The VFW Action Corps community has done it again! Thanks to your efforts, H.R. 1836, the Guard and Reserve GI Bill Parity Act of 2021, has passed the House, and National Guard and Reserve members are one step closer to receiving the education benefits they deserve for their time in service. This bill would expand the types of duty for National Guard and Reserve members to earn eligibility toward the Post-9/11 GI Bill and ensure their increasingly frequent activations count as time toward this education benefit, regardless of the length of time of the activation. Now this bill is headed to the Senate.
Renew Your ID Cards Now
ID cards for retirees and their dependents have changed to the Next Gen USID cards which are being issued now. To reduce the risk of exposure during the COVID-19 pandemic, DOD electronically extended the expiration dates of ID cards. DOD has requested that retirees and their dependents who were extended under the above conditions renew their cards before they expire on Jan. 31, 2022. Extensions of ID cards for dependents of active-duty service members, and Reserve and National Guard service members and their dependents expired on Oct. 31, 2021. DOD will not issue any further extensions, so schedule your appointment as soon as possible.
POW/MIA Update
Army Cpl. R.B. Cherry, 19, of Dallas, was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 27, 1950, near Anju, North Korea. Cherry had been a POW in Camp 5 and his remains were declared non-recoverable after the war. He will be buried in his hometown. The date has yet to be determined.
Navy Seaman 1st Class Biacio Casola, 26, of Bronx, New York, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. He will be buried on April 20, 2022, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) in Honolulu.
Navy Reserve Cmdr. Paul C. Charvet, 26, of Grandview, Washington, was assigned to Attack Squadron 215 aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard. On March 21, 1967, the A-1H Skyraider airplane on which Chavret was piloting, was shot down near Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. Interment services are pending.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
