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Retiree Corner

Week of April 16, 2007

VA Searching for Last Soldiers for WWI

With only four living American veterans of World War I currently known, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking public assistance in determining whether others are still alive. To qualify as a World War I veteran, someone must have been on active duty between April 6, 1917 and Nov. 11, 1918. VA is also looking for surviving Americans who served in the armed forces of allied nations. Members of the general public who know of a surviving World War I veteran are asked to contact VA by e-mailing the information to ww1@va.gov; faxing it to 202-273-6702, or mailing it to the Office of Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs (80), 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20420.
 

New Exchange Catalog for Military Retirees

In conjunction with its annual "Still Serving" event the weekend of Sept. 28, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) will send out to mailboxes in September 2007 a special catalog for military retirees that will include special "Still Serving" weekend sales and sweepstakes, select merchandise available through the Exchange Catalog or Exchange Online Store, exchange benefits information, as well as an invitation from the AAFES Commander to attend special activities at BXs and PXs worldwide. Authorized exchange customers can learn more about activities planned at their specific exchange by calling their local store, which can be found through the "store locator" link at www.aafes.com.

Doris Glenn Williams, 73, retired childcare provider of more than 25  years, died at home on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. today at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Ridgeland. Services are 10  a.m. Friday in the funeral home chapel. Graveside services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday in the Odd Fellow's Rest Cemetery in Aberdeen.  The family will receive friends beginning at 12 noon Saturday at Tisdale-Lann Memorial Funeral Home in Aberdeen. More:  http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000087067644X

Week of April 16, 2007

VA Searching for Last Soldiers for WWI

With only four living American veterans of World War I currently known, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking public assistance in determining whether others are still alive. To qualify as a World War I veteran, someone must have been on active duty between April 6, 1917 and Nov. 11, 1918. VA is also looking for surviving Americans who served in the armed forces of allied nations. Members of the general public who know of a surviving World War I veteran are asked to contact VA by e-mailing the information to ww1@va.gov; faxing it to 202-273-6702, or mailing it to the Office of Public Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs (80), 810 Vermont Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20420.
 

New Exchange Catalog for Military Retirees

In conjunction with its annual "Still Serving" event the weekend of Sept. 28, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) will send out to mailboxes in September 2007 a special catalog for military retirees that will include special "Still Serving" weekend sales and sweepstakes, select merchandise available through the Exchange Catalog or Exchange Online Store, exchange benefits information, as well as an invitation from the AAFES Commander to attend special activities at BXs and PXs worldwide. Authorized exchange customers can learn more about activities planned at their specific exchange by calling their local store, which can be found through the "store locator" link at www.aafes.com.

Doris Glenn Williams, 73, retired childcare provider of more than 25  years, died at home on Tuesday, April 3, 2007. Visitation is 5-7 p.m. today at Wright & Ferguson Funeral Home in Ridgeland. Services are 10  a.m. Friday in the funeral home chapel. Graveside services will be held 2 p.m. Saturday in the Odd Fellow's Rest Cemetery in Aberdeen.  The family will receive friends beginning at 12 noon Saturday at Tisdale-Lann Memorial Funeral Home in Aberdeen. More:  http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000087067644X

 Click on the above link or cut and paste the url into your browser's address bar.

Week of March 12, 2007

Last U.S. Combat Veteran of WWI, Laid to rest

The echo of a 21-gun salute and bugler playing Taps seemingly marked the end of an era as a state and national treasure was laid to rest in Portland, Ore., March 2.

Retired Army Cpl. Howard V. Ramsey, Oregon's last living World War I veteran and the last known U.S. combat veteran of WWI, died in his sleep Feb. 22 at an assisted living center in southeast Portland. He was honored in a memorial service attended by nearly 200 people at Lincoln Memorial Park exactly one month before reaching his 109th birthday.

