The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a pending legislation hearing to discuss 19 bills, including S.928, Not Just a Number Act spearheaded by the VFW. Spotlighting this legislation during her testimony, VFW National Legislative Associate Director Meggan Thomas stated, “VA has only recently begun reporting on the convergence of VA benefits and veteran suicide, but not in any substantive manner. We must identify, study, and utilize information regarding economic opportunity benefits, and leverage that information to successfully prevent suicide among veterans.”
VFW Testifies Before House Subcommittee
VFW National Legislative Director Pat Murray testified at a House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing on pending legislation. Regarding H.R. 4278, Murray stated, “The Restore VA Accountability Act would improve the Secretary of Veteran Affairs’ authority to discipline and remove employees who commit malfeasance.”
POW/MIA Update
Army Cpl. Rex W. Powell, 18, of Valdese, North Carolina, was a member of L Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 12, 1950. The Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Dec. 31, 1953. He will be buried in Salisbury, North Carolina, on Aug. 11, 2023.
Navy Ship’s Cook 1st Class Clarence Thompson, 47, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. He will be buried in Slidell, Louisiana, on Aug. 25, 2023.
Army Pfc. Arthur C. Barrett, 27, of Swanton, Vermont, was assigned to the 31st Infantry Regiment. He died as a prisoner of war on July 19, 1942. He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 30, 2023.
Army Pvt. Wing O. Hom, 20, of Boston, Massachusetts, was assigned to Company B, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on Feb. 2, 1944. The War Department issued a finding of death on Feb. 3, 1945. He will be buried in Brooklyn, New York, on Oct. 11, 2023.
Army Sgt. Cresenciano Garcia, Jr., 22, of Laredo, Texas, was a member of Headquarters Company, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950, and was officially declared dead as a prisoner of war on or around Feb. 28, 1951. He will be buried in his hometown on Oct. 14, 2023.
Army Cpl. Dewey E. Rewis, Jr., 18, of Waycross, Georgia, was a member of Battery D, 15th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 31st Regimental Combat Team, 7th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950, and was later reported to have died as a prisoner of war in March 1951. He will be buried in Echols County, Georgia, on a date yet to be determined.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
