Veteran's News

Fair Oaks Cemetery Memorial Day and Avenue of flags Ceremony Honoring Women Airforce Service Pilots

The Twelfth Annual Memorial Day Ceremony will be held Saturday, May 29th at the Fair Oaks Cemetery, 7780 Olive Street, Fair Oaks, with formal ceremonies starting at 10 AM. Vice Chairman of the Fair Oaks Cemetery District, Thomas Askins will be the Master of Ceremonies. The musical program will be provided by the American Veterans Band, conducted by Warren “Bud” Turner.

The Fair Oaks Cemetery District and the Memorial Day Ceremony Committee are finalizing plans for one of the most popular and inspiring Memorial Day ceremonies in the area. This year’s theme is to honor “The Women Airforce Service Pilots” (WASP).

The cemetery will be also decorated with hundreds of flags lining its roadways as “The Avenue of Flags.” We will also be adding more names to the Veterans Memorial Wall.

Honored Speaker, Brigadier General, Mary J. Kight, Assistant Adjutant General for the California National Guard. She will speak on what it was like to fly planes during WWII.

Congressman Dan Lundgren has provided a flag that has flown over the nation’s capitol. This flag will fly over the Veterans Memorial for one year in honor of all Veterans of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). The flag honoring All Veterans of the Armed Services, which was flown over the memorial this past year, will be retired and formally presented to Bob Clouse, Board Chairman Fair Oaks Cemetery District.

A formal Color Guard and Rifle Salute Team from VFW District 17 will provide military honors and assist the Commanders of the local VFW, American Legion and the VFW Auxiliary to the laying of the wreath at the memorial in honor of over thirteen hundred veterans who are buried in the cemetery.

Covered seating will be available for veterans and visitors. Dedicated seating will be available for veterans of World War II and their wives. The Fair Oaks Historical Society and the Orangevale/Fair Oaks Grange will provide complimentary refreshments after the ceremony.

Aanestad’s SB 469 Passes Off Senate Floor -- Heads to Governor’s Desk

SACRAMENTO: SB 469 – authored by Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) -- passed its final legislative test on the Senate Floor today as session resumed in the State Capitol, and will be sent to the Governor for his signature. The Aanestad legislation gives the Administrator of the Northern California Veterans Cemetery (NCVC) the authority to waive the $500 burial fee for interment of spouses or children of veterans eligible for burial in that cemetery if they do not have the financial means to pay the fee.

The language contained in SB 469, which also applies to other state-run veteran’s cemeteries currently in the planning stages, would not place any additional financial burdens on state taxpayers. Private donations would cover the cost of the burial.

“I’d like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in both the Assembly and the Senate for their unwavering support for all veterans,” said Senator Aanestad. “Legislative action is the only way to obtain the authority to waive burial fees for indigent spouses or children of veterans, when it is necessary and proper to do so. I’m hopeful SB 469 will receive similar support from the Governor.”

SB 469 amends the State Constitution to enable the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to waive burial fees for eligible veterans’ dependents in special circumstances where there are no available family resources to pay the fees. Without the proposed change under SB 469, the CDVA has no authority to waive burial fees, regardless of the circumstances. The NCVC has already turned away some family members because of the inability to pay the fee.

“California has, for more than a century, required all counties to provide veterans with a proper burial based upon the premise that those who fought and sacrificed to protect our freedoms deserved better than a common mass grave,” said Senator Aanestad. “The creation of the NCVC in my Northern California district is a commitment to that promise. This respect should also be extended to family members of all veterans.”

The State of California owns and operates two veterans’ cemeteries, one at the Veterans Home of California-Yountville and one at the NCVC in Shasta County. The Veterans Home Cemetery receives no federal grant money and is open for the burial of the cremated remains of Veterans Home members only. The NCVC is operated under the guidelines of the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs (USDVA) State Cemetery Grant Program. A third state-run veterans’ cemetery is also planned for the Ford Ord area in Monterey County.

SB 469 has the support of the Vietnam Veterans of America, California State Council, California Department of the American Legion, California Detachment of the Sons of the American Legion, the Shasta County Veterans Affiliated Council plus the Missing in America Veterans Recovery Project.

