“Those without vision perish.” That is not the case for Arizona State Representative Frank Antenori, and his colleagues who had the vision and courage to penetrate decades of denial of benefits to disabled veterans that have been granted in many States for 40 years.

House Bill 2350: Tuition Waivers For Wounded Veterans, was signed by Governor Brewer on Friday. But with all the hoopla and circus of the Immigration Bill, the advocacy and diligence it took to get this fine piece of legislation pass the Board of  Regents, has remained in the shade. Ironically that is often the way with Veterans Affairs. We give lip service to supporting veterans of war, but so seldom are there substantive results.

Antenori’s bill will mandate that Arizona community colleges and universities must provide tuition waiver scholarships to veterans whose wounds left them with a 50 percent disability rating, and a purple heart.  These benefits could then be transfered to either ones spouse or children under the age of 30.

“These veterans are economically challenged with their disabilities, and their chances for working our going to be limited,” Antenori said.

For years, easily the past three decades, Arizona legislators, including the Board of Regents, and their administrative counterparts at all three major universities; Arizona State, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona have either blocked like kind legislation and or never allowed it to get out of committee.  All of our fraternal organizations, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, AmVets, Disabled American Veterans, Marine Corps League, combined, have never been able to penetrate this veil of shame, even though all three of the universities take federal monies.

Three of the largest military installations in the United States are in Arizona, and we have not been able to take care of our vets the way this legislation proposes. Congratulations Antenori and company! This is the very reason we need more veterans in elected office.

And how did I learn of this bill that so many of my pals have worked to accomplish for most of their adult life?  By an accidental conversation with a Vietnam Veteran who was recently elected as a vice president of the local chapter of Vietnam Veterans of America; Chapter #106. David Alegria, a Purple Heart recipient and the current President of the Purple Heart Association shared with myself and a couple of Iraq vets the exact modus operandi of getting this past the naysayers.

It is well known that the employees and their spouses get free tuition at our State Universities. Their dependents get a 75% discount on tuition. Juxtapose this with veterans who have signed over their life and soul for our country and it looks a bit silly to not grant the same perks. Especially when one proclaims they will publish a list of all those who get those benefits, including part time employees who are of great financial substance.

I know of these folks. One time while hobnobbing in the VIP room at a Football game, I meandered out to the terrace for a Pepsi. I was startled to see a very wealthy real estate developer working the booth. “What in the world are you doing here,” I asked. He stated with great pride of forethought that he took the job to get free tuition for his kids. I was floored! I later inquired about one of these jobs, anticipating the same financial foresight for my children, as this real estate maven had arranged. I soon discovered that this was a rather exclusive clan and that I would probably have to wait a very long time for one of those jeweled positions.  Even a family President Club membership would not move me up in the ranks of the select.

To place this favored status on the table next to our veterans of war, who insure the very existence of higher education, was a stroke of genius on the part of  Antenori and Alegria.

Too bad this never made the evening news.  You all know that story.

Here is some of the current legislation that could use some positive energy sent to your elected representatives in the Congress and Senate.

H.R. 2254 Agent Orange Equity Act: Clarifies presumptions relating to the exposure of a population of veterans who served in the vicinity of the Republic of Vietnam.

You will note the word “vicinity.” Yes that means Navy ships and Air Force installations wherein personnel handled 55 gallon drums of Dioxin, known as Agent Orange.

The DOD acknowledged nearly 7 years ago that we dropped twice the amount of defoliant as was first reported.  This problem will dog the Vietnam Veteran to the grave.  Imagine the fact that ALS/ Lou Gehrig Disease was linked to service-connected claims  for World War ll veterans in 2008!  65 years later!

H.R. 1377/ S 404–Veterans Emergency Care Fairness Act: To expand veterans eligibility for reimbursement by the Secretary of Veteran Affairs  for the emergency treatment furnished in a non-Department facility.

Pretty important stuff for rural areas. We often forget the folks that do not live in the cities.

H.R. 2573 Atomic Veterans Relief Act: To revise the eligibility for the presumption of service-connection of certain diseases and disabilities for veterans exposed to ionizing radiation during military service.

I know two men here in Tucson who attended ABC School; Atomic, Biological, Chemical Warfare school, who have been fighting for their benefits for 15 years! It is clear that that the DOD does not want to create damaging case law.

H.R. 4045: To increase burial benefits for veterans.

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
National Executive Director
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

Oh, every now and then it seems like an obligation to keep our readers on top of the definitions that define our new veterans.

For those who have not followed the DOD name game, our veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan are officially GWOT’s. They are veterans of the Global War on Terror. The curious thing about this terminology is that it has no geographic base or locale. Kinda creepy in some respects. It is as if we know that the War On Terror, which will never need to be officially declared as a war, will just go on ad infinitum. George Orwell would have a hey day with this terminology.

What is the next step; the Global Cosmic War?  Will we always be protecting the cosmos on our own? Do our allies call themselves GWOT’s? I do not know.

The other moniker that is new is the redefining of Iraqi Freedom. Seven years after we launched our “liberation,” of Iraq, the U.S. campaign in Iraq has been renamed, “Operation New Dawn.” The new name will start to be used in September. Curious eh? Why September? Is that when school starts in Tekrit?

Defense secretary Robert Gates tells us that the revised code name will, “recognize our evolving relationship with the government of Iraq.” I suspect this is code talk for our permanent presence in the cradle of civilization. They gave us Algebra the first time around. I wonder what we will be gifted this time? Surely not oil.

Doublespeak examples;

Collateral damage–civilian deaths

transfer tube–body bag

wet work–assasination

balanced scientists–biased science

aerial ordinance–bombs

ally–vasal state or colony

The Purple Heart

In 2005 when President Bush wisely enacted the Stolen Valor Act we had just heard the tales of Steve Burton,the bogus Marine Lt. Colonel who sported a chest full of medals and ribbons he awarded himself by filling out some mail order forms.

