WEBVTT 00:00:01.260 --> 00:00:06.879 Let's remember Pearl Harbor As we go to meet 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:13.199 the foe Let's remember Pearl Harbor As we did 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:20.120 the Alamo We will always remember How they died 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:35.530 for liberty Let's remember Pearl Harbor All across 00:00:35.530 --> 00:00:39.130 America and around the world, this is Veterans 00:00:39.130 --> 00:00:45.729 Radio. This is Veterans Radio. And now, your 00:00:45.729 --> 00:00:51.840 host for today's program, Dale Throneberry. Good 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.380 afternoon and welcome to veterans radio My name 00:00:54.380 --> 00:00:57.259 is Dale Throneberry and I'm excited to talk to 00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:00.679 you today 84 years ago today the Japanese attacked 00:01:00.679 --> 00:01:02.939 Pearl Harbor So we wanted to talk a little bit 00:01:02.939 --> 00:01:05.420 about that on today's program It seemed like 00:01:05.420 --> 00:01:08.400 it's fading into the you know into the history 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:10.879 of the world and many people who aren't talking 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:13.099 about it as much as they were So we wanted to 00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:14.659 kind of bring it up to you. So we're going to 00:01:14.659 --> 00:01:18.069 talk a little bit about that I've got my guests 00:01:18.069 --> 00:01:21.150 for the VA benefits program, so if you have any 00:01:21.150 --> 00:01:24.810 questions about benefits and what you feel that 00:01:24.810 --> 00:01:26.989 you might be entitled to or will tell you what 00:01:26.989 --> 00:01:30.250 you're entitled to. And you know, you can give 00:01:30.250 --> 00:01:35.370 us a call on the air at 734 -822 -1600. We're 00:01:35.370 --> 00:01:38.849 excited. We've got retired Brigadier General, 00:01:39.069 --> 00:01:41.549 Air Force Brigadier General. The nurse is Carol 00:01:41.549 --> 00:01:44.310 Ann Falzone from Legal Health for Veterans. And 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:46.450 we've got the executive director of the Washtenaw 00:01:46.450 --> 00:01:50.349 County Veterans Service Office, David Simms. 00:01:50.510 --> 00:01:54.269 And they're standing by as we're getting ready 00:01:54.269 --> 00:01:58.670 to go into today's program. Before I can do that, 00:01:58.750 --> 00:02:00.650 I've got to make sure that we thank our sponsors 00:02:00.650 --> 00:02:04.010 because we can't do the program without them. 00:02:05.049 --> 00:02:07.090 So coming off, number one is we've got Legal 00:02:07.090 --> 00:02:09.789 Help for Veterans. Legal Help for Veterans specializes 00:02:09.789 --> 00:02:12.569 in Veterans disability claims. Give Legal Help 00:02:12.569 --> 00:02:17.370 for Veterans a call at 800 -693 -4800 or go to 00:02:17.370 --> 00:02:20.780 their website LegalHelpForVeterans .com. The 00:02:20.780 --> 00:02:23.139 National Veterans Business Development Council, 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:26.560 better known as NVBDC, is the nation's leading 00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:29.159 third -party authority for certification of veteran 00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:31.800 -owned businesses. For more information, you 00:02:31.800 --> 00:02:35.919 can go to their website, that's nvbdc .org, or 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:41.259 give them a call at 888 -237 -8433. The Irwin 00:02:41.259 --> 00:02:44.740 Prescor and American Legion Post 46 and the Charles 00:02:44.740 --> 00:02:47.159 S. Kettles Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 00:02:47.159 --> 00:02:51.620 310, both of Ann Arbor, Michigan. If you'd like 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:54.840 to support Veterans Radio, please go to our website 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:57.900 veteransradio .org and click on the donate button. 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:00.960 Thank you in advance. We really appreciate all 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:03.840 the support you've given us over going into our 00:03:03.840 --> 00:03:07.439 23rd year. That's hard to believe, right? We've 00:03:07.439 --> 00:03:09.300 been telling the story of America's veterans 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:14.919 since November 15th, 2003. We got more stories 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.520 to go. There's still six million veterans out 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:20.719 there, and we want to make sure we can get as 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:22.740 many of those. That's going to take a long time 00:03:22.740 --> 00:03:25.340 to get all those stories, but hopefully we can 00:03:25.340 --> 00:03:29.460 get as many of them as we can as possible. So 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:31.319 as I mentioned earlier and you heard in a little 00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:34.840 music at the beginning of the program that today 00:03:34.840 --> 00:03:37.979 is the 84th anniversary of Pearl Harbor and I 00:03:37.979 --> 00:03:39.900 just want to kind of give you a little background 00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:42.939 on that. I don't know how many people and I don't 00:03:42.939 --> 00:03:45.039 even know they teach how much they teach about 00:03:45.039 --> 00:03:48.139 Pearl Harbor and schools anymore but I wanted 00:03:48.139 --> 00:03:49.819 to make sure that we didn't want to forget this 00:03:49.819 --> 00:03:53.159 because that was a real turning point. in the 00:03:53.159 --> 00:03:55.319 you know the history of America and the kind 00:03:55.319 --> 00:03:58.139 of our role in the world because prior to that 00:03:58.139 --> 00:04:01.060 we were isolationists we just wanted to stay 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:03.740 out of everybody's problems and just you know 00:04:03.740 --> 00:04:07.379 concentrate on ourselves but on December 7th 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:12.800 1941 the Pacific fleet which means all of the 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.600 navies battleships and so forth were all supposed 00:04:16.600 --> 00:04:19.779 to be in Pearl Harbor. Luckily, all the aircraft 00:04:19.779 --> 00:04:23.279 carriers had gone out of Pearl Harbor on maneuvers 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:26.379 and weren't there, much to the Japanese surprise 00:04:26.379 --> 00:04:28.639 since they weren't able to, you know, bomb them 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:31.300 out of existence either. But on the morning of 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:35.860 December 7, 1941, at approximately 748 Hawaiian 00:04:35.860 --> 00:04:39.360 time, the Japanese launched a surprise military 00:04:39.360 --> 00:04:42.259 strike against the U .S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl 00:04:42.259 --> 00:04:46.870 Harbor. The The attack included 353 aircraft, 00:04:47.009 --> 00:04:49.949 fighters, bombers and torpedo planes, which were 00:04:49.949 --> 00:04:53.089 launched from six aircraft carriers that were 00:04:53.089 --> 00:04:57.410 northwest of Hawaii, unknown to us. Casualties 00:04:57.410 --> 00:05:00.009 as a result of this, which is why it's so important, 00:05:00.750 --> 00:05:04.269 is 2 ,403 Americans were included, including 00:05:04.269 --> 00:05:07.610 military personnel and civilians. They wounded 00:05:07.610 --> 00:05:11.310 another 1 ,178. The Japanese managed to sink 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:14.110 or damage eight battleships, three cruisers, 00:05:14.389 --> 00:05:17.110 several destroyers, as well as destroyed over 00:05:17.110 --> 00:05:20.250 180 aircraft on the ground. They never got off 00:05:20.250 --> 00:05:23.670 the ground. The USS Arizona suffered the greatest 00:05:23.670 --> 00:05:27.629 loss of life with 1 ,177 crew members killed. 00:05:29.360 --> 00:05:32.560 If you get a chance to go to Hawaii, go out to 00:05:32.560 --> 00:05:34.879 Pearl Harbor, and you can see the USS Arizona. 00:05:35.300 --> 00:05:38.819 They have built a monument over the battleship. 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:42.339 They've never attempted to raise it. And in fact, 00:05:42.779 --> 00:05:45.639 there is still oil leaking out of the Arizona, 00:05:45.959 --> 00:05:48.839 even to this day, 84 years later. That's kind 00:05:48.839 --> 00:05:51.939 of amazing to me. So the attack on Pearl Harbor 00:05:51.939 --> 00:05:54.879 really shocked the American public and led to 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:57.759 a swift response from the U .S. government. And 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.339 on December 8th, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt 00:06:01.339 --> 00:06:04.399 delivered a speech to Congress, famously declaring 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:08.079 December 7th as a date which will live in infamy. 