WEBVTT 00:00:04.809 --> 00:00:08.630 All across America and around the world, this 00:00:08.630 --> 00:00:15.009 is Veterans Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And 00:00:15.009 --> 00:00:19.030 now, your host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. 00:00:23.119 --> 00:00:25.699 Good afternoon and welcome to veterans radio. 00:00:25.780 --> 00:00:29.120 My name is Dale Throneberry out of the cw2 helicopter 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:32.619 pilot in Vietnam in 1969 want to welcome you 00:00:32.619 --> 00:00:34.859 to our program We've got a really special thing 00:00:34.859 --> 00:00:38.179 going on today. We've got Tom Burke on and Tom 00:00:38.179 --> 00:00:42.369 is the newest and most recently elected president 00:00:42.369 --> 00:00:44.729 of the Vietnam Veterans of America. And we're 00:00:44.729 --> 00:00:47.390 going to be talking about what's going on with 00:00:47.390 --> 00:00:49.630 that organization. There are all kinds of stories 00:00:49.630 --> 00:00:52.929 floating around there in the veteran atmosphere. 00:00:53.530 --> 00:00:55.710 So forth about what's really going to happen 00:00:55.710 --> 00:00:58.909 with the vva as it continues to go into the future 00:00:58.909 --> 00:01:01.149 So we're going to have tom on in just a little 00:01:01.149 --> 00:01:03.850 bit by the way If you'd like to ask tom a question 00:01:03.850 --> 00:01:06.750 you can call us here at veterans radio The number 00:01:06.750 --> 00:01:09.989 is seven three four eight two two sixteen hundred 00:01:09.989 --> 00:01:13.650 seven three four Eight two two sixteen hundred 00:01:13.650 --> 00:01:17.719 or you can send me an email direct to dale At 00:01:17.719 --> 00:01:21.719 veterans radio .org that's dale at veterans radio 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:24.980 .org All right. Let's uh before we get to talk 00:01:24.980 --> 00:01:27.159 to tom I gotta get in here and thank our sponsors 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:29.060 because we can't ever do this program without 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:32.219 their support So number one is legal help for 00:01:32.219 --> 00:01:34.719 veterans legal help for veterans specializes 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:37.620 in veterans disability claims call legal help 00:01:37.620 --> 00:01:42.459 for veterans at 800 -693 -4800 or go to their 00:01:42.459 --> 00:01:46.079 website legalhelpforveterans .com The National 00:01:46.079 --> 00:01:48.219 Veterans Business Development Council, better 00:01:48.219 --> 00:01:51.159 known as NVBDC, is the nation's leading third 00:01:51.159 --> 00:01:53.799 -party authority for certification of veteran 00:01:53.799 --> 00:01:56.079 -owned businesses. For more information, you 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:59.680 can go to their website, NVBDC .org, or give 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:06.340 them a call at 888 -237 -8433. PuroClean also 00:02:06.340 --> 00:02:09.740 known as the paramedics of property damage each 00:02:09.740 --> 00:02:12.319 PuroClean office is independently owned and operated 00:02:12.319 --> 00:02:15.000 in fact PuroClean is one of the nation's leading 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.800 restoration franchise networks and is made up 00:02:17.800 --> 00:02:21.120 of entrepreneurs just like you and Veterans get 00:02:21.120 --> 00:02:24.580 25 % off the franchise fee for more information 00:02:24.580 --> 00:02:28.400 go to PuroClean .com The Irwin Prescott American 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:31.539 Legion post 46 and the Charles S Kettles Vietnam 00:02:31.539 --> 00:02:35.139 veterans of America chapter 310 both of Ann Arbor, 00:02:35.300 --> 00:02:38.319 Michigan If you'd like to support veterans radio, 00:02:38.340 --> 00:02:41.139 please go to our website veterans radio .org 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:43.960 and click on the donate button And thank you 00:02:43.960 --> 00:02:47.319 for your your support over the years. I just 00:02:47.319 --> 00:02:48.939 realized this morning. I hadn't even thought 00:02:48.939 --> 00:02:53.360 about it today Historically speaking is our 22nd 00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:57.099 anniversary on the air We started on November 00:02:57.099 --> 00:03:04.599 15th, 2003 on WSDS here in Ypsilanti, Michigan. 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:09.740 And we've been going strong ever since. And so 00:03:09.740 --> 00:03:12.020 we want to make sure that we thank all of you 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:14.780 out there for your support over these last 22 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:17.120 years. And we're going to continue this thing 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.719 on as long as we can go. Sounds like a theme 00:03:19.719 --> 00:03:25.259 today, I think. All right. So here we go. Joining 00:03:25.259 --> 00:03:27.719 me on the air right now is Tom Burke. Tom was 00:03:27.719 --> 00:03:30.639 elected to serve as Vietnam Veterans of America 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.620 principal President, excuse me at the VVA 22nd 00:03:34.620 --> 00:03:37.199 National Convention just a couple of months ago 00:03:37.370 --> 00:03:40.129 He is a Navy veteran. He volunteered to join 00:03:40.129 --> 00:03:43.689 the Navy back in 1963. He was sent to helicopter 00:03:43.689 --> 00:03:46.889 combat support squad one at Ream Field, California, 00:03:47.229 --> 00:03:49.830 and in his final year served aboard the aircraft 00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:53.270 carrier USS Hancock. He's a Gold Star family 00:03:53.270 --> 00:03:55.229 member who lost his brother during the Korean 00:03:55.229 --> 00:03:59.400 War. Burke's VVA service includes three consecutive 00:03:59.400 --> 00:04:02.180 terms as national vice president. He was first 00:04:02.180 --> 00:04:05.000 elected to the VVA national board of directors 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:08.620 in 2009 and served as an at -large director for 00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:12.000 one term and as a national region five director 00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:15.180 for two terms. Region five is Michigan, Ohio, 00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:18.779 Indiana, and Illinois. Let's see what else we 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:23.420 got here. Oh, this is good. I like to read this 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.959 about you, Tom. Burke's dedication to veterans, 00:04:27.139 --> 00:04:28.920 combined with his strength of leadership, earned 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:32.079 him the VVA Commendation Medal, VVA's highest 00:04:32.079 --> 00:04:35.939 award in 2016. And he was inducted into the Ohio 00:04:35.939 --> 00:04:38.439 Veterans Hall of Fame. So joining me on there 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:41.160 right now is President of the Vietnam Veterans 00:04:41.160 --> 00:04:44.579 of America, Tom Burke. Tom, welcome. Thank you, 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.439 sir. Appreciate being here. Thank you for having 00:04:47.439 --> 00:04:54.660 me. And enjoy talking to folks on the radio land 00:04:54.660 --> 00:04:58.000 because I always seem to have a reaction from 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:01.360 radio land Well, there are people out there. 00:05:01.360 --> 00:05:03.639 You never know how many are listening and and 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:07.399 who they are So Tom, let's let's talk about a 00:05:07.399 --> 00:05:09.399 little bit about your service. I mentioned you 00:05:09.399 --> 00:05:13.300 that you joined in 1963 what what was your job? 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:18.149 Well, I was I went to I originally was supposed 00:05:18.149 --> 00:05:20.910 to go to Great Lakes for boot camp and because 00:05:20.910 --> 00:05:23.129 they had something going on there they sent us 00:05:23.129 --> 00:05:30.730 to San Diego. So I went to USNTC in San Diego 00:05:30.730 --> 00:05:37.610 for boot camp and that was 16 weeks and I left 00:05:37.610 --> 00:05:43.389 there and went to Memphis for A school and B 00:05:43.389 --> 00:05:49.509 school and When we finished that, I was sent 00:05:49.509 --> 00:05:55.970 to the fleet in California. Funny story I had 00:05:55.970 --> 00:06:02.029 when I got my orders out of school. I had asked 00:06:02.029 --> 00:06:07.930 the chief, what did H see me? And he said, well, 00:06:08.189 --> 00:06:10.389 you're gonna love it. I always liked that thing 00:06:10.389 --> 00:06:13.209 about your chiefs. They all say you're gonna 00:06:13.209 --> 00:06:17.939 love it. But anyway, um, I finally found out 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:21.019 that it was helicopter combat support squadron 00:06:21.019 --> 00:06:26.800 one. I was thrilled to death. I can imagine. 