Obama Ticks Off Veterans

I'm with President Obama on 90% of the changes he is moving fast and furious on and I'm pretty happy with his progress so far. I do however feel the need to ANGRILY disagree with him on messing with the VA and our Veterans care.

(Picture stolen from Gun Toting Liberal... don't tell)

One of the things that most politicians know upfront is that you don't screw around with Social Security. You just do not do it! That's a given, and then there is the Veterans Administration aka the VA that you just don't mess with as well. Former President Bush took every single opportunity he could to wave the flag, promote America's security thanks to all the troops, but then he looked the other way when it came to taking care of the veterans. Ergo, many troops served at his call but he was not worthy of their respect. Year after year Bush cut VA funding to the bone while he increased use of our troops overseas. It was as if one hand had no clue as to what the other was doing, cut the VA budget with one hand and salute and thank a veteran for serving with the other. Typical Bush. Then the SOB (Standard Operative Bush) would only have public appearances at military bases because he knew the troops had to at the very least be respectful to the Commander in Chief. Basically, Bush kidnapped them till the cameras were off for many of his speeches out on the road.

Today, we have President Obama promising $25 Billion in increased funding to the VA and a mosquito bite budget cut that is tantamount to the start of Malaria in the VA care of our veterans. I back him 100% on the increased funding but he's touching the third rail by insisting on third party medical insurance coverage for veterans. I honestly can not and will not budge from my stance that the Government owns our wounded veterans ailments for life and Uncle Sam signed on the dotted line when they signed up to serve their nation.

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Give me a break President Obama! Every single Veterans group across America is pissed off that you are even considering this shannanigan! And on St. Patrick's day to boot!!! I agree with my brotha from anotha motha, Gun Toting Liberal, that this is just wrong. Put down the green beer and take a reality check pill. I'm as Liberal as the day is long but I'm also a proud and never ending supporter of all of our men and woman that have served this nation in uniform. We owe them our grattitude and we better sure as hell take care of them when they need us the most. This plan endangers the much needed care of millions of disabled veterans living on minimum existence income and the whole plan is idiotic. Dump it Obama!

Just dump it and move on, please! Don't mess with my Vets!

Papamoka

***UPDATE 3/18/09

Obama backs off plan to alter vets' healthcare
By Roxana Tiron

Posted: 03/18/09 03:42 PM [ET]
The White House on Wednesday backed off a controversial plan that would have dramatically altered the way the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) handles insurance claims, after veterans groups staged an all-out fight against such a proposal. - The Hill

Veterans Day 2007

For most people this day is just another day and it should and should not be that way. In one respect the service of our military is in service to our people so that our society may continue as a whole. There are no guarantees in America but there is the right to voice your opinions in protest of war. In the other respect, many men and woman in our military have died to make our lives what they are today and should not be forgotten. Many more have survived battle only to be lost and forgotten as the wounded warriors of yesterday.

Watching a documentary called The War by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on PBS today made me thankful for the courage and fortitude of all veterans of WWII. So many lives were lost in the battles of the war and yet they persevered to liberate Europe and ultimately defeat the Axis Alies. Then I thought about the people that survived the many battles during the war and how grateful I am that they did. My father being just one of the many.

One point in the documentary jumped out at me to show the true spirit behind the fighting American military forces in Europe. Upon reaching the Rhine, General George S. Patton Jr. stopped halfway across the river on a pontoon bridge. Since the start of the war he had always wanted to piss in the Rhine, right there in the middle of the bridge, and in front of all of his men, he pissed in the Rhine! Not to be comical but what a pisser!

From my heart to the hearts of all Veterans I submit this humble post to thank you for all that you did in the past, present and in the future. You will never be forgotten by this political writer.
Papamoka

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I'm From Worcester has a great Veterans day parade post from Worcester, MA...

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Loss of the Greatest Generation

Picture courtesy of Dinoto Funeral Home

I hate to steal the line from Tom Brokaw but I admire his work and his tribute to the many veterans of World War II. For some of us World War II is a history that many never have the chance to understand from the point of view of those that served during the war. For that matter, many of the brave men and women that served never talked about it. They did what our nation asked and returned home changed but lived an amazing life none the less different for it.

Our veterans from World War II are fading into the final adventure that is part of life and I think it only just to pay tribute to them for the sacrifices they made when not only our nation needed them but the world needed them. I’ve posted several lost military service people here on Papamoka and I am proud of what I have posted on their behalf. I am truly thankful for all of our military people and when they have a loss so do I in my heart.