00:06:08.800 --> 00:06:10.660 The following day, the United States declared 00:06:10.660 --> 00:06:13.620 war on Japan, marking our entry into World War 00:06:13.620 --> 00:06:19.230 Two. The significance of the attack on Pearl 00:06:19.230 --> 00:06:21.550 Harbor really had implications for the whole 00:06:21.550 --> 00:06:25.149 course of World War II. I mean, that's a whole 00:06:25.149 --> 00:06:27.769 lecture which we're not going to go into today, 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:33.569 but you think about when did World War II begin? 00:06:34.569 --> 00:06:36.550 There are a lot of debates on that, whether it 00:06:36.550 --> 00:06:39.709 began with the German invasion of Poland or even 00:06:39.709 --> 00:06:41.910 going all the way back to the Japanese invasion 00:06:41.910 --> 00:06:46.860 of Manchuria back in the early 1930s. kind of 00:06:46.860 --> 00:06:51.779 the Accepted date is September 1st 1939 when 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:56.600 Germany invaded Poland and you know, we we we 00:06:56.600 --> 00:06:58.579 stayed out of it we wanted to stay out of it 00:06:58.579 --> 00:07:01.860 and We kind of managed to do that. Although Roosevelt 00:07:01.860 --> 00:07:04.339 and Winston Churchill got together had a few 00:07:04.339 --> 00:07:07.160 conversations and we get we did everything we 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:12.399 could to arm England and help them protect themselves 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.639 from the, you know, the London, the bombings 00:07:14.639 --> 00:07:19.180 of London and everything along those lines. You 00:07:19.180 --> 00:07:21.480 know, and Hitler's moving across Germany, the 00:07:21.480 --> 00:07:24.439 Japanese are moving across Southeast Asia and 00:07:24.439 --> 00:07:27.939 China and everything. And then they made the 00:07:27.939 --> 00:07:31.779 mistake of attacking us on December 7th. Next 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:34.399 thing you know, we find ourselves in the war. 00:07:35.439 --> 00:07:38.199 The attack on Pearl Harbor had profound implications 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:40.959 on the course of World War II. It united the 00:07:40.959 --> 00:07:43.660 American public in the war effort and led to 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:46.220 the mobilization of the United States military 00:07:46.220 --> 00:07:48.720 force. In the days that followed the attack, 00:07:48.980 --> 00:07:52.100 Germany and Italy declared war on the United 00:07:52.100 --> 00:07:55.779 States, further escalating the conflict. Kind 00:07:55.779 --> 00:07:57.860 of in summary of this is that the history of 00:07:57.860 --> 00:07:59.759 Pearl Harbor was a pivotal moment in American 00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:04.420 history, representing the transition from isolationism 00:08:04.420 --> 00:08:07.699 to active involvement in World War II and it 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:09.800 remains a significant event in the collective 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:12.439 memory of the United States. For those of you 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:15.240 that might be driving around you may look at 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:16.980 some of the federal buildings out there and you're 00:08:16.980 --> 00:08:19.939 going to see that the flags are at half -staff 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:25.199 and that's the reason for it for Pearl Harbor. 00:08:25.720 --> 00:08:27.779 You know the results of Pearl Harbor I think 00:08:27.779 --> 00:08:31.779 are really kind of really interesting to me because 00:08:32.139 --> 00:08:35.659 You know, we're here in Southeast Michigan. And 00:08:35.659 --> 00:08:39.700 as a result of the industrialization that's been 00:08:39.700 --> 00:08:43.159 going on here in the Southeast Michigan, we became 00:08:43.159 --> 00:08:45.200 kind of the arsenal of what they call the arsenal 00:08:45.200 --> 00:08:48.879 of America, because we produced tanks, airplanes 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:51.720 by the hundreds and thousands, not only here, 00:08:51.820 --> 00:08:53.600 but across the country. I mean, that's talking 00:08:53.600 --> 00:08:57.100 true mobilization. And, you know, most of us 00:08:57.100 --> 00:09:00.220 the were kind of afraid that the Japanese were 00:09:00.220 --> 00:09:02.240 going to attack the west coast. We were afraid 00:09:02.240 --> 00:09:04.259 that the Germans were going to be attacking the 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:06.580 east coast because they had submarines all up 00:09:06.580 --> 00:09:09.320 and down the east coast of the United States. 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:13.440 But we reacted and we reacted strongly and we 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:17.720 sent a strong message and it took you know four 00:09:17.720 --> 00:09:23.539 years but in April of 1945 Germany surrendered. 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:27.899 And in August of 1945, after the dropping of 00:09:27.899 --> 00:09:31.559 two atomic bombs on Japan, they surrendered as 00:09:31.559 --> 00:09:33.460 well, although they didn't sign a peace agreement 00:09:33.460 --> 00:09:36.019 until September, I think it's September 2nd of 00:09:36.019 --> 00:09:39.559 1945. So that brings us up to date. And the reason 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.100 that I wanted to talk about Pearl Harbor, in 00:09:42.100 --> 00:09:45.279 addition to the importance that it plays in our 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.080 history as far as moving from that isolationist 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:53.909 America to becoming so involved in the You know 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:56.730 world affairs and trying to help as many people 00:09:56.730 --> 00:10:02.090 as we could and now we're kind of seeing a Edging 00:10:02.090 --> 00:10:06.129 back, you know to take care of our own Issues 00:10:06.129 --> 00:10:08.490 here at home. But the other thing is is that 00:10:08.490 --> 00:10:11.350 as a result of World War two we're going to start 00:10:11.350 --> 00:10:15.090 talking now a little bit about the history of 00:10:15.090 --> 00:10:18.029 the Veterans administration and it's kind of 00:10:18.029 --> 00:10:21.250 dynamic too. So let me bring in our guests We've 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:23.610 got, as I mentioned, Carol Ann Fasone from Legal 00:10:23.610 --> 00:10:27.490 Health for Veterans and David Sames from the 00:10:27.490 --> 00:10:31.269 Washtenaw County Veterans Service Office. So 00:10:31.269 --> 00:10:35.190 Carol Ann, welcome. Thank you, Dale. I really 00:10:35.190 --> 00:10:38.190 love that briefing you gave. You know, it's kind 00:10:38.190 --> 00:10:40.929 of interesting, but I think members of our family, 00:10:41.389 --> 00:10:45.909 I know Dad Fasone, Jim's dad. talked about that 00:10:45.909 --> 00:10:52.389 he was a CB and and talked about those that day 00:10:52.389 --> 00:10:59.100 and the reason he list literally enlisted in 00:10:59.100 --> 00:11:04.039 the United States Navy and why he wanted to serve 00:11:04.039 --> 00:11:07.700 his country, even though he wasn't 18 years of 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:12.240 age. Already back then, men and not so many women, 00:11:12.379 --> 00:11:17.039 but went out and signed up to serve our country. 00:11:18.379 --> 00:11:23.379 Well, that's for sure. I mean, the country responded 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:27.509 so responsibly and You know, so patriotically 00:11:27.509 --> 00:11:31.730 and I know my dad was already in his late 30s 00:11:31.730 --> 00:11:35.649 when World War II began, but he ended up enlisting 00:11:35.649 --> 00:11:40.490 himself at 40 years old and going through basic 00:11:40.490 --> 00:11:42.730 training. You know, they're trying, you got to 00:11:42.730 --> 00:11:45.309 do some running and goes, I don't run them. I'm 00:11:45.309 --> 00:11:48.570 40 years old, but he ended up at Iwo Jima and 00:11:48.570 --> 00:11:51.730 Okinawa. So that's pretty good story. David, 00:11:52.029 --> 00:11:55.730 welcome back to the program. Thank you. Yeah, 00:11:56.309 --> 00:11:59.070 you know this job is afforded meeting a lot of 00:11:59.070 --> 00:12:03.169 people and I did Get the opportunity to meet 00:12:03.169 --> 00:12:06.789 a World War two Pearl Harbor survivor a couple 00:12:06.789 --> 00:12:10.750 years ago And he was in the reserves in California. 