Mar 06

Veterans and their widows or other dependents might be eligible for The Department Of Veterans Affairs pension if they meet certain requirements. They include: 1. Veterans must have served during a time of war, even if not in combat, and 2. they must be either permanently disabled or 65 or older. In addition, their incomes must fall under a certain level. Widows of Veterans can also apply, although their incomes must be even lower. If you are a Veteran and think you may qualify for the benefits, go to the VA’s website at: http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Milsvc/Docs/Pensoneg.doc If you are a widow of a Veteran, go to http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Milsvc/Docs/Dpeneg.doc The VA also has a toll-free number for more information call:

As you can see, our newsletter has taken on a new look. This is something that I feel we need as we take on a new attitude about our Post in 2006. I say OUR Post because that is exactly what it is. It does not belong to the Commander or the E-Board but to each and every one of the members. Have a suggestion? Let someone on the E-Board know. Want to submit an article for the newsletter? Let me know. This Post is our family room, here for us to enjoy and take care of. We have many members here with many talents. Want to change things? Get involved and let someone know about it. Remember, We can do it all if WE ALL DO IT. Do you like this change in the newsletter? Give me some feedback by phone or e-mail.

ALR officers attended the state meeting on the 25th in Jefferson City and a lot of information was gained. Our scheduled rides are as follows: CHAPTER NINE ORGANIZED RIDE DATES 2006 MAY 27 at 10:00 to ROCKBRIDGE, MO (DAY RIDE) JUNE 24 at 10:00 to FERRY, BULL SHOALS LAKE (DAY RIDE) JULY 22 at 10:00 To EUREKA SPRINGS, AR. (DAY RIDE ?) AUG 19 at 10:00 to HWY 86, OFFICE PUB (DAY RIDE) SEPT 16 at 7:00to BEALE ST, MEMPHIS TN. OVERNIGHT) OCT 14 at 7:00 to HWY 7, HOT SPRINGS AR.(OVERNIGHT) ALL RIDES MEET AT POST 639 (in the morning unless otherwise indicated.)

Rememberance Day will be a great time however we do need help in planning and working. Interested? Get a hold of Rick Stephens to volunteer. WE CAN DO IT ALL, IF WE ALL DO IT !

I’m into my second term as Chaplain for the Ladies Auxiliary so I’ve decided to give this a try. I have noticed that as time goes by, this organization seems to have an increasing pull on a person to WANT to be involved. The attendance is up at our monthly meetings and we hope that trend continues. A lot of good comes from people working together for a common cause with the ability to discuss different options on how to reach that end result. If God puts a course of action on your heart, then come along. God does not call just perfect people. Don’t forget to tell the important people in your life that you love them.

SAM & I just want to say a big “THANK YOU” to all the folks that helped make the benefit for Charlotte the success that it was. Thanks to all who donated food and time and to the people who came out to eat. A special thank you to Crystal and Pat for all your help in the kitchen. Sharon, the beans you brought were excellent. The benefit was a success,

MILITARY JOKES

An army grunt stands in the rain after marching 12 miles with a 35-pound pack on his back and says, "God, this is Shit." An army air born recruit stands in the rain after jumping from an airplane and marching 18 miles with a 45-pound pack on his back and says with a smile, "God, this is Shit." An army Air born Ranger lies in the mud after jumping from a plane into a swamp and marching 25 miles with a 55-pound pack on his back and says with a grin, "God, I love this Shit!" A green beret kneels in the stinking mud of a swamp with a 65-pound pack on his back after jumping from an airplane into the ocean, swimming ten miles to the swamp and crawling 30 miles through the brush to assault the enemy camp and says with a passionate snarl, "God, give me more of this Shit!" An Air force recruit sits in an easy chair in his air-conditioned, carpeted quarters and says, "The cable's out? What kind of Shit is this?"

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A friend was in front of me coming out of church one day, and the preacher was standing at the door as he always is to shake hands. He grabbed my friend by the hand and pulled him aside. The Pastor said, "You need to join the Army of the Lord!" My friend said, I'm already in the Army of the Lord, Pastor." The Pastor questioned, "How come I don't see you except at Christmas and Easter?" He whispered back, "I'm in the Secret Service."

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The little brother of an Army radar operator asked, "Jim, tell me how does a radar work?"
"The radar transmitter emits brief impulses of electromagnetic waves which are reflected from the target and received by a special receiver. Since the speed at which electromagnetic waves propagate is exactly known and the time they take to travel to the target and back can be determined with a great degree of accuracy it is possible to determine the range to the target as well as the direction to it." His little brother pondered a moment, then said, "If you don't know, Jim, why don't you just say so?"