I grew up knowing my father served in World War II and in Korea. He never spoke of the horrors of his service till his later years. His later years took him from me but all the books and events he never missed when it came to veterans he passed on to his youngest son. My father and my friend was always a family man first. He lived for his family first and the past was just what it was. Jack O’Keefe didn’t bring the war home to Manor Road, he brought family to Manor Road. As much as my mother made us feel that home was our entire families home, Dad made sure that it was just that by just being our Dad. He wasn’t perfect but he was not a push over for any bull that any of his seven children could pass on at any given time.

While the pages of Military persons that are dying in Iraq or Afghanistan are filling up on the internet I find it kind of ironic that the people that fought to defend the atrocities in Europe are being laid to rest by the thousands every single day without any tribute. If any man or woman that served in any battle or war there is no generation that we as a nation should be more thankful too than the WWII Veterans.

Life is funny, my father never pushed any one of his sons into the military unless we were completely out of control. He cried when he came back home to sign my older brother up for the Navy. He didn’t regret it though. What the child he signed up learned was respect and to this day he knows what that means. If Jack didn’t make that step, our families future and that child’s future would have been very different. That was a very difficult decision and given our fathers experience during war time that he never wanted to see any of his sons experience what he endured that became a life time of pain for him.

Enough of that stuff and here is a tribute to just one other WWII Veteran. I hope and pray that his family does not mind that I post his obituary here.

Over at the Worcester Telegram they have this WWII Veterans obituary…

Robert Thore Gustafson, 88, died Friday, August 24th, at home.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, E. Marcia (Hooker) Gustafson; his two children, The Rev. Lisabeth M. Gustafson and Donald P. Gustafson. Bob was the son of Thore and Clara (Benson) Gustafson. He is also survived by his sister, Margaret Engwall, formerly of Worcester, now residing in Beavercreek, OH. He was predeceased by his sister, Ethel V. Nelson and brothers Walter, Roy, Carl, Ralph "Nick" and G. Herbert Gustafson.

Mr. Gustafson was a lifetime resident of the Worcester/West Boylston area. He grew up in the Quinsigamond area of Worcester. After graduating from South High School in 1937, he joined the Navy, serving throughout World War II. He was serving on a cruiser during the attack on Pearl Harbor and then transferred to submarine duty in the Pacific for the remainder of the war. After returning home from the service, Mr. Gustafson went to work for the New England Telephone Company where he worked for over 37 years. - Worcester Telegram

Thank you Robert Thore Gustafson for your service to not only your nation but to your family as well. My personal thanks to his family and my condolences on his passing. Our nation and the world is a far better place to live in thanks to the people like him that did what they had to do and did it damn well!

Papamoka

Feel Free to thank a Veteran here...

Flags at Half Mast for Military Fallen In Mass.

In the wake of the Romney is the next best thing to sliced bread as a governor in the main stream media we finally have a Governor that isn’t about what people want to hear or see at the state level. We have a Governor that will do what is right and just by the families that have lost a loved one in service to our nation from Massachusetts.

Governor Deval Patrick today ordered all state buildings have their flags at half mast on the day of the burial for any of our fallen heroes. Governor Deval Patrick has brought forth the sacrifice to all of our minds that many of our families have paid in service to our nation with a simple gesture of respect that these brave men and woman deserve.

Over at the Worcester Telegram and Gazette they have this to say about this issue…

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Patrick orders flags lowered on day of soldiers' burial
The Associated Press

BOSTON— Gov. Deval Patrick on Tuesday ordered that all flags on state buildings be lowered to half-staff on the day any Massachusetts soldier killed in a war zone is buried.

The order takes effect immediately, and means that all flags on state buildings will be lowered on Thursday for the funeral of Staff Sgt. Daniel A. Newsome of Chicopee.

Newsome died last week of wounds suffered in a blast from an improvised explosive device in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Legislation passed by Congress last month would also require all federal agencies in a state to comply with a governor's request that they fly their flags at half-staff to honor a fallen service member.

"We want to acknowledge the ultimate sacrifice that these servicemen and women and their families have made to this country and the commonwealth," Patrick said. - Worcester Telegram

I salute Governor Patrick for this declaration. Let us not forget the brave sons and daughters that serve our nation.

Enjoy your fourth of July celebration and just for the hell of it, thank a family member or friend that is a veteran. It can’t hurt and they just might need the hug.

Papamoka

Memorial Day With A TWIST

Contributed by Michael Linn Jones

About two hours drive north of Paris there is a small village; la Neuviille-Houssett. Not far from this village is a farm, dissected by a small lane. This is old country, originally civilized by the Romans and witness to centuries of the horror of warfare. Across the lane from this farm is a Cross, with a small retaining wall holding a bronze plaque.

