Veterans
Largest Service Organization
The American Legion
The
Orcutt Post 534 family of units is comprised of the
following:
American
Legion
The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic,
mutual-help, war-time veterans organization. A community-service
organization which now numbers nearly 3 million members -- men
and women -- in nearly 15,000 American Legion Posts worldwide. General Membership Meeting: Second
Wednesday of the Month at 6 p.m. Executive Board Meeting: The
Saturday after the General Membership
Meeting at 9 a.m.
American
Legion Auxiliary
Initially, the Auxiliary was organized by concerned women who
took on the day-to day responsibilities of life when their men
went to Europe in World War I. Aware of the plight of fatherless
families and the needs of returning veterans, these women vowed
to continue their supportive role when the veterans of World
War I founded The American Legion in 1919.
Auxiliary members are wives, mothers, sisters, daughters,
and great-granddaughters of these courageous veterans.
Some members are veterans themselves who now work in
civilian life in hundreds of volunteer programs. General Membership Meeting: Third
Wednesday of the Month at 7 p.m.
Sons
of the American Legion (S.A.L.)
The Sons of The American Legion was created in 1932 as an organization
within The American Legion. The S.A.L. is made up of boys and
men of all ages whose parents or grandparents served in the United
States military and became eligible for membership in The American
Legion.
Just as each Legion post determines the extent of
its service to the community, state, and nation, each
S.A.L. squadron is permitted flexibility in planning
programs and activities to meet its own needs. General Membership Meeting: First
Wednesday of the Month at 7 p.m.
American
Legion Riders (A.L.R.)
The American Legion Riders are a diverse group of motorcycle
enthusiasts sharing common goals. All are members or spouses
of The American Legion, American Legion Auxiliary, and Sons of
The American Legion—and all are united by patriotism. They
answer the call to ride in service to America’s military,
her veterans, and for the children and youth of our country. General Membership Meeting: Second
Wednesday of the Month at 7 p.m.
Prescribing Hearing Aids & Eyeglasses
VHA DIRECTIVE 2008-070
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) not only covers eye examinations and audiology tests and writes eyeglass and hearing aid prescriptions for all its eligible patients. In many cases it also covers eyeglasses and hearing aids---even for some non-service- connected Priority 5 and 7 patients (generally, veterans honorably- or generally-discharge d after at least two years’ service with incomes under about $35,000). The little-known Veterans' Health Administration Directive 2002-039 of July 5, 2002 [paragraph 4.a.(1)] authorizes eyeglasses and hearing aids for:
those getting service-connected compensation for any reason or at any percentage;
former prisoners of war and Purple Heart recipients;
those getting Housebound or Aid and Attendance increments to needs-based disability Pensions;
those needing eyeglasses or hearing aids due to any other (even non-service- connected) medical cause; and
those with any other functional or cognitive impairment-- as shown by Activities of Daily Living (ADL) functional deficiency(ies) --who need eyeglasses or hearing aids to participate in their own care.
Replacements are allowed in cases of loss and breakage and for new or changed prescriptions. Hearing aids, without a prescription change or loss, must last 4 years. Issuance of spares is determined by the VA audiiologist or eye care specialist. Although general information on the VA website may wrongly suggest that the above benefits are restricted to those with service-connected disabilities and other limited groups, in fact Directive 2002-039 remains fully in force.
The VA ordinarily offers comprehensive dental services only to 100% disabled, service-connected veterans and those held as prisoners of war over 90 days; but other, non-service- connected veterans may apply to the VA, no later than 3 to 6 months after discharge, to get dental treatment that wasn’t completed while on active duty. For qualified cases, the VA may then pre-authorize some treatment with approved private dentists. VA health centers are listed at www.VA.gov.
Got this great slide show video from the person who took the pictures & put them all together. He's Jeff Gallagher, a member of Orange County ALR Chapter 555 & ALR Dept. of CA State Secretary. He did a nice job on the Mission we all did on Saturday, April 18, 2009, to honor and escort some 100 former Vietnam POW's to the commissioning ceremony of the USS Stockdale, DDG-106.
Take care,
Jim Banakus
President ALR Orcutt Chapter 534
PGR USS Stockdale Ride Captain
California
Department of Veterans Affairs
The following Veterans Service information
was brought to our attention by George Torbert, Post 534 Service
Officer.
The
mission of the California Department of Veterans Affairs is to
serve California Veterans and their families. [ http://www.cdva.ca.gov/ ]
More
specifically, to provide California veterans and their families
with aid and assistance in presenting their claims for veterans'
benefits under the laws of the United States; to provide them
with beneficial opportunities through direct low-cost loans to
acquire farms and homes; and to provide the state's aged or disabled
veterans with rehabilitative, residential, and medical care and
services in a home-like environment at the California Veterans
Homes.
This mission is based upon the philosophy that programs of benefits
for veterans fulfill necessary, proper, and valid public purposes
by promoting patriotism, by recognizing and rewarding sacrifice
and service to country, and by providing needed readjustment
assistance to returning veterans and their families, whose lives
were interrupted when they responded to their country's call
to military service.