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The Commanding General is supposed to visit the unit, so, in order to appear snappy, the captain stations a private as a sentry outside the front door.
"Inform me immediately upon the General's arrival," the captain orders the Private.
"Yes sir!," the Private Responds. An hour goes by, and the General hasn't arrived. Being worried, the captain checks with the Sentry. "Did the General arrive?" "No Sir!" Another 1/2 hour goes by and the captain, getting nervous, checks with the sentry again? "Hasn't the General arrived yet?" "No Sir!" This continues for two hours. Finally, the General arrives. "Where the hell have you been?," snapped the private. “The captain's been looking for you”!

J.C. Ponder……...3-16-06
Bobby Gugiere......3-17-06
Al Powers……….3-24-06
Cindy Forrest…....3-26-06

Make sure your birthday is on the BIRTHDAY CALENDAR at the bar, otherwise we can’t help you celebrate it.

Have you seen our Lawn Ornaments lately ?
We could sure use any help available
to get them ready for
Remembrance Day on
Saturday May 20th

QUOTE:
"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
George S. Patton

HEALTH CARE PREDICTIONS 2006

Within a decade, an aging America will spend one of every five dollars on health care, according to government analysts who see no end to increases in the cost of going to the doctor and taking medicine. The nation's total health care bill by 2015: more than $4 trillion. Consumers will foot about half the bill, the government the rest. Hospital costs will rise more quickly than previously anticipated, reflecting a construction boom for urban hospitals. Meanwhile, drug costs are expected to be lower because of a greater reliance on generics, and because insurers administering the new Medicare drug benefit were able to negotiate steeper discounts than previously anticipated. The projections, published in the journal Health Affairs, come as President Bush urges Americans to confront the rising cost of health care. In his State of the Union address last month, the president pushed health savings accounts, or HSAs, and the high-deductible insurance plans that go with them. The administration predicts that Americans would become more thrifty consumers if they had to pay more of the upfront costs, which occurs with health savings accounts. “We don't expect HSAs to proliferate so dramatically that we would have an impact similar to that of the managed care era of the '90s," said John Poisal, deputy director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' National Health Statistics Group. Then, health care flattened out at 13 percent of gross domestic product. Overall, the analysts forecast a 7.2 percent annual increase in health care costs over the coming decade. That's in line with the 7.4 percent increase in 2005.Still; the overall economy is projected to grow at a rate of only 5.1 percent over the coming decade, which means health care will play an ever-growing role. “These changes could force payers and providers to re-examine fundamental questions regarding the delivery and financing of health care services," the analysts said. Another trend within the new government projections is an ever-growing reliance on the government to foot the bill for health care. By the end of the next decade, the government will pay for about half of the nation's medical costs. Overall, the most important factor in health care spending is income, the analysts said. As Americans make more money, they spend more to get healthy. People making $90,000 are more likely to visit a doctor and get their prescriptions filled than those who make $50,000, Poisal said. Investment in research, equipment and people also drives the growth in health care spending, he said.” It’s consumption and investment," Poisal said. "But primarily it's about consumption.” Medicare spending will more than double, from $309 billion in 2004 to $792 billion, in 2015. Medicaid spending will grow from $293 billion to $670 billion during the same time span. The country's aging population is expected to drive increases in two key areas of health care spending: nursing homes and home health. Spending on nursing homes will grow from $121.7 billion in 2005 to $216.8 billion in 2015. Home health will grow from about $49 billion last year to $103.7 billion in 2015. It represents the nation's fastest-growing sector in health care. Analysts expect annual health cost increases in the next decade to range from 6.8 percent in 2008 to 7.7 percent in 2015.

(Washington, D.C.) – “The bad news is that the good news is wrong,” said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), in testimony before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs this morning. “The administration heralds the FY’07 VA budget request as a boon for veterans.We believe that despite the decent increases in recent years, the budget is short by at least $4.2 billion, which would open enrollment into the VA’s health care system to all eligible veterans.Even if the VA continues its exclusionary policy that has denied health care to hundreds of thousands of veterans, the budget for health care is still short by some $2.3 billion.We have no doubt,” Rowan added, “The VA will find that the funds appropriated for the current fiscal year will not carry through till October.” Citing two recent Government Accountability Office reports affirming that the VA’s health care budget formulation is flawed, Rowan challenged Congress to “form a bipartisan group to meet, study the issues and options, hold hearings, and recommend legislation that would fundamentally change the way in which veterans health care is funded.A fair funding formula can be arrived at,” Rowan said, “one that won’t bust the budget, yet one that recognizes our nation’s obligations to veterans and is indexed to medical inflation and the per capita use of the VA health care system.There’s no reason why serious minds can’t come up with a solution before the next budget cycle.” Rowan noted that the continuing and increasing burden on the health-care system is not just caused by the influx of veterans fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, but “because Vietnam veterans are getting sicker at an earlier age with diseases and maladies that can be traced back to our service in Southeast Asia.These service-connected illnesses will pose serious long-term fiscal problems for the VA that must be addressed.” Rowan added that the VA “has an obligation to reach out to all veterans – not just those who seek care and compensation from the VA – to ensure to the maximum extent possible that they know what benefits they have earned for having served our nation, and how to access these benefits.”

