2014 February/March The Hoosier Legionnaire

The Hoosier Legionnaire The Hoosier Legionnaire

Indiana Legion Family marks the 80th annual Lincoln Pilgrimage

Springfield, IL – More than 40 Ind. Legionnaires, Auxiliaries and Sons of The American Legion members crossed the borders into Illinois Feb 11-12th to help celebrate The American Legion’s 80th annual celebration of Abraham Lincoln’s Birthday. Traveling by bus across the prairie in the subzero temperatures of a frigid winter, the leaders from each of the Department’s 11 districts along with Department officers lead by Commander Ed Trice, President Carol Legard and Squadron Commander Kirk Rewarts were greeted in Springfield by The American Legion’s National Commander Dan Dellinger of Virginia who had also come to Ill. to mark the event. Members of The Illinois Department Headquarters and

their American Legion Post #32, who have been hosting Legion members from across the Midwest for this event since 1934 were the jovial hosts for the entire event.

Once established at the Springfield Hilton, The Indiana Legion Family members visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum where they got to see actual documents written by the 16th President as well as articles that were part of his everyday life such as the pen and inkwell that Lincoln may have used to write his most famous speech, The Gettysburg Address or helped draft his Emancipation Proclamation.

Joining with the Indiana Legion Family members were representatives and delegations

from nine other Departments across the United States. Other Legion Family delegations from Mo., Kan., Wis., Mich., Ill., Md., Va., S.D. and Minn. were present at the Museum the first day as well as the ceremony on the second day at the site of Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb.

The second day of the Pilgrimage dawned warmer but still in the frigid temperatures of a prairie winter such that Abraham Lincoln may have experienced himself when he was a practicing attorney at law in the capital of Ill.. Although the tomb’s interior was closed for renovations on the 143-yearold monument, the ceremony continued outside on the south lawn of the tomb with wreaths being lain by National and Department Leaders from The American Legion and its Family of organizations.

Flanked by the 21 wreaths laid by Legion, Auxiliary, S.A.L. and 40&8 Leaders from around the Midwest, National Commander Dan Dellinger, who made the trip from his home in Vienna, Va., said the American Legion has been honored to make the pilgrimage to Lincoln’s Tomb for the past 80 years.

“It is a tribute to Illinois’ greatest son that he was beloved by so many,” Dellinger said. “I’m a proud Virginian. I stand before you declaring my admiration for ‘The Great

Indiana Ladies Auxiliary President Carol Legard and Department Commander Ed Trice place a wreath in front of the bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln on 12 February 2014. They were participating in The American Legion’s 80th annual Lincoln Pilgrimage to the 16th President’s Tomb located in Springfield Ill.

Leaders from the Indiana Department of The American Legion and the Sons of The American Legion assemble in Springfield, Ill. On Feb 11-12, 2014 to celebrate The American Legion’s 80th annual Lincoln Pilgrimage.

Now is our time to move back into our communities!

it is hard to believe that my remaining time as your Department Commander is already starting to diminish to the point where I will soon be handling the office off to another Commander this summer. But it also shows that we as an American Legion Department have been moving forward in support of our veterans while at the same time looking to where we can continue our support to these same veterans into the future and into the 2nd century of service to them and to the nation.

Our Adjutant, Hugh Dagley will detail in full the recent changes regarding our new Headquarters building in Indianapolis. I am confident that you all will agree that the time

Ed Trice DEPARTMENT COMMANDER

was right for our Department to gain a building and grounds that we can use to host our Legionnaires properly.

When I came into office last July, I told you all that I was committed to seeing our Legion embrace our newest generation of veterans and that I would ensure that they knew that they would be welcomed into our Posts and our community. We have been

doing this through a focused advertising campaign aimed at these Hoosier Veterans on the Web, on Radio and in our Television advertising.

I was privileged to have the opportunity to preside at the creation of the Brock Babb Post #324 at Southern Indiana University earlier this year. They started their Post with 15 fellow student-veterans in November and since then have been seeing continued growth amongst the young veterans on campus who are returning to college after they have served their nation in Iraq and Afghanistan. I’ve invited the young and active Commander of that post to go with us to Washington DC in March so that he can talk to others from around this nation

about the benefits we gain when we reach out to the veterans of our recent conflicts.

We as a Legion at the Depart-

The Indiana Legion Ushers In A New Era

The American Legion Department of Indiana stands at the threshold of a new era. With the February 3, 2014, signing of an agreement to purchase, Department Commander Ed Trice set into motion one of the most significant changes in the nearly 100year history of the Department: Indiana’s American Legion Headquarters will vacate the original National Headquarters Building in downtown Indianapolis for new quarters at the former Ft. Benjamin Harrison Army Base in Lawrence, Indiana.

“The first Legion headquarters has been our home – our only home -- since the early

1920s, when the building was constructed and dedicated, “Commander Trice said.

“We shared those quarters with a variety of organizations, including our National Headquarters, the National Auxiliary, Mexican Border War Veterans, and even the Red Cross during the past 90 years. Unfortunate-

ly, time and wear have taken their toll on the building, and it is no longer possible for the Department to bear the cost of occupying the structure.

“After months spent evaluating the condition of the current building, the cost of renovation, and the availability of alternative sites, a study committee recommended the purchase of a new headquarters building, and the Department Executive Committee approved the recommendation,” he said.

Department Headquarters will relocate in late spring to a recently constructed 7,000 square foot structure on the grounds of the former military installation. The area un-

derwent a renaissance under the Federal Base Reuse Authority, efforts enhanced by enlightened leadership and determination by the military installation’s last active duty commander, Major Gen. Ronald Brooks. Brooks subsequently became Executive Director of the National Organization’s Geiger Operations Center, also located on the former military base. The American Legion’s Geiger Operations Center, less than a mile from the new Department Headquarters, houses The National Flag and Emblem Sales operation.

“That right there is one of the nicest benefits of the new headquarters,” the Command-

ment Level now have an active presence on the Internet and in

er said, “because no more will Hoosier Legionnaires visiting the Department have to travel across town in difficult, traffic to shop at Emblem Sales.” That, he said, is just a tip of the benefit iceberg.

Literally thousands of eligible veterans, retirees, National Guard and Reserve personnel will pass by the headquarters every day. The surrounding grounds offer opportunities for open houses, membership drives, celebrations and other activities designed to demonstrate the Legion’s relevance and activities, he said.

Although the Department

Indianapolis-- Department Commander Ed Trice (R) signs the Purchase Agreement on 3 February for the new Indiana Department Headquarters that will be available for the American Legion to occupy in June. The new Headquarters Building will be replacing the current 86-year old headquarters with a newer facility on the city’s eastside near the historic former Ft. Benjamin Harrison. Continued on page

afew weeks ago I helped my daughter move from her final assignment at Camp Lejeune, NC. How quickly four years of duty goes by. On the starting end it seems nearly a lifetime, but on the closing end it seems like a blink of an eye. We have all been there and the military changed our lives. We traveled many places for the first time, made friends, shared experiences, survived and grew up.

My daughter was called back to her unit, to receive a plaque that they had made for her. They made a beautiful diamond-shaped shadowbox with Marine de sert camouflage matting. At the top was her ribbon bar showing all the medals that she was awarded throughout her four years of

service. At the bottom was the Marine Emblem, which she earned after completing the “Crucible”. Surrounding the emblem were the metal collar ranks she had held. In the center was an etched plaque highlighting her service and standing guard on each side were her female NCO shoulder stripes.

When old Dad saw it and read it, the salt mist blew in

The Hoosier Legionnaire The Hoosier Legionnaire

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Member: National American Legion Press Association and Hoosier American Legion Press Association.

Advertising Sales Representative: The Herald-Times, Bloomington (800) 422-0070.

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Volume LXXVIII, Issue 1 February/March 2014

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from the sea and blurred my eyes. I was about as proud as a parent can be. I know what she had accomplished and the effort she had given. It was a beautiful summation of her four-year service to the Corps. I have made sure that she is a Legionnaire and I hope that she will be welcomed someday by a post close to where she settles. This past weekend, I was at a special commemoration and award ceremony. Of course it doesn’t take long for fellow Marines and “Nam” vets to engage in conversation. As we shared experiences this “in-country” vet told about his return home and his early L egion experience. He shared how he was treated at first as a second-class member. He said he had to work through the fact that he

had just as much right to be at the Post as those old guys who were not so welcoming. He later won their approval and support. This has not been was an isolated case.

While most of our Posts have done a very good job showing support for the troops, welcoming home and giving initial memberships, I have heard over and over again, “But we don’t get many renewals”. Organizations are always glad to have people join and support their programs and their way of doing things, but they are not so willing to change procedures and programs to attract new people. What worked in the past does not always work in the present.

It took the “Greatest Generation” a quarter of a century

Women Veterans Are An Undeveloped Resource News From the National Executive Committee

to declassify women as a special auxiliary component of the armed forces. Today while the Air Force has the highest and the Marines the lowest, women make up over 14% of our active enlisted and over 16% of our officer corps. The number is four percent higher in the Guard and reserve units. I wonder how this shift is reflected in our Post recruitment and programming? Is it reflected in our American Legion Leadership? How does our Legion family include these changing demographics?

Welcoming people means that we must bring them on board. We must make sure that they are integrated into all aspects. We need to go out of

Continued on page 15

iam glad to see everyone is making it through the coldest portions of the year and have been dealing with our Hoosier winds and snowdrifts without any major issues. Thankfully, the fact that this is the shortest of our seasons we will all be back to short sleeves and cool breezes before we know it.

Here are some recent updates from the National Headquarters that I feel you should be aware of and also of the work our Legion is doing to assist our veterans throughout the country.

The American Legion has declared its “full support” of a newly introduced and massive U.S. Senate bill that would, in the words of its subtitle, “improve the provision of medical services and benefits

to veterans.”

Legion backing of the “Comprehensive Veterans Health and Benefits and Military Retirement Pay Restoration Act of 2014” was voiced on Feb. 4 by Legion Legislative Division director Lou Celli at a Capitol Hill press conference hosted by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. Sanders chairs the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs and sponsored the proposed legislation.

The 352-page Act addresses a great number of concerns to

Continued on page 22

SAL Membership heading to an All-Time High!

it is again my privilege and honor to bring greetings to The American Legion Family on behalf of the Detachment of Indiana’s more than 37 thousand members of the Sons of The American Legion.

It is unbelievable to think that we are already eight months into our administrative year. It has been a long winter we’ve endured so far and hopefully a nice warm spring will be here soon.

As of the Feb. 12, 2014 Membership Report, the SAL membership is behind 527 members compared to last year at this time. I would like to thank my Membership Chairman Joe Schultis and all my Commanders within the Department and everyone else for their hard work for the Sons.

I had the great pleasure to at-

tend the Department President of the Auxilliary Carol LeGard’s Christmas luncheon at the American Legion Headquarters and then that evening again to attend the Legion Department Commander Ed Trice’s Christmas Dinner at The American Legion Post 64 in Indianapolis.

On Feb. 8, 2014, The Sons of The American Legion Detachment hosted a bingo game at the Indiana Veteran’s Home in

West Lafayette. There were 111 residents playing bingo and there were more than 25 SAL members and friends to assist the IVH residents during the bingo game

I was certainly thrilled to attend this year’s 80th annual Lincoln Pilgrimage with the other members of the American Legion Family of Indiana in February at Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb in Springfield Ill. We were able to meet with 9 other American Legion Departments who traveled to recognize Abraham Lincoln 205th Birthday.

I’m also looking forward to traveling to Washington D.C. next month to meet with our state’s representatives in Congress and discuss with them issues important to our Legion Family.

This year, My Commander’s Project has been the preservation of the Enrie Pyle Museum. This state historic site is the former home to the famous Pulitzer Prize winner war correspondent. The museum was state-funded under the Department of Natural Resources was forced to make budget cuts.

During WWII, Ernie Pyle was a household name. The war correspondent’s articles were the window into the war that many families on the homefront could see a sample of the struggle that the combat soldiers faced on a daily basis. His desire to tell the Soldier’s Story lead him to Okinawa in 1945 where he also paid the ultimate price for freedom himself.

It is my sincerest desire to help sustain our state’s lega -

cy for the present and future gneerations. It would be a great loss to our country and state for this notable WWII veteran’s home and museum to fade into forgotten history. I would like to propose a challenge to all Squadron and Districts in the Detachments to raise $11,000 for this project to save this museum.

As the weather begins to get better, I plan to be on the road a lot more and visit our Districts throughout our great state of Indiana and I look forward to meeting old friends and making new friends in my travels as your Detachment Commander. Please feel free to contact me at 765-918-1675 or email me at kirk.rewerts@yahoo.com.

It’s Winter but we continue to move forward!

2014 is underway! It is time to push hard to accomplish 100 percent membership and reporting.

We need to promote Americanism and recognize outstanding achievement in patriotism and citizenship and to instill these values in our youth.

The Legion Family needs to work together in sponsoring programs and services that provide care and protection for our state’s children, especially of our military and veterans.

I was able to travel with the Legion and SAL to the Lincoln Pilgrimage in Springfield. What

a wonderful time we had even if it was cold. The history that was relived and seen was overwhelming.

Spring is just around the corner and our units can benefit from the longer days and hopefully warmer weather

to get out and welcome new members to our teams.

