Last week, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs advanced six bipartisan pieces of legislation to the full House for a vote. The six bills covered a wide range of veteran benefits and protections to include improvements for homeless veterans, student veterans, veteran-owned small businesses, and improved reporting transparency within VA. These six bills are just some of the important work the Veterans’ Affairs Committee has worked on this session, and they have shown a commitment to work for veterans in a bipartisan manner. Now, the bills will be up for a vote by the full House of Representatives in the coming weeks.
TRICARE Open Season (Update)
TRICARE Open Season will run from Nov. 11 to Dec. 9. It is important to note that new retirees have only one year to enroll for TRICARE Prime. If they forget to enroll in TRICARE Prime, individuals are no longer going to be automatically enrolled into TRICARE Select and will have to wait for the next Open Season enrollment period. If an individual is already enrolled they can change their TRICARE coverage, if eligible. If you want to stay in your current TRICARE plan, you do not need to do anything.
Holiday Overseas Mail Deadlines Approaching
Military and U.S. Postal Service officials have issued suggested mailing deadlines for holiday packages and letters to military locations overseas in time for Christmas. To get them there in time for Hanukkah, which starts on Dec. 22 this year, subtract 3 days from the deadlines. According to Military Times, the deadlines for various methods of shipping are the same for most APO/FPO/DPO (diplomatic post office) zip codes, with the exception of some mail going to APO/FPO/DPO Zip Code 093, which covers overseas contingency areas. The U.S.P.S. has also created a “military care kit,” which consists of the items most often requested by military families and it is free.
POW/MIA Update
Returning home for burial with full military honors are:
Marine Corps Pfc. Quentin W. McCall, 22, of Union Church, Miss., was a member of Company I, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force. McCall landed on the island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Interment services are pending.
Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Earl F. Ferguson, 26, of Minneapolis, Minn., was a pilot assigned to the 329th Bombardment Squadron, 93rd Bombardment Group (Heavy), 8th Air Force. Ferguson was the co-pilot of a B-24 aircraft on Aug. 1, 1943, when it crashed north of Bucharest, Romania. His remains were not identified following the war. Interment services are pending.
Navy Seaman 2nd Class Hubert P. Hall, 20, of Floyd County, Ky., whose identification was initially announced in August, will be buried in the spring of 2020 at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, in Honolulu. Hall was stationed aboard the USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor.
Army Sgt. Billy J. Maxwell, 19, of Hogansville, Ga., whose identification was initially announced in August, will be buried Nov. 9, in his hometown. Maxwell was a member of Heavy Mortar Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, when his unit engaged against enemy forces near the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Army Pfc. Donald E. Mangan, 26, of Elkton, S.D., whose identification was initially announced in August, will be buried Oct. 22 in Gig Harbor, Wash. Mangan was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Sept. 17, 1944, after his unit was attacked by enemy forces near Wettlingen, Germany. His remains could not be recovered after the attack.
Army Cpl. Robert L. Bray, 18, of Chillicothe, Ohio, whose identification was initially announced in June, will be buried Nov. 6 in Bainbridge, Ohio. Bray was a member of Company C, 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Regiment. He was reported missing in action on July 20, 1950. The Army declared him deceased on Dec. 31, 1953.
Army Cpl. Ysabel A. Ortiz, 19, of El Monte, Calif., whose identification was initially announced in August, will be buried Oct. 28 in Riverside, Calif. Ortiz was a member of Battery D, 15th Anti-aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 7th Infantry Division. His remains could not be recovered following an attack.
Army Sgt. David A. Feriend, 23, of Fife Lake, Mich., whose identification was initially announced in August, was buried Oct. 13 in Kingsley, Mich. Feriend was a member of Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 6, 1950, in the vicinity of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea.
Till next week praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