Steven Burton was a bank teller with a fantasy life that consumed him. Since the outing of Burton, approximately 60 others have  been nabbed in their quest for a confabulated notoriety.

Curiously there are no women in these ranks. There must some deep archetypal  meaning to this gender tilt and the need for men to reinvent for themselves a past life of valor. After all, the root of the word valor simply means ‘value.’  Are these men so suffering from the lack of value and self-esteem that the impostor persona affords them a Walter Mitty life in real time?

This syndrome does not discriminate against socio-economic status. When Illinios Circuit Court Judge Michael O’Brien got caught in the cookie jar of bravery for polishing his two Medal of Honor medals—yes two, he simply resigned to avoid prosecution for fraud.  Wrong! There should be no path around prosecution. At the very minimum the offense of stolen valor should carry the same weight as impersonating a police officer.

If as Shakespeare penned, “the better part of valor is discretion,” then our courts need to valorize with great discretionary courage the distinction between a combatant, who wrote the proverbial blank check for liberty with his/her life, from the commoner who may well be a fine citizen but must be stripped of the warrior moniker and resume add-ons.

Possibly a community penance and public apology instituted by the courts would abate such egomaniacal behavior. A Scarlett Letter in the form of an upside down “V” worn for a month in public parks may be the proper consequence.

It does appear, however, that a man will starve his own infirmities to support his intractable vanity, as the beat goes on with the continued emergence of the vulgar feigning of valor.

In our own Arizona backyard, JD “Duke” Schechter, an Arizona State Senate candidate was exposed for claiming a Silver Star and Purple Hearts.   Don’t you love these tough guys named Duke?

David Vincent Weber, 69, from San Diego was charged with a misdemeanor for wearing fake medals at a Veterans Day event. Weber was posing as a retired Marine General and was given the red carpet treatment. Bold eh? Maybe there should be a ribbon for such aberrant behavior.  It could be laced with pepper spray that is released each time they lie.

One would think that the fanfare given in the media would scare the crap out of these phony GI Joe”s, but it does not.

In my travels amongst  a wide population of veteran circles I hear stories to this day. It may be that so much time has been spent on the construction of a war time edifice that the individual actually believes and lives out snippets of truth– so the parts become the whole.

An acquaintance of mine, a retired Army Captain, Tom Carhart  who served in Vietnam with the 101st Airborne Tiger Force and works as a speaker/archivist for West Point, hosted us in September of 2003 at his home in Falls Church, Va.  The war stories were flowing amongst a collection of combat veterans and good wine.  Carhart suggested to to us old grunts that because of the duration of the war and the immense number of veterans one could meet, in that 15 year period,  hundreds of vets and a good wanna-be could actually cobble together  a plausible story by adopting bit and pieces of everyone else’s war encounters.

While the result of these confabulated tales was just one big fat lie, we all concurred that these dudes were good hearted men who embodied a pronounced, paradoxical as it may be, respect for the the combat soldier. They are mostly helping spirits who have had trauma elsewhere in their lives and use the war as a mask for other symptomatic behavior they would rather not expose.

Our motorcycle traveling partner, ” Manic Mike,” once said, “I feel both sympathy and pity for those REMF’s,( Rear Echelon Mother F- – kers) who wanted so badly to be in the tall grass.”

I am reminded of Ernest Hemingway’s  rather twisted characterization of the support soldier who never fired his weapon, nor was fired upon.  “And they never even got to experience the glory of war,” Hemmingway said.   If you place that phrase in the context of his novel, you will see he was satirizing the glory of war while shedding light on the profile of certain non- combatants.  It pans two ways.

” It is a vulgar error that the thunder never kills anyone who is asleep.”  Cotton Mather

“The vulgar, thus through imitation errors.” Pope

The meaning of the word vulgar has its roots in a slam on common people.

Is the motivation to fictionalize ones soldiering into a non-fiction war documentary but a self imposed initiation rite and a way out of the intolerable mediocrity of the commoner?

In now the sixth episode of the HBO series, “Pacific.” I am struck by the humility and lack of boisterous tales from the men who so valiantly fought at Guadalcanal and many of the Solomon Islands. That is valor! That is a Band of Brothers with a chemistry that is palpable.

Should you ever wonder if you have Stolen Valor at your Church, School, Soccer, Boy Scouts or the workplace—look and listen for the most vocal in the bunch. They probably lack a valence factor, defining what happens when atoms bond with each other. Most of these men will be singular actors with no supporting cast.

Director’s Notes
Memories are less about validating or authenticating the past
than they are about organizing the present and constructing
strategies with which one might imagine a livable future.
Alison Landsberg
The Sixties. Woodstock, Free love, Peace, Hippies, Hashish.
VIETNAM. The Sixties. Hendrix, Dylan, Donovan, Biaz, Beatles, Cocker,
Crosby, Counterculture, Cocaine. VIETNAM. The Sixties. Communism,
Cold War, Kennedy, Camelot, Johnson, Nixon, Napalm. VIETNAM.
The Sixties. Scrutinized, eulogized, epitomized, emphasized,
rationalized, and romanticized. VIETNAM…
With its infamies, explanations, and heartbreak the Vietnam War is
arguably the major event to engross the nation during this
tumultuous decade. It is no wonder that writers are drawn to the
resonance and power of the time. It is no wonder that Vietnam
remains an issue in our nation’s politics and a source of anger and
conflict for our nation’s people. It is no wonder that forty some years
later we are still willing, and perhaps eager, to witness yet another
rendering of the experience. ‘
I was drawn to this story by the characters who drive it and because
the war in Vietnam provides a rich backdrop against which to explore
the notions of love and loss, truths and half-truths, seeing and
believing …imagining the possibilities for a “livable future,” It has
been an incredible venture during which we as a company have
plotted and pondered, floundered, soared, sputtered, laughed, crie
and kicked to bring this work to fruition. I mean that in a good war.
Thank you for your patronage. You make the journey complete.