00:12:10.750 --> 00:12:13.070 He's like, okay. Well, if there's a war I'm in 00:12:13.070 --> 00:12:16.309 the reserves well his unit got activated and 00:12:16.309 --> 00:12:20.590 he was stationed at Pearl Harbor and They were 00:12:20.590 --> 00:12:25.039 building some roads When the zeros were coming 00:12:25.039 --> 00:12:28.399 in and so he tells the story about he could see 00:12:28.399 --> 00:12:32.639 the planes because they were so low And coming 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.139 into Pearl Harbor and and that's how he got kick 00:12:36.139 --> 00:12:39.059 -started in the war right so and they called 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:43.500 up a lot of Reserves and National Guard and and 00:12:43.500 --> 00:12:46.840 he was part of World War two and he was still 00:12:46.840 --> 00:12:48.740 with us I believe he's still with us. I mean 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:51.080 most most of the people there. I mean they're 00:12:51.080 --> 00:12:56.580 over a hundred now, so centurions. So just talking 00:12:56.580 --> 00:13:00.620 to some of my veterans, you definitely get the 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:05.279 stories firsthand. I think it's so interesting 00:13:05.279 --> 00:13:09.120 when you think about our, well, my parents, your 00:13:09.120 --> 00:13:12.799 grandparents, you know, served in this war, and 00:13:12.799 --> 00:13:17.059 there are limited number of them that are still 00:13:17.059 --> 00:13:20.220 around. I think In fact, we did a story back 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:26.080 in 2017 about a survivor of Pearl Harbor and 00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.039 I went back to listen to it a little bit. He's 00:13:29.039 --> 00:13:34.159 103 years old and he had been involved. Let me 00:13:34.159 --> 00:13:40.120 look this up again real quick. Navy man Jim Downing 00:13:40.120 --> 00:13:43.700 was in Pearl Harbor in 1941. He was 28 years 00:13:43.700 --> 00:13:48.419 old at the time. And we talked about a book. 00:13:49.480 --> 00:13:52.799 He is at 103. This was a number of years ago. 00:13:53.740 --> 00:13:56.559 He was the second oldest American veteran to 00:13:56.559 --> 00:13:59.379 have survived that day. I don't think he's still 00:13:59.379 --> 00:14:02.629 around. But I'd be surprised. But there's a great 00:14:02.629 --> 00:14:05.490 book for our audience to look for. It's called 00:14:05.490 --> 00:14:09.250 The Other Side of Infamy. And it's his journey, 00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:12.009 it's his story, his journey through Pearl Harbor 00:14:12.009 --> 00:14:16.769 and the world at war. That's Jim Downey, D -O 00:14:16.769 --> 00:14:21.110 -W -N -I -N -G, at Pearl Harbor in 1941. So there's 00:14:21.110 --> 00:14:23.210 a plug for a really great story. That's a good 00:14:23.210 --> 00:14:26.370 book, too. I strongly recommend it for anybody 00:14:26.370 --> 00:14:29.070 who wants to know what it was like to be at Pearl 00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:34.509 Harbor. on December 7th of 1941. So, you know, 00:14:34.590 --> 00:14:36.649 we all, as I mentioned before, we all have relatives 00:14:36.649 --> 00:14:39.230 that served during World War II, and it really 00:14:39.230 --> 00:14:40.909 would be kind of interesting. I was thinking 00:14:40.909 --> 00:14:43.090 the other day, I was talking with my wife and 00:14:43.090 --> 00:14:45.970 my sister -in -law were visiting. We were started, 00:14:46.210 --> 00:14:48.289 you know, we were talking about some of our teachers 00:14:48.289 --> 00:14:53.149 that we had had. Now, I was in elementary school 00:14:53.149 --> 00:14:58.570 in the 1950s, so I never even thought about it, 00:14:58.570 --> 00:15:00.820 never even I don't think anybody ever mentioned 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:03.960 it to me, but we went back and we looked and 00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:07.600 we found that probably over half of the male 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:10.980 teachers had all been veterans of World War II. 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:15.039 And boy, if I'd known then what I know now, I 00:15:15.039 --> 00:15:17.139 would have questioned them. I would have paid 00:15:17.139 --> 00:15:21.500 attention in class and just to hear their stories 00:15:21.500 --> 00:15:25.679 because, you know, and that's kind of the issue, 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.720 you know, you go. All of us whoever have been 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:31.600 veterans, you know you when you're done with 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:34.080 your service you kind of come home and you do 00:15:34.080 --> 00:15:37.220 whatever it is that you're gonna do and As you 00:15:37.220 --> 00:15:40.159 get older you start thinking about the importance 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:42.539 of many of the things that you did while you 00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:44.960 were in the service And that's one of the reasons 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.399 that we keep telling these stories here on veterans 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.480 radio We want to get as many of them out as we 00:15:50.480 --> 00:15:56.059 possibly can so if you've got one Call it in 00:15:56.059 --> 00:15:59.740 I know I'm pointing I'm pointing at you We've 00:15:59.740 --> 00:16:01.879 got one. Yeah, call it in we want it. We want 00:16:01.879 --> 00:16:04.360 to get them all in the air if we can you know, 00:16:04.360 --> 00:16:07.759 Dale You're you what you just said. I'm really 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:11.899 reminiscing because when you said 1950 I wasn't 00:16:11.899 --> 00:16:14.700 born yet and I know Dave was David wasn't either 00:16:14.700 --> 00:16:18.580 but you know what I I kin that to what happened 00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:22.019 with 9 -eleven and when we tell our nieces and 00:16:22.019 --> 00:16:25.519 nephews and those individuals who have children, 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:30.419 about 9 -11, they're like, what? And so I think 00:16:30.419 --> 00:16:33.340 you just nailed it. When we talk to our veterans 00:16:33.340 --> 00:16:36.679 out there to listen to their stories, we need 00:16:36.679 --> 00:16:40.840 to take those stories, whatever era it is, forward 00:16:40.840 --> 00:16:44.799 to our generations. And they need to know how 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.679 these brave men and women fought for our country. 00:16:49.659 --> 00:16:52.240 You know, they didn't know what they were going 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.740 to get a paycheck. They didn't know how much 00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:57.480 they were going to get. But they signed on the 00:16:57.480 --> 00:17:01.460 dotted line and they sacrificed wherever they 00:17:01.460 --> 00:17:04.779 were at in their lives to lead their families 00:17:04.779 --> 00:17:07.980 and to serve our country. And so the stories 00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:11.079 are really important. And I know a couple of 00:17:11.079 --> 00:17:14.880 years ago, the Library of Congress really tried 00:17:14.880 --> 00:17:19.130 to sit down and interview as many of veterans 00:17:19.130 --> 00:17:22.109 as possible. And I think that's why I love Veterans 00:17:22.109 --> 00:17:25.089 Radio. I love all the podcasts that are done 00:17:25.089 --> 00:17:28.950 by you and Jim. And we put them out there for 00:17:28.950 --> 00:17:32.009 people to learn about these great men and women. 00:17:33.150 --> 00:17:37.069 Yeah, just speaking on that, we had, it's called 00:17:37.069 --> 00:17:40.390 the Veterans History Project. And they're still 00:17:40.390 --> 00:17:43.470 recording veterans stories. I know they went 00:17:43.470 --> 00:17:47.970 to one of our conferences and they they talked 00:17:47.970 --> 00:17:50.490 about what they do and they even interviewed 00:17:50.490 --> 00:17:53.769 some of the veterans right there in our conference. 00:17:54.390 --> 00:17:57.849 I think one of the things I remember is as a 00:17:57.849 --> 00:18:01.910 student in high school we had somebody's grandfather 00:18:01.910 --> 00:18:06.930 came in and he was at the concentration doc out 00:18:06.930 --> 00:18:11.730 and he had his tattooed number on his arm and 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:15.019 that really resonated me and and you know I'm 00:18:15.019 --> 00:18:20.980 I'm 16 17 years old and just to hear the story 00:18:20.980 --> 00:18:27.700 of the atrocities firsthand that definitely resonated 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:30.960 with me and when I was in the military I got 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:34.059 an opportunity to be in Germany for two and a 00:18:34.059 --> 00:18:39.829 half years and I did go see Dachau so Those type 00:18:39.829 --> 00:18:41.769 of stories definitely need to be told because 00:18:41.769 --> 00:18:45.190 we don't need to forget those I think it's so 00:18:45.190 --> 00:18:46.990 important as you mentioned both of you, you know 00:18:46.990 --> 00:18:50.089 when we're talking about their stories is that 00:18:50.089 --> 00:18:55.069 We're confirming that these events happened and 00:18:55.069 --> 00:18:57.650 you know and sometimes in today's world things 00:18:57.650 --> 00:19:01.829 get a little bit fuzzy out there and You know 00:19:01.829 --> 00:19:05.839 some people deny that some things actually happened. 