2006 VFW Magazine - Veterans of Foreign Wars

contents 

SPECIAL ISSUE 

All the major current issues important to contemporary vets 

are addressed in this single magazine edition. It is a tribute 

to Afghanistan and Iraq vets re-entering the civilian world. 

10 Society & the Soldier 

How a society receives and treats its citizens in uniform during and after a war says much 

about its own values. What does it mean when so few are willing to serve • By R.K. Kolb 

12 Portraying Contemporary War Vets in Popular Culture 

The mass media largely shapes the way the public views America’s warriors. Every form of 

communication, from newspaper headlines to TV shows, determines how. • By R.K. Kolb 

14 A GI Bill for the 21st Century 

Veterans seeking a higher education require a new GI Bill . • By Suzanne Mettler 

16 Caring for the Wounded in the Long Haul 

State-of-the-art facilities for the severely wounded are now in operation. But full funding 

for VA health care and vital research is an annual ordeal. • By Janie Blankenship 

19 GI Death and Life Insurance Benefits More Equitable 

The fight for greater Imminent Danger Pay, a decent death gratuity and adequate life 

insurance proved formidable. • By Shannon Hanson 

20 Confronting the Emotional Toll 

Psychological disorders are one of the enduring costs of war. • By Shannon Hanson 

22 State Benefits for National Guard and Veterans Vary 

Programs for mobilized National Guard members and state VA benefits for returning resident-vets 

cover the gamut. Illinois stands out as a model to emulate. • By Kara Petrovic 

24 Recognizing and Remembering Today’s Warriors 

After a fight, the appropriate medals were created. But now the battle must begin for a 

national memorial in the capital region. • By Kara Petrovic 

29 War Literature Abounds 

Books about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are quickly appearing. • By Joe Moran 

30 VFW Magazine’s Coverage of the War on Terrorism 

This handy index includes more than 150 articles. • By Joe Moran 

COLUMNS 

3 Command Post 

Advocating for today’s veterans 

8 Washington Wire 

Legislative: 2007 VA Budget 

Increase for Recent War 

Wounded; VA Co-Pay, 

Enrollment Fees Opposed 

Service: Modernizing the GI 

Bill for All War Veterans 

Security: Armor Upgrading; Iraq 

Vets Suffer Hearing Loss 

DEPARTMENTS 

4 Mail Call 

5 Now Hear This 

Iraq MIA: Sgt. Matt Maupin 

6 Issues Up Front 

Employment efforts 

26 Young Vets in Focus 

Four triple amputees 

27 VFW in Action 

Post generosity 

28 Sound Off 

Public troop support 

31 Membership 

Appealing to the 

younger set 

COVER: Clockwise from lower 

left: Iraq vets from Post 7356 in 

Parkville, Mo., are John 

Nonnemaker, Mark Cathcart, 

Sarah Bergman and Josh Peters. 

Peters was wounded by a 

roadside bomb in July 2003. 

Photo by Mark McCabe 

2 • WWW.VFW.ORG • © 2006 VFW Magazine

commandpost 

Advocating for Today’s Veterans 

© 

Thousands of veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq have been discharged into 

civilian life. We all have an obligation to welcome them home. 

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS 

VFW magazine is the official publication of the VETERANS 

OF FOREIGN WARS OF THE UNITED STATES. Copyright, 

2006, by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States. 

VFW MAGAZINE STAFF 

PUBLISHER,DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF 

Richard K. Kolb 

ART DIRECTOR 

Robert Widener 

ASSOCIATE EDITOR 

Shannon Hanson 

CIRCULATION MANAGER 

Robert Crider 

www.vfw.org 

SENIOR EDITOR 

Tim Dyhouse 

SENIOR WRITER 

Janie Blankenship 

EDITORIAL ASSOCIATE 

Kara Petrovic 

VFW: The Organization 

VFW's National Headquarters is located 

in Kansas City, Mo. All administrative 

business is conducted from there. In 

addition, an office in Washington, D.C., 

is responsible for monitoring legislative 

and related national issues of importance 

to veterans. 

More than 8,500 Posts comprise 54 

Departments in the 50 states, District of 

Columbia, Latin America, the Pacific 

Areas and Europe. Posts form the local 

chapters. Membership in 2006 stood at 

1.7 million. 

Working in concert with VFW is its 

Ladies Auxiliary, a national volunteer 

service association founded in 1914. It is 

the backbone of many local VFW volunteer 

efforts. 

The benefits of joining are both tangible 

and intangible. As a member, you 

will receive VFW magazine monthly and 

may also obtain the bimonthly newsletter 

Checkpoint. Also, 20 benefits ranging 

from discounted car rental fees to a 

credit union to a special Member Honor 

Roll are available. 

Equally important is the sense of 

camaraderie and pride you will share 

with veterans of prior wars. 

For more on Membership, contact: 

Jim Rowoldt, Director 

VFW Membership Department 

VFW National Headquarters 

406 W. 34th Street 

Kansas City, MO 64111 

(816) 756-3390, ext. 208 

This issue is a special 

tribute to 

America’s newest 

generation of war veterans. 

As you read it, you 

will find that it completely 

covers every aspect of 

the contemporary veteran’s 

experience. Whether 

he or she served in 

Afghanistan, Iraq or 

some remote theater of 

the global war on terrorism, 

this edition is 

designed to recognize 

and respect their services. 

In his State of the Union message, 

President Bush declared,“Our own generation 

is in a long war against a determined 

enemy.” A Joint Chiefs of Staff 

officer added,“This war is likely to take a 

while and will require both the commitment 

of significant resources and the 

resolve of the American people.” 

Part of that commitment lies on the 

home front. That’s where VFW enters 

the picture. Supporting the troops while 

they are in the field does not end our 

obligation. In many respects, the real 

battle continues once that uniform 

comes off.“I served two tours in 

Afghanistan,” one veteran wrote, but 

“coming home can be more difficult 

than going over.” 

Iraq veteran and author John 

Crawford observed: “When the war is 

over, you pick up your gear, walk down 

the hill and back into the world, where 

people smile, congratulate you and 

secretly hope you won’t be a burden on 

society now that you’ve done the dirty 

work they shun.” 

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF 

Gary Kurpius 

We exist as an organization 

to see to it that the “burden” 

Crawford speaks of 

remains a public commitment. 

I am proud to say that 

VFW continues to fulfill its 

duty in this regard on every 

front. 

Welcome home events are 

a common feature of VFW 

troop-support activities. We 

are ever vigilant that their 

service be portrayed in a 

positive light. We have 

sought a GI Bill commensurate 

with the costs of attending college in 

the 21st century. Promoting 

employment opportunities and protecting 

job rights are part and parcel of 

VFW’s mission. 

Caring for the wounded has been the 

top priority from the start. Nothing less 

than full funding for state-of-the-art 

medical facilities and in-depth research 

is acceptable. Top-notch PTSD centers 

and adequate disability compensation 

has always been our goal. 

VFW vigorously fought for and won 

appropriate Imminent Danger Pay, a 

decent death “gratuity” and life insurance 

that was previously grossly inadequate. 

At the state grassroots level, VFW 

members work diligently seeing that 

state VA benefits keep pace with the 

changing times. 

Recognizing and commemorating 

war service in the form of medals and 

memorials has been on our list, too. 

Soon, veterans of the “long war,” as it 

is being called, will assume responsibility 

for VFW’s future. Let’s leave them a 

legacy to be proud of. 

© 2006 VFW Magazine • WWW.VFW.ORG • 3

mailcall 

Young Vets in the Limelight 

Congratulations on the special “Back Home” April issue about 

returning war veterans. Thank you for eloquently showing what 

they have done and will continue to do for our country. Most citizens 

in our nation are oblivious to their sacrifices. As a parent of 

two soldiers, I am proud of my children’s service and also will not 

forget their comrades-in-arms. 

Steve Hull, E-Mail 

It is especially encouraging reading 

about how the young vets wounded in 

battle are being cared for. I enjoy reading 

VFW magazine from cover to 

cover. Let me compliment you on a 

very fine publication. 

Bill Harden, Newton, Iowa 

Re: Command Post (April): I can’t 

recall reading a more well-rounded 

recognition of today’s troops—those 

destined to be our successors. This column 

presented a cogent description of 

our organization’s efforts to provide for 

the young veterans merging back into 

society. Thanks for a job well done. 

Bob Swick, E-Mail 

I wish to commend you on the April 

issue. As a professor of military science 

and director of an Army ROTC 

Department on a university campus, I 

feel the impact of the conditions 

described in “Society & the Soldier” 

and “Portraying Contemporary War 

Vets in Popular Culture.” I plan to 

share these articles with some of my 

faculty advisers so they can better 

understand our society’s challenges. 

Lt. Col. Perry D. Rearick, 

Edinboro University of Pennsylvania 

Thank you for “Society and the 

Soldier.” I am a Persian Gulf War [1991] 

veteran and had no idea years later I 

would be sending my only son and baby 

daughter off to war in Iraq. My daughter 

is presently serving her second tour 

in Iraq. 

Ira D. Jinkins, Sr., E-Mail 

As a U.S. Army veteran of both Iraq 

and Afghanistan, I agree that many 

people in this country honestly believe 

that we are not at war. The real question 

is: How do we wake up the rest of 

the country to the incredible sacrifices 

that our fellow soldiers are making, 

and that the mainstream media refuses 

to cover 

Kenneth R. Barber, E-Mail 

The April articles addressed very 

serious problems that our country 

needs to face today. America will continue 

to benefit from the return of 

these veterans. They bring leadership, 

honesty, integrity and the drive for success. 

As Joe Galloway asked, “What are 

we doing as a people and a nation to 

deserve the service and sacrifice of such 

men and women” 

Chuck Sawyer, E-Mail 

Memorials on the Rise 

Re: “Recognizing and Remembering 

Today’s Warriors” (April). Many units 

have erected memorials to their casualties. 

Members of the 25th Infantry 

Division Association took on the task 

of building a monument at Schofield 

Barracks in Hawaii. Dedicated in June 

2005, it honors soldiers killed in 

Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Dave Garrod, Ohio 

Combat Chronologies 

on the Mark 

“Remembering Those in Combat” and 

the accompanying chronologies on 

Afghanistan and Iraq (March) was outstanding. 

It is a precise, succinct, masterfully 

done piece that can serve as an 

excellent talking or starting point with 

young vets at VFW Posts. Thanks for a 

job well done. 

Bud Moore, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. 

The March issue with its Afghanistan 

and Iraq War chronologies is invaluable. 

They are especially interesting and 

useful. Likewise, your Final Salute each 

month is a fitting tribute to those who 

sacrificed themselves for all of us. 

Francis X. Callahan, Chico, Calif. 

March’s special on “A Chronicle of 

Combat” was right on the mark. This 

tribute will help us all never forget 

their sacrifices and welcome vets of 

Iraq and Afghanistan into the VFW as 

they return. 

Cory Kilvert III, Goshen, N.Y. 

Each war has its signature photo, 

and the young soldier shown on the 

March cover will be one of the distinguishing 

pictures of the Iraq War. 

Richard T. Altman, E-Mail 

Please accept my compliments on 

the re-cap of the Iraq and Afghanistan 

wars. It is complete with timeline and 

casualties. Thanks for keeping veterans 

of both wars in the minds of readers. 

Ned Harrison, E-Mail 

The Iraq chronology overlooked one 

of the most pivotal periods during the 

summer of 2003 through January 2004. I 

served with the 4th Infantry Division in 

the Sunni Triangle until being wounded 

on Christmas 2003 in Baqubah. During 

that period the 4th Division lost 88 KIA. 

Overall, I am pleased with VFW 

magazine. Your Final Salute section is 

an outstanding tribute to the sacrifices 

of our fallen comrades. 

Joseph A. Tormala, E-Mail 


nowhearthis 

Brief news items of interest to veterans and their families. 

Saga of Iraq GI Sgt. Matt Maupin 

Only one GI is unaccounted for in the Iraq War. 

Because of the peculiar military situation in Iraq, 

Army Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin is not officially 

regarded as missing in action or as a prisoner of 

war. But he is listed as missing and captured. 

In April 2005, an Army board of inquiry 

reviewed his case and declared him still in the 

captured status. At that time, an Army 

spokesman said, “They continue to search for 

him, and he is not forgotten.” 

Maupin has been unaccounted for since April 9, 

2004, when his fuel truck was ambushed in a 

Baghdad suburb. A member of the Army 

Reserve’s 724th Transportation Company based in 

Bartonville, Ill., Maupin hails from Batavia, Ohio. 

Terrorists later released videotape purportedly Sgt. Keith “Matt” Maupin 

showing his execution. But because of its poor 

quality and the fact that Maupin’s body was never recovered, his status remains 

in limbo. However, he could have been reclassified as “deceased, body not 

recovered” as was commonly done during the Vietnam War. 

Meanwhile, his parents maintain a Yellow Ribbon Support Center in Batavia. 

Besides sending care packages to GIs in Iraq, the storefront serves as a nerve 

center for keeping the memory of Maupin’s capture alive. 

Maupin’s plight will not be forgotten. As Darrel Whitcomb, retired Air Force 

colonel and a combat search and rescue historian, pointed out: “No other 

nation in the world dedicates as much force structure, time, training and 

thought to rescue as does the United States. It’s part of the way we fight, part 

of the way we are. We will never stop looking for him.” 

Iraq Vets Entering Politics 

“Veterans seem destined to play a more 

visible role in American politics than 

they have for a half century, and mostly 

under the Democratic banner,” proclaimed 

a New York Times article. 

Unlike veterans of Vietnam who were 

relatively late in throwing their hats 

into the political arena, Iraq vets have 

been quick to enter the domestic fray. 

Although the most high profile among 

them—Paul Hackett, a Marine reservist 

and Cincinnati attorney—ended his 

political career in February, many others 

promise to appear on the party slates in 

2006 congressional elections. 

Overall, nearly 100 candidates will be 

veterans—40 Republicans and 53 Democrats, 

according to the Boston Globe. Of 

the 12 or so who are Iraq or Afghanistan 

vets, only two are Republicans. 

Forty of these self-proclaimed “Fighting 

Dems” held a rally in early February 

in Washington, D.C., to publicly declare 

their policy objectives embodied in a 

seven-point pledge. They were supported 

by 2004 presidential candidates Mass. 

Sen. John F. Kerry and Wesley Clark. 

The National Republican Campaign 

Committee countered that at least 38 

Republican congressional challengers 

are veterans. According to a Military 

Times poll of active-duty troops, 56% 

identify themselves as Republicans and 

13% as Democrats. 

Several political action committees 

have been created to back the Democratic 

vets: Veterans for a Secure America, VET- 

PAC and Band of Brothers 2006. Also, the 

Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America 

PHOTO COURTESY 88TH REGIONAL READINESS COMMAND 

(IAVA), formerly Operation Truth, 

formed a PAC. Clark is on its board of 

advisers and Jon Soltz, Kerry’s vet outreach 

coordinator in Pennsylvania in 

2004, is the executive director. 

IAVA says it represents 600 veterans. 