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:31.300 Yeah. But, uh, when I got there, I got out of 00:06:31.300 --> 00:06:35.180 school. I was, I was what they called an AZ and 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:39.240 aviation maintenance administration. And basically, 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:43.170 uh, my job in the fleet was to, uh, take care 00:06:43.170 --> 00:06:46.250 of all the maintenance schedules. I took care 00:06:46.250 --> 00:06:50.110 of the pilot logs. I took care of the maintenance 00:06:50.110 --> 00:06:53.910 schedules for the birds. I did a little flying 00:06:53.910 --> 00:06:59.670 every now and then to fill in for different folks 00:06:59.670 --> 00:07:03.149 when they were having problems, but basically 00:07:03.149 --> 00:07:07.629 I was a maintenance guy and I worked out of the 00:07:07.629 --> 00:07:11.879 maintenance office and then I I was one day came 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.439 along and they said We're gonna we're gonna ship 00:07:15.439 --> 00:07:20.639 you ship you out and I wound up on the USS Hancock 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:27.079 and we went out and I came back and they had 00:07:27.079 --> 00:07:34.980 They had they mustered me out in 1969 so I was 00:07:34.980 --> 00:07:39.220 I took six years one was I have four active one 00:07:39.220 --> 00:07:45.139 was One was reserve time and then I had a couple 00:07:45.139 --> 00:07:48.759 of years in the active reserve, but I enjoyed 00:07:48.759 --> 00:07:53.579 the time. I considered staying in at the time, 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:57.720 but because I lost a brother in Korea, my mother 00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:03.079 was pretty adamant against that. I can understand 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:06.980 that. That's for sure. I decided that I better 00:08:06.980 --> 00:08:12.439 go home and please mom. You know, we don't give 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:15.920 our moms enough credit They worry about us and 00:08:15.920 --> 00:08:18.060 especially for our generation, you know, there 00:08:18.060 --> 00:08:21.319 were fathers and you know and brothers and so 00:08:21.319 --> 00:08:23.279 forth that went off the war and World War two 00:08:23.279 --> 00:08:26.459 in Korea and now we're going off on our own and 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:31.279 I can't imagine that the emotional roller coaster 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:34.190 that they were on You know with what we were 00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:37.169 up to I want to thank you for being a helicopter 00:08:37.169 --> 00:08:41.169 repair guy I really am we I love those They kept 00:08:41.169 --> 00:08:43.909 me safe for a whole you know for three years 00:08:43.909 --> 00:08:46.950 seven months and two days, but who counted right? 00:08:47.549 --> 00:08:49.970 But I really appreciate all the work that they 00:08:49.970 --> 00:08:52.950 always did they did a whole lot more Than the 00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:56.190 pilots did you know our job just get in you know 00:08:56.190 --> 00:08:58.269 lock ourselves into the thing and go off and 00:08:58.269 --> 00:09:01.309 do our job and come home and You guys you guys 00:09:01.309 --> 00:09:07.850 had a rough job. Yeah Sometimes sometimes So 00:09:07.850 --> 00:09:11.169 let's talk a little bit about the VVA and maybe 00:09:11.169 --> 00:09:13.730 we can talk a little bit about the history of 00:09:13.730 --> 00:09:16.870 it I I was looking at the website for the VVA. 00:09:16.870 --> 00:09:19.789 It's VVA org for those of you out there who have 00:09:19.789 --> 00:09:22.909 never been there It's a great site lots of wonderful 00:09:22.909 --> 00:09:27.240 very informative information for you The one 00:09:27.240 --> 00:09:29.120 that of course we always talk about is being 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:32.139 from being a part of that organization is never 00:09:32.139 --> 00:09:34.480 again will one generation of veterans abandon 00:09:34.480 --> 00:09:37.740 another and that's not only became it's our our 00:09:37.740 --> 00:09:40.779 mission. It's our mantra. It's it's it's it's 00:09:40.779 --> 00:09:44.559 everything that I think the VDA stands for Yes, 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:48.940 I agree the The motto if you want to call it 00:09:48.940 --> 00:09:52.679 that really became a sacred oath in our in our 00:09:52.679 --> 00:09:59.309 first convention in 81 was in Detroit and we 00:09:59.309 --> 00:10:05.690 had people from New York, Michigan, Indiana, 00:10:06.169 --> 00:10:09.710 Chicago, they were usually, and most of them 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:14.470 are in the upper, upper mid to upper east part 00:10:14.470 --> 00:10:18.529 of the country. But they all met in Detroit and 00:10:18.529 --> 00:10:21.769 they put this outfit together in less than four 00:10:21.769 --> 00:10:27.879 days. And that was an amazing job. They had representatives 00:10:27.879 --> 00:10:32.759 from a lot of different chapters that had formed 00:10:32.759 --> 00:10:36.879 over the previous few years. But that's when 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:41.220 it really got started. The Constitution came 00:10:41.220 --> 00:10:45.580 together, the way we were going to govern, how 00:10:45.580 --> 00:10:48.779 the organization was set up. It was really an 00:10:48.779 --> 00:10:52.179 amazing feat for a bunch of guys in four days. 00:10:52.549 --> 00:10:58.669 And the motto came from one of our members that 00:10:58.669 --> 00:11:00.850 showed up there. He was a congressman at the 00:11:00.850 --> 00:11:03.990 time, and his name is Gatesby at the moment. 00:11:04.389 --> 00:11:09.110 But he came up with the motto, never again shall 00:11:09.110 --> 00:11:12.429 one generation abandon another. And that just 00:11:12.429 --> 00:11:20.610 seemed to us, just seemed to say it all. I think 00:11:20.610 --> 00:11:24.200 that that said everything to us in a few words. 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:29.240 We did not, as you all know, we came home, we 00:11:29.240 --> 00:11:33.179 had nothing. We got nothing. We really didn't 00:11:33.179 --> 00:11:37.279 expect anything, but we even had a GI Bill that 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:40.299 frankly sucked and there wasn't a lot we could 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:43.759 do about it. But then when we came together, 00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:47.220 we decided that there was things that had to 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:50.600 be done. We had to decide what we were going 00:11:50.600 --> 00:11:54.100 to do and how we were going to do it. There's 00:11:54.100 --> 00:11:57.000 a lot of things that were undone and we set on 00:11:57.000 --> 00:12:03.919 a course to make it right. We had people along 00:12:03.919 --> 00:12:07.220 the way that, especially in Congress, that fought 00:12:07.220 --> 00:12:12.320 us like crazy. But eventually we gained some 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:16.860 traction. Our first chapter was born up in Maine. 00:12:18.720 --> 00:12:21.299 or Rutland, Vermont, I'm sorry, who said made 00:12:21.299 --> 00:12:22.879 the building. Of course, Rutland, Vermont was 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:26.580 the first chapter. And that was the impetus to 00:12:26.580 --> 00:12:32.039 start it growing. You know, today, we still have, 00:12:32.700 --> 00:12:36.299 we currently have just shy of 95 ,000 members. 00:12:37.220 --> 00:12:42.480 And the corporation is, it was good. We're in 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:46.419 good shape financially. We're still, amazingly, 00:12:46.620 --> 00:12:50.259 we're still gaining Members I know even here 00:12:50.259 --> 00:12:54.600 locally we've been Picking up quite a few members. 