Remember- Freedom is the gift from all those who served our great country with pride, dedication and sacrifice.

****

March 15-17, 1919

Members of the American Expeditionary Force convene in Paris for the first American Legion caucus. They agree to meet in St. Louis in 90 days to draft the Preamble to the American Legion ****

Boonville IN -- American Legion Post 200 Commander Rod Marshall and S.A.L. Post 200 Detachment Commander Ron Kaiser presented a $3,000 donation from their units to the Special Olympics Committee of Warrick County IN on 30 Jan, 2014. The donation will be used to help fund this summer’s programs for the children of the surrounding communities within American Legion District #8

Attention all Indiana County Service Officers and Legionniares!

hold on tight, there will be some big changes coming up in the future regarding supporting our veterans here in our state.

The Veteran’s Administration has recently gone to an electronic processing system for reporting back on Veteran Claims Processes. The VA is no longer sending printed reports back to our office regarding VA Claimant’s processes. To review every claim every day in the new computer systems to see progress would become very

John Hickey

time-prohibitive but we will still to provide veterans and the CSO’s with copies of the letters that we mail to veterans as well as our responses to the VA on

the claims.

We know that this new VA system will further limit our ability to assist our veterans within our communities due to limiting individual Veteran and Service Officer interaction as it now stands. One way that we are going to respond to this is to allow any County Service Officer who takes the opportunity to take the VA’s Training, Responsibility, Involvement and Preparation of Claims (TRIP) training and pass it would be given American Legion Accredi-

Veterans Services Update

Department Service Office

Feb ruary Business

Hours: The Department Service Office will be open each Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM until 4:00 PM during the month of February. The federal building where the service office is located will be closed Monday, February 17 for Presidents Day, but the American Legion Service Office will be open that day for phone calls and other business matters. You may contact the Department Service Office by calling our direct number of 317-916-3605; calling a long distance toll free number of 1-888723-7999, extension 1; faxing us at 317-916-3406; or by using the following e-mail address: al.vbaind@va.gov.

local Veterans Service issues:

Timeliness of Fully Developed Claims (FDC)s: When VA

initiated the Fully Developed Claims program, many claimants were receiving decisions within 90 days or less. The Indianapolis VA Regional Office reports that almost 50% of their claims they now receive are FDCs. Subsequently, the average processing time for FDCs in 2013 slipped to 154.3 days (about 5 months) to completion. Although the timeliness of FDC claims has slipped, they are still being processed in less than half the time of traditional claims. [An FDC is a VA disability claim filed using a VA EZ form along with any non-federal government evidence the claimant wants VA to consider.]

operation Job ready Vet -

erans: Operation Job Ready Veterans is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to preparing veterans for successful employ-

ment. They connect job seeking veterans with employers in need of top quality, well trained men and women for their workforce. They assist veterans of all ability levels with employment and career goals by focusing on customized job placement, not simply referral to open jobs. Tony Cross, Chief Executive Officer, Operation Job Ready Veterans, would like to coordinate veterans’ employment service events at American Legion Posts throughout the State of Indiana. Interested post commanders should contact Operation Job Ready Veterans at: 1-855-4562732, or e-mail Tony at TCross@ JobReadyVets.org.

Post Service officer Training Seminar: American Legion posts and districts had 15 veteran service officers or members interested in veterans service

tation as well.

With the VA TRIP certification and the Legion Accreditation, the County Service Officer can then access the VA’s Stateholder’s Entrerprise Portal (SEP) which will allow them to see all the VA Claimants in their country which have Legion representation.

The new certification opportunity for our County Service Officers will allow them to see a lot of the information they once could gain from the printed copies of claimant letters which will

speed up their ability to assist our veterans here in Indiana. In a way, this move to a paperless process will actually improve our County Service Officer’s service to our veterans once they gain the additional certification opportunities we provide.

Please have your local Conuty Service Officers contact us here at the Department Service Office for further information regarding the new procedures and how The American Legion can assist them in assisting our Hoosier Veterans.

work attend the Department’s Post Service Officer’s Training Seminar at the Mid-winter conference on Saturday, January 11, 2014. They were: Charles Lee, Post 13; Joseph Fuller, Post 4; Jasmin Pettiford, Post 249; Danny L. Grant, Post 59; Ron Coomer, Post 73; Andrew Jmay, Post 3; Forest Pardeg; Post 182; Bryce Hullett, Post 200, Bob Johnson, Post 147; David Parkhurst, Post 500; Ramone Cooper, Post 249; Dave Diggs, Post 64; Luther Nixa, Post 254, and Allen Connelly, Post 251.

Thanks go to all attendees, and for the services they provide! The next post service officers training session is scheduled for the day following the Department Convention, Sunday, July 13, 2014. It will take place at the Marriott Hotel, 7202 East 21st Street, Indianapolis, Indiana. All post service offers

and others interested in serving veterans may attend.

Post Service officer award: Each year, at the Department Convention, The American Legion recognizes an outstanding post service officer with a Post Service Officer of the Year Award. Anyone (especially post officers) who would like to nominate a post service officer for the award may obtain an award nomination form from either the American Legion Department of Indiana Website, http:// www.indianalegion.org/, or by calling the American Legion Department Service Office at 1-888-723-7999, extension 1.

national Veterans Services issues: nationwide gravesite l ocator: The burial locations of

Continued on page 18

The A mericanism Commission met at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Salon A of the Indianapolis Marriott East Hotel during the 2014 Mid-Winter Conference.

Chairman Rodney Strong opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following members as present: Chairman Rodney Strong, Vice Chairman Peter Van Woerden, Vice Chairman Larry Macy, Baseball Chairman Owen Wells, NSFA Committee Chairman Gary Steinhardt, SAL Larry Horvath, POW/MIA Chairman Larry Macy.

The following members were absent: Natl. Liaison Rep. John Hayes, Bowling Chairman Edward Gray, Golf Chairman Mike Comerford.

Minutes were read from this MidWinter Conference for each committee meeting. Changes were noted.

HBAseBAll exeCutIve COMMItteeH

Patriot Room, 9:00 a.m.

There were not enough boys to play the tourney games. Doug Mathena’s suspension was lifted.

$1,800 was set aside for background checks.

Insurance is going up $15.00.

B-Team rule changes from National:

Courtesy runner

Designated hitter

Re-Entry

Indiana Rule Book shows B-Team changes only.

Arlie Shelton Award was voted on.

New format: 8 team state tourney – 7 team regional.

State finals Tuesday, July 29th – August 2nd. Regionals to be set by teams in each region. National Regionals on August 6th in Terre Haute.

There was no money paid for travel for regionals.

Kokomo is the site for B-Team State. No waivers for this year from IHSAA needed.

There were no motions made dealing with Department funds.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HBAseBAll COMMItteeH

Patriot Room, 9:30 a.m.

Chairman Wells read the minutes from the Executive Committee meeting.

It was discussed then when registering a team, just put in one person for BC, and add coaches later.

New team managers were introduced.

We can play non-Legion teams, but must play by Legion rules.

New B-Team rules can be found on Page 34 of rule book.

There was a motion to accept all new rule changes made by Joe Kusiak, and seconded by Randy Dooley. The motion was approved.

New State Tourney rules and regional rules were explained.

State Finals start July 29th through August 2nd.

New rules for coaches were discussed.

There were no motions made dealing with Department funds.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

H

BOwlInG COMMItteH

The Bowling Committee did not meeting at the 2014 Mid-Winter Conference.

HGOlf

COMMIttee H

The Golf Committee did not meeting at the 2014 Mid-Winter Conference.

HnsfA COMMIttee H

Salon E, 1:00 p.m.

Minutes from the last meeting were read and approved.

The Children & Youth Commission met at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, January 11, 2014 in Salon B at the Marriott East Hotel during the Midwinter Conference.

Chairman Larry Lowry opened the meeting in proper form. Roll call disclosed the following members present: Vice Chairman John French, Vice Chairman Al Pulido, National Liaison Representative James Delaney and Committee Chairmen: Americanism and Government Rees Morgan, Boy Scouts Stan Gatewood, Boys State Enrollment Jack Cook, Children and Youth David Sharber, Flag Education/Etiquette John Branson, Girl Scouts Joe Komenda represented Gail Galich, Junior ROTC John Branson, Junior Shooting Sports Ida Jewell, and Oratorical Dan Buksa.

American Legion Children’s Education and Welfare Chairman Dave Ritenour was absent.

HAMeRICAn leGIOn ChIlDRen’s eDuCAtIOn & welfARe COMMItteeH

8th District Chairman Michael Brady was absent. There were 2 guests present.

Minutes were read and approved. Tony Riley presented the finance report: general fund $11744.75, scholarship $147347.02, and foundation $84112. The committee has received $3000 in donations. A motion was made and passed to donate $7000 to the Indiana Operation Military Kids.

HAMeRICAn leGIOn fAMIly sChOlARshIp COMMItteeH

This committee did not meet.

HAMeRICAnIsM & GOveRnMent COMMItteeH

Vice Chairman Duane Alexander was excused. Commander’s Representative Pete Brannon 7th District Chairman Bryon Thompson and 10th District Chairman James Cole were absent. Three guests were present.

Minutes of previous conference were read and approved. The department distributed 2207 junior Americanism and Government and 3830 senior Americanism and Government

tests. The 7th grade winners were John Roe and Brianne Pace from Boonville Middle School sponsored by post 200. The 8th grade winners were Aaron Brooker and Sarah Hirsch from Castle North Middle School sponsored by post 44. The Americanism and Government winners were:

Alan Johnson - Mitchell High School – 10th grade – post 250, district 9

Rachel Hafley – Taylor High School – 10th grade – post 6, district 5

Davin Craft – North Vermillion High School – 11th grade – post 263, district 6

Erica Honaker – home schooled –11th grade – post 103, district 7

Christian Leighty – North Daviess High School – 12th grade – post 293, district 7

Kirsten Little – North Vermillion High School – 12th grade – post 263, district 6

Winners will be recognized at the Spring Conference. The committee would like to explore on line testing for the future.

HBOy sCOut COMMItteeH

Vice Chairman Larry McDaniel, 5th District Chairman Dewayne Dunn, and 10th District Chairman Joseph Stitler were absent. There were two guests present.

Binders were distributed to district chairmen. When chairmen are assisting students in completing binders, they should have students’ parents present. Chairman Gatewood will contact Crossroads to conduct judging at their facilities at 10:00 a.m. on March 15, 2014. Crossroads is located at 7125 Fall Creek Road North, Indianapolis. Applications should be sent to district chairmen. It is vital for district chair-

Larry Lowry ChAiRMAN

ChIlDRen & yOuth

The Rehabilitation Commission met at 4:30 PM Saturday, January 11, 2014, in Salon D of the Marriott Hotel during the Mid-Winter Training Session.

Chairman Martin Dzieglowicz opened the meeting in proper form. Roll call disclosed the following members present: Chairman, Martin Dzieglowicz; Vice Chairman, Phillip Hutson; Employment, James Piepenbrok represented by Phillip Hutson; General Hospital, Rex Ikemire represented by Jim Grauvogl; Homeless Veterans, Robbie Robinson; Indiana Veterans Home, Dennis Pettit represented by Mike Miller; Nursing Home, Anthony Sadowski. There were 0 guests present.

Those members absent include: Vice Chairman, Rick Hudson; Commander’s Rep, Walter Krohn; Natl. Liaison Rep. Ronald Taylor.

HeMplOyMent COMMItteeH

There were 9 districts present and 2 districts absent. There were no funds requested or resolutions made. The Employment Award nominations were passed out and voted on. The winner of the Employment Service Award is Lisa Unger of the Lawrenceburg Work One, Employer of Veterans, large company, is Alcoa, Inc., and Employer of Veterans, medium company, is Kenny Kent Toyota Lexus Scion. There were 2 guest speakers. Gary Tyler, Director Veterans’ Employment and Training Services and Tony Cross, Chief Operations Officer, Job Ready Veterans. Tony would like the posts to invite him out to provide employment services to local veterans. His contact information is, (317) 466-2001 Ext 2556.

HGeneRAl hOspItAlH

There were 8 district present and 3 districts absent. There were no funds requested or resolutions made.

HhOMeless veteRAnsH

There were 10 districts present and 1 absent. Post 499 will donate $1,000 to Homeless Veterans at the Commander’s party. A total of $6,034 has been generated by the 4th District. Commander’s Rep, Don Sales presented a check for $1,059.48 for the committee to distribute where needed. It was approved to donate $1,000 to Hope House and $500 to Genesis (YWCA).

HInDIAnA

veteRAns hOMeH

There were 10 districts present and 1 absent. Motion was made and passed to donate $8,786.02 for equipment. The new superintendent for the IVH, Linda Sharp, was introduced and her bio was read to the membership. The 10th district donated $150 for the resident party.

HnuRsInG hOMe

H

There were 9 districts present and 2 districts absent. There were no motions made or funds requested. Several districts reported on activities they are doing to help veterans in the nursing homes. The director of rehabilitation spoke about spending of the money allocated to each district. There being no further business to come before the commission, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HLH Find more at www.indianalegion.org

Due to space constraints, these commission and committee reports have been condensed. You can find the full text of all conference reports at www.indianalegion.org or request print copies from Department headquarters. HLH

The Internal Affairs Commission met Saturday, January 11, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. in Salon C of the Marriott East Hotel during the Mid-Winter Conference.