Susan Arnold- Director, “Last Of The Boys.”

Hi Mike,

Thanks for responding to Kathy Allen’s review. You understood exactly the point of this play.

I would like to offer the following to your compatriots for this coming Thursday’s performance –

For 10 Vets who would not otherwise be able to see this play because of their income situation, tell them to come to the theatre and use your name and I will give them comp tickets that night. They may bring a guest and only pay $5 for the guest ticket. This offer expires at 7:10 p.m. that night or when these tickets are gone.

For the remainder of the Vets you know, we will be happy to offer them a Buy one ticket at $15 and Get one ticket free.

This applies to service in any conflict but they must present proof of service – DD2 card, Active Military, VA card.

And it’s first come, first served until we fill our 95 seats on the night of performance.

Is there a way that you can get this offer out to the many service men and women who might not otherwise hear about this?

Thanks,

Beth

Beth Dell

Managing Director

Beowulf Alley Theatre

11 South 6th Avenue

Tucson, AZ 85701

(520) 622-4460 Admin.

(520) 882-0555 Box Office

theatre@beowulfalley.org

www.beowulfalley.org

PROGRAMS OF THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
MARINES HELPING MARINES – WOUNDED MARINES PROGRAM
The program was created to support injured Marine Corps personnel located
at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, Walter Reed
Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, Brooke Army hospital in San
Antonio, as well as the Naval Hospitals at Balboa, Camp Pendleton and
elsewhere. The Wounded Marines Program works closely with the Wounded
Warrior Regiment. The scope of support encompasses; financial support,
visits from Marine Corps League members, off site day trips to include family
outings, dinners, short trips in support of the individual Marines’ needs and
professional sporting events as tickets and opportunities present themselves.
U. S. MARINES YOUTH PHYSICAL FITNESS PROGRAM
The League developed and administers a program that provides a physical
fitness regimen that promotes a healthy, drug free life style for elementary
and high school students.
YOUNG MARINES OF THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
A youth program emphasizing honesty, courage, respect, industry, loyalty,
dependability, and a sense of devotion to God, country, community and
family. The Young Marines program receives funding from Congress and the
United States Marine Corps primarily because of their drug interdiction focus
on drug education and prevention.
SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
Members of the Marine Corps League fund scholarships through donations
from individual members and subordinate units of the Marine Corps League
and Auxiliary. Children and former Marines are eligible for academic
scholarships for attendance at accredited colleges and universities.
LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM
The Marine Corps League is a member of The Military Coalition and
participates in National and State legislative issues that affect military
readiness, benefits and entitlements of active duty personnel as well as
Veterans Benefits programs effecting former and retired Marines.
VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER PROGRAM
The National Headquarters retains a full-time staff member who assists
veterans in adjudicating claims against the government as a result of active
duty service. Claims are processed through the Department of Veterans
Affairs or other appropriate agencies of the federal government.
VETERANS AFFAIRS VOLUNTARY SERVICE PROGRAM (VAVS)
Marine Corps League members contribute thousands of man-hours each
year supplementing staffs at VA Hospitals and facilities in providing morale,
comfort and assistance to institutionalized veterans.
r~
MARINE CORPS LEAGUE AUXILIARY
organization of the Marine Corps League. The Auxiliary was formed: To
Preserve the traditions and promote the interests of the United States Marine
Corps; To maintain true allegiance to American institutions; To hold sacred
the history and memory of the men and women who have given their lives to
this Nation; To perpetuate the history of the United States Marine Corps and
by fitting acts, to observe the anniversaries of historical occasions of particular
interest to Marines; To create a bond of comradeship between the Auxiliary
and the Marine Corps League; To aid voluntarily and to render assistance to
all Marines and former Marines as well as to their families; To help decorate
the graves of all deceased Marines whenever and wherever possible; To
strive for the passage of legislation favorable to the Marine Corps League,
Inc. and to the United States Marine Corps and its personnel; To always
foster love of Honesty, Loyalty and Truth, and a reverence to our God, Our
Country, Our Family and Our Home.
MILITARY ORDER OF DEVIL DOGS
The fun and honor society of the Marine Corps League.
TOYS-FOR- TOTS
Marine Corps League Detachments in nearly every community take part
annually in the United States Marine Corps Reserve Toys-For-Tots campaign
to raise funds and collect and distribute toys to needy children. In communities
where there is an existing Marine Corps Reserve Unit, the League works
hand in hand supporting their campaign. In other communities, the Marine
Corps League takes the lead, ensuring a successful campaign.
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
The Marine Corps League has long regarded the program of the Boy Scouts
of America as in support of the Preamble of the Constitution of the League.
The League supports the Boy Scouts of America as they promote traditional
family values to America’s youth. The Marine Corps League participates in
Scouting through assistance with units, districts, and councils, in community
projects, merit badge programs, and special recognition of Eagle Scouts.
MARINE-4-L1FEIINJURED MARINE SUPPORT PROGRAM
The League works very closely with the Marine Corps’ M-4-L program,
providing mentors nationwide. In areas of the country where there is no
Marine Corps “point of contact”, the League works directly with M-4-L
Headquarters to provide services to transitioning Marines.
ANNUAL CONVENTIONS
Members find the State and National Conventions of the League ideal vacation
venues for themselves and family members. Held in a different city each
year, many families attend year after year and particularly enjoy the many
planned activities and tours related to these get-togethers.

I was recently asked what the function of  a Marine Corps League Detachment is and what  purpose they serve. Good question. Since this one is so new, I thought I would just let you read for yourselves, the mission statement from the powers that be.