Paul Rieckhoff, its executive director 

and still a member of the New York 

National Guard, founded it. The organization’s 

board of advisers includes 

three Vietnam veterans—former Minnesota 

governor Jesse Ventura, Vietnam 

Veterans of America Foundation 

founder Bobby Muller and Medal of 

Honor recipient Paul Bucha. 

Regardless of the media hype, political 

analyst Stuart Rothenberg questioned 

whether “veterans of Iraq will 

begin with more authority to speak 

about U.S. foreign policy, national security 

or even the war itself.” This is especially 

so because only 12% of American 

adults are veterans. 

One thing most agree on is what 

Vietnam vet Max Cleland said about 

Iraq vets: “These guys are the best and 

brightest of their generation.” 

Military Mirrors Society 

Despite all the facts to the contrary, there 

are still thinly veiled media references to 

alleged disproportionate minority casualties 

in Iraq. This myth, like the one perpetuated 

to this day regarding Vietnam, 

must be laid to rest. So let’s set the record 

straight one more time. 

Of the 2,247 Americans who had died 

in Iraq as of early February 2006, 74% 

were white, 11% Hispanic, 10% black 

and 5% other races. These percentages 

are fairly in line with the proportions of 

these groups in the general population. 

If anything, the latter groups are underrepresented 

in the casualty figures. 

A Government Accountability Office 

report last year concluded that socioeconomic 

factors, not race, determine 

who serves and who does not in America’s 

armed forces. This is particularly 

true of rural America. 


issuesupfront 

Succeeding in the Civilian Job Market 

Finding jobs for discharged vets and protecting reservist re-employment rights is of utmost importance during wartime. 

by Shannon Hanson 

6 • WWW.VFW.ORG • © 2006 VFW Magazine 

Among the multitude of issues 

faced by veterans from Iraq and 

Afghanistan upon their return 

home is the pressing problem of 

employment. Discharged vets have to 

find ways to transfer their military job 

skills into the civilian world; reservists 

and National Guardsmen can face difficulties 

returning to their civilian jobs. 

Legislation has been passed and programs 

created to help these vets. But 

according to the Department of Labor, 

the current unemployment rate among 

young veterans (20-24) is 15.8%, twice 

the rate of non-veterans the same age. 

Senate VA Committee Chairman 

Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said, “This trend 

of rising unemployment suggests to me 

that we, as a nation, must do more to 

help these young veterans succeed in 

the civilian job market.” 

The government’s newest program, 

VA initiative Fulfilling the Commitment—Coming 

Home to Work, aims to 

make it easier for recent vets to access 

existing job-search resources, and to 

encourage employers to look at veterans 

as a desirable employee base. VA 

Secretary Jim Nicholson also hopes to 

create a job database and a network of 

private-sector companies interested in 

veteran-employees. 

Upon its creation by the Jobs for 

Veterans Act (P.L. 107-288), the president’s 

National Hire Veterans Committee 

developed the program Hire Vets 

First (www.hirevetsfirst.gov). This Internet 

resource includes an area for 

employers, with reasons to hire vets, 

skills translators and testimonials; and 

an area for vets, to search for jobs and get 

resumé assistance and transition advice. 

The Transition Assistance Program 

(TAP), begun in 1990, is another tool 

available to vets that a June 2005 Government 

Accountability Office report recommended 

making mandatory. It offers 

three-day workshops at select military 

installations that provide information on 

job searches, career decision-making, job 

market conditions, resumés and cover 

letters, interviewing skills and current 

veterans benefits. 

Cody Green attended a TAP workshop 

in Norfolk, Va., after leaving the 

Navy in December 2004. “A lot of people 

told me I would have a hard time 

finding a job after I got out,” he said. 

Employment Stats 2004 

• 43,262 vets hired by federal 

agencies 

• 19% of federal agency new hires 

were vets 

• 454,000 vets in federal 

workforce (25%) 

• 9.4% of private sector workforce 

were vets 

• 87,390 disabled vets in federal 

workforce (up 11% from 

previous year) 

• 15.8% unemployment rate for 

young vets (age 20-24) 

Source: Department of Labor and Office 

of Personnel Management 

“But I was under the impression, being 

a veteran at a time of war, I would be 

able to find a job pretty quickly.” Green 

got a job in August 2005. 

VFW also works directly with a job 

service provider. VetJobs.com (www.vetjobs.com) 

is a full-service job- and 

resumé-posting Web site. 

Special programs for wounded or 

disabled vets also are available. Disabled 

TAP workshops include the regular 

three-day workshop plus individual 

instruction addressing the special needs 

of service-connected disabled vets. 

In 2005, the Labor and Defense 

departments launched the Recovery 

and Employment Assistance Lifelines 

(REALifelines) initiative, a personalized 

assistance network that trains seriously 

wounded GIs unable to return to active 

duty for a civilian career. Representatives 

are stationed at Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center, Bethesda National Naval 

Medical Center, Ft. Lewis, Wash., and Ft. 

Sam Houston in San Antonio. 

When it comes to government jobs, 

veterans preference is in place to grant 

extra points on civil service exams. In 

January, the Office of Personnel Management 

announced the inclusion of 

Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medal 

recipients’ entitlement to preference in 

federal hiring. 

But the key to veterans employment 

could be in the private sector. According 

to Wesley Poriotis of the Center for 

Military and Private Sector Initiatives, 

“To find jobs in the private sector, you 

need to engage persons with private-sector 

experience to fund these jobs and 

then connect veterans to those jobs.” 

Programs that accomplish this are sure 

to come down the pike soon. 

USERRA Protects Vets 

Members of the Reserves and National 

Guard face their own unique challenges 

when they return home from war. The 

Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment 

Rights Act (USERRA) outlines 

the rights and responsibilities of 

returning Reserve and Guard members, 

and their employers. New rules clarifying 

USERRA went into effect Jan. 18, the 

first explanation of the act since the law 

was enacted in 1994. A one-page poster 

released in December and available on 

the Web site www.dol.gov/vets outlines 

the new regulations.

But USERRA doesn’t solve every 

problem. Michael Serricchio, whose 

story was told in the New York Times,was 

making $200,000 a year as a stock broker 

before his Air Force Reserve unit was 

activated in 2001. It took him three 

months after his deployment to return to 

his company, which had merged with 

another in his absence. The position he 

was finally given made $2,000 a month, 

which had to be repaid out of his commissions. 

When he complained and said 

he would consult his lawyer, he was 

informed that he had “voluntarily” 

resigned. 

“These are complex issues,” says Maj. 

Robert Palmer, national spokesman for 

the National Committee for Employer 

Support of the Guard and Reserve. 

“Sometimes the Guard and reservists 

have an unreal expectation of what they 

are due, and some employers don’t 

know what they’re supposed to do.” 

But economist Glenn Gotz of the 

Institute for Defense Analyses says it’s 

hard to prove wrongdoing in cases like 

Serricchio’s. “If companies want to get 

around USERRA, in terms of promotion 

and hiring,” he says,“they can.” 

James Maddix, Jr., of Lansing, Mich., 

had another kind of problem. He owned 

his own business, Big Daddy Taxi, when 

his National Guard unit was activated. 

Business owners have no protection 

under USERRA, and Maddix was forced 

to file for bankruptcy and close his business. 

After his yearlong tour, he started 

the business up again, but estimated it 

will take two years to reach his predeployment 

income. 

“I never thought I’d get deployed,” he 

said. “But no matter how upset I get, I 

was the one who signed [up].” 

The Small Business Administration 

offers low-interest loans for selfemployed 

Guardsmen who have been 

deployed. Some $7 million was loaned 

in 2004. Other ideas being considered 

in Congress to help small businesses 

include tax credits, subsidized loans 

and insurance, and certain exemptions 

from military service. 

The employment outlook for returning 

vets is by no means dismal. But assistance 

programs must be available and 

employers must be aware of their moral 

obligation during wartime. ✪ 

Larry Gill (with his son Ryan) was wounded by a grenade in Iraq while serving with the 

Alabama National Guard. Nerve damage in his leg forced him to give up his job as a 

Thomasville, Ala., police officer. His employment plight is not atypical of disabled vets. 

“These are complex issues. Sometimes the Guard 

and reservists have an unreal expectation 

of what they are due, and some employers 

don’t know what they’re supposed to do.” 

—Maj. Robert Palmer, national spokesman for the National 

Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve 

PHOTO BY G.M. ANDREWS / AP WIDE WORLD PHOTOS 


washingtonwire 

News from VFW’s Washington Office By Tim Dyhouse 

WAYNE SCARBERRY / AP WIDE WORLD PHOTO 

------------------ LEGISLATION------------------- 

VA Budget Includes Care 

for Recent War Wounded 

Some 109,000 veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are included in 

the 5.3 million patients VA expects to treat in fiscal year 2007. 

To that end, the Bush Administration in February proposed a 

$33.2 billion budget for VA healthcare, an 8% increase in discretionary 

funding from last year. VFW believes it is a “significant” 

step in the right direction for the wounded of the 

nation’s latest wars. 

“VA provides a great service to America’s veterans, but 

let’s not forget that we are a nation at war,” VFW 

Commander-in-Chief Jim Mueller said. “Our servicemen 

and women must know that their country—their government—is 

going to care for their minds and bodies if they are 

wounded or for their families should they die.” 

Iraq vet Sgt. Kenneth Dixon works with therapist Katrina Alexander 

at the McGuire VA Medical Center in Richmond, Va., on March 11, 

2004. Additional VA funding is being sought to provide care for 

recent war wounded from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho), chairman of the Senate VA 

Committee, released a statement Feb. 6 noting that approximately 

16,500 troops have been wounded in Iraq and 

Afghanistan as of that date and that overall, VA expects to 

grant disability compensation to more than 266,000 veterans 

between 2005 and 2007. 

According to VA’s Web site, returning GIs—including 

reservists and National Guardsmen—who served on active 

duty in a theater of combat operations have special eligibility 

for hospital care, medical services and nursing home care 

for two years following discharge from active duty. For more 

information, returning vets can access www.seamlesstransition.va.gov. 

The total amount proposed by the Administration for VA 

in 2007 is $80.6 billion, an increase of $8.8 billion, or 12.2%, 

over last year. In addition to health care, the proposal 

includes a 14% increase in benefits spending. 

Co-pays, Enrollment Fee Opposed 

VFW opposes two proposals in the Administration’s budget: 

boosting the prescription co-payment for a 30-day supply of 

medication from $8 to $15, and creating an annual VA enrollment 

fee of $250. VA estimates the enrollment fee would 

apply to some 200,000 vets who would remain in the system 

despite the enrollment fee, and 1 million vets would pay the 

higher drug fee. 

The Administration’s proposed budget assumes 235,000 

veterans would drop out of VA’s health care system rather 

than pay the new fees. VA Undersecretary for Health 

Jonathan Perlin told USA Today that 95% of veterans who 

would be subjected to the higher fees already have private 

health insurance or are eligible for Medicare. VA estimates 

that the two fees would generate about $765 million. 

This is the fourth year in a row the Bush Administration 

has proposed the co-payment increase and enrollment fee. 

Congress has rejected both measures the last three years. 

----------------------- SERVICE------------------------ 

GI Bill Needs 21st Century Upgrades 

VFW’s goal of improving GI Bill benefits received some help 

in February from within the halls of Congress. 

“The Montgomery GI Bill, as good as it is, does not reflect 

the realities facing today’s service members, especially those 

in the Guard and Reserve,” said Rep. Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), 

chairman of the House VA Committee.“We must modernize 

the GI Bill.” 

VFW members have been calling for a “GI Bill for the 21st 

Century” for several years, most recently with passage of Res. 

625 at last year’s national convention. The resolution calls 

for a new education benefit to cover the full cost of tuition, 

fees, books and related expenses along with a stipend to 

cover housing expenses at the university or college of a veteran’s 

choice. 

Buyer says he welcomes ideas for GI Bill improvements, 

singling out proposals made by the Partnership for Veterans 

Education, a coalition of veterans groups and higher education 

associations of which VFW is a member. One of the 

Partnership’s objectives is to upgrade GI Bill benefits for 

Guard and Reserve members and equate the benefits with 


VFW VETERANS HELPLINE 

Call VFW’s Tactical Assessment Center if you have questions, 

concerns or issues about VA care you are receiving. 

(800) VFW-1899 

the level of military service performed. 

Benefit rates would be structured as follows: 

Tier One: Similar to the current Montgomery GI Bill 

active-duty, three-year rate, would be provided to all who 

enlist in the active armed forces. Service entrants would 

receive 36 months of benefits at the active-duty rate. 

Tier Two: Montgomery GI Bill benefits for direct entry 

(non-prior service) in the selected reserve for six years. 

Benefits would be proportional to the active-duty rate. 

Historically, selected reserve benefits have been 47%-48% of 

active-duty benefits. 

Tier Three: Montgomery GI Bill benefits for members of 

the ready reserve who are activated for at least 90 days. They 

would receive one month of benefit for each month of activation, 

up to a total of 36 months, at the active-duty rate. 

Veterans would have up to 10 years to use the active-duty 

or activated-service benefit in Tier One and Tier Three from 

their last date of active/activated duty or reserve service, 

whichever is later. A selected reservist could use remaining 

Tier Two benefits while satisfactorily participating in the 

selected reserve and for up to 10 years following separation 

from the reserves, if the separation were for disability or 

qualification for a reserve retirement. 

According to the Partnership, the next step is for Congress 

to pass legislation that would combine administration of 

benefits for both the active-duty and reserve programs 

under Title 38. Based on Buyer’s support for the plan—as 

well as that of the House VA Committee’s ranking Democrat 

Rep. Stephanie Herseth, who said she sees the improvement 

of the GI Bill “as an area of common ground”—progress is 

hopeful. The Partnership believes that “if current benefit 

levels are maintained, a Total Force Montgomery GI Bill is 

expected to be low-cost.” 

(See the related article on page 14.) 

Iraq Vets Suffer Hearing Loss 

An Army study released in February revealed that soldiers 

who served in Iraq are nearly 53 times more likely to suffer 

hearing problems than those who did not. The study examined 

806 Iraq vets diagnosed with “post-deployment noiseinduced 

hearing loss” between April 2003 and March 2004. 

Here are some findings: 

• 30% suffered tinnitus (ringing in the ears) and “permanent 

threshold shift,” which is inner ear damage resulting 

in lifelong hearing loss. 

• 16% had hearing losses that would likely affect their performance 

in combat. 

• 6% suffered “acoustic trauma” resulting from a single 

loud noise such as a bomb or rocket blast. 

• 2% had broken eardrums. 

VA pays out about $850 million a year in disability compensation 

to vets suffering from tinnitus. Auditory problems 

are the third-most common disability. 

--------------------- SECURITY ---------------------- 

GIs in Iraq Receiving 

More Body Armor 

Efforts to equip troops in Iraq and Afghanistan with better 

body armor have intensified since last fall. Procurement officials 

for the Marine Corps told Congress in early February 

that they expect to have all of their 26,000 troops in Iraq supplied 

this month. Army officials added that they hope to have 

100,000 sets of body armor to troops in the war zone by June. 