The monument, standing about 15 feet high, looks out upon a rising field, facing a hillock where on a cloudy night in 1944, an American bomber crashed at nightfall. The aircraft split in half, and all the crew were ejected. Local men dragged the men away from the flames. They were carried to the farmhouse. Three men survived, and the other four died. One was a young man from West Virginia. He died on a kitchen table, with Last Rites being read by a local priest. Aware of the fact that the dying man was Protestant, this priest did not care; a man of God performed his duty. This particular priest turned out to be the kind of man who did a lot of things not expected of him.

The West Virginian in question was the bomber's tailgunner, a SSgt. Wetzel Kimball. Several years before he had fallen in love with a girl from Jackson, Tennessee named Camille Owen. Camille had to accept the loss of her husband, a common experience in those days.

The village priest, Father Heroux, dedicated himself to bringing closure to the families of the dead airmen. In 1946 Fr. Heroux raised the funds necessary to erect the original Cross, at the same site where it stands today. He travelled to the U.S. after the war and met Camilee and other family members of the crew.

In 1948 Camillle opted to have her husband's remains returned to the United States from his resting place at Epinal in France. He was finally laid to rest in Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson, Tennessee.

In 2001, the local people of la Neuville-Houssett learned the details of the old Cross along the farm lane. Without government involvement or support, a huge amount of money was raised, and the result is what you see in the photograph. It is, if I may say so, as much a testimony to the gratitude and good hearts of good people as it is a remembrance of dead soldiers.

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Near the southern border of the Netherlands is a small town named Margraten. Nearby is an American cemetery from World War II. Please watch this short video; it'll only take a moment of your time. It's important that you do so because within the clip is a short mention of the fact that the people of that area regularly visit the graves of the 8,000 men buried there.

What the video does not show is that following World War II, and also 9/11/2001, a system of "adopting" American graves took place. These people waited their turn to have "their" American to lay flowers upon at every American holiday, such as the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, and so on. They WAITED to have the opportunity to express their thanks to men who died long before many of them were even born.

Camille Kimball never remarried. She died a widow in 2003. After 59 years, she and her husband were finally reunited at the Hollywood Cemetery in Jackson. The love of one person for another can be most powerful, and in this case stretched for decades.
The story of the Kimballs is an interesting and poignant one. But you don't need to dwell upon them. In any city or town in this country there are cemeteries, and in each of them lies some man or woman who served us up gifts that we love but take for granted.

Sad to say, yet I'm proud to say, certain human beings in France and the Netherlands do not take these gifts for granted. It is part of their tradition that whatever frustrations they may feel in trying to figure out Americans, their gratitude is more than just talk. They walk their walk and, as in the case of Margraten, compete to do so.

Perhaps without knowing it, they are simply responding to the request of a dying Captain Miller in "Saving Private Ryan." He said, "Earn this. Earn this day."

If people an ocean away can do this, why cannot we start a similar tradition? On this Memorial Day, before you go off to your well-deserved rest or fun, take a moment to do something you've probably never thought of doing. Pick up some flowers...anywhere, it doesn't matter. Find the grave of a veteran and do no more than say "thanks."

You'll have a whole year to think about what you've done to earn that gift.

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USMC Snubbed by VFW for Burial Reception

Picture courtesy of the Boston Herald

According to 96.9 FM Talk in Boston and Eagan & Braude the reception post the burial of a Rockland, MA native son, Walter K. O’Haire who was killed in Iraq serving in the United States Marine Corp was snubbed by the local VFW for a Bingo game. Apparently, the contract from the local Son’s of Italy was iron clad and the reception for a fallen soldier was passed on by the VFW to host the Bingo night.

I’m speechless.

Was the hall built for veterans and their families or was it built for Bingo players? Our kids are being killed serving our country and yet Bingo is a higher priority in the minds of the local VFW?

Fallen Rockland Marine is laid to rest
By Jessica Van Sack
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - Updated: 10:38 AM EST

A hush fell over the hundreds in Rockland who clutched flags and saluted yesterday as the mournful procession arrived carrying the casket of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Walter K. O’Haire on what would have been his 21st birthday.

From inside a limousine, his uncle, through tears, saluted back to the crowd, which included local schoolchildren, military families, area soldiers and veterans. Then the slow cadence of bagpipes began, breaking the silence.

“Wally saw himself as defending his country and his family,” said the Rev. James Hickey at Holy Family Church in Rockland. “All of that stuff was so important to him.” – Boston Herald

There is no logical explanation for why this happened and yet the mother of the 21 year old man holds no animosity toward the VFW. She buried her son and that was something that she needed to focus on and I offer my heart felt prayers to her and her family.

Papamoka

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Margery Eagan covers this in her column over at the Boston Herald...

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