Assemblyman Niello Recognizes WWII Veteran Al Cooper During Veterans Recognition Event

SACRAMENTO - Assemblyman Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) recognized World War II Veteran Al Cooper during a Legislative Veterans' Recognition held this week at the Sacramento Convention Center.

Members of the Legislature were invited to nominate a veteran from their Legislative districts to honor during this recognition luncheon, and Mr. Cooper was selected by Assemblyman Niello to represent the 5th Assembly District.

Al Cooper was an officer in the U.S. Army Air Corps and was assigned to combat duty with the 15th Air Force that flew B-24 bombing missions from southern Italy to southern Germany and Poland, Northern Italy, Austria, Hungary, and Romania.

On October 1, 1944, Al and his B-24 crew were hit by enemy fire and had to parachute from their plane over southern Hungary, where they lived with guerilla armies for four months until being turned over to the Russian Army in 1945, and subsequently sent back the United States.

After returning home after the war, Al joined the California Highway Patrol as a traffic officer in 1948, serving 30 years with the CHP and retiring as the Deputy Commissioner of the CHP. Al has served as a legislative advocate in Sacramento for many years, representing the California Peace Officers and the California State Sheriff's Association and currently serves as the legislative representative for the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department. Al and his wife Barbara have been married for 57 years and have two children and a grandchild.

"Like all of the veterans around the country and those being recognized here today, Al Cooper is a great American hero and I am honored to be able to recognize him for his service to our country," said Assemblyman Niello.

U.S. Naval Institute's Proceedings: "The military voter is a moving target"
Time, Distance, and Mobility proves to be a challenge in the military voting process

Annapolis, MD- Thousands of service members deployed overseas will probably be unable to cast ballots this election year, breaking a pledge that dates back a half century, according to Chas Henry writing in the July issue of Proceedings, the U.S. Naval Institute's award-winning flagship publication.

Henry, a retired Marine captain and well-credentialed journalist, states in the article, "Lots of Bullets, Not Enough Ballots," that we have not come very far since 1952 when President Harry S. Truman urged Congress to ensure that the men and women in uniform were able to vote while fighting a war

"When it comes to having their vote counted, indications are that in November 2008 many thousands of service members who try to vote will do so in vain," says Henry.

There is no conspiracy to deny military men and women the opportunity to have their votes counted. The problem, says the author, is a complicated system that varies from state to state for handling the absentee ballots of service personnel.

Absentee voting from overseas involves "registering, requesting a ballot, receiving the ballot, correctly completing the ballot, and returning the ballot to the appropriate election official," Brenda Farrell of the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office tells Henry.

There is also the matter of mobility since service members relocate far more frequently than their civilian counterparts.

Henry quotes Samuel Wright, a retired Navy Reserve captain and longtime champion of military voting rights as saying, "The military voter is frequently,...a moving target."

The problem is complicated because much of the process must by law be conducted by U.S. mail, an inordinately time-consuming method.

"Billions of dollars travel on digital networks every day," Henry writes. "Classified documents do, too. So why are military voters still required to send ballots through the mail?"

Robert Timberg, editor-in-chief of Proceedings, said publishing articles like Henry's is part of the Institute's mission to bring to light issues that have a critical impact on Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen.

"This is what we do here," said Timberg. "We cover the Sea Services and the broader national security community and sometimes that means poking the powers-that-be in the eye." Chas Henry's piece is a fine example of Proceedings at its best."

Read "Lots of Bullets, Not Enough Ballets" on www.usni.org.

ABOUT THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE –
Founded in 1873, the U.S. Naval Institute (www.usni.org) is a non-profit, non-partisan, professional membership organization whose mission is to preserve and promote Naval Heritage and provide an independent forum to address issues critical to national security. USNI hosts conferences, including the upcoming Defense Forum Washington (www.defenseforumwashington.com), which will address healthcare issues, both physical and mental, pertaining to wounded soldiers. USNI also publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines, and the Naval Institute Press publishes more than 75 professional and mission-related books a year.

Painter Meets 'Candy Bomber' After 60 Years
By: Lisa West

Horst Bendzulla was just a 10-year old boy in 1948 when following the defeat of Nazi Germany, a new enemy laid siege to the war-torn country. The Soviet grip on Berlin and the blockade of all highways was further crippling those who had managed to live through the bombings by cutting off food, medicine, heat and electricity. But Berlin’s Templehof Airport remained open to both British and American aircraft, which began bringing in life-saving humanitarian supplies. For more than 14 months coal, food and other immediate necessities where airlifted into the city until the Soviets finally gave up.

