VVA Chapter 154

Longtime chapter member Tim Burke fell and broke his ankle and is in rehab. Give Tim a call at (586) 909-2212 to let him know we are thinking of him and wish him well for a speedy recovery. Thank-You
VVA Chapter 154 Veterans Support Center
Gary Purcell President
18025 15 mile
Clinton Twp MI 48035
E-Mail:[email protected]
Vet Center- 586-776-9810 C-586-243-6293
"Honoring All Who Served!"

address and time change for the September 6th Veterans and Community Resource event in Madison Heights: 260 W. 13 Mile Rd. Madison Heights, MI and the time is 8:30 to 12:30. Registration is required and is accessible through the flyer. Feel free to contact me for any questions.

Join Oakland County Health Network and the City Of Madison Heights for an event for Veterans and the community, Friday, September 6th. The event will have speakers discussing various topics effecting veterans and the community. Gun safes and gift cards will be given away while supplies last. Lunch will be provided. Registration is required. Please feel free to register as an attendee or as vendor via this flyer.

Chaka McDonald
Veterans and Military Families Navigator
Walking With Warriors
P:248-764-4443
F:855-828-0879
1200 N. Telegraph Rd.
Building 32 E.
Pontiac, MI 48341
[email protected]
https://www.oaklandchn.org/226/Veterans-Referral

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPwwEzKcWVo

Temporary 100% VA Disability after Surgery or Immobilizing Cast | VA Service-Connection | theSITREP In this episode of theSITREP, Paul discusses how Veterans can get temporary 100% VA disability after having surgery or being immobilized by a cast. For addi...

https://www.militarytimes.com/newsletters/2024/07/17/military-burn-pit-exposure-not-tracked-properly-dod-watchdog-warns/?utm_source=sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=army-dnr

Military burn pit exposure not tracked properly, DOD watchdog warns A new report looks at burn pits not created by U.S. personnel that are near military sites.

Michigan Veterans Homes Chesterfield

https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KYWREA4

dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil

JIMMY JOHN'S FIELD BASEBALL Sunday, August 18, that is the day the Vet Center has tickets for. Game starts at 1:05 pm, with the gates opening at noon. $25 gets you in to watch the game (Utica Unicorns VS Eastside Diamond Hoppers) along with a Hotdog, a bag of chips and a (12 oz) soft drink. Tickets are still available, but for how long ? ? ? ? Tickets are at the Vet Center during normal business hours. Hope to see you there!

This is Tammy from American House Sterling Meadows on Schoenherr Rd. I was wondering if you have a few fellows that may be interested in helping out with running poker tables for a resident family night. There will be no real money being used. Our event is called The Casino Royale, it is on Wednesday, July 17 from 5-7pm. They will need to be here by 4:15 pm to set up. We also need a few guys to help park cars and to help bbq at our car show on Friday, August 23 at 9 am. Please let me know so I can plan accordingly. I really appreciate it
Tammy Laflin
Life Enrichment Director
American House Sterling Meadows
33433 Schoenherr Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48312
T: 586.979-5340
Email:sterlingmeadows [email protected]

AVVA154
From:[email protected]
Fri, Jul 12 at 9:40 PM
The Polo Shirts are in and ready for you to try on to see what size best suits you.
The cost is: $34.45 for sizes X Small to XL
$36.45 for 2X and 3X
If you would like to have your name put on it also, there is an additional charge of $7.00
Please see either Mike S usually on Tuesdays or Murphy any day that the Vet Center is open., they will assist in completing the order form.
If you have any questions please see Phyllis or Kathy
Your AVVA Board

Have questions about accessible parking? Review our fact sheet for guidance about how many accessible parking spots are needed, what signage is required, maintenance needs, and more here: https://adata.org/factsheet/parking

RAMP AVAILABLE
From: Kathleen Whitworth
Sent: Tuesday, July 9, 2024 9:27 PM
To: piofficer
Subject: ramp.
This email came from my church, and I was asked to forward it to the Vet Center
Hi all
Do you know anyone that needs a metal ramp in their garage. One of our church members no longer needs it in her garage. Mike Barkume and I installed it for her a couple of years ago.
Thanks
Mike If they want, they can contact me at either 586-792-3692 or 586-260-9876
Kathy Whitworth

There is a chapter meeting tomorrow Wednesday July 10,2024 at VFW Bruce Post 1146 starting at 3pm. Hope to see you there. That night we have a pass and review for chapter member John Smeekens at 7pm at Resurrection Funeral Home, 40800 Hayes Road in Clinton Township please try to be there to honor John and support his family. Thank-You

VVA Chapter 154 Veterans Support Center
Gary Purcell President
18025 15 mile
Clinton Twp MI 48035
E-Mail:[email protected]
Vet Center- 586-776-9810 C-586-243-6293

It is with a deep sadness and a heavy heart that I inform of the death of long-time chapter member John Smeekens. John had been battling many health issues the last couple of years. We will miss him more than words can express. He was not just our brother in arms he was a good friend to many. There will be a pass and review Wednesday July 10th,2024 at 7pm. All the info is below just click on the link. Resurrection Funeral Home, 40800 Hayes Road in Clinton Township.