Chairman James B. May opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following present: Commission Chairman James May, Vice Chairman Mary York, Vice Chairman Terry Smith, National Liaison Rep. Ralph Tolan, Community involvement Eric Baggett, Convention Contest Rep. Paul Smith, FF/L&O/EMS Chairman Wilfred Kocher, Legislative Chairman Danny Rice, Membership Chairman Mike Brady, New Post Development Chairman Herb Hoffman, Public Relation Rep. James May and Religious Emphasis Chairman Keirn.

Roll call disclosed the following absent: American Legion Riders Chairman James Hamilton, Convention Contest Chairman Don Hudson and Public Relation Chairman Jerry Ward.

Chairman May asked for Committee reports:

HAMeRICAn leGIOn RIDeRsH

Chairman Jim Hamilton opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll ca ll disclosed the following members present: Chairman Jim Hamilton, Vice Chairman David Noble, Secretary Amic Kumfer, Commander’s Rep Tommy Small, 1st District Chairman Gail Galich, 2nd District Chairman Richard Sanders, 3rd District Chairman Rep Ken Heckathorn, 4th District Chairman Tommy Small, 5th District Chairman Rep Ed Trice, 6th District Chairman Danny Price, 7th District Chairman Ronnie Patton, 8th District Chairman David Noble, 9th District Chairman Daniel Lakins, 10th District Chairman Kellis Allen, 11th District Chairman Rep George Wilson.

Roll call disclosed the following member absent: 3rd District Chairman Charles Hostetler, 5th District Chairman Paul Layman, 11th District Chairman Robert Schnell.

The minutes from the Fall Conference were read and approved.

1st District Chairman Gail Galich reported Post 66 now has a rider group.

2nd District Chairman Richard Sanders had no report.

3rd District Chairman Rep Ken Heckathorn reported that a fundraiser was held. Over $4000 was raised for Homeless Veterans.

4th District Chairman Tommy Small reported that last year there were 62 moves of vets.

5th District Chairman Rep Ed Trice reported sending an officer to install new Chapter officers.

6th District Chairman Danny Price reported that Zionsville took a care package to a nursing home. They are having a class on motorcycle safety in March.

7th District Chairman Ronnie Patton reported that they were working on home repairs for veterans. They are also working with abate on safety class and doing fundraising.

8th District Chairman David Noble reported that they added a Chapter 5, Mount Vernon, had a Polar Bear Run 135 bikes. Lucas place fundraisers are being conducted.

9th District Chairman Daniel Lakins reported that Post 89 will be holding a chili cookoff on January 26. They are having a shooting program for youth.

10th District Chairman Kellis Allen reported that they started helping homeless veterans getting them setup.

11th District Chairman Rep George Wilson reported that they are helping the homeless veterans center Downtown. They helped National Guard with Christmas. They are having a ride and will have more information in the coming weeks.

Chairman Hamilton handed out copies of the resolutions and read the resolutions to the Committee. There Continued on page 9

Jim may ChAiRMAN InteRnAl AffAIRs

marty Dzieglowicz ChAiRMAN

RehABIlItAtIOn

cOmmissiON rEpOrTs

AMeRICAnIsM

Continued from page 6

Chairman Steinhardt said today’s meeting topic would be about Cyber Warfare. There was a Power Point presentation regarding this topic, followed by a discussion.

The books for military person of the year were passed out during the meeting.

There were at least 12 people who would like to take a tour of Mascatatuk Training Area some time when the weather is warmer. There will be further information during the Spring Conference.

Military books must be turned back in by June 1, 2014.

There is a request of $300 from Department funds. This money would be used to rent a 15 passenger van in order to transport those interested to the aforementioned tour of Mascatatuk.

This committee will meet during the Spring Conference.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HpOw/MIA COMMItteeH

Salon D, 9:00 a.m.

Minutes were read and approved.

Handouts included:

List of identified people in past 12 months

Summary of statistics (still unac counted for)

Annual attendance of family updates

POW/MIA flag protocol

Order of precedence of flags

Precedence of military branch flags

There are 6 missing in action from

the last 28 years. Chairman Macy reviewed each one’s story.

There was a discussion of order to display flags.

There were no resolutions.

There were no motions for Department funds.

The next meeting will be held at the Spring Conference in April.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HsAl DepARtMent ADvIsORy COMMItteeH

Salon A, 3:00 p.m.

Minutes of previous conference read and approved. Motion by Rodney Strong, and seconded by Don Dapp.

Motion was made by Al Pulido, and seconded by Milton Howard to approve the SAL request to increase the per capita from $7 to $8 and the extra dollars be returned to the districts on a per capita basis determined at close of books. Motion carried 6-2.

Motion was made by Rodney Strong and seconded by Don Dapp that department be requested to send a letter to each squadron that has not sent in their certification. Motion carried. Chairman Horvath asked each district advisor to follow up in their respective district to get the certification.

Three resolutions were made matter of record regarding Andy Byers and James Naylor for Southern Vice, and Michael Pipher for Alternate NEC.

Detachment golf outing May 31, 2014 at Kokomo.

There being no further business to come before the committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HLH Find more at www.indianalegion.org

ChIlDRen & yOuth

Continued from page 6

men to bring binders for state judging. Each district chairman should solicit his district for $100 for the scholarship fund as well as sell 25 pins within their district to add to scholarship fund. Department Eagle Scout of the Year is due to National American Legion by April 1.

HBOys stAte enROllMent COMMItteeH

There were eight guests present.

Chairman Cook asked if any district chairmen had scheduled orientation meetings. The 11th district will have an orientation on May 7, 2014 at Post 500. Director Oeth reported the Boys State Board of Directors will be reviewing a proposed contract through 2020 with Trine University. Department staff and a few board members met with the Colts, Indiana Veterans Funeral Care, WTHR Channel 13, the Columbia Veterans Club, and the Marriott to be corporate sponsors. Jim Arnold, representative from Sons of American Revolution, introduced himself to the group and expressed their interest in sponsoring a delegate. Chairman Cook and Director Oeth met with Chairman Cook’s daughter, Bree, who works for a public relations firm. She would like to help promote the program on social networks. A new promotional 11 minute video was played. Chairmen will receive a copy and it is available on www.hoosierboysstate.org .

HChIlDRen & yOuth COMMItteeH

for airfare.

Cara Lathop, Riley Hospital Foundation, reported 40% of patients are from accidents, 65% from families without insurance, which accounts for $45,000,000. She gave a report on a patient with aggressive cancer. Posts can raise money for the foundation. The cost of fundraising is 16 cents per dollar. A motion was made and passed for a district fundraising competition. The third category of the Educator of the Year information was distributed to the committee.

HflAG eDuCAtIOn/ etIquette COMMItteeH

Vice Chairman Cliff Stephens and Vice Chairman Jerry Ward were not present. There were three guests present.

The department winners are Isaac Gorrell sponsored by Post 468 and Alaina Linnemeier sponsored by Post 82. Isaac attends South Adams Elementary and Alaina attends St. Paul Lutheran Elementary. A motion was made and approved to remove the question regarding the president who made the executive order on dimensions of the flag.

HGIRl sCOuts COMMItteeH

3rd District Chairman Franklin Martin was absent. The 5th District and 2nd District have not appointed a district chairman, although Juan Magana represented the 2nd District. One guest was present.

Continued from page 1

Emancipator.’”

When asked how he felt about participating in the wreath-laying

at the base of the tomb, Indiana Department Commander Ed Trice of Fairmount, IN said, “History is important. You’ve got to remember he’s one of the greatest presidents of all time. And it humbles you to consider all that he had to face as our President during our country’s most trying time.”

2014 | hooSier legionnaire

There were six guests present. Vice and 6th District Chairman Darrell Bowman, Secretary Jerry Stoner, 7th District Chairman Kenneth Pridemore and 3rd District Chairman Jim Hewitt were not present.

Mr. Bonwell, Better Times Ranch, presented information about his program. It is a program for children of wounded warriors and wounded warriors to come to a ranch in South Dakota. The cost is $2000 for a parent and child to attend and an additional $1000

Chairman Galich explained how female oratorical participants may be candidates for the Girl Scout Gold Award. The 8th district has six candidates. The 11th District Chairman Joe Komenda reported about the ambassador program. The application needs to be amended to clarify the religious award instructions, which will be discussed at the Spring Conference.

HjunIOR ROtC COMMItteeH

Chairman John Branson met with John Thomas and William VanHooks, Jr. The committee is recommending an application with a 500 word es -

Continued on page 9

ChIlDRen & yOuth

Continued from page 8

say. Students should have a 2.5 GPA and be a two year member of a Junior ROTC group. They would like to have a scholarship awarded.

HjunIOR shOOtInG spORts COMMItteeH

Vice and 11th District Chairman Skip Nunweiler, Commander’s Rep Ron Ordelheide and 3rd District Chairman Jim Daube were absent. There were four guests present.

The state tournament will be March 8, 2014 at Hancock

InteRnAl AffAIRs

Continued from page 7

were no questions. A motion was made to approve and the motion was carried.

There was no new business to come before the meeting.

There were no reports on goals for 2014.

Chairman Hamilton reported that 6 Chapters out 130 had donated to the TV ad’s for Commander Trice’s project. He asked that all Chapters go to their Posts and ask for donations.

Department Adjutant Hugh Dagley reported that the Son’s gave $40,000. Every penny will help and said the Legion Riders can beat the SAL.

Temporary Financial Assistance program was mentioned and members were encouraged to let veterans with children know that they need to apply if

County Fairgrounds. The National Junior Shooting tournament is a postal match. Target sets should be ordered online by January 17. If posts need assistance ordering sets, they should call the Americanism Coordinator, Susan Long. Post 241 has submitted a grant application for money or equipment. They have 24 kids shooting each night and open their range on Saturdays. 8th District Chairman Daniel Lawson has equipment but has not started the program. He purchased six Crossman Challenger air rifles for $495 each. The rifles can be used by right or left handed shooters and have a fixed gauge to fill from dry air tank. T-200 rifles are better quality, but they are more expensive. He had ap-

plied for $5000 from the Indiana Youth Program and received $2500. Letters of support are needed to get a grant. Posts can save information on the NRA grant request website but all forms must be completed. ROTC programs keep kids off the streets and change the attitudes of those students. ROTC programs use 887 rifles. Tanks must be kept warm and cylinders cold for CO2. CMP courses are available for instructors. The committee would like to purchase an Orion scoring system. The committee would like to have a precision rifle raffle. Tickets will be printed by Spring Conference to sell by drawing at Convention. Next year’s tournament will be a postal match.

HORAtORICAl COMMItteeH

Commander’s Representative and 11th District Chairman Skip Nunweiler was absent. There were eight guests present. District winner certification forms should be submitted immediately following the competition. The state competition is March 9 and the national competition is April 4-6. Twelve Legionnaires were certified after passing the oratorical test. Fred Langley stressed the importance of the certifications. Two escorts, preferably a man and woman, should be utilized at the competitions. National volunteers must have a background check. Members discussed how and who would

need background checks for the national competition. With regards to public relations, the committee would like to make a poster with winners to deliver to schools. When choosing judges, chairmen should ask teachers. The committee will discuss school awards at the spring conference. District chairmen should plan a meeting with post chairmen to explore who is participating. The committee will meet at the Spring Conference to review the year’s events.

HADjOuRnMentH

There being no further business to come before the Commission, the meeting was closed in proper manner.

they need the help.

Job Ready Vets: Employers are not letting the Riders know what they need.

The Riders were encouraged to send in stories for the Hoosier Legionnaire to keep people informed on the great things they are doing.

Commander Trice announced that he was proud of the Riders and to be a Legion Rider.

District 10 Chairman Jim Cole mentioned the Stars For Freedom National program.

Mr. Robertson announced that he was proud of the Riders and thanked them for helping with the Homeless Veterans.

Bruce Drake stated that he wants the Riders to contact him when they do things so that he can get them in the media.

There were no requests for Department funds. Being no further business to be brought before the C ommittee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HCOMMunIty InvOlveMentH

Chairman Eric Baggett opened the meeting in proper form. Roll call disclosed the following members present: Vice Chairman Melvin Vinson, Vice Chairman Michael Patrick, and District Chairmen: 1st Eric Baggett, 2nd Bob Harding represented Julie Newell, 4th Larry Funk, 6th Johnathon Pickett, 7th James May represented Kenneth Ellis, 8th Donnie Walters, 9th Samuel Moore, 10th Mary York represented Kenneth Toll, and 11th Kenny Cooper represented Anthony Green. There were four guests present.

Secretary Rich Brown was excused. Commander’s Representative Phil Turner and 3rd District Chairman Richard Richardson were absent.

Chairman Baggett distributed information on the Indiana Disaster Assistance Fund Program. The committee approved giving $1000 to a disabled veteran whose home was destroyed

in the 5th district. The 9th District, Post 279, and Post 367 each donated $100. Chairmen were asked to solicit their districts for donations. The 1st District had a Christmas party for the homeless veterans’ shelter. The posts collected 100 to 200 coats for homeless veterans. The 2nd District raised over $5000. The 3rd District reported post 253 had a Thanksgiving dinner for approximately 400 people. The 4th District reported post 178 collected food for the food bank. The 6th district donated to the Lebanon School district. Posts 347 and 472 had Christmas parties for children. The 7th District raised $23000 for community projects. The 8th District has had food drives, fund raisers, kids parties for Christmas/Halloween/Thanksgiving, cosponsored veterans day parade in Evansville, started a new post in Evansville, and escorted the “Wall that Heals”. The 8th American Legion Riders raised $5500 for a lady with thyroid cancer.