00:19:06.400 --> 00:19:08.180 But when you sit down and you talk with somebody 00:19:08.180 --> 00:19:14.200 who was there and you know they're going into 00:19:14.200 --> 00:19:17.980 the details of you know what it was like you 00:19:17.980 --> 00:19:21.359 know at Dachau or what it was like on 9 -11 or 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:24.319 what it was like in you know Vietnam or Iraq 00:19:24.319 --> 00:19:26.819 or Afghanistan or anywhere else in the world. 00:19:27.130 --> 00:19:29.869 It's it's so important that we remember these 00:19:29.869 --> 00:19:33.190 things and you know now we have a whole new generation 00:19:33.190 --> 00:19:36.869 of military personnel out there men and women 00:19:36.869 --> 00:19:40.049 that we've got it, you know continue to protect 00:19:40.049 --> 00:19:43.690 and continue to tell their stories because you 00:19:43.690 --> 00:19:46.390 know They're kind of running under the radar 00:19:46.390 --> 00:19:48.630 now and we don't you know, we're not aware since 00:19:48.630 --> 00:19:52.069 there's no major conflict going on We don't you 00:19:52.069 --> 00:19:55.190 know, we're not exactly sure but there are just 00:19:55.190 --> 00:19:57.869 some again. There's some great men and women 00:19:57.869 --> 00:19:59.930 that are out there doing their duties, signing, 00:20:00.170 --> 00:20:02.710 as Carol Ann pointed out, you know, signing that 00:20:02.710 --> 00:20:05.950 blank check and, you know, protecting us as best 00:20:05.950 --> 00:20:08.910 that they can all over the world. There's a lot 00:20:08.910 --> 00:20:11.170 of things going on that we don't even know about 00:20:11.170 --> 00:20:14.430 and I think that that's something that we want 00:20:14.430 --> 00:20:19.750 to make sure of. I wanted to talk about, you 00:20:19.750 --> 00:20:22.930 know, the history a little bit as a result of 00:20:22.930 --> 00:20:25.569 World War II and as a result of many of the conflicts 00:20:25.569 --> 00:20:30.180 that we've been in. You know, since 1789, or 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:33.059 1776, depending on the date when we started, 00:20:33.059 --> 00:20:37.759 right? I didn't know if either one of you had 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.759 had the opportunity to watch Ken Burns, the American 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:46.900 Revolution, or parts of it. If you do, I would 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:50.380 suggest that you check it out. Just because from 00:20:50.380 --> 00:20:54.980 a historical standpoint, you know, he goes... 00:20:55.109 --> 00:20:57.930 I don't know, not everybody likes Ken Burns, 00:20:58.089 --> 00:21:00.769 not everybody likes the way he interprets history, 00:21:01.190 --> 00:21:04.210 but in this case he goes into the room, you know, 00:21:04.269 --> 00:21:07.009 like Hamilton in the musical, you know, you want 00:21:07.009 --> 00:21:09.890 to be in the room where it happens. And he kind 00:21:09.890 --> 00:21:12.930 of takes us into those rooms where they're trying 00:21:12.930 --> 00:21:15.710 to figure out how in the world, what kind of 00:21:15.710 --> 00:21:17.690 government do we want? All we know is that we 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:20.150 don't want to be, we don't want to have a king. 00:21:20.190 --> 00:21:22.130 We want to have some sort of representation. 00:21:22.509 --> 00:21:25.450 We want to be able to determine. you know what 00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:28.170 we do as a country and what we do as individuals 00:21:28.170 --> 00:21:34.190 and so what's so intriguing about this latest 00:21:34.190 --> 00:21:39.309 the revolution interpretation is that we're in 00:21:39.309 --> 00:21:42.329 there when they're arguing you know not only 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:44.470 do we want to have a democracy do we you know 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:46.609 do we what kind of government are we going to 00:21:46.609 --> 00:21:49.069 set can you imagine being in those rooms trying 00:21:49.069 --> 00:21:54.650 to set up a government of the people, for the 00:21:54.650 --> 00:21:57.390 people, and by the people. That's never been 00:21:57.390 --> 00:22:01.109 done in the history of mankind. So we're pretty 00:22:01.109 --> 00:22:04.109 lucky here when you think about it. I encourage 00:22:04.109 --> 00:22:07.170 people to go back and study a little bit of that 00:22:07.170 --> 00:22:10.029 history, because I think you'll be amazed. It 00:22:10.029 --> 00:22:12.349 wasn't perfect, and it's still not perfect. But 00:22:12.349 --> 00:22:14.390 boy, is it better than some of the other things 00:22:14.390 --> 00:22:20.250 that are out there. And as many people have said 00:22:20.250 --> 00:22:23.289 about the history of the United States, it's 00:22:23.289 --> 00:22:27.130 a work in progress. And we keep trying to fix 00:22:27.130 --> 00:22:31.089 things that maybe aren't well, like eliminating 00:22:31.089 --> 00:22:38.569 slavery. Giving retribution to the American Indian 00:22:38.569 --> 00:22:41.730 Native American people who's you know, it wasn't 00:22:41.730 --> 00:22:44.369 a very nice way We kind of took their took their 00:22:44.369 --> 00:22:48.029 land without asking but you know We're learning 00:22:48.029 --> 00:22:50.710 as we go and I think that that's that's that's 00:22:50.710 --> 00:22:53.789 what's so cool. I wanted to talk about Where 00:22:53.789 --> 00:22:56.329 am I going here? Right. I wanted to get into 00:22:56.329 --> 00:23:00.569 the history of the VA and pensions and benefits 00:23:00.569 --> 00:23:06.990 and An article that I took off of the VA website. 00:23:08.650 --> 00:23:12.690 Surprise, surprise. They have some pretty cool 00:23:12.690 --> 00:23:15.289 stuff on that website if you are interested. 00:23:15.329 --> 00:23:17.430 Not only do you learn how to file claims, which 00:23:17.430 --> 00:23:19.670 you also learn a little bit about the history 00:23:19.670 --> 00:23:21.910 of it. So let me take a look at this. It says, 00:23:22.150 --> 00:23:27.250 the origins of the Veterans Benefits Administration, 00:23:27.329 --> 00:23:31.029 better known as the VBA, date back to the American 00:23:31.029 --> 00:23:34.130 Revolution. The Continental Congress passed the 00:23:34.130 --> 00:23:37.150 first national pension laws for wounded or injured 00:23:37.150 --> 00:23:39.769 soldiers, but left it to the states to distribute 00:23:39.769 --> 00:23:43.869 that relief. After 1789, the federal government 00:23:43.869 --> 00:23:46.950 assumed responsibility for the pension system, 00:23:47.170 --> 00:23:50.869 and in the early 1800s, a small office of three 00:23:50.869 --> 00:23:55.230 people in the War Department handled the clerical 00:23:55.230 --> 00:23:58.829 work -related claims from a few thousand veterans 00:23:58.829 --> 00:24:01.509 that were on the pension rolls. As the number 00:24:01.509 --> 00:24:03.670 of beneficiaries increased over the decades, 00:24:03.890 --> 00:24:08.369 so did the size of this workforce. By the mid 00:24:08.369 --> 00:24:10.910 -1830s, the Bureau of Pensions, as the office 00:24:10.910 --> 00:24:15.750 became known as, employed a staff of 18, dispensing 00:24:15.750 --> 00:24:19.430 $2 -3 million in payments annually to some 40 00:24:19.430 --> 00:24:22.109 ,000 veterans, widows and dependent children. 00:24:24.529 --> 00:24:28.029 Another congressional act in 1849 transferred 00:24:28.029 --> 00:24:30.470 the Pension Bureau to the newly created Department 00:24:30.470 --> 00:24:33.450 of the Interior, where it stayed until 1930. 