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:57.059 I mean for what I thought was a relatively small 00:12:57.059 --> 00:13:01.379 chapter. I guess it's not with 220 people Approximately 00:13:01.379 --> 00:13:03.779 in our organization. We picked up quite a few 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:07.919 over the last few years. I think because mainly 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:10.100 I think because some of them are finally retired 00:13:10.100 --> 00:13:13.600 and That they're finally willing, you know, I've 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:15.360 got some time on their hands. Let's see what 00:13:15.610 --> 00:13:18.370 what is going on out there and they they find 00:13:18.370 --> 00:13:22.009 that there's a the great thing about this organization 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:25.909 is when you walk into the room everybody of course 00:13:25.909 --> 00:13:28.629 you know they say welcome home which is kind 00:13:28.629 --> 00:13:31.389 of our slogan another one of our slogans here 00:13:31.389 --> 00:13:34.070 is that we still say welcome home to everybody 00:13:34.070 --> 00:13:35.870 and every veteran doesn't make any difference 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.490 in fact i like to tell people when they thank 00:13:38.490 --> 00:13:41.070 me for my service i say you know what thank you 00:13:41.070 --> 00:13:45.019 but i'd really rather hear welcome home And some 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:47.299 of them are finally, you know understanding what 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:50.320 I mean by that and you know, we've we've been 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:54.340 trying to Convey that to the next generation 00:13:54.340 --> 00:13:56.059 of veterans which you know, which we'll talk 00:13:56.059 --> 00:13:58.840 about again I want to talk about a couple of 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:02.500 things that I got off of the VVAs website This 00:14:02.500 --> 00:14:04.360 is for our listeners. This is kind of the goals 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:08.720 of what what we do as an organization So it says 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:11.940 aggressively advocate advocate for issues important 00:14:11.940 --> 00:14:15.340 to veterans Seek full access to quality health 00:14:15.340 --> 00:14:18.840 care for veterans. Identify the full range of 00:14:18.840 --> 00:14:21.440 disability injuries and illnesses that occurred 00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:24.759 during military service. Hold government agencies 00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:27.899 accountable for following laws mandating veterans' 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.799 care. That's an important one right there. Create 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:33.679 a positive public perception of Vietnam veterans. 00:14:34.340 --> 00:14:37.000 Seek the fullest possible accounting of America's 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:41.620 POWs and MIAs. Support the next generation of 00:14:41.620 --> 00:14:44.279 America's war veterans And one thing that I know 00:14:44.279 --> 00:14:46.580 that all the organizations are doing is support 00:14:46.580 --> 00:14:50.279 their local communities. That's very true and 00:14:50.279 --> 00:14:55.759 that's a good list. One of the sacred vows that 00:14:55.759 --> 00:15:00.700 we had with POW MIAs, we wanted to have a full 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:04.820 accounting of all POWs and MIAs or at least the 00:15:04.820 --> 00:15:10.009 best that we could have. My last I think my last 00:15:10.009 --> 00:15:15.429 count there was 1 ,567 still unaccounted for. 00:15:16.409 --> 00:15:20.669 There are probably six or seven hundred of those 00:15:20.669 --> 00:15:23.990 that we were lost at sea and we may never find 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:30.090 them. The other part is that we are dedicated 00:15:30.090 --> 00:15:35.629 to the fact that we make sure that we can account 00:15:35.629 --> 00:15:39.610 for every one of the people that were there and 00:15:39.610 --> 00:15:47.509 were lost. But we still send delegations to Vietnam 00:15:47.509 --> 00:15:52.350 whenever we can. And for a while we were sending 00:15:52.350 --> 00:15:56.750 delegations every year. The last one was two 00:15:56.750 --> 00:16:01.350 years ago. They went back to Vietnam and the 00:16:01.350 --> 00:16:09.110 impetus is to find areas where we may discover 00:16:09.110 --> 00:16:14.929 the remains of people who fought in the war and 00:16:14.929 --> 00:16:20.470 still remain unaccounted for. Grant Coats is 00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.610 a great guy and he heads our PWMIA committee. 00:16:24.950 --> 00:16:30.409 He has been back and Mokey Porter, who is our 00:16:30.409 --> 00:16:33.169 Director of Communications. Mokey has been in 00:16:33.169 --> 00:16:38.000 Vietnam 36 times. Really? Wow. In the time that 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:41.580 we have been sending delegations over there. 00:16:42.019 --> 00:16:45.740 She's a protocol person, our comm officer, and 00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:50.120 she does a great job. Grant has been over there. 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:55.440 Jack Devine, who you may know in Michigan, was 00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:59.840 head of the PWMI committee or the AI committee. 00:17:00.259 --> 00:17:06.259 And he There are many, many people that served 00:17:06.259 --> 00:17:09.279 in that capacity to go back to Vietnam to find 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:15.559 or were dead. You know, we have committees on 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:21.319 suicide prevention, Agent Orange, government 00:17:21.319 --> 00:17:26.859 affairs, homeless veterans, membership, minority 00:17:26.859 --> 00:17:31.799 affairs, disciplinary, POWMIA, veterans benefits. 00:17:32.170 --> 00:17:37.769 The list goes on and on. We have, if I remember 00:17:37.769 --> 00:17:46.069 right, we have 21 committees that do various 00:17:46.069 --> 00:17:50.670 things within the organization. And we cover 00:17:50.670 --> 00:17:56.130 a myriad of applications to different things 00:17:56.130 --> 00:18:00.670 that we're interested in. One of the things is 00:18:00.670 --> 00:18:04.930 suicide prevention. That has been a big, big 00:18:04.930 --> 00:18:08.569 thing going on over the last four or five years. 00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:15.170 Homelessness. We're involved in West LA and the 00:18:15.170 --> 00:18:19.569 big project out there. We have a homeless committee 00:18:19.569 --> 00:18:24.210 that does a super job to make sure that legislation 00:18:24.210 --> 00:18:30.539 is passed to help the homeless and We try to 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:34.400 give transition assistance when guys are coming 00:18:34.400 --> 00:18:37.339 out of the service, transitioning to civilian 00:18:37.339 --> 00:18:41.839 life, and we're trying to work with the VA to 00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:45.500 get more people signed up with the Veterans Administration 00:18:45.500 --> 00:18:49.420 so that they can get the benefits and job performance, 00:18:49.440 --> 00:18:53.579 that kind of thing, to help them transition to 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:57.500 civilian life. You know, there's so many things 00:18:57.500 --> 00:19:00.619 that the VVA is doing. We're talking with Tom 00:19:00.619 --> 00:19:03.559 Burke here on Veterans Radio. He's the president 00:19:03.559 --> 00:19:07.259 of the VVA. And if you'd like to ask him a question, 00:19:07.460 --> 00:19:12.140 feel free to give us a call at 734 -822 -1600. 