The 9th District gave fruit baskets to widows of veterans and held Christmas dinners and New Year’s Eve parties. Post 69 dedicated a war memorial. Post 24 is becoming more involved in the community.

New Palestine Post 182 held a food drive for 100 people. The 10th District purchased a $15000 track chair for a Vietnam veteran. The 11th District prepared Christmas packages for 50 families. Scrapbooks should be submitted to department by June 1.

Bruce Drake encouraged districts and posts to provide information to him about what activities are happening in their area.

There being no further business to come before the committee. The meeting was closed in proper form.

HCOnventIOn COntestH

Vice Chairman Paul Smith opened the meeting in proper

Continued on page 10

InteRnAl AffAIRs

Continued from page 9

form. Commission Chairman James May conducted the invocation.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Vice Chairman and 10th District Chairman Paul Smith, Vice Chairman Milton Howard, Commander’s Rep. replacement Mark Gullion, Executive Section and 7th District Chairman Larry Dent, 1st District Chairman James Grauvogle, 2nd District Chairman Chip Yanta, 3rd District Chairman Daniel Lee, 4th District Commander Thomas Meyer, 5th District Chairman Pete Brannon, 6th District Rep. Chuck Duke, 9th District Rep. Milton Howard, 11th District Rep. Mark Gullion.

Roll call disclosed the following members absent: Committee Chairman and 6th District Chairman Donald Hudson, Commander’s Rep. Robert Schnell, 9th District Chairman Rob Steinbach and 11th District Chairman Michael Hedrick.

The minutes from the Fall Conference were read and approved.

Chairman Smith reported to the committee that the request for funds of $1,000.00 was approved by the Finance Committee for the Department winning Color Guard to travel to compete at The National Convention.

A Motion was made By Chairman Yanta to give the winning team the funds after the competition at National. The Motion was seconded by Mark Gullion and passed unanimously.

There was some discussion regarding the new color guard rules for National and they are

posted online.

The Committee would like to have an hour at the Joint Spring Conference in April.

There was no additional request for Department Funds. Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, James May gave the benediction. A Motion was made to adjourn, the Motion was seconded and passed unanimously.

HfIRefIGhteR/ lAw & ORDeR/eMsH

Chairman Wilfred Kocher opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following m embers present: Chairman Wilfred Kocher, Vice Chairman Nick Nicholoff, Vice Chairman Ronald Byrley, Commander’s Rep David Ritenour, 1st District Chairman Rep David Hicks, 2nd District Chairman Rep Ken Wilson, 3rd District Chairman Rep Brian Fishburn, 4th District Chairman Nick Nicholoff, 5th District Chairman David Ritenour, 7th District Chairman Rep Wilfred Kocher, 8th District Chairman Ronald Byrley, 10th District Chairman Laurie Bowman, and 11th District Chairman Mark Gullion.

Roll call disclosed the following members absent: Vice Chairman Kenneth Ellis, 1st District Chairman Rebecca Bowie, 2nd District Chairman James Warne, 3rd District Chairman Neil Brioli, 6th District Chairman Johnathon Pickett, 7th District Chairman Ronald Hooker, and 9th District Chairman Rob Steinbach.

The minutes from the Fall Conference were read and approved.

Chairman Kocher passed out workbooks. Deadline was announced as June 1st.

There were no requests for Department fund s. Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the

meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HleGIslAtIveH

Chairman Danny Rice opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Chairman Danny Rice, Vice Chairman Allen Connelly, Commander’s Rep Representative Rob Burkhart, Secretary Mark Gullion, Executive Section W. Darrell Hansel, Executive Section Ernest Komasinski, Auxiliary Liaison Ruth Rairdon, National Liaison Rep Homer Loudermilk, 1st District Chairman Eric Baggett, 2nd District Chairman Ronald Corbett, 3rd District Chairman Rep Brian Fishburn, 4th District Chairman Gordon Anthony, 5th District Chairman Rep Rob Burkhart, 6th District Chairman James Delaney, 7th District Chairman Rep Kevin Hinton, 8th District Chairman Rep Melvin Jantzen, 9th District Chairman Kenneth Hylton, 10th District Chairman Homer Loudermilk, and 11th District Chairman Mark Gullion.

Roll call disclosed the following members absent: Commander’s Rep and 5th District Chairman Donald Cole, Executive Section Robert Newman, SAL Liaison Dan Conklin, 3rd District Chairman Philip Shea, 5th District Chairman Donald Cole, 7th District Chairman Don Barry, and 8th District Chairman David Roche.

Minutes from the Fall Conference were read and approved.

Guest Russ Eaglin, Deputy Director of DAV spoke on 2014 General Assembly Legislative status on veterans issues. He passed out a spreadsheet of all Bills for 2014 that are being worked on. Spreadsheet includes SB 002, SB 013, SB025, SB038, S7, 8, 102, 135, 172, 180, 181, 182, 199, 200, HB 1025, 1041, 1112, 1117, 1136. He spoke on all of the bills and on SB 180,

Indiana Veteran Recovery Program and Fund. He advised that he does feel that this bill is ready to go forward. PDC Jewell also advised that he feels that it is not ready.

10 Bills were passed out. Past Commander Dick Jewell was thanked for all of his work last year. As a whole, all veteran groups marched together to get the bills passed during 2013 year.

Both PDC Jewell and Chairman Rice spoke on last year’s SB290, on trying to increase the time limit from 40 days to 180 days to obtain the CDL. With the new bill, insurance companies are not covering new drivers with the new law.

Russ Eaglin asked that the Department work with Chairman Rice as a point of contact for Legislative issues.

There was a general Q&A with Russ Eaglin. Eaglin talked about upcoming training for county service officer that will begin in March of 2014. He discussed the new director of IVH, noting that they are looking for donations for IVH which would be used for wireless computer service for the residents of IVH due to the state turning off all wireless service statewide.

Russ Eaglin was thanked by the Committee for his time and information that he provided to the Committee.

Chairman Rice talked about sending out Action Notices cutting of veterans benefits. IRS issue with American Legion in DC has met with the IRS to revise the rulings on posts and DD214’s. It is believed that this has been resolved.

The floor was opened for comments from the Districts. The 4th District asked about VA taking 120 days to reject claims. Discussion was given about the improvements being made and the ongoing training.

There were no requests for

Department funds. There being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HMeMBeRshIpH

Chairman Michael Brady opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Chairman Michael Brady, Vice Chairman Michael Wooden, Vice Chairman Robert Burkhart, Commander’s Rep Colin Steffen, National Liaison Representative Ken Hylton, Executive Section Kenneth Cooper, Executive Section John “Randy” Beeler, Executive Section Michael Comerford, Executive Section Larry Funk, 1st District Chairman Timothy Conners, 2nd District Chairman Ken Wilson, 3rd District Chairman Rep. Thomas Klempay, 4th District Chairman James Timpe, 5th District Chairman Robert Burkhart, 6th District Chairman Rep Virginia Spencer, 7th District Chairman Ronnie Patton, 8th District Chairman Joseph Curts, 9th District Chairman David Smith, 10th District Chairman Rep Kenny Coons, 11th District Chairman Rep Mark Gullion.

Roll call disclosed the following memvers absent: 3rd District Chairman Larry Bush, 6th District Chairman John Klepfer, 6th District Chairman Teodore Garcia, 9th District Chairman Ronald Pridemore, 10th District Chairman Ray Stamps, and 11th District Chairman Rex Ikemire. Minutes from Fall Conference were read and motion was made to approve the minutes. Motion carried.

Brady asked all 3 star recruiters to stand and all white caps saluted them. There have been questions about the point system. Chairman Brady clarified

Continued on page 21

Post #72 gains a State Honor for Community Service

Story Courtesy of the Crawfordsville Journal-Review

Written by Bob Cox

24 January 2014

Service, honor and respect were some of the words used Thursday to describe the Byron Cox American Legion Post 72 Honor Guard and Burial Detail.

The group, composed of 27 local men and women, gathered at the legion for a special breakfast and awards ceremony. For the past two years, the Honor Guard and Burial Detail has been working toward certification by the United States Army. On Thursday, the hard work paid off as each member was presented with the mili-

tary honor funeral ribbon to be worn proudly on their uniform caps.

“This really is a big deal,” Post 72 commander Rodney Strong said. “Not too many posts earn this certification and it really is a great honor.”

Crawfordsville is just the third American Legion Post in the area to receive the award. Other posts already certified are Lafayette and Kokomo.

The local honor guard started working on its certification in January 2012. Representatives from the Army National Guard unit in Lafayette met with the local detail several times to help with the process.

U.S. Army National Guard Specialist Latrondra Link, who

is stationed in Lafayette, was assigned to help the local Honor Guard. Link presented the award to the funeral detail.

“The guys were doing a great job with funerals before we got involved,” Link said. “We just came in and gave them suggestions and helped them meet guidelines to become a certified honor guard.”

Link said the Post 72 men and women were not sure what they were getting into when she first met with the group in 2012,

“At first you could tell the guys were a little nervous about everything,” Link said. “But they have been a great bunch of

Continued on page 23

DOD Electronic Health Records Help VA Disability Claims

By Terri Moon Cronk American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Feb. 6, 2014 – The Defense Department has made troops’ health records electronically available to the Veterans Affairs Department to speed up the adjudication of disability claims, a DOD health information technology official said.

Now in place for service members who have separated or discharged from the military since Jan. 1, the Health Artifact and Image Management Solution, or HAIMS, electronic system makes certified military service treatment records automatically available to VA to determine disability benefits when a claim is filed, said David

“We made a commitment that the HAIMS interface would be operational on Jan. 1, and we met that commitment,” Bowen told American Forces Press Services.

Army Maj. Gen. (Dr.) Richard Thomas, director of health care operations and chief medical officer at DHA, testified to Congress yesterday on the new system before the Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs subcommittee of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. DOD personnel worked with VA to help determine what steps could be taken to alleviate the disability claims backlog, he said.

“We recognized DOD need-

ed to assist the VA by providing additional data on the benefits side, so we put teams together and they came up with the solution [to] generate an electronic service treatment record document,” Bowen explained.

The result was an interface from DOD to VA through HAIMS. DOD’s HAIMS already existed for military medical clinicians and has been sharing electronic data with Veterans Health Administration providers before it was tied to Veterans Benefits Administration, officials said.

The electronic records shared between DOD and VA also allow VA hospitals to access the records. “There are lots of fields of data flowing back and forth,” Bowen said of the agencies’ collaboration. “We prob-

ably share more data than any other health care organizations in the world.”

Complete medical records are kept on patients while under DOD care and also include information that comes from the commercial sector. The electronic records are “readily available and accessible by our DOD clinicians, any time, anywhere in the world,” Bowen said. Digitizing the full record at the time of a service member’s separation provides VA with “a history of the service member’s care,” and is as up-to-date as the last medical appointment, he noted.

HAIMS has distinct advantages for DOD, Bowen said. “It enhances our ability to provide additional information to our clinicians to help them better

care for our patients. The dimension around having all the data more and more in an electronic format and being able to move that all around the world from assignment to assignment is also very beneficial.”

Bowen said the DOD-VA interface represents two organizations working together collectively to solve a problem and coming up with a solution, a timetable and a way to put the solution in place on schedule, benefitting both of the departments.

“I think we’re going to make life much easier for Veterans Benefits Administration staff to see DOD-specific health care data on our service members to help them with the process of adjudicating a claim.”

Indiana Army National Guard Specialist Latondra Link presents the Indiana Department of Defense Certification to Byron Cox American Legion Post #72 Commander Rodney Strong, left, and Post 72 3rd Vice Commander of the Honor Guard Mike Spencer.

M. Bowen, director of health information technology at the Defense Health Agency.

News across Indiana

Valparaiso IN -- Past Department Commander Thomas “Thumper” Henderson was presented by The American Legion’s Charles Pratt Post #94 with their Inaugural Distinguished Service Award for Merit for his leadership within the community and his many decades of service to the State and the Nation. The award was presented during a surprise ceremony at their Post on 1 February 2014.

to reconnect with their community through their Children & Youth and Americanism Programs.