The Marine Corps League is a charter member of The Military Coalition, The
National Marine Corps Council, Ad Hoc Committee, Navy and Marine Corps
Council, the National Veterans Day Committee, and is represented on
countless committees and programs serving the military and veteran
community.
The League participates in patriotic functions such as the National Memorial
Day Parade and the National 4th of July Parade in Washington as well as
countless statewide and community parades around the country. We provide
representation to the U.S. Congress in legislative matters affecting the United
States Marine Corps, national security and veteran’s benefits through our
National Legislative Committee. Most importantly, Marine Corps League
Detachments are actively involved in Community based programs throughout
the country.
Once A Marine … Always A Marine!
Interesting in becoming a member?
Contact:
Don LaVetter
dontfg@cox.net
520-623-7471
J
THE MARINE CORPS LEAGUE
Mission Statement
Members of the Marine Corps League join together in camaraderie and
fellowship for the purpose of preserving the traditions and promoting the
interests of the United States Marine Corps, banding together those who are
now serving in the United States Marine Corps and those who have been
honorably discharged from that service that they may effectively promote
the ideals of American freedom and democracy, voluntarily aiding and
rendering assistance to all Marines, FMF Corpsmen and former Marines
and FMF Corpsmen and to their widows and orphans; and to perpetuate the
history of the United States Marine Corps and by fitting acts to observe the
anniversaries of historical occasions of particular interest to Marines.
History
The Marine Corps League perpetuates the traditions and spirit of ALL Marines
and Navy FMF Corpsmen, who proudly wear or who have worn the eagle,
globe and anchor of the Corps. It takes great pride in crediting its founding in
1923 to World War I hero, then Major General Commandant John A. Lejeune.
It takes equal pride in its Federal Charter, approved byAn Act of the Seventy-
Fifth Congress of the United States of America and signed and approved by
President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 4, 1937. The League is the only
Federally Chartered Marine Corps related veterans organization in the country.
Since its earliest days, the Marine Corps League has enjoyed the support
and encouragement of the active duty and Reserve establishments of the U.
S. Marine Corps. Today, the League boasts a membership of more than
76,000 men and women, officer and enlisted, active duty, Reserve Marines,
honorably discharged Marine Veterans and qualified Navy FMF Corpsmen
and is one of the few Veterans Organizations that experiences increases in
its membership each year.
The Marine Corps League is headed by an elected National Commandant,
with 14 elected National Staff Officers who serve as trustees. The National
Board of Trustees coordinates the efforts of 48 department, or state, entities
and the activities of over 1000 community-based detachments located
throughout the United States and overseas. The day-to-day operations of
the League are under the control of the National Executive Director with the
responsibility for the management and direction of all programs, activities,
and affairs of the Marine Corps League as well as supervising the National
Headquarters staff.
The prime authority of the League is derived from its Congressional charter
and from its annual National Convention held each August in different major
U.S. cities throughout the nation. It is a not-for-profit organization within the
provisions of the Internal Revenue Service Code 501 (c) (4), with a special
group exemption letter which allows for contributions to the Marine Corps
League, its Auxiliary and subsidiary units, to be tax deductible by the donor.

Sent by: Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Reply to the sender

For Immediate Release April 15, 2010 Beth Dell Managing Director Read the Reviews! Reviewers and Audience Members Love It! Tickets are still available – for now… From our audiences: “Breathtaking!” “Everyone should see this powerful piece of theatre!” “Brilliant!” And from our reviewers – read the full review at the links below: “The power of theater is pressure-packed into Beowulf Alley’s production of Last of the Boys… Seldom this season has any local company presented such a solid effort to reach such a compelling conclusion. The finale comes screaming out of the darkness, full of battle noise and desperate sobbing, a truly poetic conclusion packing many kinds of impact.” -Chuck Graham Let the Show Begin at tucsonstage.com “Director Susan Arnold has worked wonders with this production—choosing the right cast, helping the actors create detailed performances, and not backpedaling on the script’s stylization. She has shaped a production that shies away from answers. Instead, she favors the shattered fragments of how we experience, perceive and remember Vietnam—and, by extension, the wars of today…The result, like the play’s own symbolism, is rich, complicated, emotional and not easily put into words.” -Nathan Christensen tucsonweekly.com The Cast includes Royah Beheshti, Mary Davis, Lucas Gonzales, Gabe Nagy, and Clark Ray. Ben and Jeeter fought in Vietnam, and for thirty years they have remained united by a war that divided the nation. Joined by Jeeter’s new girlfriend and her off-the-grid whiskey-drinking mother, these friends gather at Ben’s remote trailer for one final hurrah. As the night deepens, the past makes a return appearance, and its many ghosts come flickering to life. This is a fierce, funny, haunted play about a friendship that ends-and a war that does not. Performance Dates, Times and Ticket Prices: Dates and Times- Thursdays – Saturdays, 7:30 p.m. April 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24. Sundays, 1:30 p.m., April 18 and April 25 Ticket Prices- General, by phone or at the door – $20 (VISA, MasterCard, Discover) Online only discount – $18 via PayPal or Google (any credit card they accept) Military Discount – $15 (guaranteed seating, must present military ID at will call night of performance) Student/Military Rush – $12 (cash only, ID required, 15 minutes prior to curtain, based on seating availability) Box Office Phone Number: (520) 882-0555 Run Time with intermission: 2 -1/4 hours Parking: There is no charge for parking on the street or at meters on weekends and holidays! Pennington Garage is only $2 after 6pm weekdays and on weekends it is also only $2 all day. The lot across from the theatre at 6th Avenue and Broadway is available after 5 p.m. weekdays and all day Saturdays and Sundays. *** Special Downtown Event Note: Tucson Weekly’s Club Crawl will take place in the evening on Saturday, April 17, but traffic patterns will be adjusted earlier in the day. Please see our website for suggested routes and plan to leave home a little early. The two main streets that will be closed off for the event are 5th Ave between Toole and Broadway (at 8am) and Congress Street between 4th Ave and 6th Ave (closed starting at noon). The City will re-route west bound traffic from Congress Street down Broadway which becomes two way traffic from 4th Ave to 6th Ave. The normal west bound traffic flow on Congress Street resumes at 6th Ave. Come see the play and then join in the festivities of the Tucson Weekly’s Club Crawl! *** This e-mail was sent from Beowulf Alley Theatre Company Immediate removal with PatronMail® SecureUnsubscribe. To forward this e-mail to a friend or colleague, use this link. To change your e-mail address or update preferences, use this link.

