Retired Marine Lt. Gen. Victor H. "Brute" Krulak celebrated for his leadership in World War II, Korea and Vietnam and for his authoritative book on the Marines, "First to Fight," died Monday at Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla. He was 95 and had been in declining health for several years.

As your National Commandant it has been a pleasure to be able to travel around the country and to speak with Marine Corps Leaguers. I have made it a point to try and attend some Department and Detachment meetings and I will continue to do so as my schedule permits. Marines, it is refreshing to hear first hand what is going on in our Departments and Detachments around the country. I must tell you that some very good ideas have come from these visits with the membership and at this time I want to thank all those members for their interest and dedication to our League.

Just before Thanksgiving, we closed a deal that we believe will be a very exciting NEXT BIG STEP in the growth and evolution of the Marine Corps League.

WASHINGTON: Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities will see an increase in their payments beginning January 9.

Of Potential Benefit to Those in Financial Distress
WASHINGTON: Veterans with conventional home loans now have new options for refinancing to a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) guaranteed home loan.  These new options are available as a result of the Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008, which the President signed into law on October 10, 2008.

Arlington, VA: For Veterans Day, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has released a new 14-page brochure on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), treatment and recovery.

By VA Secretary Dr. James B. Peake
WASHINGTON: "I worked for General Shinseki when he was Army Chief of Staff and am proud to count him as a friend.  He is a soldier who has dedicated his life to serving this nation.  He knows service men and women, he knows large organizations, and he knows Washington.

BAGHDAD: American troops could face trial before Iraqi courts for major crimes committed off base and when not on missions, under a draft security pact hammered out in months of tortuous negotiations, Iraqi officials familiar with the accord said Wednesday

WASHINGTON: Instant electronic medical information from the Department of Defense (DoD) about severely wounded troops soon will be transferred to four Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) special treatment centers.  The two departments completed a successful pilot project sharing patient information between Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the Polytrauma Unit at the Tampa, Fla., VA Medical Center.

My name is Cpl Richard D. Penedo, and I would like to share with you the story of my visit back home, and all of the things that followed. I joined the USMC May 4th, 2004, and I'm currently serving my second term, or reenlistment, stationed in Quantico, VA. a month ago, I fell into a deep slump, and even though being a Marine is something to be very proud of, I didn't quite feel happy and proud with myself, that is until my visit back home.

Dear Colleagues, As an army grunt in August of 1967, on a mission with the ROK Marines in central I Corps, I had an experience that created a lifelong bond for me with the United States Marine Corps. Recently I authored a book for our troops, their families, and friends who are dealing with post traumatic stress.

I enlisted in the Navy in June 1975 attended Boot Camp in Great Lakes Ill., from there I went to Basic Electronics School and then on to Fire Control School. I thought Fire Control was something to do with Fire Fighting, but it was to fix guns and I was the type of person that was not interested in Killing someone, I was use to saving lives.  You see before entering the service I was a member of a Rescue Squad in Northern VA where I was from and so, I dropped out of school. I went to see a Navy Classifier, and he asked me why didn't I go into the Hospital Corps and I said that I wanted to follow in my fathers footsteps as a Sonar Tech, and instead I thought someone in the Navy had read my profile and saw that I was an Emergency Medical Technician from the state of Virginia.

The Defense Department announced today the establishment of a new Physical Disability Board of Review (PDBR) to review disability ratings of wounded warriors and provide another avenue of administrative recourse for our wounded veterans. The Air Force has been designated as lead DoD component for operation and management of the PDBR.

My name is Chris Ott.  My son is LCPL John Doody.  He was shot several times in the leg last March while serving as a Marine in the Al Anbar province.  He was recovering at the NMCSD when he suffered from a stroke caused by an infection in his heart related to his gunshot wounds.  He was unconscious for a number of hours and then suffered from anoxic brain injury - lack of oxygen.

Nearly 570,000 to be Reached by New Call Center
WASHINGTON: On May 1, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will begin contacting nearly 570,000 recent combat veterans to ensure they know about VA’s medical services and other benefits.

WASHINGTON: A new edition of the popular handbook Federal Benefits for Veterans and Dependents by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) updates the rates for certain federal payments and outlines a variety of programs and benefits for American veterans.

Marines don’t leave Marines behind - the Marine Corps League didn’t leave this Marine behind and we thank Alessandra Kellerman and her organization - Homefront Hugs for bringing him to our attention. 

It's been a while since I've surfed over to see National's site.  I popped over just last night.  That was May 18, 2005.  It was already late at night.  It's Thursday almost noon now and I have come home for lunch to see if a few things, I tried while here last night, were still ok.  I am glad to see that they are.  This new site seems to have a great way of interacting with any member out there who is 'online' and wants to interact.  Outstanding!!!  I'll try to make a contribution from time to time.  Dan