On 27 January, South Ripley High Raiders and North Decatur Chargers unite alongside 9th District American Legion members and Indiana National Guard members to unfurl the court sized American flag, honoring America and its veterans. Photo courtesy of the Osgood Journal

Past Department Southern Vice Commander John Bubala talks to assembled Legion Family members at The American Legion Post 28 in New Albany, IN on 2 February, 2014 as part of the Annual Four Chaplains Memorial Service. Every year, American Legion posts nationwide remember Four Chaplains Day with memorial services that account for the heroism of four chaplains in 1943 on a frigid February night in the North Atlantic when a US transport ship carrying 900 US troops to help fight the Axis Forces was torpedoed by a German submarine. As the four chaplains aided and assisted the wounded they also comforted those who were dying. As the last of the lifeboats and life jackets were being distributed, the four men gave their own life jackets to four young men to help them survive the freezing waters. As the transport ship slipped under the waves, the four chaplains were reported to have been holding hands on the aft deck leading the others in a final prayer. Congress in 1960 awarded the four men with a Chaplains Medal for Heroism, a one-time only award for a non-combatant serviceman that would be the equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Columbus Post #24 Commander Rob Steinbach and Department Commander Ed Trice shake hands on 3 February 2014 to mark the transition of the post back to local authority after a 6-month reorganization and rebuilding process. The Post’s rebuilding process has helped reinvigorate the Post’s membership while at the same time giving them opportunities

Small Post bands together for a Large Project for the Community

By Sam Moore Orleans, Indiana Warren Brock Post #69

The Warren Brock Post #69 decided that their old veteran’s memorial needed to be replaced and brought into the future. They started a planning committee consisting with American legion members, many of the town people and the town of Orleans. They decided that they would need about $25.000 in order to accomplish the new memorial, and it would take up to about two years to complete. They wanted to have five tablets and flag poles.

They got together with a few people and came up with an idea for the design, and the town hired a design artist to make two designs. These were brought to the American Legion birthday dinner in March of 2013, and voted on. The American Legion set out on a vigorous campaign to raise the money to get started. It seemed one business owner was really into the idea and he donated $21,000. He stated if we were going to do it this time, let’s get it right. With the extra money the veteran’s memorial was upgraded to seven tablets, and even let us upgrade to seven flag poles, along with even add-

The American Legion turns 95 March 15!

nine and a half decades of service to our nation’s veterans and their communities. Millions of Legionnaires working daily to ensure that the nation honors and remembers the sacrifices of its veterans to ensure the Freedom and Liberty stays at the forefront of our nation. These are just some of the things that can be said about this special day in our Legion and American History.

What started as a simple meeting of service members in a Paris France Amphitheatre on a cool March morning dedicating themselves to remembering their association

in The Great War in 1919 has expanded to millions of veterans from all of our nation’s conflicts banding together across the generations and decades in a common cause to serve our veterans and their families through trials, tribulations and strife.

Every day Legionnaires strive to assist their fellow Americans in achieving their personal best while reminding them of the beauty of being an American and the special blessings placed upon this country which offsets the occasional weather or economic downturn which may afflict it.

Continued on page 16

ing some benches. We raised over $60,000 in just a few short months and ordered and paid for the monuments. The American Legion and a local construction company dug the footings and poured the concrete for the poles and they were set. The monuments were placed and names were added, all in just a few short months. By Veterans Day of 2013 the town was invited to the dedication of the new Veterans Memorial on Congress Square in downtown Orleans. We are very proud to say that this was a community wide effort.

2013-14 Oratorical Scholarship Results

District

Zone contests

Zone 1 contest (consisting of districts 1,2,3) will be held at Post 301, 956 W Indiana, Kouts on February 9 at 2:00 p.m.

Zone 2 contest (consisting of districts 4&5) will be hosted by the 5th district on February 16 at 1:00 p.m. at American Legion Post 368, 7536 E 450 S, Van Buren

Zone 3 contest (consisting of districts 6, 10, 11) will be hosted by the 10th district on

February 16 at 1:00 p.m. at American Legion Post 152, 224 E Main St., Knightstown

Zone 4 contest (consisting of districts 7,8,9) will be hosted by the 9th district and will be on IU-Bloomington’s campus, School of Public and Environmental Affairs, 1315 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405 at 10:00 a.m. on February 15.

State Contest

March 9, 2014 American Legion Department of Indiana Headquarters 1:00 p.m.

The new Veteran’s Memorial in Orleans, IN. It was dedicated last falls by Orleans Post #69 and the town of Orleans in memory of the veterans from the region who have served their nation when it needed them.

Nine Tips to a Successful Post

as of this writing, I have personally visited 210 individual Posts. All I can say is wow. We have the most amazing group of dedicated Legionnaires who volunteer their time and efforts to insure the organization’s continued success.

In visiting with these fine folks, I have seen some very successful posts and far too many struggling to stay afloat. I thought I would use my article this month to share my observations and pass on some advice that may be helpful.

The most successful Posts I have seen have these things in common:

1. Core team – The Posts that are doing well all have a team of three to five dedicated Legionnaires (usually Post Com-

mander, Adjutant, & Finance officer) who work together to insure the Post is operating as an American Legion and not just a Club Room. This team also insures that membership cards are processed and transmitted to department regularly.

2. Friendly environment –The Posts are clean and well maintained. Well lit with an inviting entrance way. The “regulars” and Post officers welcome people when they come in.

These folks usually offer to show visitors around and do a little bragging about how great their Post is and what it does for the community.

3. Program Participation –The most successful Posts are all very involved in the American Legion programs. They believe in the Four Pillars the American Legion were founded on.

4. Community involvement – Posts that actively participate in community activities and make their facilities available to other local nonprofits & governmental agencies are, almost without exception, growing and financially strong.

5. Business Plan – Being a Non-Profit organization does not mean that Posts are not supposed to make money. It means

that we are supposed to make a profit and then use those profits to advance the programs of the organization and our local communities. Running a Post is a business. Posts that operate as a business with a reasonable profit expected, do well.

6. operating Budget – Really a very simple thing to develop but an often overlooked business tool that can make all the difference in making decisions which can have long term effects on a Post. Posts that use this tool are far better off when the membership needs to make financial decisions in their meetings. If your Post Finance Officer doesn’t submit an Operating Budget to the membership for approval, please suggest it.

7. information – Posts that

Frequently Asked Membership Questions

1. Do transferring members count as new members for 2014?

• Members that transfer into your Post are only considered “new” if they are 2 or more years expired. Otherwise, they are considered a renewing transfer. However, if the transferring member already paid his/her previous Post, their previous Post has already counted them for the current year. Your Post will not get credit for them until the next membership year.

2. Can a lady become a Sal member?

• No. The requirements for

eligibility are very clear: “All male descendants, adopted sons and stepsons, etc…”

This is not discrimination. Ladies have the opportunity to join and participate in Legion activities through the American Legion Auxiliary.

3. We recently had a potential new member that has two characters of discharge: one is honorable, the other is not. are they eligible for membership in The american legion? • Technically, yes. Eligibility in The American Legion is defined as any veteran or active duty serviceperson that has an honorable discharge and has served within the defined eligibility periods. Since that person does possess a DD-214

indicating an Honorable discharge, they should be considered eligible for membership.

4. i am a Paid Up For life member. Will i receive a new plastic card with my new Post number on it?

• Yes. The National Headquarters, Paid Up For Life Division, will mail you a PUFL plastic card within 4 weeks of receiving your transfer. If for some reason you do not receive your card, you may contact the Paid Up For Life office at 317630-1221 and request that a new card be sent.

5. Why do i continue to re-

have a monthly newsletter which communicates Post activities to its membership do better than those who do not. Additionally, Posts that have their “OPEN HOURS” posted on their doors do far better than those who do not. For those Posts that have food available, the ones which have their “KITCHEN” hours posted do much better in food sales.

8. District & Department Participation – Posts who participate by attending District and Department meetings are more informed and have the correct information when there are regulatory (Excise & gaming) changes which can have a huge impact on the bottom line of a Post’s success.

Continued on page 22

ceive a renewal notice when i have already paid?

• Renewal Notices go out once every 3 months. National has a cut-off date that needs to be met or else the member(s) will end up getting another renewal notice. For example, if the cut-off date is January 1, National Headquarters must have received confirmation of your payment, by that date, in order to be taken off of the Renewal Notice mailing list. Chances are, if you paid within the last 4 weeks of receiving the renewal notice, the two just crossed paths somewhere in that time frame.

3-Star Recruiters by District

District 1

Noreen Komasinski

John Villegas

District 2

Philip Smith

Monte Martin

Mike Davis

Leonard Poplawski

Ken Wilson

Jon Sroufe

Jon Lybarger

John Harding

Jim Hall

Jeff Spickelmier

Jack Platt

Harry Kyler

Denny Pettit

Colin B. Steffen

Allen White

District 3

Phil Shea

Paul Steward

Mike Miller

District 4

Tom Frederick

Terry Smith

SW Epperson

Ronald Bollenbacher

Ron Kizer

Robin Pridgeon

John Custer

Jim Piepenbrok

Jim Hamilton

Jay Hilliard

James Timpe

J.R. Bash

Gary Parker

Don Dapp

Dick Tonkel

Bob Phares

Bob Miller

District 5

Rob Burkhart

Rick Woodward

Richie King, Jr.

Phil Turner

Paul Layman, Jr.

Paul James

Mike Comerford

Jerry Stevens

James Sites

Ed Trice

Dick Thomas

Dewayne Dunn

David Leykauf

Dave Ritenour

Charles Hendey

Barry Baker

District 6

Rodney Strong

Rich Culp

Patrick Blair

James Delaney

Harold Effron

Eric Stanley

Doug Ogle

Don Hudson

Don Babb

District 7

Roger Bradford

Kevin Hinton

Kenny Pridemore

Jim May

Gene Hoesman

Duffy Deroy

District 8

William Vanhooks, Jr.

Steve Rayner

Ryan Draper

Roy Gartleman

Ron Hanger

Ron Curry

Ron Byrley

Rod Marshall

Pete Snowden

Michael Sallee

Michael Brady

Melvin Jantzen

Leland Baxter

Larry French

Jurgen Turner

John Weir

Joe Curts

Jim Schlinder

Jim Koutz

Jim Bryan

Jeff Brady

Jacob Frederick

Eddie Wetzel

Ed Huber

Ed Giltner

Donnie Walter, Jr.

Dave Bryant

Daniel Lawson

Buckey Honaker

Bryce Hullett

Dave Noble

Dave Weber

David Sharber

Gary Sutton

Jesse Woods

John Craig

Larry Burns

Mel Vinson

District 9

Sharron Trouten

Ron Pridemore

Roger Jones

Roger Hilligoss

Rob Steinbach

Rick Rigsby

Randy Beeler

Ken Cash

Jim Tracey

Jerome Maune

Forrest Hunt

Darrell Hansel

Bill Parks

District 10

Wayne Wilcox

Ron Ordelheide

Robert Ervin

Ray Stamps

Paul Smith

Niles Gammon

Mary York

Kenny Toll

Kenny Coons

Kellis Allen

Jose Gaitan

John Renfro

Jim Cole

Jerry Jordon

Jason Knox

Homer Loudermilk

Dave Espich

District 11

Rex Ikemire

Kenny Cooper

Joe Fuller

David A. Snyder

Carla Diggs

Anthony Crosier

Membership Year: 2014—100% Posts

ChAplAIn’s CORneR

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our way to be inclusive and to move beyond simply the “good-old-boy” way of doing things. Change doesn’t just happen it takes a committed effort. I am grateful for my acceptance into the Legion family and what it has meant to me. I hope my family can experience the same.

For the lorD is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 10:5 NRSV

greetings from The 1st District! We are again digging ourselves out of newly fallen, everlasting (get the picture?) snow. We conducted a fine oratorical competition January 26 with 30 high school students speaking. Many Post# 39 members aided during the competition and our District Oratorical Committee Chairman Dan Buksa said it was a very well-run event.

The 1st District held its 42nd annual bowling tournament on January 18 and 19. There was one perfect game (300) bowled by Marc Dosen of Post 369. There were 16 teams participating which let’s me know that we have a great participation across our District. This is again another example of how we Legionnaires can go out into the communities and represent our organization to others.

I and several of our District’s legionnaires will be attending the Lincoln Pilgrimage on February 11 and 12th. Wile we are in Illinois, we will get to meet and talk to Legionnaires from across the Midwest to discuss what good things we are doing in our communities and how to help interest our fellow veterans into joining our team. Our District has a very high population of veterans from this latest conflict that we need to become focused on recruiting into our Posts. They will be the next generation to run our Posts and we need to identify good, active individuals and mentor them along for success in our District.

And finally, on a sad note I close by announcing the passing of Past First District Commander, Jack Smith, a great Legionnaire and human being. We will miss him and his positive approach to working for the Legion.

leGIOn tuRns 95

Continued from page 13

Legion Posts around our state serve their communities as shelters during storms and daily community centers for families and friends. Our Posts sponsor programs to educate our youth about America while at the same time providing them with healthy outlets for their energy in forms

hope everyone had safe holidays.

The 2nd District Commander and First Lady would like to thank everyone who came to the 2nd District Christmas party and hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

DISTRICT

jack platt C OMMANDER 2

Thanks to all who helped with the District revitalization. 1st and 2nd districts did a great job.

“Membership” will at times get harder to get members to renew so that means we have to work harder at membership and remind them about all the programs we offer for kids, we have boys and girls state, eagle scout, oratorical, flag education, boy scouts, and scholarships they need to be aware of these programs the legion offers.

A big thank you goes out to Dean Bower and Fred Langley for a great job at The District Oratorical Contest. Thank you also to Post 38 for their support and contestants for this year.

Next card turn in will be February 11, 2014 and March 9, 2014. We need to be at 91% on February 11 and 96% on March 9. Don’t forget cutoff for 2015 pre-printed cards and roster is March 26, 2014.

The post consolidated report and post officer certification forms will come to the post adjutant or the post. Every Post needs to fill them out and send them back to department when you get them. Green Machine, keep up the good work you are doing a fantastic job.

Thanks to all past District Commanders and the Green Machine.

