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	Kilduff-Wirtanen Legion Post 74 • 38 Main Street • PO Box 761 Brookline, NH 03033-0671
February 2008 Newsletter Kilduff-Wirtanen American Legion Post 74, Brookline, NH meets the 4^th Thursday of the month* at 38 Main Street Brookline. Meetings begin at 1900 hours (7PM). *Nov meeting held 3^rd Thursday. If you wish to join or have questions about the American Legion, please call one of the Post Officers.
Commander	Ruth H. Wrigley	14 McIntosh Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603 672-7895	rhwrigley@aol.com
1^st. Vice Commander	Bill Graham	37 Averill Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603 673 0881	bibst@charter.net
2^nd Vice Commander	Grover Farwell	107 Old Milford Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603 673 4282	lfarwell@peoplepc.com
Adjutant	Bill Graham	37 Averill Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603.673.0881	bibst@charter.net
Treasurer	Ben Perreault Jr.	5 Smith Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603.672.7667	bperreau@charter.net
Sergeant at Arms	George Farwell	37 Mason Rd	Brookline, NH 03033	603 673 4990
Chaplain	Ed Zandrovec	14 Potanipo Hill Rd	Brookline, NH 03033
Historian	Del Porter	PO Box 17	Brookline, NH 03033	603 673 4287	Delro033@aol.com

Next Meeting:

28 February at 7:00 PM

November Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order at 1900 by Commander Wrigley. Colors advanced, prayer offered, POW/MIA empty chair recognized, prayers offered for those lost and unaccounted for and the Preamble recited.

A Motion made to suspend Post 74 meeting for District II meeting. Seconded and approved unanimously. After the District Meeting concluded there was a motion to reopen the Post meeting. It was Seconded and approved unanimously.

Treasurers Report read and accepted. George Farwell made a motion that the oil tank be filled. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. The Post will pay for the oil tank to be filled and bill the other users of the building for their share of the bill.

Sick Call: Phil Winter is recovering at St. Joseph’s hospital from a mild stroke. Commander Wrigley will follow up with a card and visit.

There being no further business, the closing prayer was said, the colors were retired, and the meeting adjourned at 1938. The next meeting is January 24, 2008 at 1900.

January Meeting Minutes

Meeting called to order at 1900 by Commander Wrigley. Colors advanced, prayer offered, POW/MIA empty chair recognized, prayers offered for those lost and unaccounted for and the Preamble recited.

· George Farwell reported on the condition of oil usage this season and the deal he negotiated with the supplier (Lorden Oil) at $2.79/gal. The tank is full and the Post is OK until March.

· George Farwell reported on snow plowing for the Post driveway. The Quotes solicited came back as follows: Buddy Knudson $50 per storm; Jerry Farwell $40 per storm, David Farwell $25 per storm. He did not contract as Clarence Farwell and David Farwell have been doing it voluntarily. A motion was made that the Legion provides each with a full gas tank at CW Fuels in town. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously. Bill Graham will follow-up with the station.

o Commander Wrigley attended the Troop’s recent meeting and acknowledged a new Eagle Scout.

o Commander Wrigley responded to a request for a Letter to Troop 260 for a non-profit fund raiser they plan with the local Shaw’s Supermarket.

o Commander Wrigley reported that the Oratorical contestant from post 74, Frances Perricone (Nick), will represent District 2 at the upcoming contest, scheduled on February 2nd at St. Anselm.

o A motion was made to provide Frances a $50 honorarium. The motion was seconded and approved unanimously.

o Commander Wrigley recognized Laurie Perreault who served as a judge in the proceedings and thanked her for her assistance.

o Commander Wrigley plans to solicit among 6-8 graders for more candidates next year.

· Commander Wrigley reported the Brookline Library requested to use the Post Meeting house for their annual book sale weekend. The target date is the 3^rd Saturday in April, which is the 19^th of April 2008. She will review the schedules of the Legion and the VFW for any conflicts and follow up. The Library is asking to occupy the building a full week prior to the event.

· “Get out the Vote”: The Post 74 “Get out the Vote” effort for 2008 was discussed and tabled for a future meeting discussion.

o Brookline is at 94% Membership. We need 3 more members to make 100%. More members could be expected by looking at the Post 200 (those assigned to the State at large rather than a particular Post) transfers to Brookline.

o The National Commander is visiting New Hampshire February 15-17. Commander Wrigley plans to attend a dinner in his honor in Concord.

