Blackwell-Frazier American Legion Post #142 Hominy, Oklahoma

On January 12, 1962, United States Army pilots lifted more than 1,000 South Vietnamese service members over jungle and underbrush to capture a National Liberation Front stronghold near Saigon.  Operation Chopper marked America’s first combat mission against the Viet Cong, and the beginning of one of our longest and most challenging wars.  Through more than a decade of conflict that tested the fabric of our Nation, the service of our men and women in uniform stood true.  Fifty years after that fateful mission, we honor the more than 3 million Americans who served, we pay tribute to those we have laid to rest, and we reaffirm our dedication to showing a generation of veterans the respect and support of a grateful Nation. Continue reading →

>>>>From the National Organization,

Home loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs continue to have the lowest serious delinquency and foreclosure rates in the mortgage industry, and VA loan originations have reached their highest total in eight years, VA has announced.

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>>>>From the National Organization,

Feb. 3 marks the 69th anniversary of the sinking of the United States Army Transport Dorchester, where four chaplains put the lives of others before their own. And because of their bravery, American Legion posts nationwide remember Four Chaplains Day every year with memorial services.

Services this year will be held on Feb. 5. To request information on how to conduct a Four Chaplains Memorial Service, email the Americanism and Children & Youth Division at acy@legion.org.

Visit www.legion.org/library/6245/bravery-four-chaplains to read more about the heroic story of the four chaplains: Rev. George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode, Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Father John Washington (Roman Catholic).

>>>>From the National Organization,

Veterans, their families, and survivors receiving benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs saw a 3.6 percent increase in their compensation and pension benefits, retroactive to Jan. 1.

The new compensation rates will range from $127 monthly for a disability rated at 10 percent to $2,769 monthly for 100 percent. The cost of living adjustments (COLAs) also apply to disability and death pension recipients, survivors receiving Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, disabled veterans receiving automobile and clothing allowances, and other benefits. The full rates are available on the Internet at http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/21/Rates/#BM01. Continue reading →

>>>>From the National Organization

With the unemployment rate among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan exceeding 13 percent, the head of the nation’s largest veterans organization expressed “deep disappointment” that President Obama denied a permit request for the Keystone XL Pipeline.

“This project would not only have provided thousands of shovel-ready jobs at a time when our economy desperately needs them, it would have reduced America’s dependence on oil exports from the Middle East,” said American Legion National Commander Fang A. Wong.

“This isn’t just an economic issue, but a national security issue as well,” Wong pointed out. “Iran is threatening naval traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and piracy continues to be a problem. With gas prices again approaching $4 a gallon, this project is clearly in America’s interest.” Continue reading →