We are 2nd to none.

of American Legion Baseball, Junior Shooting Sports and Scouting events.

When a Legion Posts provides back to their community, it is blessed in many ways past a monetary figure on a donation check.

It is blessed by having a core of concerned citizens dedicated to improving their community and providing a future for the families of not just their Legion Family but of all who live within.

As we celebrate this 95th birth-

Post 400 Fish Lake working with the Fish Lake Property Association On Feb. 1, 2014, held their 42nd annual Ice Fishing Derby and we donated the hall as well as other outside services to the participants. A few weeks before that, the post made a donation to the Vans for Vets program and to our local Volunteer Fire Department.

The SAL members of the post have been able to build 2 wheelchair ramps in our community and will be working further to aid own towns.

Post 154 Nappanee, as part of their Community Service Membership Drive night worked with the community’s local merchants, who contributed prizes for rewards for Post members signing up new members or current members rejoining. The Ladies Auxiliary are still clipping coupons for our military Post Exchanges. They are also involved in the HUGS program where they assemble care packages to send to our veterans overseas .

Our district focus for the upcoming quarter will remain the re-signing of Legion members and joining up fellow veterans to our Legion Family. We have the potential to do great things together in our District!

COMMAnDeR’s MessAGe

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day of our American Legion, we look back at all we have done to aid our country and our communities but we also look forward to our next century of service with our newest generation of veterans of the Persian Gulf Era. These new Veterans have the past to serve as an example of what can be done within the Legion for their children and families to invest in and they have the youth and energy to invest in making these programs even better for the future!

Social Media as well as ongoing advertising contracts with major radio and television stations in the state. I’m seeing the same growth in our District and Post levels as well with their own Public Relations efforts into our communities. Despite our most recent cold weather snaps, we are succeeding in bringing our Legionnaires and our programs out to the towns and cities in which we all reside.

Our Membership Committees have also been very active in conjunction with our advertising. We are currently on track to meet our stated goals for this year and as we work through our District Revitalizing Events, we are seeing even further growth that makes me confidant that we will achieve that goal this year.

I challenge you all to make this the year we break our 10 year decline and mark this as the year we start to rebuild our strength with our new veterans joining our efforts as fellow Legionnaires. HLH

Robert Miller

With the Holidays behind us and a record amount of snow during the month of January, I’m ready for the Sun to shine and warmer days to come. With the Lincoln Pilgrimage coming up the 12th of February and this being a short month, we need to really work hard getting those renewals. We only have five more Officer Visitations to go to get thru all the posts for the first time.

I will start visiting posts that I think are having trouble to see if there is anything that the 4th District can help with. Jim Timpe is working on a Mad Ants Veterans night and membership drive. We will be working on trying to get a new post started at Indiana University-Purdue University of Fort Wayne (IPFW) this month in addition to our local Ivy Tech center as well.

The Spring Conference is now scheduled for April 4, 5 and 6. That means that the revitalization will be the 10-12th of April. Keep these dates available as there is a lot of great information given out at the Spring Conference and we can really use all the help that you can give.

Do you have a Smartphone? The American Legion now has a mobile App available for free thru iTunes and Google play store. There is a lot of information on this App about programs of the American Legion. Check it out on National website at www.legion.org.

Do you have what it takes to be a District Officer? It is now the time for resolutions to be submitted to become one. If you are interested, get it typed up and approved at your post meeting and turned in to the District for consideration. We need a few good Veterans to continue the Programs of the American Legion.

All Posts should be on the lookout for the yearly packet of forms from Department. These need to be filled out on time so the State can submit the information on to National. The District will be keeping tabs on some of these forms to make sure they are filled out and sent in. A lot of our Programs are getting to the deadline for entry so they can be decided by Spring Conference so get your Candidates entry submitted to District so we can forward them on to Department on time.

If you need my assistance give me a call on my cell (260-242-1540) to reach me wherever I am within the District. Until next month be safe and warm.

greetings from the 5th district! It is hard to believe that this year is half over already. Time sure goes by quickly. We are proud to announce the opening of our newest post, American Legion Post 503. It is located in one of the Correctional Facilities in Pendleton, Indiana. This new Post gives our district its third post within the State’s Correctional Facilities. The Legionnaires we have in those Posts really focus on their community support programs and I am glad to see the projects they are working on in support of The American Legion’s Four Pillars. Mark it down on your calendars and try to do your best to attend. On March 9 we are taking our annual trip to the Indiana Veteran’s Home. It is always a great time with the veterans who reside there as well as for the Legionnaires who are lucky enough to go on the visit.

Best wishes from the 6th district. I want to thank Don Hudson and Carmel Post 155 for coordinating and hosting the District Oratorical contest. There were five contestants and all were impressive young men and women. The winner was Paige Murrell sponsored by Avon Post 145. This is a great example of a Legion program our District is supporting. Unfortunately, through my travels in our district I have found that there is more interest in controlling the canteen than in taking care of legion business. People if we don’t wake up we will not have a legion or a canteen to worry about. It also seems that there is very little interest in the programs the legion has to offer.

This district is going to be involved in a membership revitalization program. We need people to be available in the Terre Haute area, Crawfordsville area, and maybe another location. This will last several days and will be March 20 thru March 23, 2014. Also the Auxiliary unit 104 is putting on a Welcome Home program on May 10, 2014. There will be food, music, and a car & motorcycle show at Post 104 in Terre Haute.

jan. 1, 1989—The Veterans Administration is elevated to Cabinet-level status as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The Legion fought hard for the change, arguing that veterans deserve representation at the highest levels of government.

DisTricT NEws

greeting from the fighting 7th, another year has come and gone, we are now on the downhill slope of our membership drive for this year. Here in the 7th we are still trucking along. Encourage everyone to go out and recruit one new member and reinstate one new member to your local Post. I like to give a shout-out to our smaller Post in the district that are working for their communities. Like Coal City Post 141, who every year hosts a Christmas parade, providing the community with a free dinner and distributing Christmas baskets to the needy in the community. The 7th District Posts have also been hard working on our children and youth programs. Here are some to name a few: We had our district Oratorical contest and I would again like to congratulate David Wigington, a senior from Edgewood High School on winning the District level, and good luck in the Zone. I would also like to thank our Chairman Larry Tallion from Post 103 Mooresville, and Commander Dunbar, and Bloomington Post 18 for putting on a good contest. I would also like to thank my Flag etiquette and AGR chairman Bryon Thompson for the great work he did for those programs and the schools that participated in them.

These are just a few things that we in the American Legion stride to continue promoting in our communities though our youth programs and community involvement. I encourage every Post in the state to get in their schools and sponsor these programs. I also want to ensure our District is well represented in the future in The American Legion Hoosier Boy State also. If you or your Post just sponsors one boy then, that will make the program even better and you will ensure that a young man can gain an opportunity to learn about our Nation and its Republic.

seRvICes upDAte

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veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries may now be accessed through the Nationwide Gravesite Locator. Gravesites in private cemeteries marked with a government furnished headstone or marker since 1997 may also be located. Go to: http://gravelocator.cem.va.gov.

Continued on page 23

greetings from the great 8th Membership that’s what we hear about the most!!

I believe the key to membership is expanding our reach into other venue’s looking for members.

Our young Veterans are hiding in places like Colleges and Universities, using the GI Bill that they so richly deserve. In the 8th we have been fortunate enough to start a new Post at the University of Southern Indiana. In starting this Post we learned a few things on how to get your foot in the door. First thing, find the school’s Veterans Benefit Office, there is where you’ll find at least an opportunity to present your case. It will take persistence, my first visit was not very rewarding. We scheduled a meeting to present the reasons to start an American Legion Post on campus and one person showed up. This year went a little different since I had been there before and knew my way around; we went to the lounge of their new Veterans office and met 5 young men working on their laptops. We were in the right place at the right time. They were interested. All were veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan; they were going to school on the GI Bill. These 5 are all officers of the new Post, young and enthusiastic. The Post started with 22 members now is up to 34 with the potential for many more. They have got the support of the local ROTC commander and they have a large contingency of National Guard members who are now deployed. Once they were ready to start the Post the University was brought into the picture. At this point they became very helpful. The enthusiasm from these students sold the University on the idea. The University provided all the food for the Chartering Ceremony including cookies with The American Legion Emblem on them. This will be a good post for the 8th District and their home Post when they graduate. The area Posts have had a fund raiser for the new Post 324 to help them get started. This type of help has brought them into the American Legion family.

Another avenue we are working on is a large church in the area thru “Point Man Ministries”. They have a large number of Veterans who will not join the “Conventional Post”. I know we all have heard the story from a potential member, “I don’t approve of the drinking and smoking.” This is where we have to be knowledgeable about our programs to sell the proper ideas of the American Legion that we are not just a bar. The key to any of this is getting to the right person to get you in the door. Make sure you have a knowledgeable team when you get the opportunity.

greetings 9th District and all other Legionnaires ;

It’s been a great month for the 9th District. Membership is rising, Post #24, Columbus, is on it’s way to recovery. The 9th is very happy supporting it’s very own Ken Hylton for Department Commander.

The District meeting that was scheduled for May 10th at Post #337, Sunman, has been moved to Post #59, Rising Sun. Same date and same time.

We had a great turn out for the Mid-Winter Conference this year. I want to personally thank everyone for helping with covering the committee meetings.

You still have time to get nominations in for EMT, Firefighter and Law Officer of the year award.

If you need to contact me to get in touch with the appropriate person to turn in your nomination please do so. We also need nominations for Active Duty Personnel and Educator of the Year Award. Lets get busy and let the community people know that the 9th District of the American Legion appreciate all they do for us.

Continue to work your membership program and get these stragglers on board. We still have time before COB. I do appreciate all that this district does to support it’s officers and members (including the SAL, Aux. and ALR). So keep up the good work and I hope to see some new faces at our next District meeting and the Spring Conference.

DIstRICt 8

Continued from previous column

Lastly on this subject make sure you get every bit of publicity out of it you can. We had two TV stations, the University paper and the local newspaper as well as the Mayor of Evansville with a proclamation making the day of the chartering as “American Legion Brock Babb Post 324 Day” in Evansville. Department Commander Ed Trice made the presentation and was interviewed on the local news.

We need to continue looking for new ideas to bring these young members into The American Legion and we need to be receptive to their ideas and tastes once we get them as members. Then we need to educate them on what we do, not just take their money or we will lose them.

Another membership tool we have implemented

Continued on page 19

DisTricT NEws

greeting from a frozen 10th District Commander, with the holiday season behind us and hopefully the crappy winter, it is time to get back in the to saddle and make 2014 a prosperous year for the Legionaries of the 10th District. It has been busy with the holidays, snow, Mid-Winter Conference, snow and the sad news of a great Indiana Legionnaire, friend, mentor, and brother to all Hoosier Legionnaires Past Department Commander Mike Miller going to the Post everlasting; the 10th District thoughts and prays are with his wife and his family.

iam sure that the havoc of this years

Winter Weather has brought havoc to areas of all of the District of our Department of Indiana as it has in our 11th District.

Ron Ordelheide 10

Today, as I write this article 1st Lady Sandy and I just returned home from the District Oratorical Contest, these young high school students were amazing talking about the United States Constitution in their pretention, I would like to say thank you to everybody that made this contest possible, and Post 102 Morristown for hosting the event at the last minute, it was rescheduled 3 times due to snow. The District only had 2 candidates this year; I wish we had more participation. I would like to say thank you to everybody that helped and donated to the 10th District Hospitality Room at the Mid-Winter Conference.

National American Legion has scheduled a District Revitalization for the 10th District ,April 17th ,18th and 19th , and the event will be hosted at Post 216 Middletown. During the District Revitalization National will allow the Post representatives that are present to phone National Legion members and transfer them, (with the member’s verbal approval), to their Post. I need ever Post in the 10th District represented during this event, this is an opportunity to grow Post membership in the District; information to follow.

If you have read my articles in the last few issues “What the community thinks of the American Legion is just as basic as what the Legion post thinks of itself” and “American Legion Post as a franchise” you know that the American Legion is about programs that help serve the local community. A quote from the American Legion Mission Statement, “The American Legion’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. The organization belongs to the people it serves and the communities in which it thrives.” As District Commander I’m giving a general order to all 10th District Legionnaires calling General Quarters on Membership and Programs. As of February 1st the 10th District is in 2nd Place in Membership points for the Department this

DIstRICt 8

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DISTRICT ed harris, jr. 11

This is the second time in the past few years that the weather has caused our 11th District to postpone our Four Chaplains Memorial Services. Again we moved it to the First Sunday in March. The location remains in the same location as it has been for many years, the Past Department Commander William Cline Memorial Hall, Leo F. Welch Jr. American Legion Post 495.

We have been able it fairly well with the exception of Speedway American Legion Post 500. Even with the weather damage that they received they are slowly returning to normal.

While our 11th District is still working feverishly to move our present Department Membership Standings I must say that our position has given our 11th District a privilege on two occasions that no other District in our Department of Indiana has had and in all probably want. We were privileged to be the first to execute the New Membership Standing Program. On our first occasion our 11th District Membership Chairman PDC Rex A. Ikemire and I had the privilege of serving Juice and Coffee to our other ten District Commanders. On our second privilege, with all of the expertise that we had acquired the two of us were joined with our Vice Commanders Ronzell B. Collins, Timothy L. Elson, Kevin S. Mezger and Rees D. Morgan. On this occasion our service was extended to all.