00:19:12.539 --> 00:19:14.940 Or you can send me an email with your question 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:19.279 to dale at veteransradio .org. Tom, you were 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:21.240 mentioning all of the various committees. There's 00:19:21.240 --> 00:19:25.730 also a Committee on Women Veterans. That's really 00:19:25.730 --> 00:19:28.930 important and I know that You know there were 00:19:28.930 --> 00:19:33.329 there were more than nurse nurses in Vietnam 00:19:33.329 --> 00:19:37.430 that were women and I've had the privilege here 00:19:37.430 --> 00:19:42.950 locally. We have two Vietnam nurses who are in 00:19:42.950 --> 00:19:46.789 our chapter here and you know, they keep me informed 00:19:46.789 --> 00:19:48.809 of what I'm supposed to be talking about on the 00:19:48.809 --> 00:19:51.829 air About women veterans. So I figured I'd better 00:19:51.829 --> 00:19:55.140 get that in there Well, let me give you a couple 00:19:55.140 --> 00:20:00.940 of statistics. We have, as you may know, during 00:20:00.940 --> 00:20:04.579 the war itself, there was about 10 or 11 million 00:20:04.579 --> 00:20:08.980 individuals that raised their hand or were drafted 00:20:08.980 --> 00:20:12.539 into the Vietnam conflict. Of that number, there 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:17.440 was about 10 ,000 women veterans that came over 00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:22.359 and did their job for us as nurses and doctors 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:27.579 and so on so forth. We can't praise them enough 00:20:27.579 --> 00:20:30.519 for what they did. They saved a lot of lives 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:36.880 and we owe them a lot. Absolutely. Absolutely. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:38.779 I've had the privilege of talking to a number 00:20:38.779 --> 00:20:43.809 of them on our program here and I think that 00:20:43.809 --> 00:20:46.009 they were probably exposed to more trauma than 00:20:46.009 --> 00:20:49.509 most of us who were even out in the fields. I 00:20:49.509 --> 00:20:56.210 wouldn't question that for a second. I have another 00:20:56.210 --> 00:21:01.269 thing that you might not know, whereas right 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:05.450 now there are 6 .2 million Vietnam veterans here 00:21:05.450 --> 00:21:11.599 at home and abroad still living. Of that number, 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:19.859 men who are over the age of 65, one in three, 00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:25.180 one in three is a Vietnam veteran. And that is 00:21:25.180 --> 00:21:29.039 a significant number of people in this country. 00:21:29.460 --> 00:21:36.619 So we take, I take this position as not only 00:21:36.619 --> 00:21:40.079 representing all of our members, but also representing 00:21:40.079 --> 00:21:43.519 any Vietnam veteran in this country that served 00:21:43.519 --> 00:21:48.519 his served his country and came home to something 00:21:48.519 --> 00:21:51.220 that he really didn't he or she really didn't 00:21:51.220 --> 00:21:55.160 expect. Yeah, you know, I don't want to dwell 00:21:55.160 --> 00:21:57.079 too much in that because everybody said, oh, 00:21:57.640 --> 00:22:00.680 you know, they weren't welcomed home and so on 00:22:00.680 --> 00:22:04.279 and so forth. Well, yeah, it's because of organizations 00:22:04.279 --> 00:22:06.940 such as the VVA that many of us finally found 00:22:07.309 --> 00:22:10.470 an outlet where we could talk about some of the 00:22:10.470 --> 00:22:13.430 things that we had gone through. I tell this 00:22:13.430 --> 00:22:15.529 all the time, the first meeting I ever went to, 00:22:15.670 --> 00:22:23.569 I was dragged to by a local guy. I remember walking 00:22:23.569 --> 00:22:25.670 into the room and just looking around and I said, 00:22:26.769 --> 00:22:33.160 they all look like me. Imagine that. And you're 00:22:33.160 --> 00:22:35.160 going you know, they're all they were all you 00:22:35.160 --> 00:22:38.099 know We're all we were all the same age and you 00:22:38.099 --> 00:22:40.559 know that that kind of thing and the next you 00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:42.900 know You talk to somebody and you find out that 00:22:42.900 --> 00:22:46.279 they were stationed somewhere near you and you 00:22:46.279 --> 00:22:48.339 start talking about that and the next thing something 00:22:48.339 --> 00:22:55.400 else comes out and I can tell you that I I feel 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:58.039 and through my own personal experience, and I'm 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:02.119 sure you have had the same thing A veteran to 00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:07.160 veteran encounter is instantaneous camaraderie. 00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:13.660 We have so much in common that it doesn't take 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:15.819 more than 30 seconds and you feel like you've 00:23:15.819 --> 00:23:19.579 got a brother standing in front of you. One thing 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:25.519 I think I should mention is that I've run into 00:23:25.519 --> 00:23:31.519 veterans in many categories and There are some 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:39.359 out there that feel that their record of service 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:44.539 is less important than others. And I find that 00:23:44.539 --> 00:23:48.579 most of these guys that feel this way were non 00:23:48.579 --> 00:23:55.819 -combatants. They were not combat vets. And I 00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:59.180 had an instance where a fellow that came up to 00:23:59.180 --> 00:24:04.700 me in a in a uh in a meeting and his wife and 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:08.700 she said something to the effect about uh his 00:24:08.700 --> 00:24:12.859 service he didn't he did not feel that he was 00:24:12.859 --> 00:24:16.259 part of the gang so to speak and i said what 00:24:16.259 --> 00:24:19.619 did you do and it it was a non -combatant role 00:24:19.619 --> 00:24:23.519 but it was a support role and i said look you 00:24:23.519 --> 00:24:28.049 got to understand your service whether you were 00:24:28.049 --> 00:24:32.769 combat or not, was just as honorable as the guy 00:24:32.769 --> 00:24:36.809 on the front line. And why? Because you were 00:24:36.809 --> 00:24:40.589 told what to do. You were ordered to go where 00:24:40.589 --> 00:24:45.650 you went. And because of that, your service, 00:24:45.809 --> 00:24:49.369 no matter what you did or where you served, was 00:24:49.369 --> 00:24:52.970 an honorable role that you played for your government. 00:24:53.109 --> 00:24:57.480 You served your country. Be proud of it. Absolutely, 00:24:57.660 --> 00:25:00.859 and I've run into folks like that and the one 00:25:00.859 --> 00:25:02.480 thing that we all have in common though is that 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.519 we all went to basic training somewhere and as 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:07.779 soon as you open the question about basic training 00:25:07.779 --> 00:25:12.539 there's always about 200 ,000 stories right there 00:25:12.539 --> 00:25:14.799 because you met the crazy person from wherever 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:18.220 it was, the short guy or the heavy set guy or 00:25:18.220 --> 00:25:22.220 the string bean guy or whoever it was. We all 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:25.450 have those stories in common. And I, and I think 00:25:25.450 --> 00:25:27.829 it's like you said, I mean, earlier we, you know, 00:25:27.829 --> 00:25:30.789 I thanked the idea of crew chiefs and door gunners 00:25:30.789 --> 00:25:33.109 and so forth of being able to keep our aircraft 00:25:33.109 --> 00:25:37.809 going. But when I came back and was an instructor 00:25:37.809 --> 00:25:41.450 pilot, the same crew chiefs and everything kept 00:25:41.450 --> 00:25:43.829 our birds flying. And if it hadn't been for them 00:25:43.829 --> 00:25:46.849 and not, not every one of them had served overseas, 00:25:47.529 --> 00:25:51.359 but the idea is that you know, we wrote, you 00:25:51.359 --> 00:25:53.680 know, they that proverbial blank check that they 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:55.880 talk about, they could have sent us anywhere 00:25:55.880 --> 00:25:57.619 that you want to, you know, wherever they needed 00:25:57.619 --> 00:26:01.079 us is where they sent us. Correct. And, you know, 00:26:01.119 --> 00:26:03.740 we, at that, you know, we didn't question it, 00:26:03.799 --> 00:26:06.279 we didn't, you know, you just want you did your 00:26:06.279 --> 00:26:09.539 duty. Yeah. I think that that's, you know, the 00:26:09.539 --> 00:26:13.279 reluctance of some Vietnam, very Vietnam era 00:26:13.279 --> 00:26:18.640 veterans to Utilize their benefits is something 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.079 that you know I know that you do and I know that 00:26:21.079 --> 00:26:23.700 I do and many of us around here We harp on them 00:26:23.700 --> 00:26:27.000 all the time you you you earn these benefits. 