There being no further business, the closing prayer was said, the colors were retired, and the meeting adjourned at 1955. The next meeting is February 28, 2007 at 1930.

Commander’s Comments

Comrades, more and more snow! Too bad we can’t make money off the snow or we would all be wealthy!!

I hope everyone is doing well. We extend our wishes to Phil Winter who is recovering from a mild stroke. Get well soon Phil.

I ask everyone to look for new members. Our Post is only as strong and active as its members. Without members, we won’t exist. Please look around your neighborhood’s and if you know any Veterans, invite them to a meeting. Remind them that it was through the efforts of the Post that they can take advantage of a $500 break on their Property Taxes and it is because of our Post that the Town holds all the Patriotic events throughout the year. These will all go away if there is no Post, so membership is the key to our future. I cannot thank all of you enough who renewed their membership this year. Now, we need to work on those who are eligible and do not realize the benefits of membership. Your help is greatly appreciated.

Do You Have An E-mail Address?

E-mailing the newsletter saves mailing costs. If you have e-mail access, send a message to Greg, at Gdarbo6844@aol.com. Addresses are for the exclusive use of the members to pass information and not to be sold or freely passed to others outside the Post without formal consent of the member. No funds solicitation is authorized via e-mail.

News For & From Members

News of Interest to Veterans

Its official, DD-214's are NOW Online (for those of you who served before the DD-214 came into being, this is your official record when you are discharged. Those of you from WW II and some Korean War era vets do not need this.)

The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214's online: http://vetrecs.archives.gov/

This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files. Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents. Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized.

The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records centers mailroom and processing time.

Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.

Washington (January 31, 2008) – Over a million eligible veterans will see their mileage reimbursement more than double starting tomorrow, for travel to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.

“This increase helps veterans -- especially those living in rural areas -- offset some of the gasoline costs as they travel to VA’s world-class health care,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake. “Increasing the mileage reimbursement is one more step by VA to help veterans access the health care they deserve.”

The 2008 appropriations act provided funding for VA to increase the beneficiary travel mileage reimbursement rate from 11 cents per mile to 28.5 cents per mile. The increase goes into effect on Feb. 1.

After little more then a month on the job, Secretary Peake used his authority to establish the first increase in the mileage reimbursement in 30 years, fulfilling a pledge he made during his Senate confirmation hearing last month.

While increasing the payment, VA, as mandated by law, also equally increased the deductible amounts applied to certain mileage reimbursements. The new deductibles are $7.77 for a one way trip, $15.54 for a round trip, with a maximum of $46.62 per calendar month. However, these deductibles can be waived if they cause a financial hardship to the veteran.

Washington (February 4, 2008) – Honoring the nation’s commitment to care for the newest generation of combat veterans and service members from other conflicts and eras, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced today President Bush is seeking a budget of $93.7 billion in fiscal year 2009 for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with health care and disability compensation receiving most of the funding.

If Congress accepts the White House’s budget request, VA’s budget would be $3.4 billion more than the current spending level and nearly double the budget in effect when President Bush took office seven years ago.

“This budget builds on VA’s past successes in providing veterans with timely, accessible delivery of high-quality benefits and services earned through their sacrifice and service in defense of freedom,” Peake said.

The FY ‘09 budget proposal calls for $47.2 billion in discretionary funding, mostly for health care. It also would provide $46.4 billion in mandatory funding for compensation, pension, educational assistance, home loan guaranties and other benefit programs.

Peake said the budget proposal will provide funding to ensure high-quality care to VA’s highest priority patients -- veterans of the Global War on Terror, those with service-connected disabilities, lower-income veterans, and veterans with special health care needs.

Under the new budget, VA will strengthen its collaboration with the Department of Defense (DoD) for world-class health care and benefits to veterans, service members and their families, including progress toward the development of secure electronic patient health care records that can be used by both departments.

This proposed budget will also allow VA to continue implementing the recommendations of the President’s Commission on Care for America’s Returning Wounded Warriors (Dole-Shalala Commission). Peake said the commission’s report provides “a powerful blueprint to move forward with ensuring that service men and women injured during the Global War on Terror receive the health care and benefits necessary to allow them to return to full and productive lives as quickly as possible.”