Col. Gail S. Halvorsen, USAF (Ret) was one of hundreds of U.S. pilots involved in the 1948-49 Berlin Airlift which eventually earned him the title of “The Berlin Candy Bomber”. After meeting some Berlin children and seeing how much they enjoyed the two sticks of gum he shared with them, he began making ‘candy drops’ just before landing at Templehof. By night the Utah native would tie candy and gum to tiny parachutes made out of mens handkerchiefs. By day, he would drop them to the children below. Since planes were landing every three minutes, just before the drop Halvorsen would wiggle the wings of his C54 so the children would know it was him. That earned him the adoration of the children and yet another nickname -- “Uncle Wiggly Wings”.

Bendzulla was one of those lucky children that caught a candy parachute. The news had spread quickly and he remembered he had to hike several kilometers to the place where the children would eagerly wait for treats from the sky. While many of the Berlin children were able to meet their ‘chocolate hero’, Bendzulla never did. And very few people knew that he was a Mormon, including Bendzulla.

Yet Bendzulla joined The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Germany just five years after the Berlin Airlift – and in 1960 he and his wife, Marcella, immigrated to America. By trade, he had been trained as an artist and worked throughout Europe restoring paintings, antiquing and specializing in gold-leafing and marbleizing. He continued his craft in Southern California and eventually moved to Northern California before retiring to the Auburn area in 1997.

“Painting is still my hobby”, noted Bendzulla who loves to paint landscapes and the ocean. After visiting Pearl Harbor, he was inspired to paint the USS Arizona several times and since then has painted many other military ships. “About three months ago I came across an old black and white photo of the Candy Bomber’s plane dropping candy parachutes to Berlin children. I felt an overwhelming desire to paint it. I started the painting and didn’t like it and started over again. I didn’t know at that time that Col. Halvorsen and I would have a chance to meet. I planned to cherish the painting for myself and hang it in my home, but when I heard he was coming, I immediately knew I had to give the painting to him,” stated Bendzulla.

With the help of donations from Hershey’s and other state-side candy companies and American schoolchildren who made thousands of tiny parachutes, Halvorsen and other pilots dropped over 20 tons of candy to Berlin children. Following his military career and subsequent retirement, Halvorsen became an educator and from 1976 to 1984 was the Assistant Dean of Student Life at Brigham Young University. He and his wife of 49 years, Alta, spent a year serving a mission for the LDS Church in England and later served a second mission in St. Petersburg, Russia from 1995 to 1997.

Over the years Halvorsen has participated in several food re-supply operations including a C-130 night-drop over Bosnia in 1994, and a supply run to Albania in 1999, where he visited Camp Hope, a Kosovo refugee camp to deliver candy, toys, and school supplies to the children there. In 1998 he was a pilot on the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation C-54, the “Spirit of Freedom,” across the North Atlantic for 69 days and 27 air shows in four European countries. In November 1999 he was inducted into the Airlift/Tanker Hall of Fame and into the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame two years later. In June 2001 a new generation aircraft loader (25,000 pound capacity) was named the “Halvorsen Loader” in his honor. There are now more than 300 deployed world-wide. And every year Halvorsen continues to give inspirational speeches and drop candy parachutes to elementary schools, air shows, church and other groups throughout the world.

Deanne Ellsworth of Fair Oaks organized a conference for LDS Church members at the Mormon Center facility in Rancho Cordova and invited Col. Halvorsen to be the keynote speaker and to re-enact the candy drop. He graciously accepted the invitation and with the help of 40 children and several adults from Citrus Heights and Fair Oaks LDS congregations who assembled 250 candy parachutes – the re-enactment was a huge success. “It took three passes over Mormon Center for Col. Halvorsen to get all the candy dropped to conference attendees and children picnicking below,” stated Ellsworth. After landing at Mather Airfield, Halvorsen drove back up to the drop site and there he met Horst Bendzulla for first time. The two exchanged a hearty handshake, hug and many memories.