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:30.400 You are entitled to these benefits They promised 00:26:30.400 --> 00:26:33.059 you that if something happened as a result of 00:26:33.059 --> 00:26:35.200 your service that they would take care of you 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:38.420 Well, and you're not taking money or benefits 00:26:38.420 --> 00:26:40.940 away from anybody else. No, that's the other 00:26:40.940 --> 00:26:44.160 argument one of the things you mentioned that 00:26:45.289 --> 00:26:51.349 I want to address is the era of veteran. If you 00:26:51.349 --> 00:26:56.950 look at any other conflict, World War I, World 00:26:56.950 --> 00:27:03.109 War II, Korea, Afghanistan, Iraq, the only conflict 00:27:03.109 --> 00:27:09.730 that we got tagged with era is Vietnam. And why 00:27:09.730 --> 00:27:13.470 that happened, I have no idea. because there 00:27:13.470 --> 00:27:19.190 really is no era veteran. There is Vietnam veterans 00:27:19.190 --> 00:27:22.849 in any capacity that they served in. They are 00:27:22.849 --> 00:27:26.130 still a Vietnam veteran. In my book, there's 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:30.349 no era. You served during the Vietnam War, you're 00:27:30.349 --> 00:27:33.950 a Vietnam War vet, regardless of whether you're 00:27:33.950 --> 00:27:36.849 in Germany or on the front lines in Vietnam. 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:40.900 Let me point out to our listening audience that 00:27:40.900 --> 00:27:46.519 the VVA accepts all of those people. Anybody 00:27:46.519 --> 00:27:49.599 who served during that time period, what is it, 00:27:49.859 --> 00:27:53.500 62 or 50, I don't know anymore, up until 75, 00:27:54.420 --> 00:27:58.819 is encouraged to join. Yeah, it's actually 58 00:27:58.819 --> 00:28:02.630 to 75. So I thought we need to take a break right 00:28:02.630 --> 00:28:04.869 now again and so stick around when we're talking 00:28:04.869 --> 00:28:07.549 with Tom Burke President of the Vietnam Veterans 00:28:07.549 --> 00:28:09.630 of America again, if you have any questions, 00:28:09.910 --> 00:28:12.869 please give us a call. Let us know You know, 00:28:13.009 --> 00:28:15.329 there's a lot of issues that are going on as 00:28:15.329 --> 00:28:19.589 a result of that Of our aging process. I'll put 00:28:19.589 --> 00:28:23.130 it that way So you're listening to veterans radio. 00:28:23.130 --> 00:28:25.049 We'll be right back after our Medal of Honor 00:28:25.049 --> 00:28:28.490 segment The Medal of Honor is the highest award 00:28:28.490 --> 00:28:30.609 for valor in combat given a member of the Armed 00:28:30.609 --> 00:28:32.569 Forces of the United States. There have been 00:28:32.569 --> 00:28:35.430 over 3 ,400 recipients of the nation's highest 00:28:35.430 --> 00:28:39.230 award. This is one of them. Army Captain Ed Freeman 00:28:39.230 --> 00:28:42.509 flew 14 rescue missions under intense enemy fire, 00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:45.849 saving 30 seriously wounded soldiers. Details 00:28:45.849 --> 00:28:49.930 after this. If you have a VA claim denied by 00:28:49.930 --> 00:28:51.890 the Board of Veterans' Appeals, contact Legal 00:28:51.890 --> 00:28:56.539 Help for Veterans at 1 -800 -693 -4800. They're 00:28:56.539 --> 00:28:58.660 experts in handling cases before the U .S. Court 00:28:58.660 --> 00:29:00.640 of Appeals for Veterans Claims. Their number 00:29:00.640 --> 00:29:05.420 again, 1 -800 -693 -4800. As a flight leader, 00:29:05.920 --> 00:29:07.940 Freeman supported a heavily engaged American 00:29:07.940 --> 00:29:10.440 infantry battalion in the Ai Trang Valley in 00:29:10.440 --> 00:29:13.400 the Republic of Vietnam. The unit was almost 00:29:13.400 --> 00:29:15.619 out of ammunition after taking some of the heaviest 00:29:15.619 --> 00:29:18.299 casualties of the war, fighting off a relentless 00:29:18.299 --> 00:29:20.859 attack from a highly motivated, heavily armed 00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:24.119 enemy force. When the infantry commander closed 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.759 the helicopter landing zone due to intense direct 00:29:26.759 --> 00:29:30.119 enemy fire, Freeman risked his own life by flying 00:29:30.119 --> 00:29:32.960 his unarmed helicopter through a gauntlet of 00:29:32.960 --> 00:29:36.319 enemy fire time after time, delivering critically 00:29:36.319 --> 00:29:38.980 needed ammunition, water and medical supplies 00:29:38.980 --> 00:29:42.200 to the besieged battalion. His flights had a 00:29:42.200 --> 00:29:45.140 direct impact on the battle's outcome by providing 00:29:45.140 --> 00:29:47.940 the engaged units with timely supplies of ammunition 00:29:47.940 --> 00:29:51.519 critical to their survival. After medical evacuation 00:29:51.519 --> 00:29:54.319 helicopters refused to fly into the area due 00:29:54.319 --> 00:29:58.180 to intense enemy fire, Captain Freeman flew 14 00:29:58.180 --> 00:30:00.859 separate rescue missions providing life -saving 00:30:00.859 --> 00:30:03.279 evacuation of an estimated 30 seriously wounded 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:06.140 soldiers, some of whom would not have survived 00:30:06.140 --> 00:30:09.220 had he not acted. All flights were made into 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:12.259 a small emergency landing zone within 100 to 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.099 200 yards of the defensive perimeter where heavily 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:17.900 committed units were perilously holding off the 00:30:17.900 --> 00:30:20.190 attacking elements. The Medal of Honor series 00:30:20.190 --> 00:30:24.950 is a production of Veterans Radio. Military veterans 00:30:24.950 --> 00:30:27.369 touch everyone's life. I'm guessing right now 00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:29.910 you're thinking of a veteran, a close friend, 00:30:30.410 --> 00:30:33.529 relative. Maybe it's you. Even the toughest of 00:30:33.529 --> 00:30:35.890 us sometimes need help, but don't know where 00:30:35.890 --> 00:30:38.470 to turn for support. You don't need special training 00:30:38.470 --> 00:30:40.769 to help a veteran in your life. We can all help 00:30:40.769 --> 00:30:42.990 someone going through a difficult time. Learn 00:30:42.990 --> 00:30:46.529 how you can be there for veterans. Visit veteranscrisisline 00:30:46.529 --> 00:30:58.420 .net. We're back here on Veterans Radio and we're 00:30:58.420 --> 00:31:00.980 talking with Tom Burke, President of the Vietnam 00:31:00.980 --> 00:31:03.799 Veterans of America and trying to figure out 00:31:03.799 --> 00:31:07.740 what we can do to let people know how important 00:31:07.740 --> 00:31:10.680 this organization is, especially to the Vietnam 00:31:10.680 --> 00:31:13.779 Veterans generation, but also to the future. 00:31:14.250 --> 00:31:18.869 of the organization itself. So let's, Tom, let's 00:31:18.869 --> 00:31:22.990 kind of get into that with, as you mentioned 00:31:22.990 --> 00:31:24.630 when we were talking earlier, before we went 00:31:24.630 --> 00:31:28.109 on the air, you said the average age of the member 00:31:28.109 --> 00:31:30.769 of the Vietnam Veterans of America is 78 years 00:31:30.769 --> 00:31:34.450 old. That's correct. Which, of course, none of 00:31:34.450 --> 00:31:39.190 us would ever admit to. But I don't know how 00:31:39.190 --> 00:31:42.589 that happened. Seems more like yesterday than 00:31:42.880 --> 00:31:52.359 I am you know grass side up as they say but the 00:31:52.359 --> 00:31:56.660 or Tell us a little bit about some of the plans 00:31:56.660 --> 00:32:00.339 that are being discussed and thrown around out 00:32:00.339 --> 00:32:04.339 there because I know that the One of the things 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:07.099 that you mentioned is that somebody some people 00:32:07.099 --> 00:32:10.880 don't want to do anything and just let the the 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:13.809 organization go away as once everybody's gone. 00:32:14.170 --> 00:32:16.470 And I know that that's not what you want. And 00:32:16.470 --> 00:32:19.130 I'm sure it's not what anybody in the organization 00:32:19.130 --> 00:32:23.849 really wants. Well, maybe a little history. Back 00:32:23.849 --> 00:32:29.990 in 2017, the then president, John Rowan, had 00:32:29.990 --> 00:32:34.730 discussed with the board members that he felt 00:32:34.730 --> 00:32:37.589 it was necessary that we start planning for the 00:32:37.589 --> 00:32:42.079 future or our demise as it was. And he had a 00:32:42.079 --> 00:32:46.480 couple of committees put together. One was pretty 00:32:46.480 --> 00:32:50.000 straightforward. It was come back and tell us 00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:56.000 how we can dilute dissolution. And