Come join a group of Vietnam Veterans who are attending Friday night.  We can all kibbutz afterward.

God Bless
Jose M. Garcia
National Executive Director
Catholic War Veterans,USA
josegarcia4@sbcglobal.net
Better to understand a little than to misunderstand a lot.
In God We Trust

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 5, 2010
Marana, AZ
Marana Regional Airport To Host U.S. Marine Memorial Service
Mike Flynn, Sr. Vice Commandant of the Marana Nighthawk 72 Detachment #1344 Marine
Corps League, announced today that there will be a Memorial Service at the Marana Regional
Airport on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 10:00AM to honor the 19 U.S. Marines that were tragically
killed in an MV-22 Osprey Tilt rotor aircraft accident at the Airport on April 8, 2000.
Included in the 10th Anniversary Memorial Service will be a granite bench dedication, procession
of Colors with the Marine Reserves Bulk Fuel Company Alpha Color Guard along with various
Veteran organizations’ Color Guards. The names of the 19 lost will be read aloud with a rifle
salute, taps and a dove release. Several current Marines from 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine
Regiment, 1st Marine Division including Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Jason Morris from Camp
Pendleton California will be participating in the event. The event is free and open to the public.
Additional Background Information
The MV-22 Osprey Tilt rotor aircraft was conducting a training mission in support of Operational
Evaluation (OPEVAL) when it went down at the Marana Regional Airport in Marana, Arizona on
April 8, 2000. During the mission, the crew and Marines conducted Non-combatant Evacuation
Operations (NEO) exercises as part of the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, with
Marines embarking and disembarking the aircraft. The mission was conducted at night utilizing
night vision goggles and forward looking infrared radar to enhance night operational capability.
This mishap aircraft was part of the Multiservice Operational Test Team, based at Patuxent
River, Maryland, but was temporarily attached to Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics
Squadron-1 at Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona.
The 19 Marines Lost were as follows:
3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division
Sgt. Jose Alvarez, 28
Pfc. Gabriel C. Clevenger, 21
Pfc. Alfred Corona, 23
Lance Cpl. Jason T. Duke, 28.
Lance Cpl. Jesus Gonzalez Sanchez, 27
Lance Cpl. Seth G. Jones, 18
2nd Lt. Clayton J. Kennedy, 24
Lance Cpl. Jorge A. Morin, 21
Cpl. Adam C. Neely, 22
Pfc. Kenneth O. Paddio, 23
Pfc. George P. Santos, 24
Lance Cpl. Keoki P. Santos, 24
Cpl. Can Soler, 21
Pvt. Adam L. Tatro, 19
Marine Wing Communications Squadron 38, Marine Air Control Group 38
Cpl. Eric J. Martinez, 21
Marine Helicopter Squadron 1
Maj. John A. Brow, 39
Maj. Brooks S. Gruber, 34
Cpl. Kelly S. Keith, 22
Marine Tilt-Rotor Training Squadron 204
Staff Sgt. William B. Nelson, 30
Additional information contact: Mike Flynn (520) 904-2460 MaranaMarines@hotmail.com

The number of the “millennial,” group, ages 18-28; born in 1981 to the present, who have served in the Armed Forces is 2%.

Millennials (b 1981-present) 2%

Gen Xers (B. 1965-1980)  6%

Baby Boomers (b. 1946-1964)  13%

Silent Generation (b. 1928-1945) 24%

And which generation became the titans of  industry?  I say the ones had the most to do and the least to say.  Think those days will return?  Or has the Tower of Babel consumed us?

I have experienced this technique. While it seems like you are in a road show with Mandrake the Magician, the stuff works.  Something about all those meridians getting cleaned out that leaves you with a feeling of contentment that is palpable.

I was taught the technique by a retired Air Force  F-16 Pilot about two years ago at the Merritt Retreat Center in Payson, Arizona.  The remarkable aspect to this training session was that 9 hard core combat veterans all reported a positive result. You just can’t do it while your texting! And it  really works well after answering some fellow bloggers!

