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SIXTH INFANTRY REGIMENT ASSOCIATION AND AUXILIARY NEWSLETTER
PO Box 55446
St. Petersburg, Fl. 33732-5446
November 1, 2008
Re-Enlistments: Paul Quello, Isaac Smith
Donations: Isaac Smith, LTC Sheldon Kirsner, David Scott,
Charles Schneider
New Members:
LTC Brian Eifler Theodore G. Lease
CMR 405 #4596 209 Wilson Drive
APO AE 09034 Watseka, Il. 60970
Charles Johns David Scott
511 McCain Drive 7011 W. Parmer Ln., Apt. 1516
Monroe, La. 71203 Austin, Tx. 78729
Change of Address:
Bobby Taylor LTC Sheldon Kirsner
1537 Althea 1 New Ballas Pl., Apt 429
Houston, Tx. 77018 St. Louis, Mo. 63146-8703
Stanley Jones
6749 Middle Jamestown Rd.
Jamestown, In. 46147-9212
Deceased: None
Introduction:
It is almost that time of year for dues. Please keep in mind that as of January 1 the dues are $10 a year. I’m sorry but it was necessary.
Agent Orange and Prostate Cancer
Command Sergeant Major Stanley Thornburgh emailed me the following Article:
There are two very important statements that I feel are especially important to all of us who have been exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam, Korea and elsewhere. One is getting testing and having an examination of the prostate. Two is how aggressive prostate cancer in this study of Vietnam Veteran was reported to be. Early detection based on this study could be a life saver.
Many of us have already read this study, however I thought it important and worthy of being forwarded.
Several members have emailed me and want their Emails available for other members. As of now the list is:
Name Email Address Era
======================== ========================== ==============
Jan Milles jmilles@hvc.rr.com ‘Nam and Berlin
Charles Farrell cturkfarrell@aol.com Berlin ‘68-69
Bill Harless BHarl95429@aol.com Berlin ‘52-54
William Zirkel ziirkel@earthlink.net Berlin ‘57-59
James Porter ms8x60s@yahoo.com Vietnam ‘68-69
Gary Kirsten garykirsten@snet.net Berlin ‘53-55
John Frye JFrye13@tampabay.rr.com
CSM Stanley Thornburgh Stanley39us@yahoo.com Berlin
The above Email for James Porter is a correction. My mistake.
The GI Bill
Already there is a technical corrections bill being written to fix oversights.
The GI Bill’s first effects will take place August 1, 2009.
Transfer benefits will not take effect till August 1, 2009.
Service members who have used their full 36 month allotment or will do so prior to August 1, 2009, cannot claim the new book and housing allowance, and the pay is not retroactive.
Spouses using a veteran’s benefits have to use the 36 months within 15 years like the veteran. Benefits to be used by children do not have to be used in 15 years.
Comments of Senator Webb of Virginia:
1. The G. I. Bill of the World War II era sparked economic growth and expansion for a whole generation of Americans; a more robust G. I. Bill holds the same potential for today’s economy.
2. For every dollar invested in WWII veterans, seven dollars were generated.
The GI Bill is the gift of a grateful nation to those who have put their lives on the line in the war against terrorism. Whether you members of the Sixth Infantry stay in the Army or go back to civilian life, the opportunity to succeed is there. Take advantage of it.
Veterans Pension Program
The program defined in the following pages is for the elderly veteran who is destitute.
A. Eras Covered:
World War II: December 7, 1941 through December 31, 1946.
Korean War: June 27, 1950 through January 31, 1955.
Vietnam War: August 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975 (A start date of February 28, 1961 for veterans who served “in country” prior to August 5, 1964.
Gulf War: August 2, 1990 through a date to be set by law or Presidential Proclamation.
B. Who is eligible:
You were discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable, and
You served at least 90 days of active military duty 1 day of which was during a war time period. If you entered active duty after September 7, 1980, you must have served at least 24 months or the full period for which called or ordered to active duty, and
Your countable family income is below a yearly limit set by law.
The yearly limit on income is set by Congress, and
You are age 65 or older, or, you are permanently and totally disabled, not due to your own willful misconduct.