the second 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:58.200 committee was, hey, is there anything else we 00:32:58.200 --> 00:33:02.220 can do besides go away? The first one was pretty 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:06.240 easy. The guys that were on that committee and 00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:11.380 gals did a fantastic job putting together a desolation 00:33:11.380 --> 00:33:17.440 plan. The second guys, their charge is a little 00:33:17.440 --> 00:33:21.420 tougher trying to figure out what we could do 00:33:21.420 --> 00:33:25.579 as we move forward. We didn't really get a really 00:33:25.579 --> 00:33:29.440 good answer from that, but in any case, it started 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:34.240 out telling us that we had to look to the future 00:33:34.240 --> 00:33:39.299 to decide what and where we were going to go 00:33:39.309 --> 00:33:42.690 Were we going to go away? Were we not going to 00:33:42.690 --> 00:33:48.150 go away? And in my travels over several years 00:33:48.150 --> 00:33:53.609 as vice and now as president, one outstanding 00:33:53.609 --> 00:33:59.369 thing became spectacularly clear that the chapters, 00:33:59.730 --> 00:34:04.609 even though they may have had a struggle trying 00:34:04.609 --> 00:34:09.610 to keep Members that would stand up and lead 00:34:09.610 --> 00:34:13.929 the course in the chapter level State level but 00:34:13.929 --> 00:34:18.389 we had We had chapters that were struggling which 00:34:18.389 --> 00:34:23.170 was and they still said Regardless, we are going 00:34:23.170 --> 00:34:27.710 to continue on and I heard that message over 00:34:27.710 --> 00:34:32.750 and over and over again So, you know, I have 00:34:32.750 --> 00:34:36.420 I got the message These guys do not want to go 00:34:36.420 --> 00:34:43.940 away. And we have what everybody feels is a drop 00:34:43.940 --> 00:34:51.360 dead date. That was March 1st of 28. We did not, 00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:54.760 let me put it this way. I did not see that as 00:34:54.760 --> 00:34:57.619 a drop dead date. I saw that as a target date 00:34:57.619 --> 00:35:03.250 for planning. And we have a number of folks that 00:35:03.250 --> 00:35:06.269 say we're a last man standing organization and 00:35:06.269 --> 00:35:09.510 why are we talking about this and why are we 00:35:09.510 --> 00:35:14.869 doing that? Well, anybody with any moxie is going 00:35:14.869 --> 00:35:19.050 to realize that regardless of whether we're going 00:35:19.050 --> 00:35:22.110 away or not, we need to plan for the future and 00:35:22.110 --> 00:35:27.349 we need to set up a plan that tells us how we're 00:35:27.349 --> 00:35:31.039 going to get there. What is our goal and how 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:35.519 long is it going to take well? We have been talking 00:35:35.519 --> 00:35:41.699 about What we will do Into the over the next 00:35:41.699 --> 00:35:48.380 two years and I'm Endeavoring to have whatever 00:35:48.380 --> 00:35:55.239 that plan may be With Up and running let me put 00:35:55.239 --> 00:35:59.800 it that way up and running or at least we're 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:03.360 at a point where I can explain it to our members 00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:08.000 at our leadership conference next summer. The 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:12.739 idea being that if I put the message out and 00:36:12.739 --> 00:36:17.539 people have a chance of seeing what we would 00:36:17.539 --> 00:36:21.519 like to do and where we would go and giving the 00:36:21.519 --> 00:36:25.980 membership the opportunity to weigh in. and say, 00:36:26.260 --> 00:36:29.900 okay, this is good, this is not, et cetera and 00:36:29.900 --> 00:36:34.440 so on. So that they feel that they are a part 00:36:34.440 --> 00:36:40.199 of the decision making. I think that's very important. 00:36:40.460 --> 00:36:44.719 I think that the members, we're kind of like 00:36:44.719 --> 00:36:49.420 the government because our members decide how 00:36:49.420 --> 00:36:51.340 we're gonna go and where we're gonna go and how 00:36:51.340 --> 00:36:56.820 we're gonna get there. And so our constituents 00:36:56.820 --> 00:37:01.539 are really ones that have the ultimate power 00:37:01.539 --> 00:37:07.440 in conference or in convention to decide the 00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:11.300 future of the organization. We are the ones who 00:37:11.300 --> 00:37:17.059 provide the ideas, what we think is right for 00:37:17.059 --> 00:37:21.320 the organization, and we are moving in that direction. 00:37:21.610 --> 00:37:28.449 My hope is that we're looking at a possibility 00:37:28.449 --> 00:37:33.829 of a merger with perhaps another organization 00:37:33.829 --> 00:37:37.650 that would be stronger than us or maybe equal 00:37:37.650 --> 00:37:43.590 to. And if we come together, we would be stronger 00:37:43.590 --> 00:37:46.829 than either one of us put together. It's kind 00:37:46.829 --> 00:37:50.530 of an idea that we're kicking around. It's not 00:37:50.530 --> 00:37:54.230 locked in stone. The original plan was that we 00:37:54.230 --> 00:37:57.829 would have an umbrella organization made up of 00:37:57.829 --> 00:38:06.510 AVVA, VVA, Mission POW, MIA, and SDIT. We have 00:38:06.510 --> 00:38:10.869 determined that legally we can do that, but we 00:38:10.869 --> 00:38:15.070 have to do a lot of things before we can make 00:38:15.070 --> 00:38:18.309 it happen. I don't mean to interrupt you but 00:38:18.309 --> 00:38:20.809 it means you know, it's it sounds as though there's 00:38:20.809 --> 00:38:26.650 there's so many potential Possibilities split 00:38:26.650 --> 00:38:30.550 it that way that I know that you've got a plan 00:38:30.550 --> 00:38:33.469 quote was presented at the Convention just a 00:38:33.469 --> 00:38:36.989 couple of months ago, but I think that didn't 00:38:36.989 --> 00:38:41.750 go well Mainly I think because many of the members 00:38:41.750 --> 00:38:46.090 were not really aware of what you folks were 00:38:46.090 --> 00:38:53.150 planning? Well, I think a lot of it was, to me, 00:38:53.809 --> 00:38:57.010 this is my opinion only, that I don't think it 00:38:57.010 --> 00:39:01.630 was presented properly to the membership. The 00:39:01.630 --> 00:39:05.650 membership was confused for sure. Some said that 00:39:05.650 --> 00:39:09.610 the plan failed miserably, but the plan was never 00:39:09.610 --> 00:39:12.829 presented. because we never got to it, because 00:39:12.829 --> 00:39:17.949 the resolutions that were on the main floor for 00:39:17.949 --> 00:39:21.269 some time were being kicked around and talked 00:39:21.269 --> 00:39:24.409 about. We got through the resolutions, but we 00:39:24.409 --> 00:39:28.389 never really got to the plan. So the plan never 00:39:28.389 --> 00:39:31.550 failed because it was never presented. Yeah, 00:39:31.550 --> 00:39:34.150 because one of the things that I got, one question 00:39:34.150 --> 00:39:40.840 that we did get was that they wanted this was 00:39:40.840 --> 00:39:42.800 from a couple of members is that they wanted 00:39:42.800 --> 00:39:46.739 to just have more input into it and That you 00:39:46.739 --> 00:39:49.760 know instead of saying here, you know vote yes. 00:39:49.780 --> 00:39:52.980 No on this particular plan Which as you've just 00:39:52.980 --> 00:39:54.699 pointed out they never really got to and this 00:39:54.699 --> 00:39:57.079 is the other thing I heard You know is that we 00:39:57.079 --> 00:39:59.719 never really got to discuss the plan because 00:39:59.719 --> 00:40:01.780 of all the other things took so much time and 00:40:01.780 --> 00:40:05.920 effort and You know just just that kind of thing. 