John Smeekens Obituary - Clinton Township, MI Celebrate the life of John Smeekens, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Resurrection Funeral Home.

All Dental Denture & Implant Center

1,575 U.S. service members remain unaccounted for from the Vietnam War; 48 of them are from Michigan, and 3 of those 48 went missing on dates in July. Here are the 3 with their Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) profiles:



7-18-1968: U.S. Army PFC Earl Francis Seablom of Ishpeming, MI - https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZlMEAW



7-24-1968: U.S. Navy CDR David Scott Greiling of Hillsdale, MI - https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000KZmeEAG



7-25-1967: U.S. Air Force MAJ Jeremy Michael Jarvis of Warren, MI - https://dpaa-mil.sites.crmforce.mil/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001Ul7EAE





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Never give up,

Marty



(Ms.) Marty Eddy

Michigan Coordinator, National League of Families of American Prisoners & Missing in Southeast Asia

Secretary/Treasurer, POW Committee of Michigan

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 248-214-6398

Maj JEREMY MICHAEL JARVIS - Service Member Profile As part of its mission to provide the fullest possible accounting to their families and the nation, DPAA publishes brief profiles of lost service members.

It is with a deep sadness and a heavy heart that I inform of the death of long-time chapter member John Smeekens. John had been battling many health issues the last couple of years. We will miss him more than words can express. He was not just our brother in arms he was a good friend to many. There will be a pass and review Wednesday July 10th,2024 at 7pm. All the info is below just click on the link. Resurrection Funeral Home, 40800 Hayes Road in Clinton Township.

https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/clinton-township-mi/john-smeekens-11885459

VVA Chapter 154 Veterans Support Center
Gary Purcell President
18025 15 mile

Clinton Twp MI 48035

E-Mail:[email protected]

Vet Center- 586-776-9810 C-586-243-6293

John Smeekens Obituary - Clinton Township, MI Celebrate the life of John Smeekens, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Resurrection Funeral Home.

The July issue of Boo Coo News is posted on the chapter website. Gary Purcell, President

www.vva154.com

The vet center will be closed July4th and reopen July 5th at 9am. Happy 4th to all of you.

VVA Chapter 154 Veterans Support Center

Gary Purcell President

18025 15 mile

Clinton Twp MI 48035

E-Mail:[email protected]

Vet Center- 586-776-9810 C-586-243-6293

Thousands of veterans of the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat zone after 9/11, or who were deployed in support of the Global War on Terror, are now receiving treatment and benefits for toxic exposure due to the PACT Act signed in to law in 2022. Toxins and hazards include burn pits, sand and dust, particulates, oil well or sulfur fires, chemicals, radiation, warfare agents, depleted uranium, herbicides, and other occupational hazards.
An informational meeting takes place 9 a.m. to noon July 23 at Veterans of Foreign Wars Bruce Post 1146 at 28404 Jefferson Ave., St. Clair Shores. Veterans or their family members should bring discharge papers.
See https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LTKCLLT and https://www.va.gov/health-care/eligibility/

Update on Chuck Charbeneau.
Very good news for Chuck, he is home. Doctors have no idea what was wrong, but they know it wasn't his heart. Great to get good news for a change.
Mike Bradley
Honor Guard Commander

The Holly Area Veterans Center is hosting an all-female veterans' event on September 28. If anyone would like more information, they are free to contact me!
Elizabeth Leonhard
Veteran Navigator Coordinator
Email: [email protected] Phone: (248) 318-9956

Jimmy John's baseball tickets are ready for purchase.
August 18 starting at 1:05 p.m.(Doors open at noon)
Price is $25, which includes, hotdog, bag of chips and a soft drink. Phyllis will bring tickets to the chapter meeting on Wednesday, July 10, or you may purchase them at the Vet Center during normal business hours. (9 to 2)

Al Stockwell. I'm a Captain with the Clinton Township Fire Department. I also have a small personal training gym here in the Township. I currently train a few Veterans with some weights and stretching. Two of these vets are upper 60s and lower 70s and another is in his 50s. All three were career military and were having some issues with movement. So we have been working on "the basics" and then getting into more advanced weights...nothing crazy but stuff that will help with real-life functioning outside the gym. These guys are great! Which leads me to my ask. Do you know how I might be able to reach out to more Vets who could benefit from training? I would love to be able to get as many Veterans in the area moving just a little easier.
Thanks for your time!
Al Stockwell
CTFD
Health Targeted Somutions
586.202.9752

https://www.ptsd.va.gov/screen/?utm_campaign=AWM6b&utm_content=cta&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

VA.gov | Veterans Affairs Apply for and manage the VA benefits and services you’ve earned as a Veteran, Servicemember, or family member—like health care, disability, education, and more.

https://news.va.gov/108631/elections_vet_the_vote/?utm_source=feature&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=VetResources&utm_id=26JUN2024 SEEKING VETERANS TO BE POLL WORKERS $200 PER DAY

Seeking Veterans for the midterm elections - VA News Vet the Vote is is seeking to recruit 100,000 Veterans and military family members to be poll workers in the 2022 midterms and other future elections.

