip. He was making signals, and we realized he wanted to tell me something. We put a pad of paper in his hand - and he wrote ‘Semper Fi.'" Semper Fi, or Semper Fidelis, is the Marine Corps motto meaning "Always Faithful." Well today's wounded warriors in all service branches remain faithful. Faithful to their country, their comrades in arms and their loved ones back home. Operation Comfort Warrior will never be able to compensate these heroes for their sacrifices. But it will show them that we care. |
| Legion Launches VetCam for Families of Military, Vets Indianapolis - INDIANAPOLIS--Military troops deployed overseas can now use their webcams to talk with their families back home without having to download software packages that might not pass muster with command cybernet security requirements. The American Legion has launched “VetCam,” a free webcam service that enables U.S. military servicemembers and veterans to talk face-to-face on their personal computers with friends and family by simply registering as a user. Once registered, each user can connect with two webcams and use the service 24/7 from anyplace with an Internet connection. “Webcam technology has been around for a while, but many required downloading software to make them work,” said David K. Rehbein, national commander of The American Legion. “We want our troops, our veterans, and their families to be able to enjoy the pleasure of talking face-to-face with their loved ones anywhere in the word, with just a couple of mouse clicks. Next to actually being there, seeing and talking with your spouse and kids, mom and dad, and best friends are morale boosters prior generations of veterans never had.” To initiate the service, a user will need a webcam or a computer with a built in webcam. Then, just go to www.legion.org, click on VetCams, register and start communicating. Once registered, simply log in at any time to connect. All members of the United States Armed Forces (active duty, Reserve and National Guard), members of The American Legion, their families and friends are welcome to use this complimentary technology. With a current membership of 2.6-million wartime veterans, The American Legion was founded in 1919 on the four pillars of a strong national security, veterans affairs, Americanism, and patriotic youth programs. Legionnaires work for the betterment of their communities through more than 14,000 posts across the nation. |
| ALR Members from across the country gathered at the Tomb of the Unknowns 23 May 2009 to lay a wreath during Rolling Thunder. Riders from Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey and Georgia placed the wreath. |
| Two cemeteries ... A world apart What do they have in common? Read More |