00:40:05.980 --> 00:40:10.170 So it was a state of confusion for sure Yeah, 00:40:10.429 --> 00:40:12.710 well, you know You know we talked about this 00:40:12.710 --> 00:40:16.610 earlier in that the main thing that I think you 00:40:16.610 --> 00:40:18.269 have heard I'm sure you know what I have heard 00:40:18.269 --> 00:40:21.809 is that they want to continue this mission Yes 00:40:21.809 --> 00:40:24.489 of helping veterans doesn't make any difference 00:40:24.489 --> 00:40:27.869 what generation of veterans they are You know, 00:40:28.130 --> 00:40:31.710 we've we've all Most of us anyway, you know have 00:40:31.710 --> 00:40:33.969 evolved into this helping the next generation 00:40:33.969 --> 00:40:38.420 of veterans. We do a lot of work with Iraq Afghanistan 00:40:38.420 --> 00:40:40.920 veterans and they're very grateful that we just 00:40:40.920 --> 00:40:43.559 make ourselves available to talk about some of 00:40:43.559 --> 00:40:46.019 the issues that many of us went through in our 00:40:46.019 --> 00:40:49.420 transition and You know, I think we have had 00:40:49.420 --> 00:40:53.079 a lot of input into the army and all the other 00:40:53.079 --> 00:40:57.079 services Transitional programs that they actually 00:40:57.079 --> 00:40:59.739 offer these men and women now, you know, as you 00:40:59.739 --> 00:41:01.360 said we didn't have anything we got out that 00:41:01.360 --> 00:41:12.019 was it In my book, I think VVA is now considered 00:41:12.019 --> 00:41:16.480 elder statesman by the veteran community. And 00:41:16.480 --> 00:41:19.500 one of the things that I've been kicking around 00:41:19.500 --> 00:41:26.079 is the possibility of us being a mentor organization 00:41:26.079 --> 00:41:31.000 to other groups of younger veterans that are 00:41:31.000 --> 00:41:34.940 coming along. many people who've been in business, 00:41:35.199 --> 00:41:38.599 we have people who have done a myriad of things, 00:41:38.940 --> 00:41:45.920 and we're considering at our level to perhaps 00:41:45.920 --> 00:41:49.800 come up with a plan to have our folks mentor 00:41:49.800 --> 00:41:53.860 other organizations in things that they want 00:41:53.860 --> 00:41:57.079 to do. And all the things that we've done, as 00:41:57.079 --> 00:42:02.019 I mentioned before, POWMA, suicide, You mentioned 00:42:02.019 --> 00:42:06.599 the Board of Veterans' Appeals. The Board of 00:42:06.599 --> 00:42:12.360 Veterans' Appeals came to be by VVA itself. We 00:42:12.360 --> 00:42:16.119 were the ones that gave Congress the idea, and 00:42:16.119 --> 00:42:18.599 we were the ones that developed it over time. 00:42:19.320 --> 00:42:21.579 So that was one of the things that we did that 00:42:21.579 --> 00:42:27.360 was very, very positive and kind of a mentorship 00:42:27.360 --> 00:42:31.739 type of thing. I've been thinking in that order 00:42:31.739 --> 00:42:35.920 that perhaps we could set up some kind of mentorship 00:42:35.920 --> 00:42:40.900 program that would make our guys available for 00:42:40.900 --> 00:42:47.059 that out there in the field. I'm sure that many 00:42:47.059 --> 00:42:49.019 of the locals or you've heard from many of the 00:42:49.019 --> 00:42:52.539 local chapters of suggestions of what they can 00:42:52.539 --> 00:42:54.260 do and what they can't do. And I know one of 00:42:54.260 --> 00:42:58.059 them was to open the membership to the organization 00:42:58.059 --> 00:43:01.659 to other veterans and I think we'd have to I 00:43:01.659 --> 00:43:04.940 know we have to change our Structure and and 00:43:04.940 --> 00:43:06.760 of course our constitution and everything else 00:43:06.760 --> 00:43:11.260 in order to do that but That seemed like a logical 00:43:11.260 --> 00:43:19.239 possibility yeah, we the the Stuff of the constitution 00:43:19.239 --> 00:43:22.099 and the other things we'd have to do to change 00:43:22.099 --> 00:43:24.900 it is possible, but it would take some time but 00:43:24.860 --> 00:43:28.579 That's another facet we're looking at. We're 00:43:28.579 --> 00:43:32.440 in a, for lack of a better way to put it, we're 00:43:32.440 --> 00:43:36.820 in a discovery mode. And we're looking at a number 00:43:36.820 --> 00:43:40.500 of different avenues that we may be able to take 00:43:40.500 --> 00:43:44.780 into the future that we can make it work and 00:43:44.780 --> 00:43:49.719 come up with a plan that is acceptable to a majority 00:43:49.719 --> 00:44:01.230 of our members. I would love to find out more 00:44:01.230 --> 00:44:05.010 about some of the options that are out there. 00:44:05.309 --> 00:44:11.869 And maybe if we can put together local meetings 00:44:11.869 --> 00:44:13.889 or regional meetings or something along those 00:44:13.889 --> 00:44:17.469 lines, where not only can you and your board 00:44:17.469 --> 00:44:22.920 of directors suggest what you may want. Well, 00:44:22.980 --> 00:44:26.860 we do have regional meetings in election years. 00:44:27.800 --> 00:44:31.559 And you may know about that, but all nine regions 00:44:31.559 --> 00:44:35.000 usually have a regional meeting in election years, 00:44:35.139 --> 00:44:41.880 which would be in 27. But that is an option for 00:44:41.880 --> 00:44:46.099 us to, again, like the conference in the summer, 00:44:46.659 --> 00:44:49.800 that would be a backup option for us to go out 00:44:49.800 --> 00:44:54.059 to the regions and explain whatever plan we come 00:44:54.059 --> 00:45:00.199 up with. But I've started that, actually. I sent 00:45:00.199 --> 00:45:03.960 a letter out to all of the chapters and state 00:45:03.960 --> 00:45:10.579 councils asking them about a possible name change. 00:45:11.340 --> 00:45:17.360 If you can believe, I actually got 600 responses 00:45:17.360 --> 00:45:24.159 about what they thought about a name and a name 00:45:24.159 --> 00:45:28.199 change. Some came up with some pretty good names 00:45:28.199 --> 00:45:34.000 that we were looking at. I guess probably 40 00:45:34.000 --> 00:45:38.199 to 45 % didn't want to change at all. They wanted 00:45:38.199 --> 00:45:41.000 to keep the same name, which I understand. It's 00:45:41.000 --> 00:45:43.420 well established. People know us. They know who 00:45:43.420 --> 00:45:47.519 we are, what we do. And we spent a lot of time 00:45:47.519 --> 00:45:52.360 making that main what it is. No, I agree. I hate 00:45:52.360 --> 00:45:54.320 to have to go out there and rebrand everything 00:45:54.320 --> 00:45:57.820 that you and all the other members of this organization 00:45:57.820 --> 00:46:00.800 have done over the years. I just think it's... 00:46:02.340 --> 00:46:05.380 I know that there are many people that are so 00:46:05.380 --> 00:46:09.380 strongly believe in the organization that they, 00:46:09.380 --> 00:46:11.320 you know, they, they don't want it to change, 00:46:11.320 --> 00:46:15.019 but they know it has to change. And I think that 00:46:15.019 --> 00:46:18.199 you're going to find, we're going to have to 00:46:18.199 --> 00:46:20.159 have you back on to talk more about this, but 00:46:20.159 --> 00:46:23.420 I think we're going to find that if we can get 00:46:23.420 --> 00:46:27.199 the membership fired up a little bit more to, 00:46:27.199 --> 00:46:29.239 you know, if they don't like something to offer 00:46:29.239 --> 00:46:34.250 a suggestion. There are no bad ideas out there. 00:46:35.630 --> 00:46:42.590 We get a lot of suggestions, but people don't 00:46:42.590 --> 00:46:47.349 stop to think what those suggestions mean in 00:46:47.349 --> 00:46:53.090 terms of having to fulfill them. I can tell you 00:46:53.090 --> 00:46:58.989 that we have suggestions that are really off 00:46:58.989 --> 00:47:01.969 the wall. we have suggestions that people have 00:47:01.969 --> 00:47:06.110 really given some thought to and we have and 00:47:06.110 --> 00:47:09.050 those we've taken and said okay let's look at 00:47:09.050 --> 00:47:14.650 these for because again I say I want I want the 00:47:14.650 --> 00:47:18.809 membership to feel part of this decision that 00:47:18.809 --> 00:47:23.340 we have to make and it is important to me to 00:47:23.340 --> 00:47:27.579 make sure that people have an opportunity to 00:47:27.579 --> 00:47:32.460 give us their ideas in what direction they think 00:47:32.460 --> 00:47:37.739 we should go in. Well, luckily, we've got some 00:47:37.739 --> 00:47:40.599 time. We don't have to make, you know, we don't 00:47:40.599 --> 00:47:42.860 have to decide this whole thing, you know, tomorrow. 00:47:43.559 --> 00:47:46.699 And, you know, we're all we're all planning on 00:47:46.699 --> 00:47:49.860 being here for a lot longer. And I want to thank 00:47:49.860 --> 00:47:52.659 Tom Burke for being on Veterans Radio today. 00:47:53.340 --> 00:47:55.099 And even though we didn't get any questions, 00:47:55.239 --> 00:47:57.300 I think we answered a lot of questions, I hope. 00:47:58.019 --> 00:48:00.119 And we'll, you know, we'll have Tom on again 00:48:00.119 --> 00:48:02.460 next, you know, maybe in the first quarter of 00:48:02.460 --> 00:48:05.980 next year to talk about what's being discussed, 00:48:05.980 --> 00:48:09.800 you know, at the higher levels of the organization. 