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Special Notice: If you are a veteran in emotional crisis and need help RIGHT NOW, call this toll-free number 1-800-273-8255, available 24/7, and tell them you are a veteran. All calls are confidential.

A message from veterans collectiblesVeterans Collectibles

60% off ALL Merchandise

VVA’s Veterans Collectibles is having a one-time-only closeout sale. All merchandise is half price and all sales are final. There will be no refunds, returns, or exchanges. This 60% sale applies only to merchandise on hand; we cannot back order any item. Regular shipping charges do apply.

The reason for the sale: Veterans Collectibles is being completely re-organized. In January, we will re-open for business with a full line of merchandise under a new name.

Meanwhile, place your orders today by mail, fax, or email. Contact: VVA, P.O. Box 17416, Baltimore, MD 21297; email emitchell@vva.org, or fax 888-919-8387. Sorry, no phone orders will be accepted.


Las Vegas Sun

Serving veterans promptly
Veterans Affairs Department should speed up processing of disability claims and appeals

Mon, Dec 22, 2008 (2:06 a.m.)

Once in a while a judge will express sympathy for a plaintiff, only to rule against that individual or group because of lack of jurisdiction. That’s what happened Wednesday when U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton in Washington turned down a claim from two veterans groups that think the Veterans Affairs Department drags its feet when it comes to processing disability claims.

Walton recognized the plaintiffs, Vietnam Veterans of America and Veterans of Modern Warfare, have a legitimate complaint against Veterans Affairs. “As much as I as an individual would like to see claims expeditiously concluded, I just don’t see how I could provide the relief,” he said in court. “If I did, I would be reversed in a heartbeat.”

[ read the full article ]


Media Advisory: DEC 17th U.S. DISTRICT COURTHOUSE RALLY

VETERANS WILL GATHER TO FIGHT FOR FASTER DISABILITY BENEFITS DECISIONS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIR

WHAT:   Hundreds of thousands of America’s heroes are facing irreparable financial and personal hardship because the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking a year, and in many cases more than four years, to provide decisions on their disability claims.  Veterans will gather at the U.S. District Courthouse to show support for a lawsuit filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and Veterans of Modern Warfare (VMW) against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  The Court is holding a hearing on December 17 to hear arguments from the VVA and VMW and the VA.

The lawsuit filed by the VVA and VMW on behalf of thousands of American veterans seeks 90-day decisions on initial claims for disability benefits, and a 180-day period to resolve appeals of those decisions.  If the VA cannot meet these standards, the VVA and VMW are asking for equitable relief in the form of interim benefits, which will provide veterans with a lifeline of support when it is most needed most.

Veterans sharing stories of their arduous battles with the VA to receive the benefits to which they are entitled and representing the hundreds of thousands of veterans who are still waiting for resolution on their claims.

WHEN:   10 AM, Wednesday, December 17, 2008
WHERE: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
333 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20001

MORE: 

  • The VA takes a year or more to deliver initial benefits decisions, and on average, appeals take more than 4 years.
  • The VA has a backlog of more than 600,000 benefit claims. This number will increase as the 1.6 million troops that served in Iraq and Afghanistan become eligible for benefits.
  • A soldier’s transition to civilian life is challenging. Delayed disability benefit awards create an additional and, in many cases, unmanageable stress for an already suffering population.  According to the VA, the suicide rate among individuals in the VA’s care may be as high as 7.5 times the national average, and every night more than 150,000 American veterans are homeless.
  • Delays of benefits result in lost homes, lost jobs, broken families and destroyed lives.   
For more info go to:        www.veteransnewsroom.com

In Memoriam

Our VVA and AVVA membership both past and present are utmost important to our organization and the rich history they bring. Our members who have died have not been forgotten and remain as integral part of the history of Vietnam Veterans of America and Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America. These men and women have made what VVA and AVVA is today and continues to be. It in this vein, that we want to honor their memory and legacy by publishing their obituary narratives as they have been collected and written. Some are more complete than others depending on the information that was provided to the National Chaplain. It is the intent of this site to post all the narratives that have been collected since we started publishing the TAPS column. Please note that we did not start TAPS column at the beginning of our organization but only many years later and there will be many whose names will not appear but their memory nevertheless lives on. Please remember these men and women who have given so much to make VVA and AVVA what it is today – “one generation of Veterans not leaving another behind.”

Father Phil Salois, M.S.
VVA National Chaplain

[ visit the TAPS section on vva.org ]


The Things You Can’t Take With You

“You can’t take it with you,” the old saying insists, and it’s true, of course. But there’s another way to look at the things you can’t take with you. The things you leave behind can express the priorities of your life, and how you want to be remembered. Leaving those things to the people and causes you care about can be one of the defining acts of your life.

And if you don’t do it yourself, a government bureaucracy will do it for you.

Legacy ClockTo avoid that sad fate, many Vietnam members are creating detailed wills. Vietnam Veterans of America is offering a free Will Planning Guide, with a helpful Will Planning Checklist to take the mystery out of the process. VVA has also recently created a program called the Lasting Legacy Society to recognize those veterans who include VVA in their wills.

VVA members and friends who remember VVA in their will become members of VVA’s Lasting Legacy Society and as a token of VVA’s appreciation will receive a finely crafted clock of genuine black marble, solid brass, and select American walnut. This handsome timepiece stands 9” tall and will be a welcome addition to any bookcase or fireplace mantel. VVA will proudly welcome members to the Lasting Legacy Society and ship the exclusive VVA Society clock to those who provide evidence, such as a copy of the will or letter from their attorney, that VVA is named as a beneficiary of their estate.

[ click to learn more and to request the free VVA will planner & checklist ]


The VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to Agent Orange

Agent Orange Guide
Click on the cover (above) to go to the guide.


The Wall 25th Anniversary Commemorative book

To commemorate the anniversary and memorial events, Vietnam Veterans of America has teamed up with Boston Publishing Company, known to most of our members as the publisher of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book series, The Vietnam Experience.

[Order The Wall Book]

 

 

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