"This is a very historic occasion; we lay to rest today our nation's oldest combat veteran," said Pastor Stu Weber, who officiated over Ramsey's memorial service.

In an Associated Press report, Jim Benson of the Veterans Administration said there are now only seven WWI veterans on record with the VA, although it is possible there are unknown veterans who may still exist.

Of the seven known WWI veterans still living, none were shipped overseas, making Ramsey the last known combat veteran of "The Great War." Ramsey inherited the title two weeks before his passing, when Massachusetts veteran Antonio Pierro passed away on Feb. 8.

Ramsey's lifetime spanned three centuries and 19 presidents. He was born in Rico, Colo., on April 2, 1898, when the U.S. flag had just 45 stars and President McKinley was preparing to declare war with Spain.

Too young to be drafted, Ramsey tried to voluntarily enlist but was told he was too skinny by Army standards. After gorging on bananas and water to successfully meet weight standards, he was placed in the Army's transportation corps.

Ramsey sailed to France in September 1918 to join General John "BlackJack" Pershing's American Expeditionary Force. Ramsey drove cars, trucks and motorcycles for the Army and trained other Soldiers how to drive. He was often selected to drive officers to special engagements, one officer "gigging" him for having a dirty truck despite the constant rain and mud in France. He also drove ambulances, transported troops to the frontlines and delivered water to troops on the battlefields.

Ramsey once recalled his service in WWI saying, "We were under fire a lot at the front, and we really caught hell one time. I lost friends over there."

After the armistice, Ramsey spent several months recovering the remains of American Soldiers who had been hastily buried in the trenches and transported them to the Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, the largest American cemetery in Europe.

"You'd better believe it was pretty awful work," Ramsey told Oregonian reporter Rick Bella in 2005. "It was tough, but you became hardened to it."

Nearly 90 years later, Ramsey was still haunted by regret for not breaking the rules and keeping a diary that fell from the pocket of one deceased American Soldier. Ramsey told family and friends, "I wanted to keep that diary so badly to send it to his mother, but it was against the rules to keep anything from off the bodies."

Veterans of many generations and wars, and military representatives attended Ramsey's memorial service to pay their respects, including Brig. Gen. Raymond C. Byrne Jr., commander of the Oregon Army National Guard's 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, and Jim Willis, state director of Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs.

"If we are going to end an era, I can think of no better way than to do it with a person who is a model representation of the kinds of Soldiers who served this country in WWI, and someone who would be an example to any combat Soldier serving up to, and including those who serve in Afghanistan and Iraq today. All (veterans) would be justifiably proud to have known Corporal Howard Ramsey," said Willis.

Retired Army Col. Don Holden, whose father was Ramsey's classmate at Washington High School, shared fond memories of Ramsey's sense of humor. He said farewell to his old friend by reading the epic WWI poem "Flander's Field," which Ramsey could recite from memory well into his late 90s.
 

Week of March 5, 2007

Annual Retiree's Day at Camp Shelby on Wednesday, 18 July 2007. This will coincide with Camp Shelby's 90th Anniversary. Modern fighting equipment will be available as well as the Armed Forces Museum will be open. The event will begin at 1000 at the White House.
 

Week of February 26, 2007

Bonuses to $2000 for retired Army Soldiers referring someone with no prior military experience to the Referral Bonus Pilot Program. You can make referrals thru the Army Referral System - Sergeant Major of the Army Recruiting Team (ARS SMART) Web Site at http://usarec.army.mil/smart. To make a referral, you'll have to establish a user account. You can also make referrals by calling 1-800-223-3737, ext 6-0473.

For more information go to http://tricareformularysearch.org/dod/medicationcenter

The new standard handbook is available. You can view or download at http://www.tricare,mil

Now's the time to start planning your 2007 summer vacation. What about traveling to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma during the week of Aug 12th, and attend our annual conference? Click on EANGUS.ORG for more details and registration forms for our 2007 conference, August 12 - 15, 2007.