00:48:11.759 --> 00:48:14.639 If you have any concerns about this talking to 00:48:14.639 --> 00:48:16.440 the audience right now as far as the members 00:48:16.440 --> 00:48:18.699 are concerned, you know if you have a question 00:48:18.699 --> 00:48:23.039 you Contact Tom, you know contact the other members 00:48:23.039 --> 00:48:31.679 of the board. I'm sure that they you know They'll 00:48:31.679 --> 00:48:34.440 get any all you got to do here you go. All you 00:48:34.440 --> 00:48:38.940 got to do is you go to vva .org click on the 00:48:39.099 --> 00:48:42.380 Board of Directors and they're all there and 00:48:42.380 --> 00:48:44.480 you're there and their emails and you can you 00:48:44.480 --> 00:48:46.780 know You can send a letter out and you know an 00:48:46.780 --> 00:48:49.659 email out and contact them or get it or no better 00:48:49.659 --> 00:48:52.980 yet is to get onto the list of the Newsletter 00:48:52.980 --> 00:48:56.539 that comes out every week. I you know, this is 00:48:56.539 --> 00:48:59.900 where the information is folks You can't really 00:48:59.900 --> 00:49:02.519 make any suggestions unless we're informed and 00:49:02.519 --> 00:49:04.960 we're educated about what's going to happen. 00:49:04.960 --> 00:49:08.320 So Please take advantage of all of the information 00:49:08.320 --> 00:49:10.739 that they've got on that website for the civilians 00:49:10.739 --> 00:49:12.519 that are out there Go look at it. There's some 00:49:12.519 --> 00:49:14.659 great things on there. If you want to know what 00:49:14.659 --> 00:49:17.159 happened in the vietnam war It's all there if 00:49:17.159 --> 00:49:19.400 you want to know what books to read. It's all 00:49:19.400 --> 00:49:23.659 there It's a it's a really user -friendly site 00:49:23.659 --> 00:49:25.820 I think and I think that you'll have a great 00:49:25.820 --> 00:49:28.420 time tom again Thank you so much for being on 00:49:28.420 --> 00:49:31.900 the program and taking your time out from a sunday 00:49:31.900 --> 00:49:34.889 afternoon And I look forward. Thank you so much 00:49:34.889 --> 00:49:38.389 for having me. It was my pleasure. OK, folks, 00:49:38.610 --> 00:49:41.849 we're going to. As I mentioned at the beginning 00:49:41.849 --> 00:49:45.309 of the program, I had forgotten that this is 00:49:45.309 --> 00:49:47.889 our anniversary show, so I want to play a little 00:49:47.889 --> 00:49:51.829 clip for you from our very first introduction. 00:49:53.030 --> 00:50:03.039 November 15th, 2003, go. Live from WSDS 1480 00:50:03.039 --> 00:50:07.199 AM Studio B serving southeastern Michigan, it's 00:50:07.199 --> 00:50:21.519 Veterans Radio. Good morning America, how are 00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:24.400 you? Welcome to Veterans Radio. My name is Dale 00:50:24.400 --> 00:50:27.679 Throneberry, former Army aviator with the 195th 00:50:27.679 --> 00:50:30.300 Assault Helicopter Company in Vietnam in 1969. 00:50:31.059 --> 00:50:33.219 My wingmen today are Bob Gould, an airborne medic 00:50:33.219 --> 00:50:35.280 with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, 00:50:35.280 --> 00:50:38.679 Kentucky in 1962. And trying to keep us on time 00:50:38.679 --> 00:50:40.980 is Ken Rogge, former Air Force Senior Master 00:50:40.980 --> 00:50:43.119 Sergeant with the Armed Forces Radio for over 00:50:43.119 --> 00:50:45.239 20 years in Thailand and Germany, just to name 00:50:45.239 --> 00:50:54.389 a few places. Holy mackerel, that's awful. I'm 00:50:54.389 --> 00:50:58.190 glad you all stuck around to listen to us, but 00:50:58.190 --> 00:51:01.550 I want to thank everybody that's ever been concerned 00:51:01.550 --> 00:51:05.010 and affiliated with Veterans Radio for all the 00:51:05.010 --> 00:51:08.130 work and the effort that you've put into not 00:51:08.130 --> 00:51:10.730 only getting our program past that first episode. 00:51:12.380 --> 00:51:15.480 But to, you know, continue it on for 22 years, 00:51:15.599 --> 00:51:18.960 and I never dreamed that we would be able to 00:51:18.960 --> 00:51:21.039 stay on the air for 22 years. I want to make 00:51:21.039 --> 00:51:25.880 sure that I thank Bob Gould. Bob and I were the, 00:51:25.880 --> 00:51:28.079 you know, the ones that came up with this idea. 00:51:29.300 --> 00:51:31.260 You know, if you want to reach out to Bob, please 00:51:31.260 --> 00:51:35.039 do. You can find him. It's Bob at veteransradio 00:51:35.039 --> 00:51:40.360 .net and see how he's doing. Ken Rogge. helped 00:51:40.360 --> 00:51:47.340 us put together all of our musical information. 00:51:47.719 --> 00:51:50.219 He's also the voice of our Medal of Honor segments 00:51:50.219 --> 00:51:52.800 that we do, and I want to thank Ken so much for 00:51:52.800 --> 00:51:57.139 that. Gary Lilly, who we lost too soon in a tragic 00:51:57.139 --> 00:52:01.679 accident, maybe CB can do. Are one of our mottoes 00:52:01.679 --> 00:52:03.780 our missions have always been, you know when 00:52:03.780 --> 00:52:05.780 we came up with a story idea What would Gary 00:52:05.780 --> 00:52:08.719 do and it was the one like that and all of our 00:52:08.719 --> 00:52:11.079 friends and families? That helped us with what 00:52:11.079 --> 00:52:13.300 we called buddy money to get us on the air and 00:52:13.300 --> 00:52:16.900 to keep us on the air It's just been an amazing 00:52:16.900 --> 00:52:20.219 trip and an amazing adventure We've been so privileged 00:52:20.219 --> 00:52:23.400 to be able to talk to you and to talk to so many 00:52:23.400 --> 00:52:26.960 veterans out there and we're not even done yet. 00:52:27.400 --> 00:52:30.280 The next generation of Veterans Radio is coming 00:52:30.280 --> 00:52:34.639 along as Jim Falzone, much younger than I am. 00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:39.719 He does a podcast every week of Veterans Radio, 00:52:39.780 --> 00:52:42.019 does a program every month, he does a great job. 00:52:43.239 --> 00:52:46.320 And whoever else out there that is interested 00:52:46.320 --> 00:52:50.519 in Contributing to veterans radio not just monetarily 00:52:50.519 --> 00:52:53.300 but story wise we're always looking for contributors 00:52:53.300 --> 00:52:55.219 I want to get us some airtime if you'd love to 00:52:55.219 --> 00:52:58.360 do me on the radio We're more than happy to introduce 00:52:58.360 --> 00:53:02.980 you to the process and get you On the air, you 00:53:02.980 --> 00:53:04.920 know, we're on across the country around the 00:53:04.920 --> 00:53:08.800 world So come on down and tell us a couple of 00:53:08.800 --> 00:53:13.239 stories, you know, we've only done 1150 programs 00:53:13.239 --> 00:53:16.099 now over the last 22 years and we'd like to get 00:53:16.099 --> 00:53:18.539 at least another thousand or more in there just 00:53:18.539 --> 00:53:21.139 like the VVA We've got a contingency plan that 00:53:21.139 --> 00:53:24.739 we're working on right now to get that succession 00:53:24.739 --> 00:53:28.159 going So I again if you'd like to support veterans 00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:31.039 radio monetarily You can just go to our website 00:53:31.039 --> 00:53:34.280 veterans radio org and click on the donate button 00:53:34.280 --> 00:53:37.369 You want to listen to any of our programs? from 00:53:37.369 --> 00:53:42.250 2003 most of them are up on our website. And 00:53:42.250 --> 00:53:46.429 you can find them there we are now podcasting 00:53:46.429 --> 00:53:50.389 our programs so today's program will be launched 00:53:50.389 --> 00:53:54.409 tomorrow about 11 o 'clock I think it is when 00:53:54.409 --> 00:53:56.860 it goes off. But in the meantime, you'll be able 00:53:56.860 --> 00:53:58.940 to listen to all of our programs. So please, 00:53:59.119 --> 00:54:01.780 thanks for tuning in. We greatly appreciate it. 00:54:01.940 --> 00:54:04.960 Coming up next week, we got our wonderful friend 00:54:04.960 --> 00:54:07.980 Rebecca Grant to kind of tell us what is going 00:54:07.980 --> 00:54:09.900 on in the foreign policy of the United States 00:54:09.900 --> 00:54:12.320 of America right now, which is kind of as we 00:54:12.320 --> 00:54:15.380 all know, it's kind of interesting, right? So 00:54:15.380 --> 00:54:18.019 I'm real happy to have Rebecca on next week. 00:54:18.360 --> 00:54:21.159 And we're going to go out today with our normal, 00:54:21.699 --> 00:54:25.500 God bless America. Today's version is going to 00:54:25.500 --> 00:54:30.659 be Jimmy Fortin and Sonia Isaac Yeary, God bless 00:54:30.659 --> 00:54:33.320 America. You know how this important song is 00:54:33.320 --> 00:54:35.920 so important to me, but it's mostly important 00:54:35.920 --> 00:54:38.880 to you. So God bless America, and we will see 00:54:38.880 --> 00:54:52.469 you next week. You are dismissed. God bless America 00:54:52.469 --> 00:55:04.789 Land that I love Stand beside her and guide her 00:55:04.789 --> 00:55:11.190 Through the night with a light from above From 00:55:11.190 --> 00:55:19.940 the mountains to the prairies to the oceans white 00:55:19.940 --> 00:55:34.619 with foam. God bless America, my home sweet home. 00:55:35.019 --> 00:55:41.800 God bless America, my home.