A Pentagon study made public in January concluded that 

side and back plates added to the standard issue body armor 

system could have saved up to 80% of the Marines who had 

died in Iraq from upper torso wounds. 

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) introduced S. 2230— 

the Servicemembers Safety Act of 2006—on Jan. 31 that 

would require the Defense Department to provide a complete 

set of body armor for all troops in a combat zone. It 

also would require reimbursement of up to $1,100 for any 

GI who purchases the armor on his or her own. 

The new Interceptor Body Armor, which is now the Army 

standard and similar to the Marine Corps design, includes 

ceramic plates that protect the sides of troops’ bodies against 

bullets and shrapnel. The inch-thick plates are made from 

boron carbide, lighter than aluminum but one of the hardest 

materials known, and can stop a 9mm pistol shot. 

Mobility for troops wearing the armor is a concern. The 

new system weighs from 31 pounds in a medium size up to 

38 pounds in the largest size. 

“Piling on too much armor presents as much risk to the 

soldier as providing too little,” said Maj. Gen. Stephen 

Speakes, the Army’s director of force development, in a USA 

Today article. Casualty reports, he added, don’t “reveal how 

many soldiers or Marines have been saved because they were 

able to quickly raise and fire their rifles first” at the enemy. 

Ceradyne, of Costa Mesa, Calif., is the Army’s largest supplier 

of ceramic armor and ships it to the Marine Corps as 

well. It also makes armor that protects helicopter gunships 

from .50-caliber machine-gun fire and plans to provide 

armor for a Marine Corps landing craft. 

“We’re shipping 32,000 to 50,000 plates a month, and they 

are held to a very high standard,” Ceradyne founder Joel 

Moskowitz told the San Diego Union-Tribune. 

Army Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Sorenson, deputy chief for acquisition, 

says the military will look at all options to further 

protect its troops. “We will test any legitimate product, and 

we will see if it meets our standards,” he said. 


‘Just Don’t Forget Me’ 

Society Soldier 

& the 

Only a fraction of the population is making a sacrifice 

in the current wars. What does this mean for the 

nation’s well-being 

by Richard K. Kolb 

“ 

America is divided between the vast majority who do not serve and the tiny 

minority who do,” T. Trent Gegax and Evan Thomas wrote in Newsweek.In 

fact, only four-tenths of 1% of citizens wear a military uniform, even 

amidst the highly touted war on terrorism. 

Let’s take a look at what some other commentators have had to say about this state 

of military affairs in America today. 

“Americans may love their military,” Loyola University political scientist John 

Allen Williams wrote in 1999, “but it is in the same way they might love their 

Rottweiler: They are happy enough for the protection but do not want to become 

one themselves.” Serving in the armed forces is “as unfathomable as life on another 

planet,” he concluded. 

Consequently, few citizens have a direct link to those who do serve. Princeton 

University political economist Uwe E. Reinhardt calculated that “no more than 10 

million Americans have any real emotional connection to these wars.” 

In his Washington Post essay entitled “Who’s Paying for Our Patriotism” 

Reinhardt figured “these wars visit no 

sacrifice of any sort—neither blood nor 

angst nor taxes— on well over 95% of 

the American people.” 

None of this should come as any surprise. 

As Scott Curthoys wrote in Army 

Times: “Since the war in Vietnam and the 

end of compulsory service, the military 

has become an entity increasingly outside 

of American society—an organization 

that serves the society but is not 

really of the society. As a result, most 

young Americans are content with letting 

someone else do the fighting.” 

Indeed, they are, and so are their parents.“America’s 

elite would prefer somebody 

else’s daughters to die rather than 

one of their own sons,” says Northwestern 

University military sociologist 

Charles Moskos. 

Guilt is Well-Placed 

There is little dispute on this point, and 

much to sustain it. Under the heading 

“Patriotic Guilt” in the Los Angeles 

Times, 28-year-old Oren Rawls readily 

admitted: “I know full well that relatively 

few in my generation buy into the ‘for 

flag and country’ bit, and that my sense 

of patriotic guilt would probably make 

for a good joke or two in the service. 

The honest truth is that nothing less 

than a full-fledged draft could get me to 

put on a uniform.” 

This does not bode well for national 

cohesiveness. What we have is “a society 

which pays a fraction of its population 

to take all the real risks of citizenship,” 

said Anthony Cordesman of the Center 

for Strategic and International Studies. 

“The reality is you will have had a 

group of Americans who bore almost all 

of the burden of citizenship. For most 

Americans it [the war] is being fought 

by other families’ sons and daughters, 

who are both out of sight and often out 

of mind.” 

As Thom Shanker succinctly put it in 


the New York Times: “America is not a 

nation at war, but a nation with only its 

military at war.” And that military has 

only a handful of service-age males 

among its ranks. As Moskos observed of 

serving in the wars in Afghanistan and 

Iraq: “It’s not a generational experience.” 

Support for those in uniform is 

strong. But is it superficial Do those on 

the lines think it is genuine In a Time 

essay—“The Danger of Yellow Ribbon 

Patriotism”—Joe Klein quoted an Iraq 

vet as saying, “You just get the feeling 

that the rest of the country doesn’t 

understand. They’re not part of this. It’s 

peacetime in America, and a few of us 

at war.” 

Moskos agrees: “The whole country is 

undergoing patriotism lite.” While troop 

support efforts receive well-deserved 

publicity, some symbolic gestures such 

as sporting bumper stickers demand little. 

“These acts are small ways of showing 

some recognition, because we’re not 

doing it any other way.” 

Compact Unbroken 

With the absence of a draft and the 

underlying notion of civic obligation 

lost for more than a generation now, 

the rest of the country does not get it. 

What does all this mean for the nation’s 

future defense Joan Vennochi, writing 

in the Boston Globe, answered this way: 

“Understanding history means understanding 

that countries are born, survive 

and flourish because individuals 

are willing to die for them.” 

Still, those serving and their families 

are content with what exists in terms of 

support. “I think that’s the difference,” 

Army wife Jacqui Coffman told the Los 

Angeles Times. “When you go back to 

Vietnam, you were looking at the American 

public actually disliking the American 

soldier. That isn’t true anymore.” 

Is that enough, though Like all wars, 

soldiers want their sacrifices to have 

meaning. As one serviceman told his 

mother before he was killed in Iraq, the 

prayer of every warrior is universal: 

“Just don’t forget me.” 

Remembrance is crucial, but so is 

assisting those who survive near death. 

“As a society, we still do not know how 

to welcome home the wounded warrior—how 

to express deep appreciation 

and respect at the same time as profound 

grief,” Nancy Sherman wrote in 

the Boston Globe. Her book on this subject 

called Stoic Warriors will soon supplement 

Sherman’s editorial, “When 

Johnny Comes Home.” 

Like many other Vietnam vets, Marine 

veteran and Los Angeles Times staff writer 

John Balzar is greatly concerned about 

the post-war reception. “Today’s heroes 

are in danger of becoming tomorrow’s 

damaged goods,” Balzar wrote in the 

paper.“Public opinion can be fickle.” 

Balzar got to the essence of the matter. 

“How society collectively greets and 

treats overstressed veterans, now and in 

the years to come, is one of the most 

significant factors in whether they heal 

and how quickly,” he wrote. 

Veterans of Afghanistan and Iraq, no 

matter how small their relative numbers, 

are bound to make valuable contributions 

to the society for which they 

sacrificed so much. Just as their predecessors 

have done. 

Early on, Army Special Forces Maj. 

Roger D. Carstens offered this assessment 

in USA Today: “They will throw 

their war-born maturity and wisdom 

into driving the machinery that runs 

this country. They will run ethical and 

energetic companies; provide expert 

and values-based service to your families; 

serve us well in elected office; and 

raise their children to be good citizens.” 

That is quite a bargain for a society 

that gives so little in return. 

Society has a pact with its armed 

forces. That unwritten agreement is 

implicit in its intent. It’s an obligation 

more important than ever, with so few 

protecting so many. Thomas Mockaitis, 

a DePaul University history professor, 

has called this pact “A Covenant with 

the American Soldier.” 

No matter the ultimate outcome of 

the wars, we as a nation have a debt to 

repay long after the fighting stops. 

So, as Knight Ridder senior military 

correspondent Joseph L. Galloway asked, 

“What are we doing as a people and a 

nation to deserve the service and sacrifice 

of such men and women” ✪ 

Vets in Popular Culture 

➲ Continued from page 13 

Daily. “The unrelenting quest for stories 

depicting U.S. troops as victims has created 

a virtual reality in the media that has 

no place for heroes,” he wrote. “The 

theme of troops as victims has been a 

steady drumbeat because of the way the 

media have chosen to filter the news, filtering 

out heroes, among other things.” 

A study by the Media Research Center 

in 2005 found eight stories on heroism 

versus 79 on some sort of military foulups. 

In all fairness, it should be pointed 

out, as Fred Barnes did in the Weekly 

Standard, that CBS evening news is the 

glaring exception to this rule. On Dec. 5, 

2005, it revamped its nightly feature on 

Americans killed in Iraq, refocusing it on 

“American Heroes.” 

But this brief segment is swimming 

against a riptide.“There is a celebrity culture 

that seems skewed more to the victim 

than the hero,” postulated Damien 

Cave in the New York Times. Adds Walter 

Mead of the Council on Foreign Relations, 

“The cult of celebrity has cheapened 

fame.” 

It’s only appropriate that a veteran of 

Afghanistan have the final word on this 

most frustrating subject. Writing in the 

U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings, Roger 

L. Crossland, a Reserve Navy SEAL, 

wrote: “Substituting victims for heroes, 

the media have cheapened the concept 

of heroism. They have sent it into 

obscurity.” 

But the reasoning for this is even 

more infuriating. “A hero is a superior 

individual by virtue of superior conduct, 

and the politically correct will not 

countenance that,” Crossland continued. 

“Victims, on the other hand, are 

perfectly politically correct.” 

Alas, there may be a reprieve. In 

addition to the Bing West movie on 

Fallujah, former Defense secretary 

Caspar Weinberger and Wynton C. Hall 

are writing Home of the Brave: Honoring 

the Unsung Hero in the War on Terror. 

Potential best-selling books and box 

office blockbusters can go a long way in 

changing public perceptions and thus 

popular culture. 

✪ 


New generation subjected to ‘Wacko-Vet’ myth 

Portraying Contemporary 

War Vets in Popular Culture 

Afghanistan and Iraq vets have received mixed 

treatment by various media outlets. 

Much of it is not encouraging. 

More than four years have 

passed since launching the 

first of our two current 

wars. 

In that time, their veterans have seen 

newspapers, films and television shows 

portray them as victims and villains, 

but seldom as victors on the battlefield. 

A sampling of headlines reveals how 

they have fared in newspapers: “Iraq Vets 

Snap Under Traumatic Stress of Memories 

from War,” “Some Marines Mentally 

Ill After Iraq, Documents Show,” “Back 

from Iraq—And Suddenly Out on the 

Streets,”“2 Iraq Veterans Stationed at Fort 

Hood Kill Themselves” and “Iraq Veteran 

on Trial in Carjacking Case.” 

This trend has not gone unnoticed 

within the publishing industry itself. A 

New York Post editorial tackled the topic 

by Richard K. Kolb 

under “Return of the ‘Wacko-Vet’ Myth.” 

“That stereotype [of the Vietnam vet] 

was also a news-media lie to begin 

with,” declared the newspaper. “The 

myth of the dysfunctional vet that 

began with Vietnam has been created 

and spread, in large measure, by groups 

bitterly opposed to all U.S. military 

action. Using American soldiers who 

are risking their lives daily as pawns to 

score political points is despicable.” 

A favorite from day one has been the 

atrocity story—American, of course. In 

three prominent cases, the names of 

officers accused, unjustly as it turned 

out, were spread in nationwide headlines 

without regard to the personal 

repercussions. 

By now Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo 

Bay have become synonymous with 

infamy in the public mind. Dedicated 

American interrogators at the latter were 

accused of working in the “gulag of our 

time.” On top of that, an illustrious senator 

from Illinois compared U.S. interrogation 

techniques to those of the Nazis, 

Stalin’s Soviets and the Cambodian 

Khmer Rouge. 

The media saturated the public with 

coverage of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. 

Stories were never-ending. One Los 

Angeles Times headline screamed, “Military 

Must Squarely Face New ‘My Lai.’ ” 

Such charges were more than just ludicrous. 

Anyone affiliated with the 372nd 

MP Company, the unit in charge of the 

prison, was publicly tarred and feathered. 

“Made infamous by the abuses at Abu 

Ghraib prison,” wrote Jonathan Turley, a 

public interest lawyer at George Washington 

University, in USA Today, “they 

[unit members] have been caricatured as 

a bunch of thuggish yahoos from the 

hills of West Virginia and Maryland.” 

Yearning for the days of Vietnam, the 

media also made the most of a handful of 

deserters who fled to Canada. Wishing 

this were the vanguard of a wave to 


Newspaper headlines such as these create the myth that Iraq and 

Afghanistan vets are emotionally unstable and thus a threat to society.

come, reporters sympathetically portrayed 

the renegades as long as this flimsy 

story held water. Not 

satisfied, generous coverage 

was heaped upon a 

former Marine who 

claimed to have committed 

atrocities in Iraq and 

testified as a “character” 

witness for deserters seeking 

asylum. It was all a lie. 

Then there is the all-time 

favorite—the lurid crime tale. 

Once again, the Los Angeles 

Times: “Marine’s Final Rampage 

Divides Grieving Town.” 

When a former Marine killed a 

cop and was then killed by 

police, the media could not wait 

to attribute his crime spree to 

PTSD. In truth, he was not a 

combat vet. The street gang member was 

high on cocaine when he committed 

murder. 

Television Follows Suit 

Television was quick to follow the newspapers’ 

lead. At least a half dozen crime 

shows jumped right on the wacko vet 

bandwagon. One series liked the subject 

so much that it ran three such episodes. 

Missing the deranged Vietnam vet to 

defame, producers resurrected the most 

damaging stereotypical characteristics— 

psychotic, violent, suicidal, drug addicted, 

drunken, prone to spousal abuse, 

guilt-ridden over atrocities and thus 

anti-war, and finally the pitiful victim. 

To their credit, some networks have 

attempted to present positive portrayals. 

Over There, which ran on the cable channel 

FX for 13 episodes, chronicled the life 

of an Army squad in Iraq. It received huge 

advance publicity, but mixed reviews 

from veterans regarding realism. 

The documentary realm has done 

better. Discovery Times channel aired 

Off to War, a series of documentaries 

that followed an Arkansas National 

Guard unit in Iraq. HBO offered Last 

Letters Home: Voices of American Troops 

from the Battlefields of Iraq about the 

final correspondence of 10 GIs killed. 

NBC’s Tom Brokaw Reports: To War 

and Back did a nice job of following the 

post-war lives of six veterans of the 

Nighthawk Plt., C Co., 108th Inf. Regt. 

of the New York Army National Guard 

after their return to Glens Falls, N.Y. As 

Brokaw concluded, “They should not 

have to feel they have to endure this 

stage of the war alone.” 