Following Col. Halvorsen’s keynote address, Bendzulla presented the ‘Candy Bomber’ painting to his hero and the 87-year old retired Colonel was overwhelmed by the gesture. “This is something I will treasure forever,” exclaimed Halvorsen.

Bendzulla, his wife, daughter, son-in-law and several of his grandchildren were part of the crowd scrambling to grab the falling candy parachutes – and he caught one again 60 years after catching the first one in Berlin. Bendzulla reminisced, “It brought back many memories and tears to my eyes to see the parachutes coming down again. It was a very special day.”

MAF Exposes New York Times
New York Times ‘Killer Vet’ Story Exposed as Erroneous by Pro-Troop Group
By Ryan Gill, Move America Forward

SACRAMENTO- Move America Forward the nation’s largest grassroots pro-troop organization, today announced that after vetting the numbers cited by The New York Times in their Sunday, January 13, 2008 story, “Across America, Deadly Echoes of Foreign Battles,” it became clear that the Times had engaged in demonstrably erroneous and false reporting.

It took seven New York Times researchers to find 121 cases in which veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan committed a killing in the United States, or were charged with one, upon returning home to this country.

The Times made the false conclusion that: “Taken together, they paint the patchwork of a quiet phenomenon, tracing a cross-country trail of death and heartbreak.”

The Times documentation of 121 potential killings out of more than 1.5 million veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) and Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), divided by 6 years of conflict results in a murder rate of just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 veterans per year.***

That murder rate is far lower than the murder rate for the general population, demonstrating that the experiences of military service – including having served in Iraq and Afghanistan – actually made it less likely for returning veterans to commit murder once they returned home, than the general population.

Given a census-estimated population of the United States of 300,000,000 persons in this country as of October 2006, and FBI-compiled statistics of 17,399 homicide offenders for 2006, the murder rate of the general population was 5.80 offenders per 100,000 on average – and a rate of approximately 7.67 per 100,000 for men.

Since all but one of the veterans cited by the Times who committed a killing in the U.S. was male, the comparable rate is approximately 7.67 incidents of murder per 100,000 people among the general male population, compared to just 1.34 incidents per 100,000 returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans (of both genders).

“It’s obvious that the New York Times has an agenda of undermining the missions of our troops in the War on Terror, so much so that they are willing to resort to demonstrably false statistics to support their anti-troop bias,” said Melanie Morgan, Chairman of Move America Forward.

“The slander of our troops and veterans by the New York Times is unfortunately all too familiar. We heard this kind of nonsense about our returning veterans from Vietnam. It’s the same insult, different war.

“Perhaps the shameful staff of The New York Times has run out of war-time secrets to publish for America’s enemies to read, because now they’ve resorted to an all-out smear campaign of America’s finest men and women, who have served this country bravely and with distinction,” Morgan said.

In place of hard data to support their premise, The New York Times was instead forced to devote almost the entire portion of 6,321 word hit-piece to anecdotes of wrongdoing by individual veterans.

The New York Times even went so far as to trace back the phenomenon of murderous veterans to Greek mythology to back up their assertions of their report. “The real mythology is the reporting by The New York Times,” Move America Forward’s Melanie Morgan concluded.

Note that the central statistical measure is how many instances of alleged killings take place per 100,000 Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans who returned home. The New York Times might argue that our statistics are incorrect since the 1.5+ million Iraq/Afghanistan veterans have not been home during the entire 6 years of the war (especially since in the early onset of Operation Enduring Freedom troops were just arriving into the war zone).

However, Salon.com reports that as of January 31, 2005 there were 1,048,884 Americans who had fought in Iraq or Afghanistan. One can then calculate statistics from that point onward. Let’s give the New York Times the leeway of saying their alleged 121 incidents of killings by veterans occurred during just the three years that elapsed since that time to the present. The murder rate per 100,000 people would still be approximately 3.5 incidents of murder per 100,000 returning Iraq/Afghanistan veterans.

Connecting 'One World, One Site' for the Veteran Community

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Jan. 24, 2008 -- www.BlackBOOK2.com, the premier International online social and business communication network, today announced a cross-branding partnership with The Veterans Corp (TVC), the international nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and enhancing entrepreneurial business opportunities for Veterans. The global TVC-BlackBOOK2.com alliance is designed to unify, foster and grow the Veteran business community.