00:24:34.859 --> 00:24:37.599 Want to get to the to this part down it down 00:24:37.599 --> 00:24:43.019 here It said that the the after the Civil War 00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:46.599 the pension bureau received an average of 40 00:24:46.599 --> 00:24:49.180 ,000 applications a year from Union veterans 00:24:49.180 --> 00:24:53.460 an 1890 law expanded eligibility even further 00:24:53.460 --> 00:24:58.579 by garen by granting Excuse me by granting pensions 00:24:58.579 --> 00:25:02.480 to any Union veteran to infirm to work within 00:25:02.480 --> 00:25:05.430 a decade the pension numbers more than tripled 00:25:05.430 --> 00:25:11.750 from 300 ,000 to almost a million by 1893. Spending 00:25:11.750 --> 00:25:14.609 on pensions soared and routinely consumed more 00:25:14.609 --> 00:25:18.630 than 30 percent of the budget. That's pretty 00:25:18.630 --> 00:25:22.349 neat. So what happened after World War II? This 00:25:22.349 --> 00:25:26.410 is where we are today. So I'm going to ask you 00:25:26.410 --> 00:25:29.710 folks to join in now. You know the veterans business 00:25:29.710 --> 00:25:32.549 the veterans Benefit Association and a veterans 00:25:32.549 --> 00:25:36.970 health care system really took off after World 00:25:36.970 --> 00:25:40.450 War two And we've got some dates. I know that 00:25:40.450 --> 00:25:43.789 you I asked you folks to talk about this but 00:25:43.789 --> 00:25:49.289 1946 the VA Health Administration Began 1953 00:25:49.289 --> 00:25:54.269 the VA benefits Came off and in 1973 they finally 00:25:54.269 --> 00:25:59.789 set up the veterans cemetery system So what was 00:25:59.789 --> 00:26:03.470 going on? What happened? How many people can 00:26:03.470 --> 00:26:07.869 you imagine after World War II inundated the 00:26:07.869 --> 00:26:10.910 system because they came up with the idea of 00:26:10.910 --> 00:26:16.390 the GI Bill? Well, I think it's really interesting 00:26:16.390 --> 00:26:23.769 too, Dale, that it took President Reagan it took 00:26:23.769 --> 00:26:31.730 President Reagan until 1988 to elevate the Veterans 00:26:31.730 --> 00:26:36.410 Administration to a cabinet position. And that 00:26:36.410 --> 00:26:39.930 kind of blows my mind. And sometimes I, you know, 00:26:39.930 --> 00:26:43.250 I look back and I think we're like stepchildren 00:26:43.250 --> 00:26:46.630 because, you know, there's such, well, there's 00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:49.049 less, well, maybe a little bit more than 1 % 00:26:49.049 --> 00:26:53.380 of our country has served. And yet, We should 00:26:53.380 --> 00:26:56.559 be getting the most money, the most benefits, 00:26:56.900 --> 00:27:01.160 and it shouldn't take us 25, 30 years to recognize 00:27:01.160 --> 00:27:04.339 these benefits. Look what we went through with 00:27:04.339 --> 00:27:08.240 Vietnam, with Agent Orange, Dale. Look at the 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:13.960 PAC Act, you know, of... 22, 2022. Why does it 00:27:13.960 --> 00:27:18.640 take so long for this country to realize what 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:22.420 our Americans have done to serve our country? 00:27:22.980 --> 00:27:26.160 So I'm not surprised. I'm kind of. You know what? 00:27:26.500 --> 00:27:30.440 I was in awe that they did develop that department 00:27:30.440 --> 00:27:34.039 in 1946 after, you know, the bombing of Pearl 00:27:34.039 --> 00:27:38.200 Harbor 1941. And if you think about it, that 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:41.119 might have been perceived as relatively short 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:45.059 period amount of time until they put that in 00:27:45.059 --> 00:27:51.119 action. So it's interesting to me, too, how the 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:54.529 three prongs or the three towers were developed. 00:27:55.089 --> 00:27:58.890 So health care came first, and then the benefits, 00:27:59.450 --> 00:28:09.789 and then the cemeteries. If you think about the 00:28:09.789 --> 00:28:12.450 foresight, I guess would be the term I'm looking 00:28:12.450 --> 00:28:17.660 for, the foresight of the administrations during 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:20.400 World War II, mostly, you know, mostly Marshall, 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:23.200 General Marshall, and the idea of coming up with 00:28:23.200 --> 00:28:26.480 this GI Bill idea. I mean, they've been providing 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:29.380 pensions for wounded veterans and so forth, as 00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:33.519 we mentioned before, you know, for many years. 00:28:34.220 --> 00:28:37.920 But the idea of this GI Bill coming along because 00:28:37.920 --> 00:28:42.380 they knew, you know, how many million veterans 00:28:42.380 --> 00:28:48.519 were going to be You know let loose on the world 00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:53.019 With they said United States had sixteen point 00:28:53.019 --> 00:28:57.839 four million People serve in World War two so 00:28:57.839 --> 00:29:01.460 you you talk about third, you know thirty percent 00:29:01.460 --> 00:29:04.859 of the budget was before World War two and how 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:07.359 much more did they have to allocate with all 00:29:07.359 --> 00:29:11.420 those soldiers coming home and with the GI bill 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:16.759 home loan guarantee and everything that is involved 00:29:16.759 --> 00:29:21.420 with the veterans, right? And disabilities and 00:29:21.420 --> 00:29:26.180 pensions. And so they should have probably had 00:29:26.180 --> 00:29:30.160 to allocate a lot more money. And they had to 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:33.500 do it on a yearly basis. They had to go to Congress 00:29:33.500 --> 00:29:38.240 every year and beg for money to cover their expenses. 00:29:38.660 --> 00:29:42.630 And they finally kind of fixed that up. actually 00:29:42.630 --> 00:29:46.309 fairly recently, when they, you know, guaranteed 00:29:46.309 --> 00:29:49.009 the funding for the VA. But I like the idea that, 00:29:49.009 --> 00:29:52.529 you know, the thought process behind the GI Bill 00:29:52.529 --> 00:29:58.369 is, you know, they knew all of these young men, 00:29:58.670 --> 00:30:00.869 especially young men and women, that were coming 00:30:00.869 --> 00:30:03.710 out of this service who had barely graduated 00:30:03.710 --> 00:30:07.529 high school, then spent the next five years, 00:30:07.910 --> 00:30:10.599 four or five years in the military and they knew 00:30:10.599 --> 00:30:13.539 that they had to be able to train these men and 00:30:13.539 --> 00:30:16.779 women to come back into civilian life because 00:30:16.779 --> 00:30:20.319 they'd given up, you know, that time period in 00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:21.599 life. You know, who knows what they would have 00:30:21.599 --> 00:30:25.019 done if there hadn't been World War II. But with 00:30:25.019 --> 00:30:27.619 all the different, you know, all the leaps in 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:31.519 technology during World War II, they had to come 00:30:31.519 --> 00:30:37.160 up with a way of of retraining their soldiers. 00:30:38.200 --> 00:30:40.160 And I think that's such a great idea. And they 00:30:40.160 --> 00:30:44.019 came up with the VA loan program at that time. 00:30:44.839 --> 00:30:48.359 And I don't know about anybody out there, but 00:30:48.359 --> 00:30:50.579 I'm kind of feeling that there's an awful lot 00:30:50.579 --> 00:30:52.599 of veterans out there that wouldn't be in homes 00:30:52.599 --> 00:30:56.400 if it hadn't been for the VA loan program, even 00:30:56.400 --> 00:31:01.359 today. Oh, yeah, definitely. You talk about the 00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:05.940 amounts of money that the VA pours into each 00:31:05.940 --> 00:31:09.579 state. One of my metrics that I look at at my 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:14.099 county is how much does the VA pay veterans and 00:31:14.099 --> 00:31:16.019 their dependents in Washtenaw County. And this 00:31:16.019 --> 00:31:20.000 is just Washtenaw County. We have about 13 ,500 00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:25.880 veterans. And my... The money that is paid on 00:31:25.880 --> 00:31:28.839 pensions and compensation and education is over 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:35.759 $92 million in 2024. Just in Washtenaw, you bring 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:39.519 up a phenomenal point, David. Just think what 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:44.250 just Michigan brings in then. And when, Dale, 00:31:44.390 --> 00:31:47.890 you talk about the GI Bill and how that expanded, 00:31:48.470 --> 00:31:52.609 you've got the GI Bill chapter 33. And then you've 00:31:52.609 --> 00:31:55.769 got 35 for children. And then you've got the 00:31:55.769 --> 00:32:00.869 voc rehab, which is chapter 31, which also gets 00:32:00.869 --> 00:32:06.650 massive funding. And so you think about the individuals 00:32:06.650 --> 00:32:11.230 who had the vision. And we don't hear a lot about 00:32:11.230 --> 00:32:15.529 those names that created this vision. It would 00:32:15.529 --> 00:32:21.109 be great to go back and I guess thank them for 00:32:21.109 --> 00:32:25.250 their insight to develop these programs for our 00:32:25.250 --> 00:32:29.589 veterans. I just think it's amazing when you 00:32:29.589 --> 00:32:32.180 think about what they've been able to come up 00:32:32.180 --> 00:32:34.119 with. And I was going to ask you, Carol Ann, 00:32:34.240 --> 00:32:37.319 or David, if you could tell me why you rattled 00:32:37.319 --> 00:32:40.539 off three numbers there as far as what the current 00:32:40.539 --> 00:32:43.440 GI bill is. Could you kind of review that for 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:48.259 our audience and me? Sure. And David, please 00:32:48.259 --> 00:32:52.440 jump in. So you've got Chapter 33, which is the 00:32:52.440 --> 00:32:56.579 GI benefits that most individuals know. And then 00:32:56.579 --> 00:33:01.180 there's Chapter 35, which I will explain it this 00:33:01.180 --> 00:33:05.339 way and David if you please chime in is for then 00:33:05.339 --> 00:33:08.740 the children and other members of your family 00:33:08.740 --> 00:33:13.480 that could get your GI bill transferred to them 00:33:13.480 --> 00:33:18.019 and then Chapter 35 is a benefit is when you 00:33:18.019 --> 00:33:21.740 become a hundred percent permanent total or and 00:33:21.740 --> 00:33:25.819 you're being paid at 100 % to the IU, then your 00:33:25.819 --> 00:33:29.400 spouse is eligible to go back to school and then 00:33:29.400 --> 00:33:33.599 dependents under 26. Okay. Thank you David. And 00:33:33.599 --> 00:33:37.119 they'll do a monthly stipend. Yep. That is, you 00:33:37.119 --> 00:33:40.500 added the most critical point. Once the veteran 00:33:40.500 --> 00:33:44.539 becomes 100%, then their loved ones are entitled 00:33:44.539 --> 00:33:50.619 to 35. And then 31, Dale is pretty unique and 00:33:50.619 --> 00:33:54.279 I don't know how many people I've just come involved 00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:57.640 with a program and they're trying to get approved 00:33:57.640 --> 00:34:02.839 for chapter 31. It's when you go into voc rehab 00:34:02.839 --> 00:34:06.500 and you're going to develop go back to schooling 00:34:06.500 --> 00:34:10.539 for another career. You're going to get some 00:34:10.539 --> 00:34:14.039 additional training and there's a whole list 00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:18.849 of additional training you could go in for. And 00:34:18.849 --> 00:34:23.090 so that has to go through voc rehab, your counselor, 00:34:23.409 --> 00:34:27.590 and that's another added benefit for the veteran. 00:34:27.909 --> 00:34:30.869 And then with that one that I've just learned, 00:34:31.250 --> 00:34:34.849 because the individual was late signing up, they 00:34:34.849 --> 00:34:39.650 also get housing allowance and some other benefits 00:34:39.650 --> 00:34:43.670 that really assist their family. Yeah, I know. 00:34:43.880 --> 00:34:46.940 You have to be service -connected, right? And 00:34:46.940 --> 00:34:52.860 you would want, you have to pick a job that is 00:34:52.860 --> 00:34:55.420 not interfering with your service -connected 00:34:55.420 --> 00:34:59.440 disabilities. That's why they retrained you into 00:34:59.440 --> 00:35:02.940 a different, if you were a truck driver and you're 00:35:02.940 --> 00:35:05.260 service -connected for your knees, you go back 00:35:05.260 --> 00:35:07.719 to school to be a computer programmer. Yeah, 00:35:07.880 --> 00:35:09.840 correct. Okay, so you can't do the same thing. 00:35:10.019 --> 00:35:13.960 We need to take a quick break here. You are more 00:35:13.960 --> 00:35:15.920 than welcome to join in this conversation. We 00:35:15.920 --> 00:35:18.579 would love to have you give us a call. The local 00:35:18.579 --> 00:35:22.539 number is 734 -822 -1600. We're going to take, 00:35:22.719 --> 00:35:25.940 as I mentioned, a break and play our this week's 00:35:25.940 --> 00:35:28.579 Medal of Honor segment. So we will be right back 00:35:28.579 --> 00:35:31.920 after that. The Medal of Honor is the highest 00:35:31.920 --> 00:35:34.119 award for valor in combat given a member of the 00:35:34.119 --> 00:35:36.199 Armed Forces of the United States. There have 00:35:36.199 --> 00:35:39.139 been over 3 ,400 recipients of the nation's highest 00:35:39.139 --> 00:35:42.639 award. This is one of them. Submarine Commander 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:45.900 Richard O 'Kane chose to face the enemy on the 00:35:45.900 --> 00:35:49.599 surface despite overwhelming odds. Details after 00:35:49.599 --> 00:35:54.119 this. If you have a VA claim denied by the Board 00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:56.139 of Veterans' Appeals, contact Legal Help for 00:35:56.139 --> 00:36:00.739 Veterans at 1 -800 -693 -4800. They're experts 00:36:00.739 --> 00:36:03.000 in handling cases before the U .S. Court of Appeals 00:36:03.000 --> 00:36:05.639 for Veterans' claims. Their number again, 1 -800 00:36:05.639 --> 00:36:10.690 -693 -4800. Okane served as the commanding officer 00:36:10.690 --> 00:36:13.230 of the USS Tang, operating against two enemy 00:36:13.230 --> 00:36:16.769 Japanese convoys on the 23rd and 24th of October 00:36:16.769 --> 00:36:22.329 1944 during her fifth and last war patrol. Boldly 00:36:22.329 --> 00:36:24.289 maneuvering on the surface into the midst of 00:36:24.289 --> 00:36:27.190 a heavily escorted convoy, Okane stood in the 00:36:27.190 --> 00:36:29.190 hail of bullets and shells from all directions 00:36:29.190 --> 00:36:32.889 to launch smashing hits on three tankers, coolly 00:36:32.889 --> 00:36:35.969 swung his ship to fire at a freighter, and in 00:36:35.969 --> 00:36:38.599 a split second decision, shot out of the path 00:36:38.599 --> 00:36:41.480 of an onrushing transport, missing it by inches. 00:36:42.199 --> 00:36:45.219 Boxed in by blazing tankers, a freighter, transport 00:36:45.219 --> 00:36:48.059 and several destroyers, he blasted two of the 00:36:48.059 --> 00:36:50.739 targets with his remaining torpedoes, and with 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:53.780 pyrotechnics bursting on all sides, cleared the 00:36:53.780 --> 00:36:57.260 area. 24 hours later, he again made contact with 00:36:57.260 --> 00:36:59.719 a heavily escorted convoy, steaming to support 00:36:59.719 --> 00:37:02.960 the Lady campaign, with reinforcements and supplies, 00:37:03.059 --> 00:37:06.059 and with cratered planes piled high on each unit. 00:37:06.250 --> 00:37:08.969 In defiance of the enemy's relentless fire, he 00:37:08.969 --> 00:37:11.650 closed on the ships and in quick succession sent 00:37:11.650 --> 00:37:14.210 two torpedoes each into the first and second 00:37:14.210 --> 00:37:17.550 transports and an adjacent tanker, finding his 00:37:17.550 --> 00:37:19.889 mark with each torpedo and a series of violent 00:37:19.889 --> 00:37:23.429 explosions at less than 1 ,000 yard range. With 00:37:23.429 --> 00:37:25.869 ships bearing down from all sides, he charged 00:37:25.869 --> 00:37:28.449 the enemy at high speed, exploding the tanker 00:37:28.449 --> 00:37:31.050 in a burst of flame, smashing the transport dead 00:37:31.050 --> 00:37:33.369 in the water. and blasting the destroyer with 00:37:33.369 --> 00:37:35.630 a mighty roar which rocked the tank from stem 00:37:35.630 --> 00:37:39.289 to stern. O 'Kane expended his last two torpedoes 00:37:39.289 --> 00:37:42.130 into the remnants of a once powerful convoy before 00:37:42.130 --> 00:37:44.769 his own ship went down. The Medal of Honor series 00:37:44.769 --> 00:38:02.469 is a production of Veterans Radio. You don't 00:38:02.469 --> 00:38:04.389 need special training to help a veteran in your 00:38:04.389 --> 00:38:06.949 life. If you know a veteran in crisis, don't 00:38:06.949 --> 00:38:09.929 wait. Reach out. Call the Veteran's Crisis Line 00:38:09.929 --> 00:38:15.050 at 988 - then press 1. 988 - press 1. A message 00:38:15.050 --> 00:38:16.929 from the U .S. Department of Veterans Affairs. 00:38:22.510 --> 00:38:24.809 we're back here on veterans radio we're just 00:38:24.809 --> 00:38:27.250 kind of talking about history a little bit today 00:38:27.250 --> 00:38:30.329 um we've just you know we covered uh pearl harbor 00:38:30.329 --> 00:38:33.150 a little bit we talked about the pension programs 00:38:33.150 --> 00:38:35.630 beginning back during the revolutionary war actually 00:38:35.630 --> 00:38:38.690 and a little tidbit of information i found was 00:38:38.690 --> 00:38:44.719 the last payment The payment lasted from the 00:38:44.719 --> 00:38:48.579 Civil War up until 2020 when the daughter of 00:38:48.579 --> 00:38:51.480 a Union soldier died. So they were paying out 00:38:51.480 --> 00:38:54.920 pension plans from the Civil War up until 2020. 00:38:55.840 --> 00:38:58.699 That's kind of cool. I think that's amazing. 