C. Countable Family Income: This includes income received by the veteran and his or her dependents, if any, from most sources. It includes earnings, disability and retirement payments, interest and dividends, and net income from farming or business. There is a presumption that all of a child’s income is available to or for the veteran. The VA may grant an exception in hardship cases.
D. Net Worth: Means the net value of the assets of the veteran and his or her dependents. It includes such assets as bank accounts, stocks, bonds, mutual funds and any other property other than the veteran’s residence and a reasonable lot area. There is no set limit on how much net worth a veteran and his or her dependents can have, but net worth cannot be excessive. The decision as to whether a claimant’s net worth is excessive depends on the facts of each individual case. All net worth should be reported and the VA will determine if a claimant’s assets are sufficiently large that the claimant could live off these assets for a reasonable period of time.
E. Exclusions to income or deductions that may be made to reduce countable income: Examples of what may be excluded:
Public assistance such as Supplemental Security Income is not considered income.
Many other specific sources of income are not considered income; however, all income should be reported. The VA will exclude any income that the law allows.
A portion of un-reimbursed medical expenses paid by the claimant after the VA receives the claimant’s pension claim may be de-ducted. These are expenses you have paid for medical services or products for which you will not be reimbursed by Medicare or private medical insurance.
Certain other expenses, such as veteran’s education expenses, and in some cases, a portion of the educational expenses of a child over 18 are deductible.
F. Calculation of your pension: Your annual pension is calculated by totaling all of your countable income. Then any deductions are subtracted from that total. The remaining countable income is de-ducted from the appropriate annual pension limit which is deter-mined by the number of your dependants, if any, and whether or not you are entitled to housebound or aid and attendance benefits. This amount is then divided by 12 and rounded to the nearest dollar. This gives you the amount of your monthly pension.
G. Aid and Attendance Benefits: is a benefit paid in addition to a monthly pension. This benefit may not be paid without eligibility to pension. A veteran may be eligible for A&A when:
The veteran requires the aid of another person in order to per-form personal functions required in everyday living, such as bathing, feeding, dressing, attending to the wants of nature, adjusting prosthetic devices, or protecting himself/herself from the hazards of his/her daily environment, or,
the veteran is bedridden, in that his/her disability or disabilities requires that he/she remains in bed apart from any prescribed course of convalescence or treatment, or,
The veteran is a patient in a nursing home due to mental or physical incapacity, or,
The veteran is blind, or so nearly blind as to have corrected visual acuity of 5/200 or less, in both eyes, or concentric contraction of the visual field to 5 degrees or less.
H. Housebound Benefits: is paid in addition to the monthly pension.
Like A&A, Housebound Benefits may not be paid without eligibility to pension. A veteran may be eligible for Housebound Benefits when:
The veteran has a single permanent disability evaluated as 100% disabling and, due to such disability, he/she is permanently and substantially confined to his/her immediate premises, or, -The veteran has a single permanent disability evaluated as 100% disabling and, another disability, or disabilities, evaluated as 60% or more disabling.
A veteran cannot receive both Aid and Attendance and Housebound benefits at the same time.
I. How to apply for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits:
You may apply for either of the above by writing to the VA Regional Office having jurisdiction of the claim. That would be the office where you filed a claim for pension benefits. If the regional office is not known, you may file the request with any VA Regional Office.
You should include copies of any evidence, preferably a report from an attending physician validating the need for Aid and Attendance or Housebound type care.
The report should be in sufficient detail to determine whether there is disease or injury producing physical or mental impairment, loss of coordination, or conditions affecting the ability to dress and undress, to feed oneself, to attend to sanitary needs, and to keep oneself ordinarily clean and presentable.
In addition, it is necessary to determine whether the claimant is confined to the house or the immediate premises.
Whether the claim is for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits, the report should indicate how well the individual gets around, where the individual goes, and what he or she is able to do during a typical day.
J. You cannot receive a VA non-service connected pension and service-connected compensation at the same time. However, if you apply for pension and are awarded payments, the VA will pay you which-ever benefit is the greater amount.
K. How to apply for non-service connected pension:
You can apply on-line at the following VA web site: http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/main.asp.