Hollywood Predictable 

It is no surprise that Michael Moore’s 

Fahrenheit 911 received rave reviews in 

Tinseltown. Perhaps Daniel Henninger 

summed this travesty up best in the Wall 

Street Journal: “The U.S. soldiers who 

speak onscreen in Iraq come across as 

bloodless killers with Southern accents. 

They sound stupidly unfeeling about 

the war’s destruction. It wasn’t clear to 

me that even this audience was in sync 

with the filmmaker’s willingness to 

make a mockery of American soldiers.” 

Iraq vet Sgt. Peter Damon, who lost 

both arms there, had a 10-second unintended 

cameo in the production. He had 

this to say: “It is just the whole thought of 

being in this piece of propaganda. It’s like 

a documentary Hitler would have made. 

The whole movie makes soldiers look like 

a bunch of idiots.” 

Can Hollywood redeem itself Its 

track record regarding Vietnam is dismal. 

But at least one Vietnam vet 

believes there is hope on the horizon. 

“In Vietnam, the anti-war movement 

gradually became an anti-military, antisoldier 

attitude” as reflected in popular 

FX Channel’s Over There depicted an 

Army infantry squad in Iraq. Though 

vets had some mixed emotions about 

the TV series, it did attempt to be 

realistic in its portrayals. 

culture, says Bing West. 

West, author of and screenwriter 

for No True Glory: The 

Battle for Fallujah, believes this 

movie signals a turnaround. 

The Marine Vietnam vet spent 

plenty of time on the ground 

in Iraq, so there is every reason 

to believe the film will be 

on target. Actor Bruce Willis 

also is reportedly working 

on a movie, about the 1st 

Battalion, 24th Infantry during its tour in 

Mosul. 

All we can hope is that these pictures 

set the trend when it comes to portraying 

GIs on the big screen. The recent 

spate of Middle East-related flicks, however, 

definitely present a sympathetic 

view of terrorists. 

Heroism Strictly Forbidden 

Heroism in war is anathema to the 

politically correct mindset. If there is 

one denominator common to all the 

products of the purveyors of popular 

culture, it is the absence of battlefield 

courage. Whether the medium is the 

newspaper, the TV screen or the makebelieve 

world of Hollywood, you can 

forget seeing or hearing about valor. 

This has not escaped some pundits’ 

purview. Kat O’Beirne observed in 

National Review, “The media’s line of 

attack against the war is revealed in its 

selective coverage of our soldiers: All 

villains or victims, no valor.” 

A New York Times editorial by David 

Brooks got right to the point. “Many 

Americans—especially those who dominate 

the culture—are uncomfortable 

with military valor,” he wrote. “This is a 

culture that knows how to honor the 

casualties and dead, but not the strength 

and prowess of its warriors.” 

Syndicated columnist Thomas Sowell 

authored “As in Vietnam, GI-as-Victim is 

Virtual Reality” for the Investor’s Business 

Continued on page 11 ➲ 


Student Veterans Battle Financial Hurdles 

A GI Bill for the 21st Century 

An education benefit commensurate with the service 

being rendered by today’s wartime veterans is the only 

fair and equitable approach. This is especially so 

regarding National Guard and Reserve veterans. 

“ 

The GI Bill doesn’t pay enough 

to many of the people who 

deserve it,” explains Joe Darling, 

a Marine reservist and 

sophomore at Southern Connecticut 

State University in New Haven, Conn. 

“I’ve served a lot of active duty time: 

I’ve been to Iraq twice, just short of a 

year each time.” 

Yet program rules disadvantage 

reservists like Darling who have done 

multiple stints on active duty. “All I get 

from the GI Bill is $297 per month. It is 

never enough.” 

And although Darling will finally be 

assured of more time for his studies 

once his military service ends next fall, 

at that point, unlike regular active-duty 

veterans, he will lose his benefits. 

WWII Bill ‘Magnanimous’ 

That’s not how it was under the first GI 

Bill, created in 1944 for WWII veterans. 

Beneficiaries still remember the law’s 

education and training provisions with 

gratitude. 

Richard Colosimo, who served in the 

Army’s 89th Division, called it “magnanimous.” 

He explained,“I’m a child of 

the Depression. We had a very poor life.” 

It was the GI Bill that made it possible 

for him to attend the American 

Television Institute in Chicago, and 

then to go to college, earning his degree 

at the University of Pittsburgh even 

while already married. Besides covering 

his tuition, the Bill offered subsistence 

by Suzanne Mettler 

allowances that helped Colosimo and 

his wife afford their apartment. 

Sam Marchesi dropped out of school 

after 8th grade so that he could work 

and help support his younger siblings. 

After serving in the Army in the Pacific, 

he used the benefits for vocational and 

on-the-job training, becoming a successful 

custom builder. 

“We had to face the world. We had to 

make a living,” he commented. “Thank 

God the government had the doors 

open for us.” 

A Turning Point in Life 

The original GI Bill has long been 

revered as landmark legislation, and new 

research verifies its powerful impact. I 

surveyed more than 1,500 members of 

the WWII generation, conducted indepth 

interviews with 30 veterans 

nationwide and analyzed many historical 

documents. 

My findings confirmed that the education 

and training benefits fully 

deserve their hallowed reputation for 

expanding upward mobility. They also 

revealed that the Bill inspired beneficiaries 

to become more active citizens. 

Beneficiaries joined civic organizations 

and took part in political activities 

at rates that helped make the postwar 

era one in which democracy thrived. 

Veterans praised the Bill for the generosity 

of its terms, the inclusivity of its 

coverage and the efficiency and fairness 

of its implementation. These hallmark 

characteristics gave beneficiaries a positive 

experience of government that 

many remembered, even decades later, 

as a turning point in their lives. 

Over the years, the nation has refashioned 

the GI Bill’s provisions for each 

new generation of veterans. In 1984, led 

by Mississippi Rep. G.V. Sonny Montgomery, 

policymakers created a new 

version to enhance recruitment and 

retention in the all-volunteer armed 

forces and readjustment to civilian life 

afterward. 

Overall, the Montgomery GI Bill 

(MGIB), as it is known, has worked well. 

Giacomo Mordente, director of veterans 

affairs at Southern Connecticut State 

University, says, “My general experience 

with veterans, the Guard, and Reservists, 

is that they appreciate their benefits.” 

Time for Change 

Yet during these past two decades, both 

higher education and the military have 

changed. Now the GI Bill must be 

altered once again if it is to embody the 

spirit of the original law. 

Whereas WWII vets had their tuition 

covered at any approved institution of 

higher learning in the country—public 

or private—and were provided subsistence 

allowances on top of that, today’s 

GI Bill is not as generous. 

Those who enlist for three years of 

active duty are required to contribute 

$1,200 if they wish to qualify for GI Bill 

coverage later on. Such pay reductions, 

taken out of the first year’s salary, are 

burdensome for young entrants. 

Non-veteran college students can 

obtain student loans or Pell Grants 

without performing any form of civic 

duty. And they are not asked to contribute 

to these programs financially. 

Why should those who volunteer for 

military service have to help finance the 

GI Bill 

The cost of higher education has 


ROBERT WIDENER / VFW 

University of Kansas veteran-students Charlie House, Justin Montgomery, Marla Keown and Josh Monteiro are attending college on the GI 

Bill. Monteiro is using his education benefits to attend the university’s law school. All four are veterans of the Iraq war. 

increased more quickly than inflation. 

The GI Bill has not kept pace, even 

though monthly stipends were boosted 

substantially between 2001 and 2003. 

According to VA, 92% of MGIB users 

pursue a higher education today. 

Yet the maximum monthly MGIB 

payment, now $1,034 per month, covers 

only 75% of the cost of tuition, fees, 

and room and board at the average 

two-year community college, 59% at 

the average four-year public university 

and 34% at the average four-year private 

university. Obviously, veterans 

must shoulder a significant amount of 

the costs themselves. 

Jason Forth, a Marine veteran who is 

now a senior at Syracuse University—a 

private institution—says the GI Bill is 

still a good deal. “I’ll come away with 

$17,000 in loans. If I had come here to 

school without the GI Bill, I’d finish 

with $40,000-$50,000 in debt.” 

Hurdles for Citizen-Soldiers 

For many others, though, the financial 

hurdles hinder degree completion. And 

although most veterans are married 

once they leave the service, the MGIB 

offers no extra payments to those with 

families. Not surprisingly, married veterans 

are less likely to use the benefits. 

Perhaps the biggest problem is that 

today’s GI Bill is neither as inclusive nor 

as fair as the original. In 1984, National 

Guard and Reserve forces were included 

under different terms than activeduty 

troops. This was a decision that 

seemed reasonable at the time given 

that they served in such a different role. 

However, since the Sept. 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks, Guard and Reserve 

troops increasingly serve long stints on 

active duty. They make up 40% of the 

troops in Iraq today, and suffer casualty 

rates comparable to those among 

active-duty forces. 

Nevertheless, when they come home, 

their GI Bill benefits are, on average, only 

half as much. Monthly rates of payment 

range from 40% of the active-duty 

MGIB rates for those who have served 

more than 90 days but less than one year 

Continued on page 18 ➲ 


Caring for the Wounded 

in the 

Long Haul 

In addition to limb amputations and severe burns, 

brain injuries are more prevalent in the Iraq War 

than in wars past. 

When today’s troops leave 

their families and friends 

for war, they depart as 

healthy individuals of 

sound mind and body. Tragically, a significant 

number of these same warriors 

are coming home with missing limbs; 

others terribly burned. Those with severe 

brain injuries need to re-learn how to 

speak and even swallow sips of liquid. 

These wounds, many of which are 

unseen, will be with these men and 

women long after the last U.S. troops 

have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Such conditions also beg the question: 

Will the government be there for 

them in the long haul 

Minneapolis doctor Ronald Glasser 

put it best: “The true legacy of this war 

will be seen not in the memorials to 

those lost forever,” he wrote in Harper’s 

Magazine, “but in the cabinets of files in 

the neurosurgical and orthopedic wards 

at Washington’s Walter Reed Army 

Medical Center, and in the backlog of 

cases at Veterans Affairs.” 

In part, Glasser is referring to traumatic 

brain injury (TBI), a phrase 

coined by the Pentagon to describe the 

pervasive, non-penetrating head injuries 

seen frequently among the wounded. 

As of February, more than 17,500 

Americans had been wounded in Iraq 

and Afghanistan. Some 1,700 of those 

wounded in Iraq sustained brain 

by Janie Blankenship 

injuries, half of which are severe 

enough that they may permanently 

impair thinking, memory, mood, 

behavior and the ability to work. 

There is “a large number of survivors 

with permanent physical and emotional 

scars, not to mention profound disabilities,” 

Loren Thompson, head of 

security studies at the Lexington Institute 

in Alexandria, Va., told the 

Christian Science Monitor. “Not only are 

some wartime wounds uncommonly 

complex to treat, but the range of treatments 

provided—including counseling, 

assisted living, disability benefits, 

and so on—can be quite extensive.” 

Researchers at Harvard and Columbia 

conducted a study, which found 

that the government could spend at 

least $14 billion over the next 20 years 

on medical treatment for brain injuries 

from the Iraq War. 

“We are looking at an epidemic of 

brain injuries,” Jill Gandolfi, co-director 

of the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Unit 

of the Palo Alto VA Health Care System, 

told the New York Times. 

According to the New England Journal 

of Medicine, about 22% of the 

wounded evacuated through Landstuhl 

Regional Medical Center in Germany 

are expected to eventually be diagnosed 

with TBI.“Traumatic brain injury is the 

signature wound of this war,” says neurosurgeon 

Lt. Col. Rocco Armanda. 

‘Like Being Born Again’ 

By mid-February 2006, the Pentagon 

reported that 13,694 GIs had been 

wounded in various types of explosions. 

The jarring effects of the explosions are 

likened to shaken-baby syndrome. 

Resulting “closed-head” injuries are 

more likely to affect the brain’s frontal 

lobe, which controls the ability to make 

plans, manage time and solve simple 

problems. 

“It’s like being born again,” Sgt. 

Edward Wade told USA Today. The 

82nd Airborne soldier lost his right arm 

and suffered TBI in an explosion last 

year near Fallujah. 

Due to the overwhelming number of 

brain injuries, the government established 

polytrauma centers at four VA 

medical centers last April: Palo Alto, 

Calif.; Minneapolis; Richmond, Va.; 

and Tampa, Fla. 

These rehabilitation centers are staffed 

with specialists and therapists from several 

medical fields. According to Dr. 

Steven G. Scott, the Tampa center’s director, 

a typical patient has head injuries, 

vision and hearing loss, nerve damage, 

multiple bone fractures, unhealed body 

wounds, infections, and emotional or 

behavioral problems. 

“These soldiers were kept alive,” Scott 

told the New York Times.“Now it’s up to 

us to try and give them some meaningful 

life.” 

Still relatively new, the polytrauma 

centers are a work in progress. The 

average patient stays 40 days, but many 

patients remain for months and some 

for more than a year. 

“We expect to follow these patients 

for the rest of their lives,” Scott said.“But 


PHOTO COURTESY PALO ALTO (CALIF.) VA MEDICAL CENTER 

With occupational therapist Daniela Lita looking on, Marine Cpl. Jason Poole moves an object across an arch in his occupational therapy 

session at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center in California in the fall of 2005. Poole, who was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 

was wounded on his second tour in Iraq, just 10 days shy of coming home. A roadside bomb sent shrapnel through his left ear and it came out 

just below his right eye. 

I have a great deal of concern about our 

country’s long-term commitment to 

these individuals. Will the resources be 

there over time” 

Prosthetics Research on the Rise 

Another struggle for some of the 

wounded returning from war derives 

from limb amputations. The number of 

amputees continues to rise. As of Jan. 3, 

there were 345 amputees, 59 of whom 

had lost more than one limb. There also 

are four triple amputees (see p. 44). 

Improved body armor protects the 

torso, but not the limbs. In some cases, 

the armor saves troops who would have 

died in previous wars. 

Prosthetic research is in high demand. 

That’s why the 2006 Military Quality of 

Life and Veterans Affairs Act (P.L. 109- 

114), signed by President Bush on Nov. 

30, 2005, calls for $412 million for medical 

and prosthetic research. 

Artificial legs are quite advanced. 

Some run on computer chips and closely 

replicate human movements. However, 

prosthetic hands and arms lack the same 

kind of sophistication. In fact, the 

Defense Department says there hasn’t 

been much improvement on upper 

extremity prostheses since WWII. 

Some $35 million will be spent 

throughout the next four years to 

develop artificial arms that will perform 

like a real arm, guided by the central 

nervous system. 

Furthermore, a $10 million Military 

Amputee Training Center will open in 

2007 at Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center, even though the hospital itself is 

slated to close in about five years. 

“The transitional center is necessary 

to provide the best possible care for our 

amputee patients in the five years 

between now and 2011, when Walter 

Reed is scheduled to move to Bethesda 

and merge some functions with the 

National Naval Medical Center,” Walter 

Reed officials told the Washington Times. 

The 30,000-square-foot training center 

will include a running track, a 

climbing and repelling wall, and a virtual-reality 

center. A military vehicle 

simulator is planned to help those who 

wish to return to active duty. 

