* Officers Training Session: The Department of Pennsylvania Veterans of Foreign Wars has scheduled a Officers Training Session. It will be held on Sunday, Aug. 14. This session is to help post officers prepare for effective leadership during VFW Pa. State Commander Thomas Brown’s year of ” You Make a Difference.” The School of Instruction will be held at Bruce Shorts VFW Post 5958, located at 206 St. Johns St., Titusville. There will be doughnuts and coffee at 8 a.m. and start time for training is at 9 a.m. There will be a light lunch provided. The sessions will end by 3 p.m. Dress is casual with VFW cap.
* VA Releases Comprehensive Veteran Suicide Findings: Last Wednesday, a few weeks after releasing initial findings from the most comprehensive study of veteran suicide, VA released 46 more pages of data from their research. The study examined more than 55 million veterans’ records from 1979 to 2014. Last month’s initial release showed approximately 20 veterans commit suicide each day. On average, 14 of those 20 were not VA users. The new release investigates the breadth and depth of information pertaining to characteristics of suicide in the veteran population. Having this information will allow VA and DOD to move forward with a better understanding of specifically how to intervene and prevent veteran suicide. In 2014, suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for the general population, and current Centers for Disease Control data shows that number has been increasing.
* Purple Heart Phone Scam: The Military Order of the Purple Heart is warning about a telephone scam being conducted in its name. Unknown individuals have been cold-calling people across the United States, often from (315) 516-2512, and requesting donations for the upcoming presidential election. The callers say they’re doing so on behalf of MOPH and mention the name of the group’s national commander, Robert Puskar. “These calls are a hoax,” read a MOPH statement, which asks people to contact local authorities if they receive such calls.
* MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency recently announced the identification of the remains of 11 Americans who had been missing in action since World War II and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are: *Army Air Forces Flight Officer Judson B. Baskett, 26, of Harris County, Texas, is scheduled to be interred Aug. 12 in Houston. As previously announced, he went missing on Nov. 28, 1946, while piloting a C-47B Dakota aircraft with two other crewmen over Malaysia. He was assigned to the 1305th Army Air Base Unit. *Army Air Forces 1st Lt. Robert L. McIntosh, 21, is scheduled to be interred Aug. 13 in his hometown of Tipton, Ind. On May 12, 1944, McIntosh was piloting a single-seat P-38 aircraft on a strafing mission against an enemy airfield in Piacenza, Italy. As visibility worsened, his formation was ordered to climb above the overcast. McIntosh’s aircraft was observed diving through the clouds and was not seen again. He was assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Group. *Army Cpl. Ronald M. Sparks, of Cambridge, Mass., is scheduled to be interred Aug. 19 in Everett, Mass. On Feb. 12, 1951, Sparks was a member of Company D, 1st Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, and was declared missing in action when his unit was clearing a roadblock held by enemy forces in the vicinity of Hoengsong, South Korea. *Marine Pvt. Dale R. Geddes, 21, is scheduled to be interred Aug. 22 in his hometown of Grand Island, Neb. In November 1943, Geddes was assigned to Company H, 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Over several days of intense fighting, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. Geddes died sometime on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. *Marine Pfc. George H. Traver is scheduled to be interred Aug. 28 in Chatham, N.Y. In November 1943, Traver was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, which landed against stiff Japanese resistance on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands. Over several days of intense fighting, approximately 1,000 Marines and sailors were killed and more than 2,000 were wounded. Traver died sometime on the first day of the battle, Nov. 20, 1943. *Army Cpl. Curtis J. Wells, 19, of Huron, Mich., is scheduled to be interred Sept. 10 in Harbor Beach, Mich. In late November 1950, Wells was assigned to Company C, 65th Engineer Combat Battalion, 25th Infantry Division, when his company joined with Task Force Wilson to fight the Chinese in the vicinity of Unsan, North Korea. Wells was reported missing in action following the engagement. *Army Master Sgt. Charles J. Brown is scheduled to be interred Sept. 26 in Sarasota, Fla. In early November 1950, Brown was a member of Company L, 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, when Chinese forces attacked the regiment and forced the unit to withdraw to the village of Ipsok, North Korea. The survivors attempted to set up a defensive perimeter, but many soldiers became surrounded and attempted to escape and evade the enemy. The majority were captured and marched to POW camps. *Army Sgt. 1st Class Lawrence J. Smith is scheduled to be interred Sept. 30 in Crowley, La. On Feb. 11, 1951, Smith was a member of Company A, 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, supporting South Korea’s attack on Chinese forces in an area known as the central corridor. The Chinese launched a massive counterattack, forcing the Americans to fight at Changbong-ni. Smith would be reported as missing the next day. *Army Cpl. Frederick G. Collins, 23, was a member of the 263rd Quartermaster Company, Quartermaster Corps, stationed at Nichols Field in Manila, Philippines, when the Japanese invaded on Dec. 8, 1941. Following the April 9, 1942 surrender, Collins and thousands of others began the torturous 65-mile “Bataan Death March” northward. On Nov. 19, 1942, 14 Americans, including Collins, were reported to have died and were buried by their fellow prisoners in a common grave. Interment ceremonies have yet to be announced. *Army Air Forces 2nd Lt. Marvin B. Rothman was piloting a single-seat P-47D Thunderbolt on a bomber escort mission over New Guinea, when he was attacked by enemy fighter aircraft. He would be declared missing on April 11, 1944. He was a member of the 311th Fighter Squadron, 58th Fighter Group. Interment ceremonies have yet to be announced. *Army Cpl. Larry M. Dunn was a member of Company B, 2nd Engineer Combat Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, when his unit was fighting through a heavily defended roadblock near Sonchu, North Korea. He would be declared missing in action on Dec. 1, 1950. Interment ceremonies have yet to be announced.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
— Charles Castelluccio