"BlackBOOK2.com connects the world through one site and TVC equips our Veteran Community with the best business tools available," said TVC President & CEO Walter G. Blackwell. "For Veterans, the TVC-BlackBOOK2.com alliance provides a communications link that can leverage business and personal communications."

"BlackBOOK2.com has demonstrated outstanding results since its official debut in July 2007 by connecting people and businesses throughout the world," said BlackBOOK2 President and CEO Amy Nalewaik. BlackBOOK2.com offers a FREE robust suite of distinctive tools, such as Health Care Solutions, Free Web Hosting, Video E-Mail (Vmail), Instant Messaging, Comprehensive Learning Tools and bundled Telephony products, just to name a few.

Connecting all Veterans with 21st-century business communication tools is a major goal of TVC. TVC and BlackBOOK2.com are offering free Video email to every Veteran, Service Disabled Veteran, Guard & Reserve and family members, and all active duty military and their families. See statistics: http://tinyurl.com/256urd

"Vmail will make the distances that separate family and business seem shorter, the times away on travel or deployment less lonely and most of all connect the Veteran and service community," said Blackwell. "We can think of no better way to thank those who wore or are wearing the cloth of our nation than to connect each of them to their loved ones, their business, their future, now and for all the days ahead."

Veterans can access the business education and offerings by simply registering at both www.veteranscorp.org and www.BlackBOOK2.com. Simply click the icon on both sites and complete the FREE registration steps

"With this pairing every Veteran has the benefit of a worldwide video communications network at their fingertips," said Nalewaik. "As the daughter of an Air Force family, I know firsthand how important it is to stay connected and in touch with your family, friends and loved ones while on active duty and subsequent transitions into civilian life. BlackBOOK2.com is proud to be working with The Veterans Corporation to deliver a total complete communications, networking and business solution offerings that will build a solid Veteran business community."

About BlackBOOK2.com: Our corporate mission is to be "One World. One Site," a Social and Business Networking community offering a suite of "FREE" services to its members. BlackBOOK2.com focuses on utilizing its proprietary video CODEC's for video-mail, video chat and video streaming, to name a few. Membership is free.

For more information about BlackBOOK2.com, call 954-370-9900, email News@BlackBOOK2.com or go to www.BlackBOOK2.com.

U.S. Naval Institute, 28 Navy Chiefs, ONE Question
Twenty-eight of the world's naval leaders respond to the same question posed by Proceedings Magazine

Annapolis, MD- "How do you explain to your government and fellow citizens why your navy is necessary and worth what it costs?

That is the question editors at the U.S. Naval Institute's award-winning magazine Proceedings posed to the senior naval officer of each of the world's navies.

A total of 28 responded, ranging from the First Sea Lord of Britain's Royal Navy to the Chief of the Naval Staff of Pakistan and Chief of Staff of the Japanese Maritime Defense Force. All 28 responses are featured in the magazine's annual International Navies issue in March.

The answers reflect the diverse issues affecting navies which range in size from coastal guardian groups to deep-water fleets. Several took the question and modified it, answering in terms that served their individual situation.

"Rear Admiral David Ledson, Chief of Navy of the Royal New Zealand Navy, said our question got him to thinking about another question," noted James M. Caiella, Proceedings' associate editor. "He answered his own question, which was spot on to the spirit of ours and should provide his peers-and the rest of the sea service community-with much to consider."

"We believe that the responses from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are not only interesting, but also significant," Caiella added. "To have responses from all three nations in one of the world focal points with such different navies and needs is meaningful."

Proceedings published its first International Navies issue 27 years ago. The survey of foreign Navy chiefs became part of the editorial package in 1992, reflecting changes spawned by the end of the Cold War.

"International Navies traditionally has been one of our most popular issues, but we also consider it one of our most important," said Robert Timberg, Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings. "No one is more aware of the impact of globalization than the men and women who sail the seas and we like to think this special issue contributes to mutual understanding." Read the full article at www.usni.org

ABOUT THE U.S. NAVAL INSTITUTE
Founded in 1873, the U.S. Naval Institute is a professional membership organization whose mission is to preserve and promote Naval Heritage and to provide an independent forum to address issues critical to national security. USNI hosts conferences, publishes Proceedings and Naval History magazines, and the Naval Institute Press publishes more than 75 professional and Mission-related books a year.

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