Brooke Army Medical Center at Ft. 

Sam Houston, Texas, will serve as home 

to the much-anticipated National Armed 

Forces Physical Rehabilitation Center 

(also known as The Center for the 

Intrepid) scheduled for completion in 

January 2007. 

The $40-million facility is privately 


funded by the Intrepid Fallen Heroes 

Fund and its sister organization, the 

Fisher House Foundation. (Fisher 

Houses provide lodging for families of 

the wounded being treated at military 

hospitals.) 

With the ability to treat up to 500 

patients, the 60,000-square-foot center 

will include a pool, indoor running 

track and a two-story climbing wall. 

Benefits for the Severely Wounded 

Another support system recently put in 

place is traumatic injury protection 

insurance for those who are enrolled in 

the Servicemembers Group Life Insurance 

(SGLI) program. It pays GIs anywhere 

from $25,000 to $100,000 in 

compensation for injuries such as 

paralysis and loss of limbs, eyesight or 

hearing and certain burns. 

There also is a retroactive clause to this 

new law, enacted Dec. 1, 2005. It allows 

any service member who suffered a qualifying 

loss between Oct. 7, 2001 and Dec. 

1, 2005, to receive a benefit under the 

program if the loss was a direct result of 

wounds or injuries incurred in Operation 

Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi 

Freedom. By late February, $60 million in 

lump-sum, tax-free payments had been 

paid out to 801 soldiers . 

Moreover, good backup options for 

the wounded are essential should problems 

in payroll arise once more. 

Last fall, it was reported that a significant 

number of wounded/injured vets 

from Iraq and Afghanistan had their pay 

cut off. Some 4,000 from Iraq alone 

encountered some sort of problem in 

getting their entitled pay. 

To correct this situation, the payroll 

files of every GI wounded/injured in 

Iraq or Afghanistan are now flagged in 

an attempt to avoid complications. 

Detailed Deployment Assessments 

Also of concern to recently returned 

vets, who aren’t necessarily physically 

wounded, is mental health care. The 

Pentagon is working to identify all 

troops in emotional need by screening 

every deploying service member before 

and after overseas duty. 

The Army Center for Health Promotion 

and Preventive Medicine released 

some findings last fall from postdeployment 

health assessments. This is 

the most detailed health assessment of 

deployed troops ever, administered by 

the Pentagon in response to ailments 

that surfaced after the 1991 Persian 

Gulf War. 

Furthermore, of the nearly 120,000 

vets who have sought treatment at VA 

hospitals for a wide range of illnesses, 

about 29% were diagnosed with “illdefined 

conditions.” 

“Those numbers are way higher than 

during the Persian Gulf War for ‘illdefined’ 

symptoms,’” an unidentified VA 

official told the New York Daily News. 

No matter the type of medical condition, 

American society has an obligation 

to provide full care. 

As U.S. News & World Report editor 

Mortimer Zuckerman said,“Those wounded 

and disabled while fighting the war 

on terrorism for the rest of us will need 

special help to cope with the scars and 

disabilities inflicted by a savage, amoral 

enemy.” 

✪ 

GI Bill ➲ Continued from page 15 

consecutively, up to 80% if they serve 

between two and three consecutive years. 

Besides featuring a lower maximum 

benefit rate, such rules disadvantage 

reservists like Darling who have been 

deployed on multiple occasions but for 

shorter periods. 

Moreover, when Guard and Reserve 

veterans leave the 

service, they—unlike 

regular active-duty 

veterans—receive no 

further benefits. 

This often comes as a surprise. Mordente 

recalls, “I had a student reservist 

who was deployed three times. He called 

me all excited that his six years [of enlistment] 

was over and he could finally finish 

school with the GI Bill. I had to be the 

one to tell him that he had no GI Bill. I 

will never forget his anger: ‘I served three 

combat tours and I get nothing’ ” 

A Matter of Equity 

A GI Bill for the 21st century should 

recapture the original Bill’s generosity 

by raising benefit levels and eliminating 


the $1,200 contribution. It also should 

restore its inclusivity and fairness by 

treating Guard and Reserve vets the 

same as regular veterans for the time 

they spend on active duty. 

Amid the current climate of fiscal 

constraint, prospects for improved generosity 

are dim. Still, relevant bills have 

been introduced in Congress. 

For an update on VFW’s legislative efforts to improve 

GI Bill benefits, see Washington Wire, page 8. 

Momentum is building for a “Total 

Force GI Bill” that would solve the equity 

problems. It would grant members of 

the Selected Reserve month-for-month 

entitlement to the MGIB for each 

month served on active duty. (See the 

Washington Wire section.) 

Such benefits would be proportional 

to the active-duty rate and could be 

used for readjustment purposes after 

the enlistment period ended. 

During WWII, the nation called 

upon the vast majority of men of an 

entire generation to serve in uniform. 

Later, they received the GI Bill as a richly 

deserved form of gratitude. 

As Luke LaPorta, who served in the 

WWII Navy, remembers, “It was one 

hell of a gift.” 

Today, we rely entirely on those few 

who willingly volunteer for military service. 

Surely, the nation owes them a GI 

Bill as generous, inclusive and fair as that 

which was granted to 

WWII veterans. 

“The educational 

benefits afforded 

WWII veterans was in 

large part responsible for the tremendous 

era of growth and prosperity our country 

enjoyed in the second half of the 20th 

century,” said VFW Commander-in- 

Chief Jim Mueller. “Our service men and 

women in uniform today deserve the 

same opportunity because they will be 

the leaders of our nation tomorrow.” ✪ 

SUZANNE METTLER is the author of 

Soldiers to Citizens: The GI Bill and the 

Making of the Greatest Generation 

(Oxford University Press, 2005).

GI Death and Life Insurance 

Benefits More Equitable 

Original payments were an insult in light of what was 

being paid to the families of Sept. 11 victims. 

When the dust of the Sept. 

11, 2001, terrorist attacks 

had settled, the families of 

those killed were compensated 

generously by the government’s 

victim compensation fund: Some 

$6 billion was distributed among the 

nearly 3,000 families of those killed. The 

average payment per family was $2.1 

million; the highest was $7.1 million. 

Yet the compensation to the families 

of the men and women who were killed 

fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan—the 

latter in retaliation for those attacks— 

was initially paltry in comparison. 

As Aseneth Blackwell, then president 

of the Gold Star Wives of America, 

said, “When a serviceman gives his life 

for his country, his family should be 

taken care of.” 

For years, the “death gratuity”—paid 

to the survivors of a GI killed by hostile 

action, in training for combat or while 

performing hazardous duty—was only 

$6,000. The Military Family Tax Relief 

Act of 2003 doubled it to $12,000, and 

made it tax-free and retroactive to Sept. 

11, 2001. That amount didn’t come 

close to what those families deserved. 

In addition, the maximum coverage 

available through the Servicemembers 

Group Life Insurance (SGLI) program 

was just $250,000, but only if the member 

opted to pay monthly premiums. 

Families, veterans groups and various 

media outlets were justifiably outraged. 

A concerted campaign was orchestrated 


Joshua Menusa holds a photo of his father, 

Marine Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Menusa, who 

was killed in an ambush on March 27, 2003, 

the day after his battalion arrived in Iraq. At 

the time of Menusa’s death, his family 

received only $6,000 in a “death gratuity.” 

NICK UT / AP WIDE WORLD PHOTOS 

to right this wrong. 

VFW vigorously sought increases in 

these entitlements. Res. 642 called for a 

$100,000 death gratuity and an SGLI 

maximum of no less than $500,000. 

“No amount of money will ever 

replace a lost loved one,” an official 

VFW statement said. “But the increases 

will greatly assist surviving family members 

who must now create new lives.” 

On May 11, 2005, P.L. 109-13, the 

Emergency Supplemental Appropriations 

Act for Defense, the Global War on Terror 

and Tsunami Relief Act of 2005 was 

passed, temporarily increasing the gratuity 

to $100,000 and increasing SGLI coverage 

to $400,000, effective Sept. 1, 2005. 

Making the SGLI change permanent 

was P.L. 109-80, the Servicemembers’ 

Group Life Insurance Enhancement Act 

of 2005, signed Sept. 30, 2005. The act 

also boosted the incremental increases 

of the life insurance program from 

$10,000 to $50,000. 

Finally, the 2006 National Defense 

Authorization Act, signed on Jan. 6, 

made the death gratuity increase permanent, 

and also granted the first 

$150,000 in government life insurance 

free for troops serving in the war zones. 

In addition, it created a $430 monthly 

stipend for hospitalized, active-duty 

troops recovering from combat-related 

injuries or illnesses, to offset the loss of 

war-zone-related combat pays or 

allowances. 

Imminent-Danger Pay was increased 

on April 16, 2003, from $150 to $225 per 

month, as was the family separation 

allowance, from $100 to $250 under P.L. 

108-11. All of these allowance increases 

were extended through the end of operations 

in Afghanistan and Iraq, and were 

made permanent by the 2005 National 

Defense Authorization Act. 

Veterans returning from these two 

theaters of war still face many readjustment 

difficulties, as do their families. 

But in the case of death and insurance 

benefits, Congress has heeded VFW’s 

call and done right by the troops. ✪ 


Society’s Obligation to War Veterans 

Confronting the Emotional Toll 

THAD ALLENDER / AP WIDE WORLD PHOTO / LAWRENCE JOURNAL-WORLD 

VA may not be able to handle the influx of recent vets 

with emotional disorders (some 15,000 potential cases 

to date), but other options for care are emerging. 

By now, it is undisputed that war 

can cause psychological problems 

for GIs, and has been doing 

so surely as long as wars have 

been fought. The problem with the current 

wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (especially 

the latter) is that GIs are embroiled 

in volatile situations that leave them more 

susceptible to these problems. 


A Walter Reed Army Institute of 

Research study conducted in 2003 and 

published in the New England Journal of 

Medicine in July 2004 indicated that 

11% of returning Afghanistan vets and 

15-17% of returning Iraq vets showed 

symptoms of anxiety, depression or 

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 

Concerns were raised early on that VA 

Army Reserve Sgt. Jared Myers with his mother, Judy Smith, in January 2005. She admitted 

him to Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center in Leavenworth, Kan., where he spent 

three weeks being diagnosed and treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. 

may not be able to handle the influx of 

vets that these rates could produce. 

Investigators from the Government 

Accountability Office (GAO) in 2004 

visited six VA facilities, where staff said 

they could handle the PTSD cases they 

had then, but might not be able to meet 

an increase in demand. The 2005 GAO 

study stated that VA “does not have sufficient 

capacity to meet the needs of 

new combat veterans while still providing 

for veterans of past wars.” 

An internal study published in October 

2005 and conducted by Dr. Han 

Kang of the Veterans Health Administration 

revealed that 120,000 recent veterans 

had been seen at VA, and more 

than 30% had a psychological disorder, 

mostly depression and PTSD. Some 13% 

of those were women. But the study only 

covered vets who voluntarily sought 

treatment, so the actual numbers of vets 

with these symptoms could be higher. 

Rep. Lane Evans (D-Ill.), ranking 

member of the House VA Committee, 

organized a Dec. 9, 2005, panel presentation 

on PTSD. The panel’s consensus 

was that VA is operating at maximum 

capacity and more resources are needed. 

Getting Vets the Help They Need 

Since it is widely recognized that PTSD 

in recent vets has the potential to 

become a significant problem, solutions 

are coming from every angle. 

Most recently, P.L. 109-114, the 2006 

Military Quality of Life and Veterans 

Affairs Appropriations Act, was signed 

Nov. 30, 2005. It provides VA with $2.2 

billion for specialty mental health care, 

doubles the funding for mental health 

research and creates three “centers for 

excellence” for mental health/PTSD care. 

In February, President Bush announced 

that he would be seeking $80.6 

billion for next year’s VA budget, a record 

increase of more than 12% above the 

current budget. $3.2 billion would go 


toward mental health services, with $100 

million for Afghanistan and Iraq vets. 

While VFW Commander-in-Chief 

Jim Mueller calls this “a significant step 

in the right direction,” VFW acknowledges 

that the budget does not fully 

address the present needs of returning 

vets. “By now, VA should know what 

mental health problems veterans face, 

both immediately following service and 

years later,” said Jerry Manar, deputy 

director of National Veterans Service. 

“Now is the time for VA to aggressively 

treat those with psychological symptoms 

so their problems can be resolved and 

not become chronic conditions requiring 

treatment throughout their lives.” 

VA has been able to help struggling 

vets through its storefront Vet Centers. 

In response to the rise in demand, the 

centers, which charge no co-payments 

or fees for their services, increased their 

number of group sessions and staff. 

In 2004, 50 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans 

were hired to work at the Vet 

Centers as outreach counselors, and 50 

more were hired in 2005. The counselors 

were hired for three-year periods in 

which they will brief veterans about VA 

benefits and services, encourage them to 

use Vet Centers as a point of entry into 

VA, visit military installations and coordinate 

with family assistance centers. 

Another source of help for those 

experiencing PTSD symptoms is Military 

One Source. This 24-hour toll-free 

information and referral telephone service 

(1-800-342-9647) is available to all 

active-duty, National Guard or Reserve 

troops, and provides a variety of information 

including resources dealing with 

PTSD. 

If GIs think they might need to talk to 

someone about their problems, the service 

can provide referrals to civilian 

counselors for up to six free sessions. In 

addition, its Web site (www.militaryonesource.com) 

offers various tools, 

assessments, articles and a place to 

order free educational information. 

Individual units are continuing to recognize 

the importance of PTSD, and are 

not allowing it to stigmatize GIs. The II 

Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp 

Lejeune launched a campaign to encourage 

communication, counseling and 

Study Measures Use 

of Mental Health Care Services 

Results of a new study on PTSD were recently published in the Journal of the 

American Medical Association and provide a preliminary idea of the mental 

health burden of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The study surveyed 303,905 

soldiers and Marines who completed a post-deployment health assessment 

between May 1, 2003, and April 30, 2004. It measured the effects of combat 

experiences on mental health and the use of mental health care services after 

deployment. Here are some key findings about the vets: 

IRAQ AFGHANISTAN 

Met risk criteria for a mental health concern . . . . . . . . 19% . . . . . . . 11% 

Accessed mental health services within 

one year of returning home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35% . . . . . . . 22% 

Received diagnosis of mental health problem . . . . . . . 12% . . . . . . . 10% 

Combat Experiences 

Any. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65% . . . . . . . 46% 

Witnessed wounded or killed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50% . . . . . . . 38% 

Discharged weapon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18% . . . . . . . 6% 

Felt in great danger of being killed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50% . . . . . . . 25% 

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, March 1, 2006. 

eliminating combat stress before it develops 

into PTSD. Navy Cmdr. Thomas C. 

Armel, the assistant director of mental 

health services at Naval Hospital Camp 

Lejeune, said, “The chain of command 

from here to Washington [D.C.] is 100% 

behind this. The bottom line is we need 

people to get the help they need.” 

Dr. Thomas Greiger, a Navy captain 

and senior scientist at the Center for the 

Study of Traumatic Stress, believes “it 

would be appropriate to maintain surveillance 

on anyone involved in combat.” 