· $1.3 billion to meet the health care needs of an estimated 330,000 veterans returned from service in Iraq and Afghanistan

The President’s budget request contains $252 million devoted to research projects focused specifically on veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan. This includes research in traumatic brain injury, polytrauma, spinal cord injury, prosthetics, burn injury, pain, and post-deployment mental health.

A major challenge in improving the delivery of compensation and pension benefits is the steady and sizeable increase in workload. The volume of claims is projected to reach 872,000 in 2009 -- a 51 percent increase since 2000. VA will address its ever-growing workload challenges by acquiring greater access to DoD’s online medical information, by working to reduce the Department’s reliance upon paper-based claims folders and by aggressively hiring new staff. By the beginning of 2009, VA expects to complete a two-year effort to hire 3,100 new staff.

The President’s budget request includes $181 million in operations and maintenance for the National Cemetery Administration, a 71 percent increase from the resources available to the Department’s memorial program when the President took office. The budget request includes an additional $5 million to begin interment operations at six new national cemeteries -- Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbia-Greenville, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; and southeastern Pennsylvania.

The President’s 2009 budget would provide more than $2.4 billion for the Department’s information technology (IT) program. This is $389 million, or 19 percent above VA’s 2008 budget, and reflects the realignment of all IT operations and functions under the control of the chief information officer. The proposal contains $93 million to uphold VA’s cyber-security program to support the commitment to make the Department the gold standard in data security within the federal government. VA continues to take aggressive steps to ensure the safety of veterans’ personal information, including training and educating employees on the critical responsibility they have to protect personal and health information.

· Honoring the nation’s commitment to care for the newest generation of combat veterans and service members from other conflicts and eras, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Dr. James B. Peake announced today President Bush is seeking a budget of $93.7 billion in fiscal year 2009 for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with health care and disability compensation for veterans targeted for most of the spending.

· The President’s 2009 request includes total budgetary resources of $41.2 billion for VA medical care, an increase of $2.3 billion over the 2008 budget. VA’s total medical care request is comprised of funding for medical services ($34.08 billion), medical facilities ($4.66 billion), and resources from medical care collections ($2.47 billion).

· The budget will provide resources to treat nearly 5.8 million patients, including about 3.9 million veterans who are VA’s highest priority patients—veterans returning from service in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), veterans with service-connected disabilities, those with lower incomes, and veterans with special health care needs.

· VA will treat about 333,000 OIF/OEF veterans in 2009, a 14 percent increase over the estimated 2008 figure. Medical care funding for these patients will climb to nearly $1.3 billion in 2009, or 21 percent more than in 2008.

· The budget will provide resources for VA to virtually eliminate the patient waiting list by the end of 2009.

· VA will be able to continue to provide timely, accessible, and high-quality health care that sets the national standard of excellence for the health care industry. For the 8th consecutive year, customer satisfaction with VA’s health care system in 2007 was higher than the private sector. Patients at VA medical centers recorded a satisfaction level of 83 out of possible 100 points, or 6 points higher than the private-sector health care industry.

· Resources for mental health care will reach $3.9 billion in 2009. This is $319 million (or 9 percent) above the 2008 level and will strengthen efforts to ensure VA provides equitable access throughout the nation for veterans with mental health disorders.

· VA is requesting $762 million in 2009 for non-institutional long-term care, an increase of 28 percent over 2008. This will allow veterans to receive extended care services in the most clinically appropriate setting and in the comfort and familiar settings of their homes. The number of patients receiving this type of care, as measured by the average daily census, is expected to reach 61,000, or 38 percent higher than the estimated level for 2008.

· Resources in 2009 for the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the VA (CHAMPVA) will total just over $1 billion. CHAMPVA allows VA to provide health benefits for the dependents and survivors of veterans who are, or were at time of death, 100 percent permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or who died from a service-connected condition.

· VA’s medical care request includes nearly $1.5 billion to support the increasing workload associated with the purchase and repair of prosthetics and sensory aids to improve veterans’ quality of life, including those returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is 10 percent above the funding level in 2008.

· VA’s 2009 budget includes $83 million (or 19 percent more than in 2008) for facility activations where needed to purchase equipment and supplies for newly constructed and leased buildings as VA completes projects from the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) program.

· The budget also provides funding for investments in VA’s capital infrastructure including the continued development of new hospitals in Orlando, Fla. ($120 million) and Denver ($20 million), and beginning three new projects to enhance mental health and polytrauma care at the Palo Alto, Calif. ($38 million), Bay Pines, Fla. ($17 million) and Tampa, Fla. ($21 million) medical centers.