It was a grand pleasure for this Commander to be able to participate along with our Department Commander his staff and the other District Commanders with our National Commander during his tour of Indiana.

As the winter will be breaking its grip on our state soon, we will be presented with an excellent opportunity to go out and open new doors for welcoming new members to our posts. Take the opportunity to meet a veteran and bring him into your post!

in the 8th, is that each Post now has a binder with all The American Legion Programs in it. We have encouraged our Post Commanders to educate their bartenders and club manager so they can give good information when someone asks when the Post Officers are absent. We will share this with Department if anyone would like to see it.

Hope you all have a good spring; we will be out knocking on doors!

Recruit and Retain! - Ron Byrley

8th District Commander Jeffersonville native David Jolley was honored recently by Post 35 American Legion. While serving in Vietnam, David lost his life on May 21, 1966 in the middle of one of the wars fiercest battles while saving the lives of many. For his gallantry he was awarded the Silver Star. On October 27, 2013 in a ceremony at Bethel AME Church, David Jolley was posthumously awarded The American Legion’s Citation for Meritorious Service. The citation was presented by 8th District Executive Vice Commander Dave Bryant and Jeffersonville Post 35 Commander Jim Schindler to his sister Jackie Jolley-Brown. Jackie said, “David sacrificed his life to protect his group.” “He is a hero because he helped others. We can honor him and other fallen veterans by living a life dedicated to helping others.”

Marengo Post 84 in Crawford County recently held a benefit for the family of John VanPelt, a longtime member. They were able to raise around $1,100.00. Another example of how the American Legion Family helps its own and the community.

Mount Vernon Post 5 was very fortunate to receive a grant from “CountryMark” for $2,255.00 toward the support of the Post 5 Honor Guard in appreciation for the many veterans funeral ceremonies they conduct along with appearing at many community events. The number of honor guards has dwindled and Post 5 has traveled as far as a hundred miles to honor a veteran.

A large percentage of the employees at “CountryMark” refinery in Mount Vernon are veterans. The “CountryMark” people know the value of military service in producing good work ethics.

I need your input for the Eighth District articles going into the Hoosier Legionnaire. If your Post or someone in your Post does something newsworthy please send it to me, Dave Sharber by e-mail to wobegone@att.net or by mail at PO Box 493 in Mt. Vernon, IN 47620. We need newsworthy legion, veteran and community-related information. Be proud of your post and your Legion Family. Share what they are doing. No gossip please, just news.

feb. 28, 2010—The entire Legion family bands together and wins $250,000 for Operation Comfort Warriors (OCW) in PepsiCo’s Refresh Everything Project, submitting the most votes in an online contest and beating out hundreds of other groups and charities to take first place in the contest’s first month. This is an early example of the still growing power of online and social media to augment everything the Legion does.

The Post Historian Has Resources For A Post History

ihave outlined in the past three issues of The Hoosier Legionnaire the background and importance of your Post’s history and its significance in the upcoming 100th anniversary of The American Legion. The commemoration and celebration will take place during the 2018 and 2019 Legion year. While compiling a one-year history is fairly straightforward and rewarding, many historians may wish to explore in greater detail the Post’s establishment and development from its early years. The following should help in discovering resources that will add important information to a developing historical compilation.

Department of indiana, The american legion probably has the main collection of information about your Post other than what might be found at the Post itself.

Contact: Telephone: 317 6301300; FAX 317 237-9801; email: members@indlegion.org

The national headquarters library of The american legion may have some information about your Post. You can ask the staff if there is any infor-

ADjutAnt’s Desk

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paid no rent to occupy the current structure, annual utilities, maintenance and repair costs topped more than $142,000, while forecast occupancy costs for the new building, when all factors are taken into consid-

mation in one of three areas in their collection:

• Department or Post files;

• The photograph collection;

• The index card file to The American Legion Magazine.

Contact: Telephone: 317 6301366; FAX: 317-630-1241; email: library@legion.org.

indiana State l ibrary has produced an excellent listing of public libraries around the state on its website. If you live in the catchment or property tax area of the library, this might also be a good time to sign up for a library card so that you can borrow books or use some of its other facilities. In either case, remember that there is no charge or restrictions to ask for information or use the resources within the public library building itself. One important collection to ask

about may be the newspaper cuttings collection. The Indiana State Library website address for the listing of Indiana public libraries is: http://www.stats.indiana. edu/maptools/librarydistricts. asp.

The type of information that you will see on the State Library’s website for each local public library will be its proper name, full address, telephone and fax numbers, the director of the library, opening and closing times, the website and email addresses.

Use the website address http://www.in.gov/library/ to access the Indiana State Library’s main webpage from which you can access the catalog to see if there is any information about your Post. Check also the catalog for possible local community publications— such as directories, pamphlets, or registers—that might have information. While it can be a considerable effort in time and expense to travel to Indianapolis, carrying out research in the local newspapers on file might reveal surprises about the Post operations from its early days.

l ocal historical societies may contain interesting information not found elsewhere. Some of that material may be in the form of letters, diaries, and journals, along with books, posters, and ephemera. The Indiana Historical Society, like the Indiana State Library, has an excellent listing of the county depositories and collections.

“Each county has one volunteer county historian who promotes local history in their counties and serves as the primary county history contact.” See: http:// www.indianahistory.org/ourservices/local-history-services/ local-history-contacts.

Southwestern indiana historical Society, located in the southwestern part of the state, is similar to the Indiana Historical Society for counties in that area. “The Society comprises historical information for eight counties: Posey, Gibson, Vanderburgh, Warrick, Spencer, Pike, Perry, and Dubois.”

Contact: Southwestern Indiana Historical Society; 2205 Lincoln Ave.; Evansville, IN 47714-1613; Robert C. Spear, President.

indiana l andmarks “is a nonprofit organization, fight-

ing to defend architecturally unique, historically significant, and communally cherished properties. We rescue them, we rehabilitate them, and we give them new purpose -- saving our state’s shared heritage and bringing new life to communities.” Does your Post operate out of an old building? If so, there may be a significant history or background about the building. Along with the Indianapolis headquarters offices, Indiana Landmarks has a number of regional centers that may have interesting information about older, significant buildings across the state. And if they don’t have information currently, perhaps the staff might want to consider recording details of your building or assist your members in a preservation program. See the website http://www.indianalandmarks.org/RegionalLandmarks/RegionalOffices/Pages/ default.aspx.

There is much information in many state organizations. The staff welcome your requests for information. By taking advantage of their help, you can compile a history that your Post will be proud of.

eration, range from a low of $11,000 to a high of $50,000 annually. More significant, however, is the nature of the purchase.

Several decades ago, farsighted Department leaders recognized the day would come when it would be necessary to find new quarters. To prepare for that day, a fund was established, based on a 10 cent per capita set-aside for a future building fund. Some years later, the set-aside was ended and

the accumulated principal was transferred into an investment fund – a strategic, special reserve -- that grew significantly.

The purchase of the new building, it was decided, would be accomplished by applying only the investment growth, thus preserving the original capital, and avoiding loan and mortgage costs, to the purchase. Essentially, the building has been purchased without spending a dime: it represents

the conversion of assets from one class of investment to another – in this case, from stocks to real estate.

What does that mean for you and me?

It means a significant reduction in annual operating costs. It means no dues increase for the foreseeable future. It means no reduction in youth programs or veterans assistance. And it means new energy and direction designed to prepare the

Legion for new generations of veterans who look to us for their well being.

As your Department Adjutant, I am proud to be a part of an organization that has the wisdom, the foresight and the courage to move confidently into the future, to “go fast when everyone else goes slow.”

I salute you all for your support and look forward to the many great things you will accomplish in your new home.

Joe Hovish DEPARTMENT hisTORiAN

InteRnAl AffAIRs

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any issues and asked everyone to reread the Membership Manual. He asked for questions and stated that he would help. Aubrey Hancock stated that National has the same type of point system. Mike stated that the Employer of the Year award was judged and the 8th District got more points because they were the only entry. District Revitalization was discussed: See Attached. Chairman Brady introduced Bruce Drake. Chairman Brady commented on the National Commander’s impression of Bruce. Bruce has been dubbed “Mighty Mouse” of the Department. Bruce talked about the membership tables at the Indy Colts games and thanked everyone for their hard work.

Membership Report was given. 8th District was in 1st place and 10th District was in 2nd place. District 8 and 10 District Commanders and Membership Chairmen will be attending the Washington Conference in March. Chairman Brady commented on the standings and asked the Committee to tell their adjutants to fill out their membership cards completely. Commander Ed Trice was introduced and thanked everyone for working membership.

Each District was asked to give a report on the activities of their Districts. Many reported that they were conducting drive arounds. District 8 stated that it’s hard work, but by working the programs and working the system works. District 8 stated that if an action will bring in a new member, it’s worth it.

Chairman Brady asked for questions and comments.

There were no requests for Department Funds. Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

Hnew pOst RevItAlIzAtIOnH

Chairman Herb Hoffman opened the meeting in proper form.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Committee and 7th District Chairman Herb Hoffman, Vice Chairman Ralph Perez, Commander’s Rep. and 10th District Chairman Paul Smith, Executive Section Larry Dent, 1st District Chairman Ralph Perez, 2nd District Chairman Larry Macy, 3rd District Chairman Anthony Sadowski, 4th District James Timpe, 6th District Rep. Veronica Spencer, 8th District Rep. Ron Byerly and 9th District Raymond Kerner.

Roll call disclosed the following absent: Vice Chairman Richard Thomas, National Rep. Liaison Bill Clark, Executive Section John Bubala, Executive Section Fred Langley, Executive Section James Daube, 5th District Chairman Dugless Fugitt, 6th District Chairman Jeremy Kowalsky, 8th District Chairman Joseph Curts and 11th District Chairman Rex Ikemire.

The minutes from Fall Conference were read and approved.

7th District reported that the new prison post is chartered and as soon as they can get into the prison, they will present the charter and new post supplies.

8th District reported that Post 324 is chartered with 29 members. The chairman pushed the idea of University Posts. They are growing in interest.

Chairman Hoffman asked for District reports:

1st District: Post 270’s resolution is written to close and members have been transferred.

Post 168 has an interested buyer.

2nd District: No Report.

3rd District: No Reprort.

4th District: Post 47 is starting bingo up again to help with the posts income. Post 13 is coming together, they have a new SAL Commander. The Legion, SAL and Auxiliary are all starting to work together. Post 82 is looking at a building in a shopping mall.

5th District: No Report

6th District: No Report

7th District: Brazil is doing well. The Dugger Post has stabilized.

8th District: Working on another post at IUS and Ivy Tech around Sellersburg as well as a church.

9th District: Post 24 in Columbus has 450 members, one member currently holds all the offices. There is no help for the Commander, they are behind on taxes and utilities. They are currently not working any of the programs.

10th District: The Greenfield Post is coming back and the problem has been removed from office.

11th District: No Report. There was no requests for Department funds. Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the meeting was adjourned in proper form.

HpuBlIC RelAtIOnsH

Vice Chairman Daniel Lawson opened the meeting in proper form. There was a Motion to correct the minutes from the Fall Conference to reflect the Committee did indeed meet for Mid-Winter.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Vice Chairman Daniel Lawson, Vice Chairman and 8th District Chairman David Sharber, Executive Section Steven Barnett, Executive Section Ernest Komasinski, Commander’s Rep. Von-

da Garringer, 2nd District Rep. Bob Pratt, 3rd District Chairman Mike Miller, 4th District Chairman Thomas Meyer, 6th District Chairman Yvonne Kraemer, 7th District Chairman Dave rook, 8th District Chairman David Sharber, 9th District Chairman Ron Taylor, 10th District Rep. Ron Ordelheide and 11th District Rep. Kevin Mezger.

Roll call disclosed the following members absent: Chairman Jerry Ward, Executive Section Richard Brown, Executive Section Ron Hanger, 1st District Chairman Patrick O’Donnell, 5th District Chairman Richie King, 10th District Chairman Danny White and 11th District Chairman Clyde Kerr.

Chairman Barnett stated that we need to get the public relations out of the post and into the public. He explained some things his post is doing and offered to assist anyone who needs help or guidance.

Department Communications Director Bruce Drake addressed the committee regarding getting the word out on publicity. He stated that he would come to any post and community to help in any way possible.

Chairman Sharber reported Post 5 runs a continual slide show that includes upcoming and past events.

Chairman Taylor reported they are working with State Rep.’s and Senators to get a highway named Vietnam Vet Road.

A Motion was made by Dave Rook for the committee to have an hour for Spring Conference, Bruce Drake seconded and the Motion passed unanimously.

The Committee requested a tv for Bruce drake to present a power point presentation at the joint spring conference.

Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the meeting adjourned in

proper form at 10:05.

HRelIGIOus eMphAsIsH

Chairman Norris Keirn opened the meeting in proper form. Opening prayer was given by Mary Aurtrey from Post 438 gave the invocation.

Roll call disclosed the following members present: Chairman Keirn, Secretary Rep. and 3rd District Rep. Dan Lee, 1st District Rep. Mike Wooden, 2nd District Rep. Bruce Steffen, 4th District Chairman, 5th District Rep. Phil Turner, 6th District Rep. Darrel Bowman, 7th District Chairman Robert Brinson, 9th District Rep. Jim Tracy, 10th District Rep. Kenny Coons and 11th District Rep. Andrew May.