Energy Psychology’s Magical Mystery Tour of the U.S. Congress
David Feinstein, Ph.D.
After some 30 phone calls to members of Congress trying to set up meetings to plead the case
that Energy Psychology is superior to conventional treatments for soldiers and veterans suffering
with PTSD, Dawson Church and I had managed to arrange only one appointment, and a tentative
one at that since members of Congress may be called to the floor at any time for a vote. Worse,
when we arrived (Wednesday, March 24, 2010, three days after passage of the Health Care bill)
at Congressman Bob Filner’s door on the fourth floor of the House Office Building, we were told
by a prim female aide who was clearly accustomed to shooing away people wanting to see the
Congressman, the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, that we were not on
the appointment calendar, it was a busy day, and there was zero chance we could have even a
five-minute meeting, no matter how long we were willing to wait.
On to Plan B. Dawson knew Congresswomen Lynn Woolsey from his own district in Santa
Rosa, California. We went to her office on the second floor, hoping that even though we hadn’t
been successful in attempting to arrange a meeting in advance, we might be able to drop in based
on Dawson’s being in her district and having had previous collaborations with her. The
Congresswoman had been a strong supporter of “The Family Connection,” a nonprofit which had
consistently been voted by the community’s other organizations as the county’s “most admired
nonprofit.” Dawson had served as its president. But again staffers were to tell us: “busy day”
and “no chance” of even a brief meeting. Just the night before Dawson had been talking to me
about how, when your vision goes against the odds, part of the journey is to accept defeats and
disappointments with grace. And, indeed, today, despite being 0 for 2 on our scorecard of two, he
still seemed undaunted, ready to enthusiastically knock on every door of the Congressional
Offices if necessary. The Army Second Lieutenant we had brought with us, however, was
incredulous that he was spending his day off trying to help us fulfill such a bumbling mission.
“What is your plan of action, now?” he asked with icy courtesy after Dawson had hand-written
the Congresswomen a long note saying he had been by. As we stepped out the door, not sure
whether to turn left or right, we turned left and found ourselves in the path of the
Congresswoman returning to her office. She recognized and hugged Dawson warmly. Within
minutes the three of us were in the inner sanctums of her office with her and two male aides
taking notes.
Our presentation was brief but effective, centering around 29-year-old Second Lieutenant Olli
Toukolehto’s telling of his story. While serving as a guard and medic in Iraq, he was able to
psychologically mobilize himself to perform his duties like a model soldier. He had enlisted in
the Army and was deployed to the “Triangle of Death” in Baghdad, where he served in 2006 and
2007. He attended to mass casualties and encountered many bloodied, burned, and dead bodies.
The first casualty he witnessed was a member of his unit who had half his head blown off. It was
a time when fellow soldiers were being kidnapped and beheaded. At night, lying in his tent, in
an area being heavily bombed, he explained what goes on in the mind: “When the sound of a
whizzing rocket fills the air, if you hear an explosion three seconds later, you are alive. If you
don’t, you are dead.” Upon returning to the U.S., safety did not provide comfort. In a classroom
or other public setting, he would be calculating his response should there be an attack. Sirens
were now the screams of approaching rockets. An ebullient personality before the war, his inner
life had become dry and restricted. He no longer found himself laughing. He realized in
retrospect that he had become dissociated from his body. He gradually came to accept that his
undiagnosed PTSD was his new way of life. Having become an officer, and in training now to
become a physician, he knew that reporting a psychological difficulty of this magnitude could
have a devastating impact on his career.
About a year after returning from Iraq, a friend commented on how he had changed. She offered
to try a technique that she thought might be helpful. This led to a three-hour session of EFT (a
form of Energy Psychology) where he made a list of every trauma he experienced during the war.
Giving a 0-to-10 “subjective units of distress” rating to the first item on his list, he reported that
it was a 0. He felt no distress in his (dissociated) body. His friend had him tap on the memory
anyway. Within minutes he was sobbing, feeling the full impact of the memory, as high a 10 as
could be imagined. For three hours they went through and, by tapping on acupuncture points,
emotionally neutralized every memory on his list. He described how one of the first things he
noticed as the session progressed was a return of sensation in his hands. He said it was like he
was back in his body. By the end of that single session (followed by a brief follow-up session
the next day), he was cured of all his symptoms of PTSD. Now nearly two years later, although
his friend would be happy to provide follow-up at any point, he has been his joyful self again, no
longer hypervigilant, and in no need of further help.
Dawson followed with a brief description of the research he has conducted demonstrating that
the poignant story just told was not an isolated incident but rather an example of a reliable and
unusually effective treatment for PTSD. He described the Iraq Vets Stress Project, which has
offered free Energy Psychology treatment to hundreds of veterans through an international
network of more than 100 providers, with many VA therapists referring veterans for treatment
(www.StressProject.org). I put the meaning of that research into the context of conventional
clinical practices. Congressman Woolsey was obviously impressed, but she also made it clear
that she was not the one we needed to impress. She is on the House Labor and Employment
Committee. We needed to engage members of committees that could make an impact on the care
provided soldiers and veterans. She and her aides started naming the people they thought we
should visit. She could only sympathize with us regarding how difficult it is to get an
appointment, but she did offer to personally hand some of these Congressmen the research
documentation we had brought. By the end of the day she had, on the floor of the House,
initiated personal talks with three key committee leaders and handed them our research summary.
But these are dry documents, and we still had no means for personally visiting with them.
Following this fortuitous but inconclusive meeting, we found ourselves again in the proverbial
halls of Congress with no plan of action. But timing, coincidence, and who knows what else
were to shape the rest of our day. Last January, a staffer to Congressman Dan Lungren, a
Republican on the House Homeland Security and Judiciary Committees, had attended a small,
intimate conference in Costa Rica where my wife, Donna Eden, and I were presenters. I had
shown a video of veterans who were treated with PTSD and it had caught her attention and her
passion. Congressman Lungren cares very deeply about the plight of returning veterans and
Sandra wanted to bring our work to his attention. Two months later, however, their office had
been fully immersed in the pending health care legislation and many other projects, and there had
not been time to give much focus to the strange new treatment she had witnessed in Costa Rica.
As we were leaving Congresswoman Woolsey’s office, the office next door, by coincidence, was
Congressman Lungren’s office. I said, “Let me stop by and say ‘Hello’ to a friend who works
there.” We were told that Sandra was away. So off we went to the elevator, where we would
once more need to regroup. About 30 seconds later, Sandra walked out of the elevator, gave a
little shriek of surprise on seeing me, and hugged me enthusiastically. She explained that part of
the strength of her response is that she was just a few minutes earlier thinking about walking to
the Veterans’ Affairs Office to try to present to them what she had seen in Costa Rica. And
suddenly, there I was.
We were soon in her office giving the presentation that had just impressed Congresswomen
Woolsey. We would be giving variations of that presentation five more times that day. Sandra
said, “I want Congressman Lungren to hear this.” She checked with the person who keeps his
schedule, and there was no way to fit us in. She initiated an alternative plan, whisking us away
to a security clearance area and then to the Rayburn Room, a large, busy area which is just off
the House Congressional Chamber. Congress members can easily duck out of the Chamber
between votes for small impromptu meetings. The place bustles with a strange mix of
informality and importance.
Sandra’s office had gotten a message to Congressman Lungren to meet us there. We arrived via
the underground trolley for Congress members and staff that runs between the House Offices and
the Capitol Building. We waited a few minutes, and suddenly, there was the Congressman, who
had a way of being that, despite my strong antipathy toward his political party, soon had me
thinking, “I could see voting for this man!” He listened with obvious interest and empathy as the
lieutenant told his story. The Congressman responded by relating stories from his own family
that were highly pertinent to the discussion, but he then posed one of the key dilemmas for
Energy Psychology’s acceptance. “It sounds too simple! Too good to be true!” He let us know
he would like to believe there is a simple cure for PTSD, but he would need a lot more
convincing. The ensuing discussion was brief, frank, and to the point, starting with our
agreement that the field does indeed face this odd credibility problem that its methods are so fast
and effective that people don’t find the personal accounts or even the existing research to be
plausible. We also addressed a second very astute concern that the Congressman raised. Would
this treatment impair a soldier’s performance on the battlefield? We argued that it would not.
PTSD does not increase a soldier’s effectiveness. He conceded that point. At the end, we knew
he felt warmly toward Olli Toukolehto and he appeared to be expressing respect for me and
Dawson, but we had no idea if we had convinced him.
Back to Sandra’s office. We were all three impressed as we watched the wheels in her mind
strategizing ways of making the best use of our visit. She told us to go get some lunch while she
took the next steps (meanwhile, shuffling her appointments for the day so she could maximize
the amount of time she could give to us). When we returned, Sandra had good news. The
Congressman wanted to introduce us to some of his House colleagues. Back to the Rayburn
Room. One at a time, between votes on the House Floor, Congressman Lungren brought us to
meet, in succession, a member of the House Armed Services Committee (who had previously
served with the Marines in Iraq), a former chair and now the second ranking member of the
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, another member of that Committee, and a member of the
House Budget and Appropriations Committee. We told each one our story and fielded their
questions. Sandra is a seasoned Congressional staffer who later told us how improbable it was
that things could have come together for our visit as they did – it was almost as if the timing of
the House votes had been orchestrated to make all this possible.
Dawson Church, Ph.D., Congressman Dan Lungren (R-CA), Second Lieutenant Olli Toukolehto,
David Feinstein, Ph.D
According to a recent article in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, only one in ten veterans who
enters treatment for PTSD in the V.A. actually completes it. Each of the Congressmen we met
was clearly interested in a better treatment approach to PTSD, and each seemed to leave with a
sense that evidence for one may be sitting there in the Rayburn Room. Congressman Lungren
brought us both Republican and Democratic colleagues, and Sandra explained that it is a
welcome opportunity to have an issue that cuts across party lines. Two of the Congressmen gave
Olli their personal e-mail address, asking for follow-up, and one of them said he would be calling
the EFT practitioner who had given Olli the session that had cured his PTSD almost two years
earlier.
We don’t know what will emerge from this Magical Mystery Tour of Congress by a couple of
Energy Psych therapists/researchers who don’t know poly sci from polymers, but Sandra assured
us that she now had what she needed to set some things into motion. The very next day we
received a call from Olli. He and Dawson had been stonewalled by bureaucratic obstacles for a
year in their efforts to institute a research study at Walter Reed, and their proposal had finally
been rejected. Olli relayed that the morning following our visit to Congress, the doors had been
opened wide for the study’s consideration. The commanding officer had appointed a colonel to
coordinate a study of Energy Psychology within Walter Reed and requested that the initial
paperwork be submitted by the following week. Dawson will be the Principal Investigator and
Olli the On-Site Investigator. Olli didn’t indicate exactly what caused the military wheels to
suddenly bounce into action so quickly after the year of intense effort that had gone nowhere, but
we could only imagine that in his charming way, he had successfully conveyed to his superiors
that when Congress asks if they are aware of this new tapping therapy, that they might want to be
sure they have the right answer.
Representatives Chet Edwards (D-TX), Chris Smith (R-NJ), Cliff Stearns, (R-FL), Second
Lieutenant Olli Toukolehto, David Feinstein, Ph.D.
Dawson Church, Ph.D., tapping on Lyndon Johnson’s stomach meridian.