Research also is being done to find 

new ways to deal with PTSD. Dr. Roger 

Pitman, a Harvard medical school psychiatry 

professor, has conducted studies 

with a drug called Propranolol, a betablocker 

that could be used to fight 

PTSD. The drug can dampen hormones 

like adrenaline that take part in forming 

vivid memories of traumatic events, 

thereby lessening the intensity of the 

memory formed. 

Testing is still in early stages, and there 

could be logistical challenges in administering 

it to GIs in the war zone, but it 

sends the message that PTSD is taken 

seriously in the medical community. 

Col. Elspeth Cameron Ritchie, psychiatric 

consultant to the Army surgeon 

general, says emotional casualties are a 

problem that “society as a whole must 

work to solve.” 

In that vein, one of the most important 

aspects of dealing with PTSD is giving 

veterans a welcoming place to come 

home to. Dr. Alfonso Batres, the head of 

VA’s Readjustment Counseling Service, 

says, “The more conflicted the community 

that sent you, the more difficult is 

the readjustment period.” So it is society’s 

obligation to support returning 

veterans, if for no other reason than to 

increase their chances of remaining 

healthy and mentally sound. 

David H. Marlowe, former chief of 

military psychiatry at the Walter Reed 

Army Institute of Research, said it best 

when he told the New York Times that 

the legacy of Iraq will depend as much 

on how service members are received 

and understood by the society they 

return to as on their exposure to the 

trauma of war. 

✪ 


State Benefits for National Guard 

and Veterans Vary 

Some states provide generous benefits for veterans and 

National Guard returnees, while others lack them and 

are attempting to emulate successful programs. 

The future is always uncertain 

for GIs returning from the war 

zones in Afghanistan and Iraq, 

as well as those gearing up for 

deployment. That’s why the Defense 

Department is working more closely 

with state governors and legislatures to 

ensure that veterans and Americans in 

uniform, along with their families, 

receive adequate benefits. 

While federal VA benefits like the GI 

Bill and home loans are commonly used, 

most veterans forget or are unaware of 

the benefits available from states. 

Many states offer support to National 

Guard families, but not all. Officials are 

now researching what neighboring 

states provide veterans and the National 

Guard, and trying to discover solutions. 

“Giving families more opportunity to 

plan for the future is one of the most 

important things we can do,” Indiana 

Gov. Joseph Kernan told Air Force Times. 

California Effort Disappointing 

States nationwide, like California, are 

not only looking at Illinois’ veterans 

benefits, but also emulating its National 

Guard programs. 

California duplicated Illinois’ Family 

Relief Program, which was developed to 

help activated National Guard and 

reservist families suffering from financial 

hardships. In one year, however, the 

by Kara Petrovic 

Golden State’s fund paid out only 

$7,687 to three families from among 

7,000 California GIs who have served in 

Afghanistan and Iraq, according to an 

article in the Los Angeles Times. 

That is disappointing when compared 

to Illinois, which paid out more than 

$3.4 million to some 6,000 National 

Guard and Reserve families since the 

program’s birth three years ago. 

California has 113,000 citizen-soldiers 

versus Illinois’ 27,000. 

Currently, around 1,500 Illinois 

National Guard members and reservists 

are on active duty in Afghanistan or Iraq. 

Illinois program director Eric Schuller 

said the program started when Gov. Rod 

Blagojevich asked the state’s legislature 

for $5 million for general fund support. 

Private contributions and close ties 

with veterans organizations, as well as 

fundraisers, primarily fund the Illinois 

effort. 

$20 Million in Death Benefits 

In January 2005, Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat 

Quinn unveiled the Illinois Veterans 

Health Initiative for soldiers returning 

from Afghanistan and Iraq. 

“Brave men and women have sacrificed 

everything for our safety,” Quinn 

said. “Yet, they return from war only to 

face another battle at home—the battle 

for basic health coverage.” 

Quinn said the program will help 

those suffering from physical or mental 

health problems or lacking adequate 

health care. 

Illinois also provides $500 grants to 

citizen-soldiers regardless of need, as 

well as $3,000 grants to those injured in 

the line of duty, said the Los Angles 

Times piece. 

Illinois has paid out $272,000 in lineof-duty 

death benefits to every soldier— 

regular, Guard or Reserve—KIA or killed 

while training for deployment so far, 

according to the Times. 

Lottery Supports Illinois VA 

States also provide recently discharged 

veterans and their dependents with an 

array of benefits. 

On Feb. 10, Illinois launched its newest 

program, Veterans Cash, a $2 lottery 

scratch-off game, which is the first instant 

ticket in Illinois lottery history where 

100% of proceeds will go to support the 

Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. 

With a top prize of $20,000, Veterans 

Cash is expected to generate more than 

$3 million in net revenue each year. 

“Our veterans risk their lives to 

defend our freedoms and liberties,” said 

Blagojevich. “These brave men and 

women deserve our continued appreciation 

and respect even long after 

they’ve retired from service. The funds 

generated from Veterans Cash will help 

veterans get the services and benefits 

they have earned.” 

Net revenue from the ticket sales will 

be deposited into the Veterans Cash 

Fund, an interest-bearing account in 

the state treasury. The fund also will 

provide service or underwrite additional 

research relating to PTSD, veterans 


SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES 

Soldiers of the Illinois National Guard’s 1544th Transportation Company celebrate during a welcome home ceremony 

on Feb. 22, 2005. Illinois offers some of the best benefits for its citizen-soldiers of the National Guard and Reserve. 

homelessness, health insurance and disability 

benefits. 

State education benefits vary. Illinois 

provides grants for discharged veterans—comparable 

in some ways to the 

GI Bill—that cover full payment of 

tuition and fees at seven state-supported 

institutions of higher learning as 

well as two-year community colleges. 

The grant amount is based on total 

number of credit-hours being taken. 

In 2005, 11,511 vets were enrolled in 

the Illinois Veterans Grant Program, 

which is administered by the Illinois 

Student Assistance Commission. Rising 

tuition costs and flat state funding, 

however, are breaking the program’s 

budget. This forces colleges to make up 

the difference in tuition payments. 

Massachusetts offers educational 

assistance to eligible veterans to attend 

college tuition-free or at discounted 

rates. The state also grants preference in 

filling civil service jobs. 

Both states give cash bonuses, too. 

Massachusetts provides a bonus to veterans 

who were residing there immediately 

prior to entry into the armed 

forces. Illinois provides bonuses to vets 

of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Vietnam, 

Korean War and WWII, plus to 

Vietnam POWs and survivors. 

“The state’s success comes from the 

top,” said Director Roy Dolgos of the 

Illinois Department of VA. “The governor 

[Blagojevich] has a strong outreach 

to the vet community and lets them 

know about all the benefits we have.” 

Innovative programs also are on the 

rise. Wisconsin developed its I Owe You 

campaign in 2000. Before the program, 

Wisconsin vets were not applying for 

federal VA benefits at the same rate as 

veterans in other states. In fact, they 

ranked 42nd out of 50 of states in terms 

of dollars received for VA benefits, 

according to the state’s VA Web site. 

The program has since increased 

awareness of services and allowances 

for qualified veterans. Wisconsin sponsors 

Supermarket of Veterans Benefit/ 

Veterans Benefits Information Fairs to 

increase awareness of VA benefits. 

Wisconsin’s Department of Veterans 

Affairs also backs the armed forces. Its 

Mission: Welcome Home ambassador 

program pairs past war veterans with 

recently returned vets and their families. 

Since August 2005, more than 25 

Wisconsin VFW Posts have adopted 

military units to provide support and 

assistance as part of the program. 

To determine what services are available 

from your state, see the list of state 

VA agencies published in the April 2005 

issue of VFW and contact them. ✪ 


Recognizing and 

Remembering Today’s 

Warriors 

While the two-war service of veterans has been 

acknowledged by distinct campaign medals, the idea of 

a nationally prominent memorial has yet to be broached. 

by Kara Petrovic 

How a society rewards and 

remembers its defenders is a 

reflection of its values. It took 

a concerted effort to get the 

appropriate medals; it should not take 

decades to dedicate a national memorial. 

GIs Awarded Separate Medals 

“There are two different wars,” said a 

sniper who fought in Iraq’s Battle of 

Fallujah with the 25th Infantry Division’s 

Stryker Brigade. “There should be two 

different campaign medals.” 

Troops today wear awards specific to 

their war zones because lawmakers took 

GIs’ complaints into account and pushed 

legislation for separate medals. 

On Nov. 29, 2004, P.L. 108-234 established 

separate campaign medals to be 

awarded to veterans of Operation Enduring 

Freedom and Operation Iraqi 

Freedom. Regulations regarding the Afghanistan 

and Iraq campaign medals’ 

implementation were released on April 

7, 2005, and medals became available 

that May. 

This came about after the Bush 

Administration originally issued Presidential 

Executive Order 13289 on March 

12, 2003, establishing the Global War 

on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal 

(GWOTEM), to recognize service in all 

theaters in the war on terrorism. The 

campaign medals later replaced the 

GWOTEM in the two war zones. 

But there was still a hitch concerning 

the Afghanistan Campaign Medal. The 

Pentagon originally designated Oct. 24, 

2001, as the war’s starting date, when in 

fact it was launched 17 days earlier on 

Oct. 7. 

Finally, on Jan. 6, 2006, President 

Bush signed P.L. 109-163, the National 

Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 

2006. Sec. 567 changed the medal’s eligibility 

date to Sept. 11, 2001. 

Meanwhile, the Army’s Combat Action 

Afghanistan 

Campaign Medal 

Iraq 

Campaign Medal 

Badge (CAB) was created May 2, 2005, to 

recognize soldiers who come under fire in 

a war zone but are not eligible for the 

Combat Infantryman Badge or Combat 

Medical Badge. (Membership eligibility 

based on receipt of these badges and 

medals has been explained in previous 

VFW Membership articles.) 

Given especially the situation in Iraq, 

this move was a logical means of recognizing 

reality in that war zone. 

Global War on Terrorism 

Expeditionary Medal 

Combat Action Badge 


Burt Kephart views his son Jonathan’s name on the National War on Terror Memorial 

located in Hermitage, Pa. The memorial consists of eight stainless-steel panels—two were 

added in February—which list about 3,000 names. 

A National Memorial 

Although more than 2,500 GIs have 

died since the wars in Afghanistan and 

Iraq began, there has been virtually no 

discussion about a national memorial to 

honor those who have made the ultimate 

sacrifice. 

In 2004, VFW magazine asked President 

Bush about this matter. 

Bush responded: “At the appropriate 

time, I would support efforts to erect a 

memorial to our troops who have 

served and died in Iraq and Afghanistan 

and would consider the use of federal 

funds for its construction.” 

John Hughes, editor of the Deseret 

Morning News in Utah, also believes it’s 

time to build a national memorial. 

“They deserve to be honored by all 

Americans,” he wrote in the Christian 

Science Monitor. “That honor should 

one day be translated into permanent 

recognition in the shape of a memorial 

on the Washington [D.C.] Mall.” 

But in 2003, a section of P.L. 108-126 

declared the National Mall’s cross-axis— 

from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial 

and from Lafayette Square to the 

Jefferson Memorial—“a substantially 

completed work of civic art.” 

Nevertheless, there are appropriate 

places in the Capital Region—such as 

Arlington National Cemetery—where a 

memorial would be appropriate. VFW 

Resolution 305 supports the concept of a 

national memorial. 

The fact that the wars are ongoing is 

not an obstacle. Names can be listed in 

chronological order. The panels for 

Afghanistan would already be complete 

for 2001–2005, as well as 2003–2005 for 

Iraq. Names are added to national law 

PHOTO COURTESY TOM FLYNN 

enforcement and firefighter memorials, as 

well as the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, 

annually, and have been for years. 

Moreover, military units on bases 

across the country are honoring the dead 

of the nation’s recent wars in regular ceremonies. 

(VFW magazine listed memorials 

on bases in the August 2005 issue.) 

Two private efforts have already 

erected comprehensive memorials. The 

Middle East Conflicts Wall Memorial in 

Marseilles, Ill., is dedicated to all those 

who have lost their lives in that region 

throughout the past 25 years. 

In Hermitage, Pa., the National War 

on Terror Memorial already lists 3,000 

names engraved in chronological order 

of death on 12-foot rectangular glass 

and stainless-steel panels. The memorial 

consists of eight panels—two panels 

were added in early February—surrounding 

a fountain on a circular concrete 

pathway. 

This “living” memorial is updated 

weekly. The first name dates back to 1975, 

when Air Force colonel Paul Shaffer was 

killed in Tehran, Iran. 

“I felt that by doing this, it might 

encourage the government to do something 

down the road,” said Tom Flynn, 

the memorial’s mastermind. “We can’t 

forget these people. Their sacrifices can’t 

be understood until you’ve learned who 

they were and where they came from.” 

Flynn developed the idea in December 

2004, and the $5 million memorial was 

constructed and dedicated by Memorial 

Day 2005. It is funded by the War on 

Terror Foundation and has already 

raised more than $1 million. 

Within one year of the Sept. 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks, VA erected a “memorial 

marker” in Arlington National Cemetery 

to pay tribute to the 184 service personnel 

and civilians killed at the Pentagon. 

Fundraising has begun for a $30 million 

memorial, complete with 184 cantilevered 

benches, that will eventually sit 

on the Pentagon’s west lawn. 

Moreover, Congress appropriated 

$300,000 for a United Flight 93 memorial 

in Shanksville, Pa. 

It is high time the nation tangibly 

remembers its volunteer warriors with 

the same enthusiasm it has the victims 

of Sept. 11. 

✪ 


youngvetsinfocus 

Inspiring Others: Triple Amputees 

Four veterans from the Iraq War are making the most of what many Americans would consider a severe setback. 

by Janie Blankenship 

Army Sgt. Joey Bozik met the love 

of his life via e-mail while he was 

living in North Carolina and she 

was attending college at Texas A&M 

University. He left for war and she continued 

her studies. Along the way the 

two planned to marry and build a life 

together. 

Oct. 27, 2004, could have changed the 

direction Bozik’s life was headed. While 

he was serving with the Army’s 118th 

Military Police Company, Bozik’s Humvee 

struck a roadside bomb in Iraq. He 

doesn’t remember anything until he 

woke up in Walter Reed Army Medical 

Center in Washington, D.C., surrounded 

by family. 

He asked to be alone with his fiancée, 

Jayme Peters, and told her there would 

be no hard feelings if she wanted to 

walk away. Just weeks later, Bozik 

wheeled himself to the hospital chapel 

where he and Peters were married. 

Losing both legs and his right arm, 

Bozik is one of four triple amputees 

from the Iraq War, according to a Walter 

Reed spokesman. 

“Even knowing I would lose three 

limbs, I would sign up again,” Bozik, 26, 

told Time.“After Sept. 11, 2001, I remember 

thinking, ‘My God, they [terrorists] 

could put something in the water and kill 

a million people.’ That’s a fear I never 

want my family to have to feel again.” 