Roll call disclosed the following absent: Vice Chairman Joseph Schuman, Vice Chairman Larry McDaniel, Commander’s Rep. and 1st District Chairman Stanley Nalewski, Secretary and 3rd District Chairman Charles Wotring, 2nd District Chairman Dwight Smith, 6th District Chairman John French, 7th District Chairman Robert Brinson, 8th District Chairman William Barrett, 9th District Chairman Lee Hupp, 10th District Chairman Kenny Coons and 11th District Chairman Alfred Gates.

The minutes from the Fall Conference was read and approved with the correction made of Joe Schuman being reported absent and he was present at that meeting.

Dr. Taylor spoke and thanked the chaplains for all the work they do. There was some discussion regarding PTSD and Disconnect. How to deal with why did this happen to me, how to cope with the pain? Chaplain Keirn spoke about better trained Chaplains and Combat Trauma. There was some discussion regarding how we are

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LEgiON NEws nAtIOnAl peRspeCtIve

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veterans, military personnel and their families. If enacted, the bill would, among other things, extend VA physical and mental health care to include a number of “alternative medicine” treatment modalities and expand dental care. It would also fund pending leases to 27 VA medical facilities, mostly community-based outpatient centers (CBOCs). Higher -Education benefits for active-duty servicemembers and veterans would also be expanded and, under a provision that repli -

ChAIRMAn’s nOtes

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9. elections – Post which has contested elections for key positions within the Post will be far more successful than Posts who have the same four or five people who run every year. The competition of a contested election makes everyone try just a little harder and it also provides a checks and balance system to prevent dishonesty or incompetency. With this in mind, all of our Posts will be holding elections soon. If you have a talent or skill set which could be helpful to your Post, run for the office – get involved. The Post officers can always use some help and some may be looking to step back and let some new ideas & younger members take on the mantle of leadership.

District revitalization

We have completed the Dis-

cates terms of the “GI Bill Tuition Fairness Act” – passed unanimously by the U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 3 –grant in-state tuition eligibility to student veterans pursuing courses at state universities and colleges.

The bill also lengthens the term of automatic VA medical care for returning veterans from five to 10 years, addresses the sometimes criticized treatment (or lack thereof) of military sexual trauma victims and extends caregiver benefits to all military families. Veterans employment and judicial matters are also considered in the bill, as are benefits claims backlog issues. The act would also abolish the controversial COLA (cost of living adjust -

trict Revitalization efforts on the 11th, 1st, 2nd, 8th and the 5th Districts with amazing results. Over 900 members have transferred out of the Headquarters posts and into our local Posts. Also, over 200 expired members have renewed their membership and transferred to local – active posts.

This is an outstanding program which helps answer the question of how and where can we get new members into our Post.

When your District has its Revitalization – make sure that at least two people are there each of the three days of the event. Posts that participate in this will get far more new members than those who don’t show up.

Its funny (& sad) that when I visit a Post and the Commander says they just can’t get any younger (Persian gulf era) veterans to join their post or the post has had numerous deaths over the last year and just can’t grow, and then they don’t send any-

ment) limits placed on military pensions, though in a pre-press conference gathering Sanders characterized the reversal of the COLA limits as essentially a “done deal.” “We may address it this week…or next, but the COLA decreases WILL be reversed,” he said.

On Feb. 4 in Washington, Eshel Ben-Jacob, adjunct professor of biochemistry and cell biology and senior investigator at the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics at Rice University in Houston, briefed The American Legion about the results of a study done on the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT).

The study, titled “Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy can Improve Post Concussion Syndrome

one to the Revitalization – why? The tool is here for us to use. It doesn’t cost the Post anything except a little time. The really cool thing about these events is, after the event is over, the District gets to keep the lists of potential members and can still contact these folks for many weeks after the event. Based on what we have seen, several hundred more will transfer to our local posts.

Membership

As of this writing, we have renewed 75,419 members, signed up 2,535 new members, and are 11,577 members away from our goal of 89,531. What is very interesting is that looking back over the past few years; we have historically received an average of 10,800 new & renewed members between this time and close of books. As you can see – we are within striking distance of achieving our goal. Keep up the good work and we will have a really good reason to celebrate at the Department

Years after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury,” evaluated 90 patients that received a HBOT regimen of treatment in 2009. For the treatment protocol, the patients were divided into two groups and received alternate HBOT treatments for twomonth periods. Without using any other therapies, including drugs, every patient showed substantial improvements. The study also concluded that HBOT can induce neuroplasticity, leading to repair of chronically impaired brain functions and improved quality of life in TBI with prolonged post concussion syndrome.

Neither the Department of Veterans Affairs nor the Department of Defense have adopted HBOT as a treatment for

Convention in July.

3 Star Salute – A huge shout out to our 3 Star Recruiters who are listed in the side article in the Membership section. They have doing great things in growing our Membership Rolls and rebuilding our American Legion Posts across the state of Indiana.

One thing we are noticing is that the Department is still receiving New Membership cards without the Recruiters name on the card. The District cannot receive credit for their recruiting efforts if the recruiters name isn’t on it. Please take an extra moment before transmitting membership cards to insure that the recruiters name in on the card. Your District Commander can be of assistance here if you need it.

We also have some great Legionnaires out there who are working hard to get their 3rd Recruiter Star. These Legionnaires are also working diligently and will hopefully make their own third star as well!

veterans and servicemembers afflicted with TBI.

Ralph Bozella, chairman of The American Legion’s Veterans Affairs & Rehabilitation (VA&R) Commission, listened in on the meeting by phone. He said the Legion’s role “is to shed a spotlight on innovative treatments that are available. Further, Bozella added that “we do not formally endorse one treatment or another. Instead, it is our goal that these treatments are brought to the forefront to go through the proper clinical trials and research studies to validate the treatment. We need these studies to move forward.”

Well, here is the end of another update and I look forward to working with you all as the year marches on!

LEgiON NEws

DIstRICt 10

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is good, everybody doing a great job with extra activities. Our actual membership percentage is 86.27%, (February goal 91%), the 10th District is in 5th place, and we need 903 members to pay their 2014 dues or 903 new members in the District by close of books in June.

I’m putting the challenge to every member of the Legion Family, to recruit 8 new members into their post to keep the legacy going. Everybody knows a veteran, he might be the doctor, coworker, banker, butcher, insurance agent, JUST ASK if they are a member of the American Legion Family, if not explain the benefits, give them a membership application and follow up; I was never ask to be

a Legionnaire until I moved to New Palestine.

There are several American Legion programs that the District needs assistance to support our mission that are essential that local Posts initiate in their communities. We have seen steady decline in enrollment over the years in the American Legion Hoosier Boys State program. Boys State provides high-school juniors an opportunity to learn how politics impact our daily lives. Boys State, participants learn the rights, privileges and responsibilities of franchised citizens. I challenge all the Post to advertise in the local or school paper and sponsor as many young men as possible; applicants must be summited before March 15th. Do not turn any young men away the District will find additional funding if needed. For More Information: http://in -

InteRnAl AffAIRs

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all spiritual beings. Dr. Taylor may bring a group in next January to work with people. He asked for the Committee to advertise to get more people here.

Chaplain Keirn is looking forward to Spring Conference, they plan on putting on a short program together. He asked the Committee for any ideas.

Mary Aurtrey of Post 438 announced they are putting on the 4 Chaplains program February 2nd at Post 495.

There were no requests for Department Funds. Chaplain Keirn gave the benediction. Being no further business to be brought before the Committee, the meeting adjourned in proper form.

dianalegion.org/page/content/ programs/hoosier-boys-state

Another program that the District has seen a decline in over the years is Convention Awards to recognize professionals who serve our communities, Educator, Military, Law Officer, EMS, Firefighter of the Year. I challenge every Post to select candidates from their local area in each category and summit their names to the District to recognize those who serve us. Every Post has a School , Fire department, and City or County Law Enforcement in their local community, this is a is great way for the American Legion to give back to the local community, this needs to be submitted back to the District March 1st. More Information: http://indianalegion.org/page/content/about/ convention-awards

District is looking for next year’s officers, 2014-2015, if you

stAte hOnOR

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guys and they took all of our suggestions and comments and worked on making little adjustments. It was a little challenging at first but they did a great job.”

Mike Spencer is the Post 72 3rd Vice Commander whose duties include overseeing the Honor Guard and Funeral Detail. Spencer spoke to the group before the presentation and handed out thanks.

“I want to thank Rodney Strong and Post 72 for helping us do our job,” Spencer said. “Whatever we have needed, the Legion has made sure we got it. This is a great day for us and I am proud of the way we serve our veterans and their families. We give respect, honor and dignity and we give our veterans a great send-off.”

At 89, Jim “Doc” Schlosser has served on the Honor Guard for more than 20 years. He is a rifleman on the detail. The World War II Marine veteran served on

are interested contact the District Commander your our District Representatives, we have several position that need to be filled, being involved in the District is an honor and gives you opportunity to learn more about the American Legion.

As I stated in my last article my goal is to have every Post represented at every Monthly District Meeting. Involvement by the Post at the District is very important in developing District programs, membership, communication between the Posts and Department, and networking with other Posts in the District. If you are considering in becoming an officer or delegate of your Post or a District officer the monthly district meeting is a good opportunity to learn about the American Legion program. The District meetings are open to all American Legion Members the next three meeting are:

the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Theater. “I believe it is my patriotic duty to serve on the Honor Guard,” Schlosser said. “I enjoy the camaraderie of they guys and enjoy serving our veterans.”

One of the new services the Honor Guard has added recently has been successful thanks to the assistance of the National Guard and Link. Recently they began conducting military services inside during cold weather instead of at graveside.

Now that the funeral detail is certified they are assisted by two National Guardsmen who handle and present the flags to veteran’s families.

“Our indoor ceremony is really good,” Spencer said. “Watching the two Army soldiers properly folding the flag and snapping it is something to see. We have gotten good responses for the ceremony.”

“We want to thank the National Guard for their help in acquiring this certification,” Spencer said. “ They have helped us become a better and more efficient detail.”

• Mar. 1, 2014, Post 446, 14708 W. 6th Street, Daleville- 7:00 p.m.

• April 12, 2014, Post 182, 5242 W. US Hwy. 52, New Palestine-7:00 p.m.

• May 3, 2014. Post 102, 339 W. Main Street, Morristown-7:00 p.m.

important event Dates:

• Mar 9, Membership Turnin 96%

• Mar 26, 2014, Cut-off for 2015 pre-printed cards & rosters.

• April 4, 5, & 6, Spring Conference

• April 17, 18, & 19, District Revitalization, Post 216 Middletown.

• May 11, Membership Turn-in 100%

• June 8, IVH Close of Books 101%

HLH

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Book Signing at the indiana Veterans home (iVh): IVH will host a book signing with IVH resident, Ray Miller. When Mr. Miller heard about the attack on Pearl Harbor, he walked away from an athletic scholarship at Purdue to join the Army Air Corps. He became a B-17 pilot and flew 22 missions. Ray has quite a story, which has now been captured in his new biography. He will be at the book signing along with the author Ruby Gwin on Saturday, February 22, 2014 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM, MacArthur Library, Indiana Veterans Home, 3851 River Road, West Lafayette, Indiana.

Disability Benefits Questionnaires (DBQ)s: DBQs are a documentation tool that provides sufficient medical evidence needed for VA disability claims adjudication. DBQs provide a standardized format for communication of medical evidence for disability benefits purposes. DBQs are intended for use by disability examiners (including disability contract clinicians), Veteran Health Administration (VHA) primary care and specialty care providers, and private sector physicians. VHA Directive 2013002, January 14, 2013, notes a “no wrong door” philosophy must be adopted to accommodate veterans bringing a DBQ to a VHA facility. Veterans may ask the primary care providers (PCPs) and specialists to complete a DBQ for conditions which are already diagnosed and documented and for which the PCP or specialist is treating the veterans. DBQs can be completed during a routine office visit when there is sufficient time and medical information is available. DBQs can also be completed outside of an office visit, or an appointment can be scheduled for completion. A DBQ completed by a PCP, a specialist, or the veteran’s private physician is considered by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) as medical evidence to support the veteran’s claim, but a DBQ alone is not a claim in of itself. If a disability claim has never been filed, the claim must be filed using the appropriate claims application, such as, a VA Form 21-526EZ. VHA clinicians are not to complete a DBQ if they believe they are not confident in completing the DBQ, it is found that the DBQ requires diagnostic testing not indicated in the history or current symptoms, or it would otherwise be inappropriate to completed. For mental health disability examination requests, VA recommends that the veteran’s treating provider not complete the disability exami-

nation in order to maintain the integrity of the patient-provider relationship. VA mental health providers will likely take this recommendation as not requiring them to complete DBQs for their patients especially if doing so could disrupt the patientprovider relationship. The recommendation of course, would not preclude VA mental health providers in completing DBQ’s if the provider believes doing so could help the patient with a disability benefits claim without risking the patient-provider relationship. (Much of this information has been derived from VHA Directive 2013-002, January 14, 2013) Further information about DBQs and a listing of DBQs are found at: http://www. benefits.va.gov/compensation/ dbq_disabilityexams.asp.