Last week, President Trump directed the Department of Education to find easier ways to wipe out the federal student loan debt of 100 percent permanently and totally disabled veterans. “The debt of these disabled veterans will be entirely erased. It will be gone,” Trump said. Veterans who are 100 percent permanently and totally disabled are already eligible to have their federal student loan debt completely erased, but government officials have struggled to get all eligible veterans to take advantage of the program. Earlier this year, Rep. Connor Lamb (D-Pa.) and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) each sponsored legislation to make loan forgiveness automatic, putting the impetus of clearing the debt on federal agencies instead of veterans. The president’s announcement this week is aiming to fix the same issue. The VFW has called for automatic forgiveness of the student loan debt for these disabled veterans for years, and applauds the president and our members of Congress for making this a priority.
AFSM Authorized for Southern Border Troops
Thousands of U.S. service members assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection along our southern border have now been authorized to receive the Armed Forces Service Medal, which was created in 1996 as a non-combat equivalent to the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal. Eligibility extends to troops operating within 100 nautical miles – roughly 115 miles – from the Mexico border in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, as well as those operating in San Antonio, where the mission headquarters is located, and those at sea within 24 nautical miles of the coast. In the order of precedence, the Armed Forces Service Medal falls below the Korea Defense Service Medal and above the Humanitarian Service Medal.
POW/MIA Update
Marine Corps Pfc. Billy E. Johnson was a member of 1st Marine Division, attached to the U.S. Army’s 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. Interment services are pending.
Army Sgt. 1st Class Phillip C. Mendoza was a member of Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery, 57th Field Artillery Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950. Interment services are pending.
Army Pfc. Junior C. Evans was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Interment services are pending.
Marine Corps Reserve Pfc. Raymond Warren was a member of Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio. Interment services are pending.
Till next week, praying for service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