‘Get Me Home to Nikki’ 

On Sept. 11, 2004, Senior Airman Brian 

Kolfage, Jr., was headed to the morale 

center at Balad, Iraq, for a soda when a 

mortar hit the base camp. He recalls 

lying on a pile of rocks and looking 

around to see bloody body parts everywhere. 

His tent mate, Senior Airman 

Valentin Cortez, tried to shield him 

from the carnage. 

“He looked at me,” Cortez told Air 

Jayme and Joey Bozik, a triple amputee, 

were married in December 2004 in the 

chapel at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. 

Force Times, “and in a calm and collected 

voice, he said, ‘Man, I already know. 

Just get me home to Nikki.’” 

Nikki turned out to be Kolfage’s girlfriend 

from Fort Sam Houston, Texas. 

When he awoke at Walter Reed, missing 

both legs and his right hand, she was at 

his side. Not long after that, the two 

were married in a private ceremony. 

Assigned to the 17th Security Forces 

Squadron at Goodfellow Air Force 

Base, Kolfage, 23, would have lost his 

left hand had it not been for his watch, 

which stopped the shrapnel. 

“This is really not that bad,” an 

upbeat Kolfage told Scripps Howard 

News Service. “You just have to learn to 

do everything all over again. 

Soldier Becomes U.S. Citizen 

On June 10, 2003, Army Spc. Hilario Bermanis 

was manning a weapons turn-in 

PATRIC SCHNEIDER / BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION EAGLE 

point in Baghdad when he came under 

attack from rocket-propelled grenades. 

In a split second, a fellow soldier was 

killed and Bermanis lost both legs and 

his left hand. 

A native of Pohnpei, Federated States 

of Micronesia, Bermanis was serving 

with the 82nd Airborne Division. On 

Sept. 17, 2003, Bermanis took the oath 

of U.S. citizenship from his hospital bed 

in Walter Reed. 

He is now back home in Pohnpei 

with his parents and younger brother. 

‘Whatever It Takes’ 

The most recent triple amputee is 24- 

year-old Army Spc. Bryan Anderson of 

Rolling Meadows, Ill. His vehicle hit a 

roadside bomb in Baghdad on Oct. 23, 

2005, during his second tour in Iraq. 

“I was conscious the whole time,” he 

told the Chicago Tribune. “If one of my 

friends hadn’t applied a tourniquet as 

well as he did, I wouldn’t have made it. 

He lost both legs and his left arm to 

shrapnel. His right hand was mangled, 

and he suffered abdominal injuries and 

a collapsed lung. 

Serving with the 411th Military 

Police Company, Anderson lost four of 

his Army friends in Iraq and seven were 

wounded. 

“The only reason we are there is to 

help little kids, but it is hard to stay motivated 

when you see friends in your unit 

getting hurt,” he told the Rolling 

Meadows Review. “That is what keeps us 

all good over there—friends and helping 

people—but it is like fighting ghosts.” 

He plans to return to his job at 

American Airlines. 

“I see how the guys [in rehab] walk 

and I want to do whatever it takes,” he 

said. “Sometimes you don’t feel like 

doing things, but I’m going to make 

myself.” 

✪ 


VFWin action 

VFW members and Posts demonstrating community service. 

VFW Posts Exude Generosity to Latest Generation of Vets 

From care packages to financial 

assistance in buying homes, 

VFW is all about troop support. 

On Feb. 13, 2004, just two hours 

after his daughter was born, 

Marine Dustin Howell left for 

California where he would leave the following 

day for Iraq. Little did he know 

those two hours would be the most precious, 

and that it would be the first and 

last time Howell would actually see his 

little Amy Jo. 

After a few months in Iraq, 

he was blinded from a roadside 

bomb. His left eye was 

blown out of its socket and 

his right eye was damaged 

beyond repair. 

More than 35 surgeries later 

on his injured hands and legs, 

Howell is back home in 

Wayland, Mich., where he is 

preparing to start a new life 

with his family. He hopes to 

get a home in the country in 

which he and her mother, 

June, can raise Amy Jo. 

Members of Post 7581 

decided to step in and offer 

support to the young couple. 

A benefit was held at the Post on Sept. 

24, 2005. They far surpassed their 

$10,000 goal, bringing in $30,000. 

“I can’t believe they did this for me,” 

Howell told the Grand Rapids Press.“It’s 

unbelievable.” 

Post Provides $102,000 Donation 

In DuPage, Ill., members of Post 2164 

helped a vet at Hines VA Medical Center 

in Maywood, Ill. Joel Gomez is paralyzed 

from the neck down and unable to 

breathe on his own due to a serious accident 

in Iraq on March 17, 2004. 

Serving with the Army’s 1st Infantry 

Division in Iraq, Gomez was injured 

when the vehicle he was riding in 

plunged into the Tigris River. By the following 

October, he was able to move 

back into the basement apartment 

where he had grown up. The only way in 

or out was up and down a grassy slope. 

The West Suburban Foundation for 

Disabled Veterans was created in February 

2005 in response to Gomez’s situation. 

VFW members got on board and 

raised $102,000 toward the construction 

of a handicapped-accessible home 

for the young vet. It is complete with a 

Members of the 1st Infantry Division visit with Iraq veteran Joel Gomez 

in his new home. Post 2164 in DuPage, Ill., provided $102,000 toward 

the construction of a voice-activated home for the paralyzed veteran. 

voice-activated system. 

The entire community turned out in 

support, and one individual even purchased 

an accessible van for Gomez, who 

is now a proud member of Post 2164. 

“When I met Joel for the first time, he 

saw that I was in the 1st Division,” said 

Wayne Milligan, Post commander and 

Vietnam vet. “We’re kind of brothers 30 

years apart.” 

Marine Cpl. Eddie Ryan of Ellenville, 

N.Y., suffered brain damage when he 

was shot in the head on April 13, 2005, 

in Iraq. His mobility is now limited to a 

wheelchair, which can’t be maneuvered 

in his family’s small ranch home. 

It will take an estimated $90,000 to get 

the Ryan home handicapped-accessible. 

To assist, Post 8959 in Kerhonkson, N.Y,. 

donated $5,000 to the Eddie Ryan Fund. 

Ryan is in therapy at Helen Hayes 

Hospital in Rockland County. 

‘We Have to Do Something’ 

GIs from York, N.Y., are taken care of 

when they go overseas. Members of Post 

634 keep tabs on those from their community 

serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Care packages are sent to them, and on 

occasion, thank-you notes 

come back to the Post. 

According to Joe Vogel, 

Post chaplain, Army Master 

Sgt. Tracy Semmel met with 

Post members when he 

returned from Iraq. He presented 

the members with an 

Operation Iraqi Freedom flag. 

“That flag will be shown to 

as many groups in the area as 

possible,”Vogel said.“And you 

can be sure that we will continue 

our care package program 

as long as there are 

Americans serving in Iraq and 

Afghanistan.” 

Also supporting the troops 

with care packages and family 

help is Post 2791 in Tinley Park, Ill. The 

Post maintains a Military Family 

Support Center. 

“Last year, I saw a photograph of a 

soldier with no legs in VFW magazine,” 

Rich Wahlberg, Post service officer, said. 

“I said to my wife, ‘We have to do something.’” 

Since that time, the group has raised 

$20,000 in cash and donations. More 

than 200 care packages have been sent to 

approximately 30 service members 

from the community serving overseas. 

“We want these people to come home 

knowing we cared,” Wahlberg said. “I 

don’t want them to come home to what 

we did after Vietnam.” 

✪ 


soundoff 

Views of VFW readers on topics of interest to veterans. 

April Question: 

Has the general public done enough to show support 

for the troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq 

Some 66% of respondents said that the general public has not showed enough support 

for troops while 34% believe the public is doing enough. 

■ No 

■ Yes 

66% 

34% 

I am really tired of people saying that 

we need to get out of Iraq, and that this 

is President Bush’s war, and that we 

should not be fighting it for him. 

It makes no difference how we got 

there. We are there, and by people not 

supporting it they are saying my son is 

not performing a duty he should be 

proud of. 

Marcy Muchow, Minnesota 

When the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist 

attacks happened, the country had a 

sense of patriotism. Almost every house 

flew flags. Now we have a large number 

of troops giving their ultimate to help us 

enjoy the style of life we have, and except 

for the families with loved ones fighting, 

there’s hardly a house with a flag. 

Bill Leskie, E-mail 

Overall, the public has shown a good 

deal of support for those of us who have 

been in Iraq or Afghanistan. I was overwhelmed 

by the show of support when 

my unit returned home from Iraq. 

Sgt. Richard Walker, Florida 

I do not buy the argument by those 

who claim they can support the troops 

while opposing the war. If you oppose 

the war and our participation in it, then 

you support those who are killing our 

troops. Byron E. Sherfy, E-mail 

This Month’s Question: 

Do Americans fly the flag 

less since the patriotism boom 

following the Sept. 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks 

We can never show too much support 

for our troops. I am very pleased to see 

returning troops welcomed with open 

arms. How wonderful it would have 

been if these supporting Americans had 

only supported my Marine sons when 

they came home from Vietnam. 

Louis Hellwig, Washington 

How is it that someone can claim, “I 

support the troops,” and at the same 

time bash the war and the commanderin-chief 

We support troops only when 

it’s convenient for us. 

Go talk to a parent about their son or 

daughter joining the military right now. 

They’ll say, “I support the troops, but I 

won’t allow my child to join.” 

Kelly Fistler, E-mail 

Overall support is there, but many 

don’t realize the hardships, danger and 

day-to-day realities of war. If they did, 

they would do more to show their 

appreciation. Cecil Jones, Maryland 

As a veteran of both Afghanistan and 

Iraq, I do feel the public has given us a 

tremendous amount of support. This is 

the job we have chosen, and we do not 

need to be continuously praised, even 

though it’s nice to know that our efforts 

are appreciated. 

Master Sgt. Brian Andersen, Florida 

Send your views on this question to: 

VFW Magazine, Sound Off 

406 W. 34th Street, Suite 523 

Kansas City, MO 64111 

E-mail: magazine@vfw.org 

As a Vietnam vet, I believe you can 

never show enough support. After all, 

they are putting it all on the line. Look at 

how we were “supported” in Vietnam. 

That should never happen again. 

Gary Ashton, Ohio 

When you ask someone about the 

war, they avoid talking about it. They 

could not care less. They are too 

wrapped up in their own little world. 

They have no idea what’s going on in 

Afghanistan or Iraq. If it doesn’t affect 

them personally, they don’t care. 

Tom Lohmann, Michigan 

It has become quite apparent that 

open support for our troops has been 

steadily waning since the Sept. 11, 2001, 

terrorist attacks. My assessment is that 

most citizens are reliant on someone 

else, like the media, thinking for them. 

Reuben T. Tsujimura, Washington 

I served 14 months in Iraq, and I 

always felt supported by my country. 

Whenever I am in uniform in public, 

many citizens come up to me and personally 

thank me for my service in Iraq. 

Sgt. Nichole Mayne, Wisconsin 

If one truly supports the troops then 

one has to support the draft. If it’s 

important enough to send troops in the 

first place, it’s important enough to 

draft men and women to fight it. Far 

too many are willing to let someone 

else’s sons and daughters fight for them. 

William E. Perry, Michigan 


Reading References 

War Literature Abounds 

Correspondents and veterans have wasted little time in 

recording various facets of the wars in Afghanistan and 

Iraq. Here is a selected sampling of books. 

Afghanistan 

A War on Terror: Afghanistan and After. Paul 

Rogers. London: Pluto Press, 2004. 

Afghanistan Cave Complexes, 1917-2004: 

Mountain Strongholds of the Mujahideen, 

Taliban & Al Qaeda. Mir Bahmanyar. 

Oxford, England: Osprey Pub., 2004. 

First In: An Insider’s Account of How the CIA 

Spearheaded the War on Terror in 

Afghanistan. Gary C. Schroen. 

N.Y.: Ballantine Books, 2005. 

Interrogators, The: Inside the Secret War Against 

Al Qaeda. Chris Mackey and Greg Miller. 

N.Y.: Little, Brown, 2004. 

None Braver: U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen in 

the War on Terrorism. Michael Hiroh. 

N.Y.: New American Library, 2003. 

Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of 

Operation Anaconda. Sean Naylor. 

N.Y.: Berkley Pub. Grp., 2005. 

Robert’s Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice 

on Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan. 

Malcolm C. MacPherson. 

N.Y.: Delacorte Press, 2005. 

This Man’s Army: A Soldier’s Story of the Front 

Lines of the War on Terrorism. Andrew Exum. 

N.Y.: Gotham Books, 2004. 

Iraq 

A Carrier at War: On Board the USS Kitty Hawk 

in the Iraq War. Richard F. Miller. 

Dulles, Va.: Potomac Books, Inc., 2005. 

Ambush Alley: The Most Extraordinary Battle of 

the Iraq War. Tim Pritchard. 

N.Y.: Presidio Press, 2005. 

American Soldier. Gen. Tommy Franks and 

Malcolm McConnell. 

N.Y.: Regan Books, 2004. 

Among Warriors in Iraq: True Grit, Special Ops 

and Raiding in Mosul and Fallujah. Mike 

Tucker. Guilford, Conn.: The Lyons Press, 

2005. 

An Nasiriyah: The Fight for the Bridges. Gary 

Livingston. North Topsail Beach, N.C.: 

Caisson Press, 2003. 

by Joe Moran 

Back in Action: An American Soldier’s Story of 

Courage, Faith and Fortitude. David Rozelle. 

Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., Inc., 2005. 

Basrah, Baghdad, and Beyond: The U.S. Marine 

Corps in the Second Iraq War. Nicholas E. 

Reynolds. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute 

Press, 2005. 

Boots on the Ground: A Month with the 82nd 

Airborne in the Battle for Iraq. Karl 

Zinsmeister. N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, 2003. 

Chasing Ghosts: A Soldier’s Story of Fighting the 

Iraq War from Baghdad to the Beltway. Paul 

Rieckhoff. N.Y.: Penguin, 2006. 

Cradle of Conflict: Iraq and the Birth of the 

Modern U.S. Military. Michael Andrew 

Knights. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute 

Press, 2005. 

Dark Victory: America’s Second War Against 

Iraq. Jeffrey Record. Annapolis, Md.: Naval 

Institute Press, 2004. 

Dawn Over Baghdad: How the U.S. Military is 

Using Bullets and Ballots to Remake Iraq. Karl 

Zinsmeister. N.Y.: Encounter Books, 2004. 

Down Range: Navy SEALs in the War on 

Terrorism. Dick Couch. 

N.Y.: Crown Pub. Grp., 2006. 

Fall of Baghdad, The. Jon Lee Anderson. 

N.Y.: Penguin, 2004. 

Fallujah with Honor: First Battalion, Eighth 

Marine’s Role in Operation Phantom Fury. 

Gary Livingston. North Topsail Beach, N.C.: 

Caisson Press, 2006. 

Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain 

America and the New Face of American War. 

Evan Wright. N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2004. 

Gift of Valor, The: A War Story. Michael M. 

Phillips. N.Y.: Crown Pub. Grp., 2006. 

Hammer From Above: Marine Air Combat Over 

Iraq. Jay A. Stout. N.Y.: Presidio Press, 2005. 