Our Executive Board

To start, I would like to apologize to the members and their sweethearts, who attended the sweetheart dance. As you well know there was mis-communication with the entertainment scheduled. We will try harder for the next one. Speaking of trying harder, the rememberance committee is working hard to get the show on the road. Everything is looking super, BUT.. Help is still needed to get-ER-done. If you can help, please let Rick and the gang know. This is our 25th anniversary, and it is very special.

At the March 7th meeting, we will start taking nominations for election. Jeff Maloney will be the chairman. If you or any one you know would like to help lead our Post, come and sign up. Everyone is eligible to run for office. You must have one (1) full year as a member, no felonies, and a desire to improve the Post... We will soon have a lighted 4x8 sign out by the drive entrance. Thanks goes out to the building and grounds committee, with special thanks to Gene Beattie for finding the sign, Mick Dunn for transportation, Kevin (Spook) Benedec for painting, Sam McGowan for electrical, Leonard Meese for the pole, and Gary Bockman for survey and all the permit hassle. Several volunteers have made arrangements, to dig the trench and base, do the concrete for setting the pole and all the hook ups. This is a needed addition to the Post, (cost will be minimal). Thanks to, (we can do). It will be done. I know every one involved was not named, but all your efforts and contribution are greatly appreciated. Thank you all.

Elections of new Post Officers will be the 1^st Tuesday in June. Nominations for officers start in the month of March during the general meeting. You must have your membership card for 2006 to vote or run for any of the offices . There will be a nomination list posted on the bulletin board at the bar. Membership due’s are very slow coming in for 2006 . We are at 94.7% There are 107 members out there that have not paid . Out of this we need only 26 members to re-up for 2006 to bring us up to 100%. Please help us to do this.

Our President Beverly Miller is in the hospital. Everyone is hoping for her speedy recovery . Luanne has been sick enough to miss bingo and events occurring at the Post. Quite a few people have been under the weather or having surgery. It is our hope that everyone will soon be well and active again. We miss their smiling faces around the Post. We started

February off with a small party to celebrate Maurice's 75th birthday. I personally want to thank everyone who helped make it a memorable event. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Our Valentine Party had a very minor problem but it didn't affect those who attended too much. We enjoyed good fellowship and great food. The carnations went over very well. We didn't have any left. Congratulations goes to Sam for winning the Valentine's Baskets. Hope you enjoyed everything that was included in them, Sam! We are planning a St. Patrick's dinner of Corned Beef and Cabbage with Irish Stew on Saturday, March 11th from 4-8 PM. The cost of the dinner is $4.95.

Everyone is invited to come out and dine with us. District 17th meeting will be held at Bolivar Post 138 on March 12th. Lunch is at 1 PM; Meeting is at 2PM. An Open-Faced Turkey Dinner is planned for April 1st (NO FOOLING). It will start at 1 PM. So mark your calendar for some home-cooked meals. So many events are being planned for this year. We hope that you will make plans and come out and see what and how we are doing. Until the next time, thank you for your support.

February has been a trying time for some of our members; Beverly Miller, Lance Shockley, Jay D’Andrea and Pat Cocks have all been in the big house this month. We’re talking about the hospital. The reports I have received say they are all improving, but still would like to have your thoughts and prayers. Please keep our men and women in the military and our POW’s and MIA’s in your thoughts and prayers also.

Well, a lot of things are happening in a short amount of time. Beverley Miller said she wants to thank everyone who called and visited her while in the hospital. The other articles have pretty well summed it up so to save space, I’ll say thank you to all the members who have helped in our projects. You are appreciated!!! Check out the calendar for up-coming events.

BAR & KITCHEN

I appreciate each and every one of the members and others who have been coming to the Post because you are becoming like family. We still have food, drinks, Big Screen TV, and pool if you need to unwind. Make sure to check out our daily drink specials. Come out for the weekend NASCAR races or for a little peace & quiet on Monday & Tuesday.

Pat Beattie - Bar Manager

The Veteran’s Voice

Vietnam War Memorial

American Legion Post 639

2660 South Scenic

Springfield, MO 65807

417-882-8639

“The Willingness with which our young people are likely to serve In any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.” -George Washington—

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MILITARY JOKES

HEALTH CARE PREDICTIONS 2006

Our Executive Board