This is a Motorcycle Run. I am trying to get the poster and picture to post. Check back later. Mike

Run on Sunday, April 11, 2010
Registration Starts 9:30 am at DAV 2 • Last Bike Out 11 am
þ Yes, I will participate in DAVA Cactus Unit 2 Ride for Freedom Run
April 11, 2010 • Registration starts 9:30 am – Last Bike Out 11 am
Pre-registration $10 per person • $15 after April 1, 2010
Send check or money order payable to: DAVA Cactus Unit 2 • ATTN: Aux Treasurer • 3455 S. Wilmot • Tucson, AZ 85730
Proceeds to benefit VA Hospital patients, Hospitality Room for the Troops at Tucson’s Airport, La Colina Nursing Facility
and various other programs sponsored by DAV Auxiliary Cactus Unit 2
Name ____________________________________________________________________________________________
Address __________________________________________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________________ State ____________________ Zip ___________________
Email ___________________________________________ Phone __________________________________________
3455 S. Wilmot • Tucson, AZ 85730 • 520-747-3333 • carol_goodman63@hotmail.com • www.DAVA2.club.officelive.com
High Prize $200
Low Prize $100
50/50 Raffle • Door Prizes • Food • LIVE Music
Cactus Unit 2
DISABLED AMERICAN VETERANS AUXILIARY
PRE-REGISTER
$10 per person ($15 after April 1)
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS!
$1 Breakfast
Burritos

On this Holy Saturday it seems appropriate to ask for the forgiveness of any readers or commenters that I may have ruffled since we started this TC.com enterprise.

One thing that is for certain about blogging, is that it does indeed bring forth a bit of discomposure and agitation of the persona.

