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

Before the House Committee on Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Health Regarding Veterans’ Health Bills (HR 1197, 2770, 1293, 1302, 1335, 1546, 2734, & 2738 Plus three Draft Bills)

June 18, 2009

Good morning, Chairman Michaud, Ranking Member Brown, and other members of this distinguished Subcommittee. We appreciate your giving Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) the opportunity to testify today on legislation that relates to improving the health care of veterans and issues involving their caregivers. And on behalf of the members and families of VVA, we thank you for the stellar work this Subcommittee has been doing.

We would like first to comment on H.R. 1197, the “Medal of Honor Health Care Equity Act of 2009.” VVA supports enactment of this bill unequivocally. We would like to offer a bit of commentary as to why.

Americans are hungry for heroes. We confer this status on people who lead their sports teams to championships to the adoration of their fans: guys who can throw for fifty touchdowns or run for two thousand yards in a season; guys who can rocket baseballs into the stands fifty times a season; guys who score thirty points a game; guys who drive race cars really fast. We tend, too, to overuse this term when we honor men and women in uniform.

In reality, all who serve are not heroes. Yes, they don the uniform and, during times of war or conflict, put themselves in harm’s way. Some are killed. Others are wounded, some grievously. Mostly, though, they are men and women doing the jobs for which they’ve been trained (and oftentimes doing jobs for which they haven’t been trained).

While this gesture – dubbing them heroes – may be understandable, and even commendable, it in some ways diminishes what a hero really is: one who puts his (and as more women serve in the military, her) life in danger, and sometimes loses it, attempting to protect or save the lives of his comrades.

We have heroes – true heroes – who have met this standard. Their heroism, their selfless acts of valor and bravery in the chaos of combat, has been acknowledged with the awarding of the Medal of Honor. Others who have committed heroic acts have been honored with the Silver Star, the Navy Cross, the Distinguished Service Cross.

complete testimony Read or Print Complete Testimony


Vietnam Veterans of America to Hold Scholarship Golf Tournament At the VVA National Convention (June 9, 2009)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) –Vietnam Veterans of America will hold its annual Mike Nash Memorial Scholarship Fund Golf Tournament on Tuesday, July 28, at the Iroquois Golf Course in Louisville, Kentucky. The event will take place in conjunction with VVA’s 14th biennial National Convention, which will be held July 29-August 2, at the Galt House Hotel & Suites in Louisville. The shotgun-start tournament begins at 9:00 a.m. Players may register any time up to then. The cost per player is $75, which includes green fees, a cart, a box lunch, and beverage. Sponsorships also are available at $100 per hole, and everyone is invited to sponsor a hole.

[Read Complete Press Release] | [Become a Sponsor]


National Constitution Committee Proposed Amendments
[ click here to read ]


2009 Proposed Convention Resolutions
[ click here to read ]


Click on the cover image to read the VVA Self-Help Guide to Service-Connected Disability Compensation for Exposure to Agent Orange


VVA Victim of Email Hoaxes

An email hoax, “States From One State,” has been circulating the Internet for more than a year. Unfortunately, someone has taken his/her personal initiative to attach the Vietnam Veterans of America logo to this flyer after it had been in circulation. The content of this email has nothing to do with Vietnam Veterans of America. We regret this egregious misuse of our logo and appreciate your efforts in setting the record straight.
 
For information on the LA Times response to this email hoax, please
see the linked article.

An email hoax concerning Target stores and VVA has been circulating for a number of years. Please click here for more information.

Thanks so much for your assistance in dispelling these email hoaxes.

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