California
Veterans Benefits Overview page provides a wealth of information
on current benefits available to California Veterans and their
families.
License Plates for 100% Disabled Veterans
The
following letter was taken from the Santa Maria Times after being
brought to our attention by George Torbert, Post 534 Service Officer.
After more than three and a half years of working to get California
to do what 29 other states are already doing, the issuing of a
non-handicapped, disabled-veterans license is close to completion.
One Assembly and one Senate bill didn't make it through committee
hearings because of cost concerns, and the state's reluctance to
issue new personalized plates.
It didn't matter that this plate isn't the usual vanity plate,
but a form of respect and gratitude to one of the most deserving
segments of our society.
But now, with the help of people like state Senator Abel Maldonado,
county Supervisor Joe
Centeno and numerous other groups and individuals, both throughout
the state and in particular Sacramento, a solution has been found
that will make these distinctive plates available to qualifying
veterans.
Three plate designs are being submitted to DMV and the California
VA. Once they make a selection, a minimum of 10 applicants will
required in order to get the plates printed.
To qualify, a veteran must have a 100-percent disability rating
from the VA that is service-connected, permanent and total. The
100-percent rating can be either a straight disability rating,
or a combination of disability and un employability.
Unfortunately, because of the current fiscal crisis
the state is in, the veteran will be required to pay the usual
fees. However,
once budget restrictions are lifted by the state, we will head
back and get the fees either reduced or eliminated.
Those qualified veterans who are interested are asked to visit
our web site, www.chcv.org, and use the e-mail address available
on the site to let us know. All readers of this paper are asked
to help spread the word.
Dave Troescher
Founder and Chairman, Committee to Honor California
Veterans
As
webmaster for Orcutt Post 534 I receive many e-mails on various
topics of interest to our members. Seldom am I touched in the manner,
an e-mail Jim Banakus sent me recently did. For those of us who
served during the Vietnam War this idea is a poignant reminder
of how many in uniform were treated and it was not with gestures
of gratitude!. The Gratitude Campaign allows all of us to show
our gratitude to others publicly and yet silently.
This grassroots campaign is designed around a simple American
Sign Language (ASL) gesture that traditionally communicates thank
you. A modification of the gesture takes the hand which normally
begins on the chin and now begins the gesture by placing your
hand over your heart. The remainder of the gesture just moves
your hand down and away from your body. At the end your hand
is parable to the ground, palm up, as if you have something
in your hand to give another. What you give in this gesture is
your heart felt gratitude for another person. When this gesture
is given to a member of our our active duty military it becomes
a public display of our support for their service to our nation.
Our traditional military salute publicly communicates respect,
the gratitude gesture is simply a civilian salute of gratitude.
Please go to [ http://www.gratitudecampaign.org ]
and watch the short movie. Then, put the Gratitude Campaign to
work when you see our active duty soldiers, sailors, airmen,
or marines by giving them a gesture of gratitude. Or, use the
gesture with others in your life that you appreciate and value.
Maybe even an officer of the Post!
~ Rick Pushies
New Post Constitution & Bylaws Reviewed
In September 2007 Acting Commander Charles Kelble
established a committee to revise and update our Post constitution
and bylaws. This had not been done since the early 1990's. He appointed
to this committee three past commanders, Ken Johnson, Larry Thomas
and Bill Smith plus Rick Pushies and himself as chairman. Over
the ensuing months this committee met each month and diligently
reviewed each document line by line, word by word and brought the
documents in line with the current Legion requirements and generally
improved the documents.
Now it is time for our general membership to review the work
of the Constitution and Bylaws committee. This requires the documents
to be presented at a meeting of the general membership and this
has been done at the April meeting. The month following the initial
presentation of the documents they will again be presented and
become available to be voted on. During the time from the April
meeting to the May meeting the documents are available for members
to review. At the May meeting there will be a discussion of the
proposed new documents after which any required changes of the
general membership will edited into the documents and a vote
to accept them will be called for. Once the documents are approved
at the Post level they then are sent to the Department of California
for the Constitution and Bylaws Commission to review and give
their final approval.
The new documents are available for you to review by downloading
them from our web site in addition to copies that are available
in the Post
Wednesday, December 12, 2007 a new set of rules
were accepted unanimously by the Post membership in attendance.
First Vice-Commander Charles Kelble also serves the chairman of
the Constitution & Bylaw committee of the Post. Other active
members of the committee are Rick Pushies, Adjutant and past commanders
Bill Smith, Larry Thomas and Kenny Johnson. Together these men
have worked hard to develop the best results with the spirit of
compromise ever present.
American
Legion
American
Legion Auxiliary
Sons
of the American Legion (S.A.L.)
American
Legion Riders (A.L.R.)
More
specifically, to provide California veterans and their families
with aid and assistance in presenting their claims for veterans'
benefits under the laws of the United States; to provide them
with beneficial opportunities through direct low-cost loans to
acquire farms and homes; and to provide the state's aged or disabled
veterans with rehabilitative, residential, and medical care and
services in a home-like environment at the California Veterans
Homes.
The
following letter was taken from the Santa Maria Times after being
brought to our attention by George Torbert, Post 534 Service Officer.