Sonoma County United Veterans Council
The views expressed in this newsletter are not
necessarily the views of VVA,
Inc., National, State, Chapter 223, or the newsletter staff, but of the
corresponding party. All articles by the Chapter have permission for
reprint in all Vietnam Veterans of America newsletters. Anything else must
come from the original source.
Volume 10 Issue 3, March 2008
From the President
Our chapter elections are coming up at our April 15 general meeting and I would like to encourage everyone to run for an office or board position or a committee chair. You will find being involved in your chapter a very rewarding experience. Please contact any of the board member or Richard Jones, the Election Committee Chair, to toss your hat into the ring.
Bob Cheadle has volunteered to be our new Chaplin, replacing Joe Oliver who has moved out of the area. Please welcome Bob to his new position. John McGivney will co-chair the Education Committee with Dennis Harlan.
The chapter has a busy summer ahead with The Rose Parade; CSC convention; Our continuing Homeless Outreach at The Redwood Gospel Mission every Sunday at 5:30 pm. We are still involved in forming a local chapter of The Veterans of Modern Warfare so if you have anyone who might be interested please have them contact me or to attend one of our General meetings.
We will have Pizza and Salad for our March 18 meeting.
In Service
John Crooker
President
News Releases
The following are news releases that the chapter receives from time to time via email. You can read them here or email us a request to be added to the list.
County of Sonoma Veterans Service Office Change of Address
We have moved to :
3725 Westwind Blvd, Suite 101
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
(707)565-5960 Fax (707) 565-5980
We are now located
near the Main Terminal at Charles M. Schulz
From Highway 101: Exit Airport Boulevard left on Westwind Blvd.
click here for map and bus schedule
Court rules in favor of Agent Orange Benefits
From: "VVA Government
Affairs Department" <govtrelations@vva.org>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:50:50 -0400 (EDT)
VIETNAM
VETERANS OF AMERICA
VVA Applauds Court Decision to Pay Retroactive Benefits To Veterans and
Their Families for Illnesses Caused by Exposure to Agent Orange
(SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS) “Vietnam veterans have won a smashing victory over
the VA’s foot-dragging refusal to honor the Consent Decree it signed sixteen
years ago about re-adjudicating claims and paying retroactive disability
benefits when the VA determines that a condition is presumptively
service-connected because of exposure to Agent Orange,” said Vietnam
Veterans of America President John Rowan.
“VVA applauds today’s decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit in the case of Nehmer, et al. v. United States Department of
Veterans Affairs,” Rowan said. “That decision affirmed a lower court
decision that the VA is obligated by law to pay disability benefits to the
veterans suffering from Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia as a result of their
exposure to Agent Orange. VVA agrees, Rowan said, with the court that the
performance of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs has
contributed substantially to our sense of national shame.
“VVA shares the hope that the court expressed so well in the last paragraph
of the decision that this litigation will now end, that our government will
now respect the legal obligations it undertook in the Consent Decree some 16
years ago, that obstructionist bureaucratic opposition will now cease, and
that our veterans finally will receive the benefits to which they are
morally and legally entitled.”
Rowan added: “It is our hope that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs will
move immediately to implement the decree fully. If not, then all VA
officials involved should be held liable for contempt in the “Show Cause”
hearing scheduled to be heard in Federal District Court on Monday, July 23.”