You may download and fill out VA Form 21-526, Veteran’s Application for Compensation and/or Pension. Make sure you download all parts of the application as well as the instructions for filling out the forms. If available, attach copies of dependency records (marriage and children’s birth certificates). You must send the completed application and any copies of other documents to the VA Regional Office that serves your area of residence.
You may also contact a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) from a veterans service organization. Please call 1-800-827-1000 for the location of the VSO nearest you. This is the preferred approach. I would recommend the Disabled American Vets.
If you have any questions, please call 1-800-827-1000.
L. Family Income Limits (Effective December 1, 2007)
If you are a Your yearly income must be
less than
Veteran with no dependents $11,181
Veterans with a spouse or child $14,643 (Veterans with additional children:
add $1,909 to the limit for each
child)
Housebound veteran with no dependents $13,664
Housebound veteran with one dependent $17,126
Veteran who needs A&A with no dependents $18,654
Veteran who needs A&A with one dependent $22,113
The above can be explained by your DAV Service Officer. Your income would be deducted from the above amount and that would be your pension. The veteran must complete VA form 21-526 and form SSA-24 for Social Security. I would recommend that the veteran get the forms from his DAV Service Officer, fill them out as much as possible and put them with their important papers.
M. Surviving Spouse Death Pension (Effective December 1, 2007)
If you are a Your yearly income must be
less than
Surviving spouse with no dependent
children $7,498
Surviving spouse with one dependent child $9,815
- (Add $1,909 to the limit for each additional child)
Housebound surviving spouse with no dependents $9,164
Housebound surviving spouse with one dependent $11,478
Surviving spouse who needs Aid and
Attendance with no dependents $11,985
Surviving spouse who needs Aid and
Attendance with one dependent $14,298
Surviving child (no eligible parent) $1,909
For any of the above, the surviving spouse or child must complete VA form 21-534.
N. There are more surviving spouse benefits. They will be discussed in the next newsletter.
Member Peter Hassapelis served in Berlin between 1959 and 1962. He was there the day the Wall first went up. He was wondering if there were any more vets of that era. If any of you are, please contact him at 5 Maple Ridge Drive, Standish, Maine 04084.
I was in Berlin in September, but only for a day to visit the widow of a friend. It was a sunny day, but it was windy and the temp was in the 50s. Curry wurst is now 2 Euros or about $3 and that is without a salad.
John the farmer was in the fertilized egg business. He had several hundred young layers (hens), called ‘pullets’, and ten roosters, whose job it was to fertilize the eggs. John kept records and any rooster who didn’t perform was replaced. This took an awful lot of his time, so he got a set of tiny bells and put them on his roosters. Each bell had a different tone so John could tell from a distance which rooster was performing. Now he could sit on the porch and fill out an efficiency report simply by listening to the bells. John’s favorite rooster was old Buck, a fine specimen he was, too. But on this particular morning John noticed old Buck’s bell hadn’t rung at all! John went to investigate. The other roosters were chasing pullets, bells-a-ringing. The pullets, hearing the roosters coming, would run for cover. But to Farmer John’s amazement, old Buck had his bell in his beak, so it couldn’t ring. He’d sneak up on a pullet, do his job and walk on to the next one. John was so proud of old Buck, he entered him in the County Fair and he became an overnight sensation among the judges. The result. . . The judges not only awarded old Buck the No-Bell Piece Prize but they awarded him the Pullet Surprise as well. Clearly old Buck was a politician in the making! Who else but a politician could figure out how to win two of the most highly coveted awards on our planet by being the best at sneaking up on the populace and screwing them when they weren’t paying attention. Vote carefully this year. . .The bells are not always audible.
This couple fell in love and got married. They fell into this routine of making love at 5:15 every morning and 5:15 every evening. After about a month, the wife came down ill and her husband took her to see a doctor. He gave her a shot of penicillin. It killed all of the germs in her body except for these three. They met in her left shoulder blade to discuss where to hide from the penicillin. The first one said, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to hide in the big toe on her left foot. That penicillin will never find me down there.” The second one said, “I don’t know about you two, but I’m going to hide in her right ear lobe. It’ll never find me up there.” The third one said, “I don’t know about you two, but when that old 5:15 pulls out, I’m going to be on it.”
I’d just like to take a moment to wish you all a happy Thanksgiving, a merry Christmas and good health in the New Year. God bless.
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