00:39:00.199 --> 00:39:03.219 So we were talking about the idea behind, you 00:39:03.219 --> 00:39:05.159 know, what we're trying to do here on our Veterans 00:39:05.159 --> 00:39:07.840 Benefits Program all the time is to keep you 00:39:07.840 --> 00:39:12.440 informed. Out there of what's going on with the 00:39:12.440 --> 00:39:15.099 VA not only you know on the benefit side, but 00:39:15.099 --> 00:39:18.659 on the hospital side When we can and there was 00:39:18.659 --> 00:39:22.119 an article that I received during the week that 00:39:22.119 --> 00:39:24.900 was talking about it came from NPR and it was 00:39:24.900 --> 00:39:28.599 talking about some of the Scams that were going 00:39:28.599 --> 00:39:32.460 on out there and one of the major scams right 00:39:32.460 --> 00:39:37.519 now is that there are accredited veterans counselors, 00:39:37.519 --> 00:39:40.860 I guess you could say that are charging you fees 00:39:40.860 --> 00:39:46.980 to file your claim and I'll just leave it at 00:39:46.980 --> 00:39:50.199 that and let our two experts Talk to you a little 00:39:50.199 --> 00:39:54.920 bit about that Yeah, I've seen it in a compensation 00:39:54.920 --> 00:39:59.719 and pension and well where you have pension non 00:39:59.719 --> 00:40:02.710 -service connected pension claims these um these 00:40:02.710 --> 00:40:06.590 veterans and their dependents are already low 00:40:06.590 --> 00:40:10.190 income but they need this money in order to um 00:40:10.190 --> 00:40:13.510 you know pay for their care and where some of 00:40:13.510 --> 00:40:16.409 these pension poachers are coming from they're 00:40:16.409 --> 00:40:22.949 like okay you paid me um this much um and will 00:40:22.949 --> 00:40:26.230 file your claim and but they're not doing any 00:40:26.230 --> 00:40:28.369 care they're just filling out all the paperwork 00:40:28.369 --> 00:40:31.650 i've had two that I've already talked to the 00:40:31.650 --> 00:40:35.710 non -service connected pension over there in 00:40:35.710 --> 00:40:40.349 Wisconsin. And it's just horrible where they 00:40:40.349 --> 00:40:43.329 get their retro and then these pension poachers 00:40:43.329 --> 00:40:45.110 are like, okay, now you have to pay me half of 00:40:45.110 --> 00:40:48.750 that retro and pay me $300 a month. And they're 00:40:48.750 --> 00:40:52.710 here, local, right here in Michigan. And we're 00:40:52.710 --> 00:40:54.630 trying to shut them down, but then another one 00:40:54.630 --> 00:40:57.929 will come back up. And I don't know what you 00:40:57.929 --> 00:41:02.289 have seen, Carol. I totally agree with you, David. 00:41:02.590 --> 00:41:05.829 And the interesting thing is just the other day, 00:41:05.829 --> 00:41:10.630 and I want to bring this up, the VA also put 00:41:10.630 --> 00:41:15.429 out, there is a scam alert going out. It's called 00:41:15.429 --> 00:41:20.469 the Veterans Postcard Scam. And what is happening 00:41:20.469 --> 00:41:23.030 is they're getting this postcard in the mail, 00:41:23.070 --> 00:41:26.349 and it says, please call in. We want to update 00:41:26.349 --> 00:41:31.360 your benefits. Sure enough, they're getting information. 00:41:32.039 --> 00:41:36.460 This is additional, even has the MVAA number 00:41:36.460 --> 00:41:40.199 here. And so the attorney general said, you know, 00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:43.619 they're wanting people to know about this scam. 00:41:44.019 --> 00:41:49.199 Do not give any information out at all. If you 00:41:49.199 --> 00:41:52.960 have a VSO, a county counselor, legal help for 00:41:52.960 --> 00:41:56.480 veterans or whomever. Call them and let them 00:41:56.480 --> 00:42:01.039 know. Do not sign any paperwork. I can't tell 00:42:01.039 --> 00:42:05.260 you how many times your information is given 00:42:05.260 --> 00:42:10.320 to some of these fraudulent companies. And we 00:42:10.320 --> 00:42:15.280 all take it, David. Yeah, I totally agree. And 00:42:15.280 --> 00:42:20.019 then some of these companies, what they'll do 00:42:20.019 --> 00:42:23.980 is they'll make you sign a contract and then 00:42:23.980 --> 00:42:28.519 won't do anything and then they have robo callers 00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:32.840 into the VA and to check to see if you ever get 00:42:32.840 --> 00:42:37.659 a retro payment so they're calling in on the 00:42:37.659 --> 00:42:39.440 VA number because they have their social security 00:42:39.440 --> 00:42:43.460 numbers and their data perv and they're finding 00:42:43.460 --> 00:42:45.719 out when they get this retro and then sending 00:42:45.719 --> 00:42:49.730 them A letter saying, hey, you need to pay me 00:42:49.730 --> 00:42:52.289 half of that. And even though they didn't do 00:42:52.289 --> 00:42:55.630 anything. No, because you've signed that contract. 00:42:56.050 --> 00:43:00.949 And David, it's not a one time. it is we've heard 00:43:00.949 --> 00:43:04.710 as many as five months you've taken some of the 00:43:04.710 --> 00:43:08.090 money back from these veterans and they'll say 00:43:08.090 --> 00:43:10.389 you know they've come to us there's there's nothing 00:43:10.389 --> 00:43:13.349 that could be done you you said they've signed 00:43:13.349 --> 00:43:19.289 a contract so if somebody calls me and says hey 00:43:19.289 --> 00:43:24.309 should we do this no do not do that you know 00:43:24.309 --> 00:43:28.030 bring it in if you want You know, we're out there. 00:43:28.190 --> 00:43:30.630 If you want to work with a county counselor, 00:43:30.750 --> 00:43:35.170 a VSO, make sure the person is legitimate. I 00:43:35.170 --> 00:43:37.829 think we're trying to scare off them if we say, 00:43:38.170 --> 00:43:41.849 show us your accreditation. Ask them this question. 00:43:41.869 --> 00:43:45.889 Do they know what NOVA is? And once that's the 00:43:45.889 --> 00:43:49.369 attorney, national attorney organization, when 00:43:49.369 --> 00:43:53.690 they start asking, we'll call you back, then, 00:43:53.909 --> 00:43:57.840 you know, so we're trying to elicit some of this 00:43:57.840 --> 00:44:01.139 or I've made a phone call and they hung up on 00:44:01.139 --> 00:44:04.920 me. So that's good. Let's keep it going, but 00:44:04.920 --> 00:44:08.239 make sure you're talking to an accredited agency. 00:44:09.699 --> 00:44:13.119 Definitely. Absolutely. The article that we're 00:44:13.119 --> 00:44:16.139 talking about or we're alluding to here is on 00:44:16.139 --> 00:44:20.590 npr .org. and it's called uh let me see where 00:44:20.590 --> 00:44:23.530 it is it says this company charges disabled vets 00:44:23.530 --> 00:44:26.929 millions even after the VA said it's likely illegal 00:44:26.929 --> 00:44:29.110 and i'm going to say the name of the company 00:44:29.110 --> 00:44:31.050 out loud and they come and talk to us if they 00:44:31.050 --> 00:44:35.309 want to it's called Trajector and it's a it's 00:44:35.309 --> 00:44:37.849 a combination it's a combine actually of a number 00:44:37.849 --> 00:44:41.349 of different companies where they will solicit 00:44:41.349 --> 00:44:44.909 you to sign up and let them handle your claim 00:44:44.909 --> 00:44:48.349 although you They don't do a lot of the paperwork 00:44:48.349 --> 00:44:52.389 and so forth. They are not an accredited veteran 00:44:52.389 --> 00:44:56.869 service organization or attorney. And as David 00:44:56.869 --> 00:45:00.269 pointed out, they have you sign a contract. And 00:45:00.269 --> 00:45:02.670 the contract has got print that none of us could 00:45:02.670 --> 00:45:07.059 read even with magnifying glass. And in essence, 00:45:07.099 --> 00:45:10.199 it says that they are entitled to a portion of 00:45:10.199 --> 00:45:15.219 any monetary benefit that you receive. And so 00:45:15.219 --> 00:45:19.280 many of these veterans are not only getting hit 00:45:19.280 --> 00:45:23.820 with a lump sum bill, not only do they do the 00:45:23.820 --> 00:45:26.820 robocalls to the VA, once you owe money, they 00:45:26.820 --> 00:45:30.929 start calling you every hour. And if you are 00:45:30.929 --> 00:45:33.130 one of these people that are in involved and 00:45:33.130 --> 00:45:36.309 get you know got caught up in this thing please 00:45:36.309 --> 00:45:40.150 contact your VSO contact the VA itself and Let 00:45:40.150 --> 00:45:42.389 them know that you know that you're being harassed 00:45:42.389 --> 00:45:45.030 by this company But they take a percentage of 00:45:45.030 --> 00:45:48.730 your initial benefit and they also want a portion 00:45:48.730 --> 00:45:52.030 of your monthly benefit So if you get if you 00:45:52.030 --> 00:45:54.210 are entitled to let's suppose that you filed 00:45:54.210 --> 00:45:57.150 a claim a year ago And you end up getting you're 00:45:57.150 --> 00:45:59.599 entitled to a thousand dollars a month Well, 00:45:59.659 --> 00:46:01.880 they're going to want to take, I think, David, 00:46:02.059 --> 00:46:05.079 you mentioned like half of that. So you're going 00:46:05.079 --> 00:46:08.460 to get that first check for $12 ,000. They want 00:46:08.460 --> 00:46:11.500 six of it. And then they want a percentage of 00:46:11.500 --> 00:46:13.800 that $1 ,000 a month that you're entitled to 00:46:13.800 --> 00:46:17.739 after that. So we've got to make sure that we 00:46:17.739 --> 00:46:20.579 prevent this. And I encourage anybody out there 00:46:20.579 --> 00:46:25.360 that has been hit by this scam to contact Your 00:46:25.360 --> 00:46:29.599 VSO wherever they may be or or you know the county 00:46:29.599 --> 00:46:33.119 VSO David or Carol Anne for legal out for veterans 00:46:33.119 --> 00:46:38.400 or concrete contract contact your Representative 00:46:38.400 --> 00:46:41.119 your congressional representative most of them 00:46:41.119 --> 00:46:44.139 have a veteran specialist in there that can sometimes 00:46:44.139 --> 00:46:49.380 get around some of the red tape Then the bureaucracy 00:46:49.380 --> 00:46:52.400 that's out there, but please please you know 00:46:52.400 --> 00:46:57.380 there's help available for you And it's hard. 00:47:00.239 --> 00:47:02.699 I'm sure these people have been sued many, many 00:47:02.699 --> 00:47:06.019 times. And they're sort of like some other places 00:47:06.019 --> 00:47:10.340 we know. And they say, sure, sue me. And you 00:47:10.340 --> 00:47:14.019 end up having to spend a lot of money. But be 00:47:14.019 --> 00:47:17.820 on the