The American Veterans Traveling Tribute is coming to the Butler VA Medical Center. There will be a escort for the Wall. The staging will be from 3-5 p.m. at Victory Family Church, 21150 US Rt. 19 in Cranberry Twp, with Kick Stands up at 5:30 p.m. The route is Route 19 to Zelienople, 68 East through Evans City to Butler, to Whitestown Road, to Hanson Avenue, to Rt. 8 North (Main St. Butler) to 422 West Lyndora Exit (Route 356) to The Butler VA. All motorcycles are welcome. The VA is located at 325 New Castle Rd. in Butler. The Wall will be there from Noon, Aug. 24, to noon, Aug. 27. There is no charge to visit the Wall.
VA to Staff White House VA Hotline with Veterans
This week, VA announced the two-month pilot phase for the White House VA Hotline demonstrated that veterans calling the hotline prefer to talk to fellow veterans about their issues. As a result, VA announced it will hire mostly veterans to staff the call center, instead of a third-party vendor, and is hiring additional VA personnel to complete the planned move to a 24-hour operation. The decision will delay the move to a 24-hour service by two months, which is no later than October 15. Until that time, the hotline’s current pilot program service is available to receive calls from veterans from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mondays through Fridays. The phone number is (855) 948-2311.
VA Women Veterans Summit
The Department of Veterans Affairs National Women Veterans Summit will take place Aug. 25-26 in Houston. The VFW will be participating as the summit hosts two days of panel discussions, work groups, guest speakers, entertainment and seminars all focused on women veterans.
Service Cross Review
Section 586 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 requires that the Military Departments conduct a review of Service Crosses (the Army Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Cross and Air Force Cross) that were awarded to Asian-American and Native American Pacific Islander veterans from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. The purpose of the review is to determine if those awards warrant an upgrade to the Medal of Honor. Names of any qualifying Service Cross recipients, along with any associated documents from the veteran’s service record that indicates he/she was an Asian American or a Native American Pacific Islander, must be provided to their respective military service for consideration by March 1, 2018.
POW/MIA Update
Marine Corps Pfc. George B. Murray, 20, of Oceano, Calif., was buried Aug. 18, in Arroyo Grande, Calif. Murray was killed on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943.
Navy Gunner’s Mate 1st Class George Herbert was assigned to the USS Oklahoma. Interment services are pending.
Navy Pharmacist’s Mate 1st Class John H. Schoonover was assigned to the USS Oklahoma. Interment services are pending.
Army Technician 4th Grade Pete M. Counter was assigned to Company C, 126th Infantry Regiment, 32nd Infantry Division. Interment services are pending.
Army Air Forces Tech. Sgt. Earl P. Gorman was a member of the 718th Bombardment Squadron, 449th Bombardment Group, based in Grottaglie, Italy. Interment services are pending.
Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Frank A. Fazekas was assigned to the 22nd Fighter Squadron, 36th Fighter Group. Interment services are pending.
Navy Reserve Aviation Radioman 2nd Class Albert P. Rybarczyk was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron Eighteen (VT-18), USS Intrepid. Interment services are pending.
Navy Reserve Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Ora H. Sharninghouse was a member of the Navy Torpedo Squadron Eighteen (VT-18), USS Intrepid. Interment services are pending.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Clarence E. Allen was a P-47 pilot assigned to the 395th Fighter Squadron, 368th Fighter Group. Interment services are pending.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Stanley F. Stegnerski was a P-51D pilot flying out of Royal Air Force Base 244 at East Wretham, Norfolk, England. Interment services are pending.
Army Pvt. Rudolph Johnson was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 365th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Infantry Division – the only African-American combat infantry division in Europe. Interment services are pending.
Army Pfc. Walter W. Green was a member of Company E, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Interment services are pending.
Army Master Sgt. Finley J. Davis was a member of Company D, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. Interment services are pending.
Army Pfc. James P. Shaw was a member of Company G, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. Interment services are pending.
Army Sgt. Philip J. Iyotte was a member of Company E, 21st Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. Interment services are pending.
Army Cpl. Ernest L.R. Heilman was declared missing in action. Interment services are pending.
Army Sgt. Gerald J. Mueller could not be accounted for and was declared missing in action as of Feb. 13, 1951. Interment services are pending.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