· The Department will expand its telehealth program which is a critical component to improve access to health care for veterans living in rural and remote areas.

· VA is requesting $442 million to support the medical and prosthetic research program, which would fund nearly 2,000 high-priority research projects expanding knowledge in areas critical to veterans’ health care needs, most notably research in mental illness ($53 million), aging ($45 million), health services delivery improvement ($39 million), cancer ($37 million), and heart disease ($33 million).

· One of VA’s highest priorities in 2009 will be to continue an aggressive research program to improve the lives of veterans returning from service in OIF and OEF. The 2009 budget provides $252 million devoted to research projects focused specifically on veterans returning from service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

· Disability compensation payments will be made to 234,000 more service-disabled veterans and their survivors in 2009 than were made in 2007. Total disability compensation payments will increase by $6 billion.

· Vocational rehabilitation and employment benefits for service-disabled veterans will increase by $14 million in 2009.

· Resources requested in the budget will allow VA to improve the timeliness with which compensation and pension claims are processed -- average days to process these claims will be 145 days, a 21 percent improvement in timeliness over 2007. The number of claims processed will grow to over 940,000, an increase of 14 percent from 2007.

· The number of pending claims for compensation and pension benefits will fall to 298,000 by the end of 2009, or 24 percent below 2007.

· Timeliness will improve for original education claims from 32 days in 2007 to 19 days in 2009. The time it takes to process supplemental education claims will also improve, from 13 days in 2007 to 10 days in 2009.

· In 2009, VA and the Department of Defense will complete the pilot of a new disability evaluation system for wounded warriors at major medical facilities in the Washington, D.C., area. This initiative is designed to eliminate the duplicative and often confusing elements of the current disability process of the two departments. The pilot will include one medical examination according to VA protocols and a single disability rating determined by VA.

· The budget proposal includes $35.9 million to provide specially adapted housing grants to severely disabled veterans and service members, providing a barrier-free living environment that affords them a level of independent living they may not otherwise enjoy.

· The President’s 2009 budget request for VA includes $181 million in operations and maintenance funding for the National Cemetery Administration, which is 71 percent above the resources available to the department’s memorial affairs program when the President took office.

· Resources are included in the 2009 budget request to allow VA to continue daily operations and to begin interment activities at six new national cemeteries -- Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Columbia-Greenville, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Sarasota, Fla.; and southeastern Pennsylvania.

· Major construction funding of $105 million will support the Department’s burial program in 2009, including resources for gravesite expansion and cemetery improvement projects at three national cemeteries -- New York (Calverton, $29 million); Massachusetts ($20.5 million); and Puerto Rico ($33.9 million).

· VA will expand access to its burial program by increasing the percent of veterans served by a national or state veterans cemetery within 75 miles of their residence to 88 percent in 2009. That’s a 4.6 percentage point increase above the performance level at the close of 2007.

· VA expects to perform 111,000 interments in 2009 – 11 percent more than the interments performed in 2007.

· VA will continue to increase the percent of respondents who rate the quality of service provided by national cemeteries as excellent to 98 percent in 2009 – 4 percentage points higher than the level of performance reached in 2007.

· The President’s 2009 budget provides more than $2.4 billion for the Department’s IT program. This is $389 million (19 percent) above the 2008 budget, and reflects the realignment of all IT operations and functions under the control of the Chief Information Officer.

· The IT consolidation has given VA the opportunity to look at all aspects of the “State of VA IT” and to support efforts to provide improved, standardized IT services, leading to consistency and dependability across the Department. In some cases, this will involve shoring up areas which have suffered from neglect in the past.

· IT is critical to the timely, accessible delivery of high-quality benefits and services to veterans and their families. It is vital that VA receives a significant infusion of new resources to implement new systems and upgrades to existing systems, which have a direct impact on the medical care of veterans, the quality and safety of that care, and the underpinning IT infrastructure that makes health care delivery possible.

· The 2009 budget request contains $93 million in support of the Department’s cyber security program to continue the commitment to make VA the gold standard in data security within the federal government.

· VA is seeking $284 million in 2009 for development and implementation of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (HealtheVet-VistA) program. This includes a health data repository, a patient scheduling system, and a reengineered pharmacy application. These applications are directly tied to programs which are intended to enhance or replace existing programs already serving patients.