Here is the MIA Update from the 6-24-2024 VFW Action Corps Weekly. There are 7 announced identifications for service members from World War II and 10 announced identifications for service members from the Korean War. There are no announced identifications from the Vietnam War.

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced 17 identification updates for service members who have been missing and unaccounted for from World War II and the Korean War. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Army Pfc. Joseph C. Murphy, 20, of Bogalusa, Louisiana, was a member of Company I, 31st Infantry Regiment. He was among those captured in 1942, and later died as a prisoner of war. Interment services are pending. Read about Murphy.
-- Army Private Jacob Gutterman was a member of the 803rd Engineer Battalion, Aviation. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about Gutterman.
-- Army Air Forces Private Robert W. Cash was a member of the 28th Materiel Squadron, 20th Air Base Group. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about Cash.
-- Army Tech. Sgt. Charles E. Young Jr. was a member of the 429th Signal Maintenance Company, Aviation. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about Young.
-- Army Sgt. Sam A. Prince was a member of Headquarters Battery, 200th Coast Artillery Regiment. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about Prince.
-- Army Corporal Raymond N. DeCloss was member of Company C, 194th Tank Battalion. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about DeCloss.
-- Army Air Forces Sgt. Jack H. Hohlfeld was a member of Headquarters Squadron, 24th Pursuit Group. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. Interment services are pending. Read about Hohlfeld.
-- Army Pvt. 1st Class Arlie P. Barrett was a member of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action on Aug. 10, 1950, and the Army declared his remains non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. Interment services are pending. Read about Barrett.
-- Army Sgt. Charles E. Beaty was a member of Item Company, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 3, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Beaty.
-- Army Sgt. John P. Ryhter was a member of Battery A, 82nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action in December 1950, and the Army issued a presumptive finding of death on Jan. 16, 1956. Interment services are pending. Read about Ryhter.
-- Army Corporal Jesse L. Mitchell was a member of C Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He went missing in action in December 1950, and died while a prisoner of war in the summer of 1951. Interment services are pending. Read about Mitchell.
-- Army Pfc. Charles A. Vorel Jr. was a member of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on July 16, 1950, and declared non-recoverable in January 1956. Interment services are pending. Read about Vorel.
-- Army Corporal William Colby was a member of Dog Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Dec. 2, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Colby.
-- Army Sgt. Kester B. Hardman was a member of M Company, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action in April 1951, and reportedly died while a prisoner of war that same year. Interment services are pending. Read about Hardman.
-- Army Sgt. 1st Class Israel Ramos was a member of D Company, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on Aug. 31, 1950, and was determined to be non-recoverable on Jan. 16, 1956. Interment services are pending. Read about Ramos.
-- Army Corporal Edward J. Smith was a member of Baker Company, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division. He went missing in action on Aug. 31, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Smith.
-- Army Sgt. Clayton M. Pierce was a member of D Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported killed in action on Dec. 1, 1950. Interment services are pending. Read about Pierce.



Please share this information with others who may have an interest in the subject matter.

Never give up,
Marty

(Ms.) Marty Eddy
Michigan Coordinator, National League of Families of American Prisoners & Missing in Southeast Asia
Secretary/Treasurer, POW Committee of Michigan
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 248-214-6398
Fax: 248-282-0906

*The National League of POW/MIA Families is a tax-exempt humanitarian organization (23-7071242), eligible for donations*

*The Prisoner of War Committee of Michigan is a tax-exempt humanitarian organization (23-7334508), eligible for donations*

Chuck Charbeneau in VA Hospital -- Longtime chapter and Honor Guard member is in the Ann Arbor VA Hospital. He is having a heart cath sometime this week. He will keep us informed if more treatments are needed. Please keep Chuck in your thoughts and prayers.
Mike Bradley
Honor Guard Commander

FROM Phyllis Claunch AVVA ... the printer of the clothing will be ordering sizes in XS thru 3XL in the 35/65 blend for us to try on before we make our purchase.
I will let you know when they have arrived at the Vet Center.
Don't forget that the members at the meeting decided on the Royal Blue for Associates Unification.
There is a color chart with other colors available.
Keep watching your emails for updates.