Here is some history of POW/MIA Day and the flag. The POW/MIA flag was created for the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia and officially recognized by the United States Congress in conjunction with the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue. The flag is a symbol of our nation’s concern and commitment to resolving as fully as possible the fates of Americans still prisoners, missing and unaccounted for in southeast Asia, thus ending the uncertainly for their families and the nation. The original design for the flag was created by Newt Heisley in 1972. The POW/MIA flag, or simply the POW flag, consists of a silhouette of a prisoner of war (POW) before a guard tower and barbed wire in white on a black field. “POW/MIA” appears above the silhouette and the words “You Are Not Forgotten” appears below in white on the black field.
POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony Set in Erie
The Erie VA Medical Center will be hosting the Annual POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. It will be held in the second floor conference room. All are encouraged to attend.
VFW Statement on Wolfe v Wilkie
The VFW is applauding the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, who, in a 2-1 decision last Monday, correctly ruled for the plaintiffs in Wolfe v. Wilkie. The class action lawsuit was the result of the Department of Veterans Affairs failing to fully reimburse veterans for the emergency room care they received from non-VA facilities, an issue the VFW had thought solved in 2016 when the same court ruled in favor of Staab v. Shulkin. But a report released last month by the VA Office of Inspector General found that the non-VA emergency room claims of some 17,400 veterans were denied or rejected primarily due to a VA work culture that favored speed over accuracy, a number that accounts for nearly a third of the 60,800 claims examined during the IG’s six-month nationwide audit in 2017. “The first thing the VA tells people to do when calling is to hang up and dial 911 if it’s an emergency,” said VFW National Commander William J. “Doc” Schmitz. “So the VA must reimburse the actual cost of emergency medical care, regardless of whether the veteran has secondary insurance or not,” he said. “VA Secretary Robert Wilkie must make these veterans financially whole again, correct its policies and practices regarding non-VA emergency room billing immediately, and fully adopt the IG report’s 11 recommendations to improve the accuracy of the non-VA emergency room claims processing.”
Senate Passes Veterans COLA and TSA Pre-Check Bills
Last week, the Senate passed the VFW-supported H.R.1200, Veterans’ Compensation Cost-of-Living Adjustment Act of 2019, which would authorize a cost-of-living increase for certain VA benefits, equal to the same increase granted for Social Security benefits. H.R. 1200 was passed by the House earlier this year and now heads to the president’s desk. The Senate also passed S. 1881, Veterans Expedited TSA Screening Safe Travel Act, which would make Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Pre✓® available for certain severely disabled veterans at no cost. TSA Pre✓® is already offered to active duty, reserves, and National Guard service members at no cost. S. 1881 now heads to the House.
POW/MIA Update
Navy Fireman 1st Class Lawrence E. Woods, of Texas, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which capsized after sustaining multiple torpedo hits as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
Navy Fireman 1st Class James C. Webb, of Oklahoma, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which capsized after sustaining multiple torpedo hits as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
Navy Boatswain’s Mate 1st Class Arnold M. Nielsen, of California, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which capsized after sustaining multiple torpedo hits as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
Navy Chief Water Tender Francis D. Day, of New Jersey, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which capsized after sustaining multiple torpedo hits as it was moored off Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Dec. 7, 1941.
Army Air Forces Sgt. R.L. Tyler, of Texas, was a member of Headquarters Squadron, 19th Bombardment Group, when taken prisoner after the fall of Bataan in the Philippines on April 9, 1942. He reportedly died July 18 or 19, 1942.
Army Cpl. Joe T. Avant, of Mississippi, a member of 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 31st Regimental Combat Team, engaged in intense fighting near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was reported missing and unaccounted for on Nov. 30, 1950.
Army Cpl. Autrey J. Betar, of Texas, was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division, 31st Regimental Combat Team, engaged in intense fighting near the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea. He was reported missing and unaccounted for on Dec. 2, 1950.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