· The budget proposal includes $23.8 million in 2009 to complete the transition of compensation and pension payment processing from the current system to VETsNET, enhancing claims processing efficiency and accuracy, strengthening payment integrity and fraud prevention, and positioning VA to develop future claims processing efficiencies via our Paperless Claim Processing Initiative, an important component of the recommendations presented in the Dole-Shalala Commission report to support the nation’s wounded warriors.

This has been verified by the FBI (their link is also included below). Please pass this on to everyone in your email address book. It is spreading fast so be prepared should you get this call. Most of us take summons for jury duty seriously, but enough people skip out on their civic duty, that a new and ominous kind of scam has surfaced.

The caller claims to be a jury coordinator. If you protest that you never received a summons for jury duty, the scammer asks you for your Social Security number and date of birth so he or she can verify the information and cancel the arrest warrant. Give out any of this information and bingo; your identity just got stolen.

The scam has been reported so far in 11 states, including Oklahoma, Illinois, and Colorado. This (scam) is particularly insidious because they use intimidation over the phone to try to bully people into giving information by pretending they're with the court system.

The FBI and the federal court system have issued nationwide alerts on their web sites, warning consumers about the fraud.

I felt this article was relevant to American Legion Post’s as well – Greg d’Arbonne

Knight Ridder (January 28, 2008) – For St. Paul's last VFW hall, it's closing time.

On one recent afternoon, 84-year-old Gordon Kirk, commander of VFW Post 8854, was the only veteran in the place.

He drifted past the war memorabilia and a case packed with sports trophies from the 1960s. "We had some wonderful times here," he murmured. Those memories, like the VFW, are fading. Kirk is planning to sell the building as soon as he can find a buyer.

It will be the last of about 15 halls to close, making all nine of the city's VFW posts homeless, meeting in community centers or libraries. Across the country, the number of VFW posts is dropping, as an estimated 1,500 World War II veterans die each day. Membership has dropped about 17 percent since 1992 to 1.8 million members.

Minnesota is losing about six VFW posts a year and now has 268 -- down by one-third from the peak.

The exceptions are VFW clubs that successfully recruit veterans of Vietnam and the Middle East conflicts, and the American Legion posts.

The most visible sign of decline is the closing of halls, which once served as a nationwide social network. Minneapolis, which once had about 13 VFW halls, has one today -- owned by Post 246, on Lake Street.

The closing of the last St. Paul VFW hall upsets Zenus Bell, who has volunteered to work in the post kitchen up to 20 hours a week for the past 10 years.

"There are some old men who come here, and this is all they have," said Bell, wiping a countertop. "These men deserve more. They get no grants, no nothing. They fight for their country and they have nothing?"

The Veterans of Foreign Wars was formed in 1899, as groups of returning soldiers wanted gathering places of their own. They collected money and formed the fraternal service clubs, comparable to Rotary or Lions clubs.

After World War II, the flood of returning veterans was like the D-Day invasion in reverse. The Army alone had 5 million soldiers -- young veterans eager to volunteer for building and operating VFW halls. The VFW clubs quickly became as common as fast-food restaurants, with about 10,000 posts operating thousands of halls.

The St. Paul VFW Hall is in the Rondo neighborhood -- in a building that originally housed McGill's Grocery store and a tailor shop. The post bought it in 1962. Kirk said the post thrived, once boasting two generals among its membership.

Lee Ulferts, commander of Post 3915 in Brooklyn Park, said VFW membership surged in the '70s -- when the children of World War II veterans began leaving home, giving their parents more time to volunteer.

Ulferts said the VFW, along with the rest of America, belittled Vietnam veterans for fighting in a losing war.

"We told them they didn't fight in a real war," said Ulferts, a Vietnam veteran.

The recent smoking ban hurt the clubs, as did changing attitudes about drinking. "It's a whole change of culture," Ulferts said.

Today, about 40 percent of America's 25 million veterans are older than 65. The effect of aging can be seen in posts like Post 1678, near Taylors Falls. Membership has shrunk to 14, and the post will be dissolved this year.

Commander Leland Rivard, 83, said monthly meetings consist of perhaps seven old men sitting around a table in a meeting room. Rivard says he is lucky to get three members willing to participate in honor guard ceremonies. "We would like to have six," he said. "We can't get anyone to join the post any more," Rivard said. "As time moves on, we forget."