Heavy Metal: A Tank Company’s Battle to 

Baghdad. Jason Conroy. Washington, D.C.: 

Potomac Books, Inc., 2005. 

In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on 

Duty, Loss, and the Fight to Stay Alive. Yvonne 

Latty. Sausalito, Calif.: PoliPoint Press, 2006. 

In the Company of Soldiers: A Chronicle of 

Combat. Rick Atkinson. 

N.Y.: Henry Holt and Co., 2004. 

Iraq War, The. John Keegan. N.Y.: Knopf, 2004. 

Iraq War, The: A Military History. Williamson 

Murray and Robert H. Scales, Jr. Cambridge, 

Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2003. 

Just Another Soldier: A Year on the Ground in 

Iraq. Jason Christopher Hartley. 

N.Y.: Harper Collins, 2005. 

Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell, The: An Accidental 

Soldier’s Account of the War in Iraq. John 

Crawford. N.Y.: Riverhead Books, 2005. 

McCoy’s Marines: Darkside to Baghdad. John 

Koopman. St. Paul, Minn.: Zenith Press, 

2005. 

March Up, The: Taking Baghdad with the 1st 

Marine Division. Bing West & Ray L. Smith. 

N.Y.: Bantam Books, 2003. 

Masters of Chaos: The Secret History of the 

Special Forces. Linda Robinson. N.Y.: Public 

Affairs, 2004. (Includes Afghanistan and 

Iraq, Chapters 8-15.) 

My War: Killing Time in Iraq. Colby Buzzell. 

N.Y.: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2005. 

No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle 

for Fallujah. Bing West. 

N.Y.: Bantam Books, 2005. 

On Point: The United States Army in Operation 

Iraqi Freedom. Gregory Fontenot. Annapolis, 

Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2005. 

One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine 

Officer. Nathaniel C. Fick. Boston: Houghton 

Mifflin, 2005. 

Ruff’s War: A Navy Nurse on the Frontline in 

Iraq. Cheryl Lynn Ruff. Annapolis, Md.: 

Naval Institute Press, 2005. 

Shane Comes Home. Rinker Buck. 

N.Y.: William Morrow, 2005. 

Shooter: The Autobiography of the Top-Ranked 

Marine Sniper. Jack Coughlin. 

N.Y.: St. Martin’s Press, 2006. 

Spare Parts: A Marine Reservist’s Journey from 

Campus to Combat in 38 Days. Buzz 

Williams. N.Y.: Gotham Books, 2004. 

Special Forces: The War Against Saddam in Iraq. 

Eric Micheletti. Paris, France: Histoire & 

Collections, 2005. 

Thunder Run: The Armored Strike to Capture 

Baghdad. David Zucchino. 

N.Y.: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2004. 

War Stories: Operation Iraqi Freedom. Oliver L. 

North. Washington, D.C.: Regnery Pub., Inc., 

2005. 


VFW Magazine’s 

Coverage of the War on Terrorism 

A helpful index of articles from November 2001 through 

April 2006 shows the extent of VFW reporting on terrorism 

in general and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq in particular. 

VFW has published 155 articles, including 

22 cover stories, since November 2001. 

Terrorism (General) 

2001 

CP: Waging War on Terrorism, Nov 

Marshalling Military Might, Nov 

Is America Ready for a War on 

Terrorism, Nov 

2002 

Death at the Pentagon: A Memorial 

Tribute, Jan 

From the Ashes Comes the Rebirth of 

Patriotism, Jan 

Rendering Relief in Terrorism’s Wake, Jan 

VFW-led K-9 Team First on Scene, Jan 

CP: War, Veterans & Benefits, Feb 

‘Stiletto’ Strikes on ‘Sleeper Cells’ in 

Somalia, Feb 

DELTA Force: Secret Wielders of Death, 

Mar 

Airmen on the Ground: Air Force’s 720th 

Special Tactics Group, Apr 

Forgotten Front—Lebanon, Apr 

How Kids Cope with the Specter of 

Terrorism, Apr 

Lebanese Madman Leaves Trail of Terror, 

Apr 

Monumental Decisions, May 

‘Shoulder-to-Shoulder’: Combatting 

Terrorists in the Philippines, May 

CP: Keeping the Flame Alive, June/July 

Green Berets Now in Georgia, June/July 

‘Silent Option’: Navy’s Elite SEALs, 

June/July 

Pre-empting Terrorism in Yemen, Aug 

Tip of the Anti-Terrorism Spear, Aug 

Tracking the ‘Red Wolves of Radfan’ 

(Yemen), Aug 

Boosting Troop Morale, VFW Style, Sep 

Prisoners of Terror, Sep 

Radical Islamist War on Americans, Sep 

‘A Campaign That Knows No 

Boundaries,’ Oct 

Shadow Warriors Stalk at Night, Oct 

CP: ‘War of the Imagination,’ Nov 

Americans Killed by al Qaeda in the 

Philippines and Kuwait, Dec 

2003 

Horn of Africa to Serve as Base of 

Operations, Jan 

2004 

VA Activates Crisis Response Team for 

Homeland Security, Jan 

Pentagon Issues Latest VFW-Eligible 

Campaign Medal, May 

New List Helps Identify Eligible Terrorism 

War Veterans, Aug 

2005 

Pentagon Victims Remembered at 

Arlington, Mar 

Afghanistan War 

2001 

This is the Enemy, Nov 

Ranger Raid Launches Ground 

Operations, Dec 

2002 

Afghanistan Foes on the Run, Jan 

Special Ops Pave the Way, Jan 

101st Airborne Replaces Marines in 

Afghanistan, Feb 

‘Strike Swiftly and Deeply,’ Feb 

‘Who Dares Wins’: Britain’s SAS in 

Action, Feb 

Casualty Count in Afghan Campaign Hits 

20, Mar 

The Soviet-Afghan War: Breaking the 

Hammer & Sickle, Mar 

Battle of Shahi Kot Valley, May 

Marines Recall Christmas on the 

Terrorism Front, Dec 

2003 

A Beacon for Wounded Warriors, Feb 

‘Soldiers on Point for the Nation’ (10th 

Mt. Div.), Mar 

Terrorism Update: Action in Afghanistan, 

Apr 

Afghanistan: The ‘Forgotten War,’ Nov 

2004 

‘It’s Not About Revenge Anymore,’ Mar 

MIP Recruiting is Thriving in Afghanistan, 

Mar 

2005 

GIs Waging ‘Straight Up War’ in 

Afghanistan, Nov/Dec 

2006 

Afghanistan: A U.S. Combat Chronology, 

2001-2006, Mar 

Veterans 

(Afghanistan & Iraq War) 

2003 

CP: Honoring Veterans: Past & Present, 

June/July 

Spirit & Pride Shine Through VFW Troop 

Efforts, Aug 

Pentagon Evaluating Overseas Troops’ 

Medical Needs, Sep 

2004 

CP: VFW Fills Critical Need Now, Jan 

Caring for Troops Tops VFW’s Current 

Concerns, Feb 

CP: Wounded of War Demand Respect, 

Mar 

‘They’re Doing It For Us—We Can’t 

Forget That,’ Mar 

VFW in Germany Supports War 

Wounded, Mar 

It’s Time the True Heroes of Today’s Wars 

Were Honored, Apr 

Vietnam Vets Volunteer Themselves to 

the Wounded, Apr 

‘Always With Honor’ (Dover Mortuary), 

May 

Tribute to America’s Warriors, May 

Coming Home to a Changed World, 

June/July 

Stress Hard to Combat in War, June/July 

America’s Warriors Return, Aug 

Patriot, Hero, Role Model, Aug 

Students & Veterans—Can They Connect 

on Campus, Sep 


Iraq Vet Firm in His Beliefs, Nov/Dec 

2005 

Kansas Town Bears Disproportionate 

Burden, Jan 

Wounded Troops Have Promising Future, 

Feb 

Young Vets Speak for Coalition Assisting 

Wounded, Feb 

1 Million New War Vets: Many Will Need 

Care, Mar 

Ever-Changing Roles of Women in the 

Military, Mar 

Stress Takes its Toll on Combat Veterans, 

Mar 

Blinded by War, Vets Still Persevere, Apr 

Recent War Vets Press Issues of 

Concern, June/July 

CP: Time for an Iraq/Afghanistan 

Memorial, Aug 

GI Appreciates Values of VFW’s Voice, 

Aug 

Iraq, Afghanistan Memorials Grace 

Bases, Aug 

VETS: Helping Veterans Find Jobs, Sept 

Wounded Marine Helps Others Cope 

With Recovery Process, Sept 

GI-Turned Country Music Star, Oct 

Iraq and Afghanistan Vets: Dominant 

Theme at VFW’s Convention, Oct 

Mississippi Post Raises $24,000 for an 

Iraq Amputee, Nov/Dec 

Robotic Limbs Offer New Hope to 

Amputees, Nov/Dec 


Continuing to Serve at VA, Jan 

CP: You Are a Veteran—In or Out of 

Uniform, Jan 

Brooke Army Medical Center: Treating 

the Severely Wounded of War, Feb 

CP: Supporting the Warriors in Time of 

War, Mar 

Kentucky MP Undergoes Baptism of Fire, 

Mar 

News Media War Coverage Slanted, Mar 

Remembering Those in Combat, Mar 

A GI Bill for the 21st Century, Apr 

Caring for the Wounded in the Long Haul, 

Apr 

Confronting the Emotional Toll, Apr 

GI Death and Life Insurance Benefits 

More Equitable, Apr 

Illinois Serves as Beacon for State 

Benefits, Apr 

Inspiring Others: Triple Amputees, Apr 

Membership: Iraq and Afghanistan Vets 

Are Largest Group of New Members, 

Apr 

Portraying Contemporary War Vets in 

Popular Culture, Apr 

Recognizing and Remembering Today’s 

Warriors, Apr 

Society & the Soldier, Apr 

Sound Off: Public Troop Support, Apr 

Succeeding in the Civilian Job Market, Apr 

VFW Posts Exude Generosity to Latest 

Generation of Vets, Apr 

War Literature Abounds, Apr 

Iraq War 

2003 

CP: Rallying Behind the Troops, May 

Battles and Accidents Claim Deadly Toll, 

May 

‘Just Happy to be Alive,’ May 

Nasiriyah: The ‘Wild West,’ May 

Remembering Our Fallen, May 

Battling for Baghdad, June/July 

CP: Living Up to VFW’s Mission, Aug 

For the Men Who ‘Do the Dying,’ Aug 

Jumping into the Iraq War, Aug 

‘America Has No Finer Ally Than the 

United Kingdom,’ Sep 

Pentagon Evaluating Overseas Troops’ 

Medical Needs, Sep 

2004 

Black Ops Shine in Iraq War, Feb 

Forget the Weekend, They are Full- 

Fledged Warriors, Feb 

2005 

Fallujah: Battle for the ‘City of Mosques,’ 

Feb 

Gray-Haired Warriors: Vietnam Veterans 

in Iraq, Apr 

Medal of Honor Presented, May 

Iraq GIs Accomplishing Their Mission, Oct 

War Casualties Spread Even, Says GAO 

Report, Nov/Dec 


Iraq: A U.S. Combat Chronology, 2003- 

2006, Mar 

Casualty Tributes 

2002 

American Deaths in the War on Islamist 

Terrorism, Nov 

2003 

Remembering Our Fallen, May 

The Final Salute: Americans Killed in Iraq, 

Sep 

Iraq: A Final Salute, Nov 

2004 

A Final Salute, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, 

June/July, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov/Dec 

2005 

A Final Salute, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, 

June/July, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov/Dec 


A Final Salute, Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr 

CP=Command Post

membership 

Iraq and Afghanistan Vets Are Largest Group of New Members 

Nearly 40% of VFW members 

recruited last year were 40 or 

younger. It’s the continuation of an 

upbeat trend that started in 2003. 

The response VFW recruiters used 

to get when they asked younger 

vets about their impression of 

VFW was less than flattering. 

“When I think of VFW, I picture old 

men sitting around swapping war stories 

and playing pitch, maybe drinking,” 

said Kevin Danciak, a 34-year-old vet of 

the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Somalia, 

Haiti and Bosnia. “I think these stereotypes 

would keep me from joining a 

Post.” 

That mindset is hopefully fading as 

more young men and women become 

eligible for the nation’s oldest major veterans 

organization and begin to discover 

they’re eligible for one of the most elite 

groups of American war veterans. 

“I have to admit that it turned out to 

be a lot different than I expected, but for 

the better,” said Jada Bass, an Iraq vet 

and member of Post 9050 in Enderlin, 

N.D. “I was surprised to find out that 

there were actually other people my age 

from my own unit who were members 

of the same Post.” 

It appears that more and more of Bass’ 

peers are learning the same lesson. 

Statistics compiled by VFW’s Membership 

Department show the largest block of 

veterans recruited last year, nearly 30%, 

were under the age of 30. Those recruited 

in the 31-40 age bracket represented nearly 

19%. The next-largest group, nearly 

18%, was the 51-60 age segment. 

Still, even with these encouraging 

numbers, most VFW members are older 

For more information on 

how to join VFW, 

contact: 

As of July 2005, 433,398 

service men and women had 

been separated from active 

duty: 185,230 regular and 

248,168 deployed Reserve/ 

National Guard members. 

than 70. So when younger vets think of 

VFW Posts in their communities or see 

advertisements in VFW magazine 

aimed at the largest demographic section 

of readers, they understandably 

wonder if VFW is an organization a 20-, 

30- or even 40-year-old veteran would 

feel comfortable joining. 

“A younger vet looks at the magazine 

and loves the articles,” a 40-year-old 

Persian Gulf War vet said, “but every 

other ad appeals to a demographic 

between 65 and 90.” 

That’s precisely why it’s up to VFW 

recruiters to sign up Iraq and Afghanistan 

vets and explain why it’s so important 

they join and carry on the 

organization’s legacy.VFW’s older members 

have been working to improve veterans 

benefits for many years, and the 

youngest generation needs to take over. 

One area where younger vets say 

VFW can enhance its attraction for Iraq 

and Afghanistan vets is communication. 

They say VFW should offer more information 

on how the organization helps 

veterans, such as how to obtain VA benefits, 

as well as how a stronger VFW can 

more effectively influence future veteran-friendly 

legislation. 

They also say VFW should promote 

itself better to non-members through 

appearances at large public events and 

specially tailored messages for specific 

groups of veterans. 

Last fall, in response to a question 

posed by VFW magazine that younger 

vets don’t feel welcome at VFW Posts 

dominated by older cliques of veterans, 

many current members said the young 

vets should visit a Post. A Vietnam vet 

asked, “I wonder if these younger vets 

know the meaning of the words honor 

and pride Do they not make an attempt 

to get involved” 

That question was answered by an 

activated National Guardsman who 

spoke to a VFW magazine staff member 

in Iraq earlier this year. 

“There’s no difference in WWII, 

Korea, Vietnam and Iraq vets,” the soldier 

said. “They bleed the same, they 

feel the same, they serve the same.” ✪

2006 VFW Magazine - Veterans of Foreign Wars

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