lookout. Please, be wise, be careful, 00:47:17.900 --> 00:47:21.559 very careful. Some of these people are really 00:47:21.559 --> 00:47:24.500 clever in what they do. and you know a lot of 00:47:24.500 --> 00:47:27.699 them come down to let's suppose that I you know 00:47:27.699 --> 00:47:31.679 that I went through one of the VSOs around here 00:47:31.679 --> 00:47:34.579 and I don't I get less than I think I'm entitled 00:47:34.579 --> 00:47:37.500 to that's one of the things that they will jump 00:47:37.500 --> 00:47:40.139 on they'll say well you know for that condition 00:47:40.139 --> 00:47:44.179 you should have gotten 60 percent not 20 percent 00:47:44.179 --> 00:47:47.360 let us take care of this here sign over this 00:47:47.360 --> 00:47:51.679 power of attorney to us and then they got you 00:47:52.460 --> 00:47:56.880 that was very well described. The other piece 00:47:56.880 --> 00:48:01.420 of advice and. And David nailed it. So you mentioned 00:48:01.420 --> 00:48:05.619 a name. OK, so they're caught. And so then today 00:48:05.619 --> 00:48:10.420 they're ABC. Tomorrow they're DEF. And they bring 00:48:10.420 --> 00:48:13.400 it down and they go under another name. And so 00:48:13.400 --> 00:48:15.679 I've been telling people, if you're suspect, 00:48:16.139 --> 00:48:19.199 get the name of who you talk to, get a phone 00:48:19.199 --> 00:48:23.900 number, and that should be reported immediately. 00:48:24.260 --> 00:48:27.489 And so. You know, there's things to scare them 00:48:27.489 --> 00:48:31.329 off. Like I said, I've tried to talk to one of 00:48:31.329 --> 00:48:35.389 those and they hung up on me. And so I put down 00:48:35.389 --> 00:48:40.070 the number that I got and I did call in. But 00:48:40.070 --> 00:48:45.829 you know what, if somebody is out there and needing 00:48:45.829 --> 00:48:49.190 money, you don't know what sometimes people do. 00:48:49.400 --> 00:48:52.519 you know um they might get afraid hey you're 00:48:52.519 --> 00:48:55.880 going to lose your benefits um the va is you 00:48:55.880 --> 00:48:59.519 know um reducing benefits we're not going to 00:48:59.519 --> 00:49:01.900 let that happen just sign on the dotted line 00:49:01.900 --> 00:49:05.340 i i could see a lot of that happening yeah definitely 00:49:05.340 --> 00:49:08.039 use fear and especially with the pensions they'll 00:49:08.039 --> 00:49:11.480 say well we can get it done in 90 days well um 00:49:11.480 --> 00:49:15.019 that doesn't you know you can't promise the time 00:49:15.019 --> 00:49:18.650 frame um as long as you have everything you submitted 00:49:18.650 --> 00:49:23.429 in you can get them to go faster if you're in 00:49:23.429 --> 00:49:27.829 your 90s late 90s or financial hardship but they 00:49:27.829 --> 00:49:31.369 use that fear in order for you to sign on that 00:49:31.369 --> 00:49:34.349 dial -it line to have them do the pension where 00:49:34.349 --> 00:49:37.789 they basically it's the veteran doing all the 00:49:37.789 --> 00:49:41.610 work and then they just fax it into the scan 00:49:41.610 --> 00:49:44.389 center. Well, one of the things about this article 00:49:44.389 --> 00:49:45.949 that they were talking about of course is that 00:49:45.949 --> 00:49:50.070 they would they go out and they Rewrite your 00:49:50.070 --> 00:49:55.550 your medical conditions and you know, that's 00:49:55.550 --> 00:49:59.190 Yet it temporarily may get you a you know an 00:49:59.190 --> 00:50:01.750 increase in your benefit But down the road somebody 00:50:01.750 --> 00:50:04.510 is going to find out that that that that was 00:50:04.510 --> 00:50:08.190 wrong And the VA is going to come back and say 00:50:08.190 --> 00:50:10.909 hey, guess what not only Not only do you owe 00:50:10.909 --> 00:50:13.269 those guys money, but you have to pay us back 00:50:13.269 --> 00:50:15.829 because you have a, you know, you filed a fraudulent 00:50:15.829 --> 00:50:19.710 claim. Yeah. You got to be careful and you got 00:50:19.710 --> 00:50:23.210 to own your claim and the credit representatives, 00:50:23.210 --> 00:50:27.690 you know, working here in Washtenaw County or 00:50:27.690 --> 00:50:31.010 wherever with Carol, right? You want to get a 00:50:31.010 --> 00:50:35.750 reputable company to, to help you with these 00:50:35.750 --> 00:50:40.010 claims. I mean, sometimes it's easy. But sometimes 00:50:40.010 --> 00:50:42.369 it's a lot of a lot of work involved in making 00:50:42.369 --> 00:50:46.409 sure, you know, to get all the proper evidence 00:50:46.409 --> 00:50:50.710 sent into the VA and replying to the VA. And, 00:50:51.510 --> 00:50:54.150 you know, we answer our phone so that I hear 00:50:54.150 --> 00:50:57.130 many complaints like, oh, yeah, they filed my 00:50:57.130 --> 00:51:01.070 claim, but I can get a hold of them. And you 00:51:01.070 --> 00:51:04.429 definitely want to go with somebody accredited. 00:51:05.030 --> 00:51:07.289 I think it's just so important. And again, that's 00:51:07.289 --> 00:51:10.269 why we're here. folks that are listening today 00:51:10.269 --> 00:51:12.929 or folks that were listening to the podcast tomorrow 00:51:12.929 --> 00:51:16.789 or in our archives next week or anytime, is that 00:51:16.789 --> 00:51:20.369 there are organizations out there that are licensed, 00:51:20.869 --> 00:51:22.889 that are official, you know, they're recognized 00:51:22.889 --> 00:51:24.849 by the state, they're recognized on a national 00:51:24.849 --> 00:51:30.610 level, they're recognized by the VA. And as both 00:51:30.610 --> 00:51:34.750 Caroline and David are recognized by the VA as 00:51:34.750 --> 00:51:38.099 legal Council I guess would be the term I'm looking 00:51:38.099 --> 00:51:42.519 for to you know to help you out and you know, 00:51:42.639 --> 00:51:46.619 just It's difficult to be you know to be patient 00:51:46.619 --> 00:51:51.039 sometimes but I would strongly encourage you 00:51:51.039 --> 00:51:55.039 even if you know somebody You know, we've all 00:51:55.039 --> 00:51:57.239 had experiences where we've known somebody that's 00:51:57.239 --> 00:51:59.260 a veteran that is you know, that is disabled 00:51:59.260 --> 00:52:03.550 But they they haven't filed that claim And we 00:52:03.550 --> 00:52:06.030 want to make sure that they get those claims 00:52:06.030 --> 00:52:07.909 and get those benefits that they're entitled 00:52:07.909 --> 00:52:10.889 to. So that's why we're encouraging you, if you 00:52:10.889 --> 00:52:13.050 know somebody who's a veteran and it hasn't done 00:52:13.050 --> 00:52:17.449 that, encourage them to file a claim, to talk 00:52:17.449 --> 00:52:20.750 to a veteran service organization anywhere and 00:52:20.750 --> 00:52:23.329 find out maybe they're actually entitled to something. 00:52:24.230 --> 00:52:26.230 As Carol Ann said, if that lady doesn't call 00:52:26.230 --> 00:52:27.750 her in the next couple of days, she's going to 00:52:27.750 --> 00:52:31.110 be on the phone calling her. Well, and I think 00:52:31.110 --> 00:52:33.690 the other thing that I know, David does this, 00:52:33.789 --> 00:52:37.710 we do this. If a veteran is in trouble financially, 00:52:38.309 --> 00:52:42.050 they're near homelessness, it's a terminal illness 00:52:42.050 --> 00:52:46.130 they just got socked with, call us back. Call 00:52:46.130 --> 00:52:49.210 your representative back. Let us know because 00:52:49.210 --> 00:52:53.110 we could put in paperwork. to expedite your claim 00:52:53.110 --> 00:52:57.309 to the VA. So don't let one of these fraudulent 00:52:57.309 --> 00:53:00.590 firms come along and act like, as David said, 00:53:00.650 --> 00:53:03.690 I'm going to get you an answer in 90 days. Know 00:53:03.690 --> 00:53:06.690 that you can't promise anything. But communicate 00:53:06.690 --> 00:53:10.409 with us if we could help you. Right. I'm afraid 00:53:10.409 --> 00:53:12.110 we're going to have to kind of end it on that 00:53:12.110 --> 00:53:15.940 note. It's, you know. That's why we're here. 00:53:15.980 --> 00:53:18.320 That's why they're here. That's why all across 00:53:18.320 --> 00:53:20.900 the country There are VSOs through all of your 00:53:20.900 --> 00:53:24.079 service organizations to help you out And I encourage 00:53:24.079 --> 00:53:28.380 you to go forth and find them and get your questions 00:53:28.380 --> 00:53:31.619 answered by a legitimate counselor I want to 00:53:31.619 --> 00:53:33.800 thank you both for being on the program today. 00:53:34.119 --> 00:53:36.519 We talked about Pearl Harbor at the beginning. 00:53:36.559 --> 00:53:38.500 We're going to go out on the God Bless America 00:53:38.500 --> 00:53:42.059 Today version that everybody from that age group, 00:53:42.139 --> 00:53:44.639 the greatest generation will remember, and that's 00:53:44.639 --> 00:53:48.000 Kate Smith. So we want to thank everybody for 00:53:48.000 --> 00:53:51.440 tuning into our program today. We're going to 00:53:51.440 --> 00:53:53.420 have a Christmas special coming up, Bob Hope 00:53:53.420 --> 00:53:56.679 again, later on. So until next week, this is 00:53:56.679 --> 00:53:58.480 Dale Throneberry for all of us here at Veterans 00:53:58.480 --> 00:54:02.150 Radio. You are dismissed. The End