One recent afternoon at the St. Paul club, the bar needed paint, the light bulbs needed changing, and the business needed customers. Of the six patrons, none was a veteran of anything more than a hard day's work. They watched TV, drank and teased each other -- "Go back to your nursing home!" "Sit up straight!" -- as the bartender listlessly nibbled fries.

Through the Dutch door in the kitchen, volunteer Bell waited for veterans who -- this day, at least -- never showed up. Instead, a mother walked in. She ordered macaroni and cheese for her two children. They commiserated about the club's demise.

"It's just that there's no love. If you have no love, you have no love coming back to you," Bell told her. "No one takes love and puts it into an historic place like this."

Points To Ponder

The views expressed in the following article were deemed interesting enough by me to include in the newsletter. I take full responsibility and the content does not reflect the opinion of the members of the Post. Please contact me if these articles offend you. – Greg d’Arbonne

Rick Moran - the American Thinker (January 31, 2008) – When the big one hits northern California and the army is called out to assist in saving lives and keeping order, someone please tell me why they should bother protecting places like San Francisco and Berkeley who seem to get a perverse thrill in humiliating our military:

That's the message from the Berkeley City Council, which voted 8-1 Tuesday night to tell the U.S. Marines that its Shattuck Avenue recruiting station "is not welcome in the city, and if recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders."

In addition, the council voted to explore enforcing its law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation against the Marines because of the military's don't ask, don't tell policy.

And it officially encouraged the women's peace group Code Pink to impede the work of the Marines in the city by protesting in front of the station.

In a separate item, the council voted 8-1 to give Code Pink a designated parking space in front of the recruiting station once a week for six months and a free sound permit for protesting once a week from noon to 4 p.m.

Councilman Gordon Wozniak opposed both items. The Marines have been in Berkeley for a little more than a year, having moved from Alameda in December of 2006. For about the past four months, Code Pink has been protesting in front of the station.

"I believe in the Code Pink cause. The Marines don't belong here, they shouldn't have come here, and they should leave," said Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates after votes were cast.

I suppose the Marines don't "belong" in Berkeley until they're needed - at which point all will be forgiven and the dirty little socialists will whine about how long it's taken them to reach the city and help.

If I were the Marines, I'd leave Berkeley and never come back. But first, a search and destroy mission might be in order with the Berkeley City Council a likely target. After all, if the Marines are "intruding" in their own country, maybe they should start treating Berkely as enemy territory.

As an additional footnote to this story, Ms. Kriss Worthington, a Berkley City Council Member, sent the following e-mail:

Thanks for your email. Contrary to several newspaper reports, the City Council vote was 6-3 not 8-1. I was one of the NO votes. I expect a correction to appear soon. Kriss W

SGT. Edmund John Jeffer's last few words were some of the most touching, inspiring and most truthful words spoken since the tragedy of 9/11 - and since our nation went to war.

SGT. Jeffers was a strong soldier and talented writer. He died in Iraq on September 19, 2007. He was a loving husband, brother and son. His service was more than this country could ever grasp - but the least you can do for the man who sacrificed his life for you ... is listen to what he had to say.

Listen up and pay attention to all of the Cindy Sheehans and Al Frankens of the world. To MSNBC, CNN, and CBS. To all who call themselves Americans ... Hope Rides Alone.

I stare out into the darkness from my post, and I watch the city burn to the ground. I smell the familiar smells, I walk through the familiar rubble, and I look at the frightened faces that watch me pass down the streets of their neighborhoods. My nerves hardly rest; my hands are steady on a device that has been given to me from my government for the purpose of taking the lives of others.

I sweat, and I am tired. My back aches from the loads I carry. Young American boys look to me to direct them in a manner that will someday allow them to see their families again...and yet, I too, am just a boy....my age not but a few years more than that of the ones I lead. I am stressed, I am scared, and I am paranoid...because death is everywhere. It waits for me, it calls to me from around street corners and windows, and it is always there.

There are the demons that follow me, and tempt me into thoughts and actions that are not my own...but that are necessary for survival. I've made compromises with my humanity. And I am not alone in this. Miles from me are my brethren in this world, who walk in the same streets...who feel the same things, whether they admit to it or not.

But even thousands of miles away, in Ramadi, Iraq, the cries and screams and complaints of the ungrateful reach me. In a year, I will be thrust back into society from a life and mentality that doesn't fit your average man. And then, I will be alone. And then, I will walk down the streets of America, and see the yellow ribbon stickers on the cars of the same people who compare our President to Hitler.