I have been tagged recently as, “haughty” and full of myself. So be it, we all contain multitudes. Yet in this Easter Season, I want to turn to my real time Commanding Officer, Jesus of Nazareth, and one of his Sergeants, the apostle Paul.

Paul was once considered to be a bit haughty himself. He was a blue-blood member of a highly distinguished Jewish family.  He was educated by the esteemed rabbi Gamaliel. Paul had a reputation as a blameless defender of his faith and his nation. As a scholar, patriot and spiritual leader he was honored by his countrymen and feared by his enemies. You might say he was a bit full of  himself.

But Paul had a transforming experience while on a special op’s mission to hunt down the followers of Jesus. Early guerrilla warfare.  He had an encounter with the resurrected Jesus, pretty much curing him of his bloated self image. The creature comforts of life; prestige, power, and social status went out the window.

Paul learned rapidly that if he was going to brag it would be about his weakness. In the midst of all of his travails and persecutions Paul remained humble as the grace of God worked through him leading to a solid love for others.

“But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from getting proud.  My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

It is indeed in our weakness, we come to our full and centered strength. I must follow the same dictums I have given my children and grandchildren. I  use to tell them to ask themselves a brutal question, when faced with a detractor…… what if they are right? Tough medicine, but sure to forward ones  spiritual growth.

Later in life Paul also came to understand that the grace we have been given is only to enable us to care for each other. This mutual interdependence is likened to the parts of our body.  Mutual care as opposed to proud and haughty comparisons is what makes our bodies work.  “The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, nor again the head to the feet I have no need of you.”  By spreading around the gifts and talents God makes us dependent on each other.  One might say that even makes for good “God Blogging,” Rene!

So, with Jesus and Paul at my side I submit myself  to the admonition, ” If I must boast, I will boast in the things which concern my infirmity.“  2 Corinthians 11:30

HAPPY EASTER TO ALL THE TC.COM  BLOGGERS AND OUR READERS.

On March 29th, 1973 the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam.  It took the lives of over 58, 2oo men. Some say nearly 110,000 thousand committed suicide after the war.

It was Richard Nixon who pursued the policy of drawing down forces starting as far back as 1969, with the intent of building up the South Vietnamese forces. The program was called Vietnamization. It hit some snags early on, but the Vietamese forces were able to hold their own because of  our intense air and naval support.

In 1972 Nixon ordered B-52′s to bomb the North Vietnamese in hope of bringing them to a peace agreement. Wild eh? Bomb for peace! Sound familiar?  After 35,ooo tons of bombs were dropped on the North. a peace agreement was reached in January of 1973. However the fighting continued for another two years.

I cannot imagine serving in Vietnam in those last years. The morale must have been horrible.

Have we learned anything from the Vietnam War?

I attend this event nearly every year with my combat veterans pals. It is a real hoot to just loiter and tell our tales of warrior days and share medication stories! The property is owned by Joe Abodeley, a retired Army Officer with 1st Air Cavalry in Vietnam and a Colonel with the Army Guard. He is also the President of the Army Museum on McDowell in Phoenix.

Too bad it is on Easter weekend this year… Jesus has some stories to tell too!   Have a ton of fun men.

BASE CAMP 2010

Veterans and friends are cordially invited to attend Base Camp 2010 to be held
April 2, 3, 4 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) 2010. The purpose of Base Camp is to provide a
location for veterans and friends to assemble and share camaraderie. Live music and
entertainment is provided on Saturday night. ADMISSION IS FREE.

Base Camp is an area lined with bunker/fighting positions simulating a firebase or a
line unit’s perimeter defense camp. Military apparel and military vehicles are welcomed to
add to the ambiance. All veterans are encouraged to attend. There is a 90-foot high
flagpole with a large American flag and the Republic of South Viet Nam flag. There is also
a 35-foot high observation tower and other military type structures, water and two flush
toilets, a stage for live entertainment on Saturday, and a shooting range dug into the
ground at the base of a mountain as a backstop for target shooting. Camp out Friday and
Saturday nights. Bring your own food, beverages, drinking water, and firewood.

DIRECTIONS TO BASE CAMP

Traveling south on 1~10 from Phoenix, exit 1-10 at Wild Horse Pass. Take the first
left turn (Maricopa) to go past Firebird Lakes on your left. Proceed past the fire station on
your right to the T intersection with the stop sign. Turn right. Now you are on the road
(Highway 347) to Maricopa. Go through Maricopa, cross the Railroad tracks by the big
RR water tower and continue 2 miles to Ak Chin Casino. Highway 347 is also called John
Wayne Highway. Go 2 miles past the casino to Papago (you will see a large Santa Rosa
Cooling sign) where you turn right (west). Go west 4.5 miles on Papago until you curve left
(south) on to Warren. Go about .9 miles south on Warren until you reach Val Vista where
you turn right (west). Go west.5 miles on Val Vista through the wash and past the canal to
the first street on your left-Deer Trail. Turn left (south) onto Deer Trail, and go .5 miles
to where it Ts into Quail Run. Go right (west) on Quail Run for 1110 of a mile to the
entrance of 9014 North Wealth Road and Base Camp. The house phone number is 520-
868-6777 and my cell phone number is 602-509-8763.

SCHEDULE:

April 2-1200—Set up camp

April3–1000–US and RVN flag-raising, Betsey Bayless and other dignataries
1200–1800-0pen Time

1800– Entertainment

April 4– Break camp-go home

THERE ARE A FEW SIMPLE, FAIR RULES TO FOLLOW WHILE AT BASE CAMP.

1. You WILL have fun.
2. Shooting range use-SAFETY FIRST-and police all brass and ammo.
3. NO ILLEGAL DRUGS.
4. HOLD HANDLE DOWN until toilet flushes completely as a courtesy to others.

5. POLICE your areas of ALL TRASH and respect other people’s rights and property.

We’ll see you at Base Camp 2010. For further information, call Joe at 602-509-8762 or
602-253-2378 or 520-868-6777.