I will watch the television and watch the Cindy Sheehans, and the Al Frankens, and the rest of the ignorant sheep of America spout off their mouths about a subject they know nothing about. It is their right, however, and it is a right that is defended by hundreds of thousands of boys and girls scattered across the world, far from home. I use the word boys and girls, because that's what they are. In the Army, the average age of the infantryman is nineteen years old. The average rank of soldiers killed in action is Private First Class.

People like Cindy Sheehan are ignorant. Not just to this war, but to the results of their idiotic ramblings, or at least I hope they are. They don't realize its effects on this war. In this war, there are no Geneva Conventions, no cease fires. Medics and Chaplains are not spared from the enemy's brutality because it's against the rules. I can only imagine the horrors a military Chaplain would experience at the hands of the enemy. The enemy slinks in the shadows and fights a coward's war against us. It is effective though, as many men and women have died since the start of this war. And the memory of their service to America is tainted by the inconsiderate remarks on our nation's news outlets. And every day, the enemy changes...only now, the enemy is becoming something new. The enemy is transitioning from the Muslim extremists to Americans. The enemy is becoming the very people whom we defend with our lives. And they do not realize it.

But in denouncing our actions, denouncing our leaders, denouncing the war we live and fight, they are isolating the military from society...and they are becoming our enemy.

Democrats and peace activists like to toss the word "quagmire" around and compare this war to Vietnam. In a way they are right, this war is becoming like Vietnam. Not the actual war, but in the isolation of country and military. America is not a nation at war; they are a nation with its military at war. Like it or not, we are here, some of us for our second, or third times; some even for their fourth and so on. Americans are so concerned now with politics, that it is interfering with our war.

Terrorists cut the heads off of American citizens on the Internet...and there is no outrage, but an American soldier kills an Iraqi in the midst of battle, and there are investigations, and sometimes soldiers are even jailed...for doing their job.

It is absolutely sickening to me to think our country has come to this. Why are we so obsessed with the bad news? Why will people stop at nothing to be against this war, no matter how much evidence of the good we've done is thrown in their face? When is the last time CNN or MSNBC or CBS reported the opening of schools and hospitals in Iraq? Or the leaders of terror cells being detained or killed? It's all happening, but people will not let up their hatred of Bush. They will ignore the good news, because it just might show people that Bush was right.

America has lost its will to fight. It has lost its will to defend what is right and just in the world. The crazy thing of it all is that the American people have not even been asked to sacrifice a single thing. It's not like World War Two, where people rationed food, and turned in cars to be made into metal for tanks. The American people have not been asked to sacrifice anything. Unless you are in the military or the family member of a service member, its life as usual...the war doesn't affect you.

But it affects us. And when it is over, and the troops come ho me, and they try to piece together what's left of them after their service...where will the detractors be then? Where will the Cindy Sheehans be to comfort and talk to soldiers and help them sort out the last couple years of their lives, most of which have been spent dodging death and wading through the deaths of their friends? They will be where they always are, somewhere far away, where the horrors of the world can't touch them. Somewhere where they can complain about things they will never experience in their lifetime; things that the young men and women of America have willingly taken upon their shoulders.

We are the hope of the Iraqi people. They want what everyone else wants in life: safety, security, somewhere to call home. They want a country that is safe to raise their children in. Not a place where their children will be abducted, raped, and murdered if they do not comply with the terrorists demands. They want to live on, rebuild and prosper. And America has given them the opportunity, but only if we stay true to the cause, and see it to its end. But the country must unite in this endeavor...we cannot place the burden on our military alone. We must all stand up and fight, whether in uniform or not. And supporting us is more than sticking yellow ribbon stickers on your cars. It's supporting our President, our troops and our cause.

Right now, the burden is all on the American soldiers. Right now, hope rides alone. But it can change, it must change. Because there is only failure and darkness ahead for us as a country, as a people, if it doesn't.

Let's stop all the political nonsense, let's stop all the bickering, let's stop all the bad news, and let's stand and fight!

I'm not sure how many letters or articles you've ever read from the genre of "News from the Front," but this is one of the best I've ever read, including all of America’s wars. As I was reading this, I forgot that it was my son who had written it. My emotions range from great pride to great sorrow, knowing that my little boy (22 years old) has become this man.

He is my hero. Thank all of you for your prayers for him; he needs them now more than ever. God bless.