News Blog

LVMAC Tidbit — Uncle Dod Needs Your Help

USAMRMC logoThe U.S. Army’s Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC) is responsible to the Department of Defense (DoD) for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), which is charged with finding and funding often leading-edge, medical research for new devices and treatments for the many injuries and illnesses sustained by our military, veterans; and ultimately the American public.  This little known but well-regarded effort has been in existence since 1995.  It now seeks your help.  In light of all the actions this Council has taken to improve the health of our veterans, we think this is a government effort worthy of your consideration.

One of the notable features of CDMRP is that it reviews proposed new ideas using citizens on review panels to help recommend which efforts would make the most important and positive differences in people’s lives. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit: Did Yah Know? Actionable Items of Potential Interest – #1

Gulf War Vets Needed for Research: The War Related Illness and Injury Study Center at the VA in East Orange, N.J., currently has several research studies focused on Gulf War veterans who deployed to Operation Desert Shield/Storm, as well as non-deployed veterans of the same era. If you are a veteran from the 1990-91 era, or if you have a Gulf War illness and would like to know more about the research, please call 1-800-248-8005 or visit their Gulf War Research page at: http://www.warrelatedillness.va.gov/research/volunteer/nj-wriisc.asp.

(Source: VFW Action Corps Weekly, 18 September 205) (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — Are You Coming? Have you registered?

AO Town Hall Logo wo backgroundEditor’s Note:  It has been written about before on this blogsite, but the September 19 date for the Lehigh Valley’s first Agent Orange Seminar is nigh and we think it important that you do not miss out on a chance to educate yourselves because your children may be affected — whether or not you are a Vietnam War veteran or ever served.  It is high time to register and reserve a seat.

Expert speakers from as far away as the state of Maryland are coming to the Lipkin Theatre, the site of the seminar.  Dr. Peter Kahn of the Department of Biochemistry & Microbiology at Rutgers University; Dr. Tom Berger of the Vietnam Veterans of America’s (VVA) Veterans Health Center; Professor Kelly Allen of the Sustainability Committee of Northampton Community College; Paul Sutton, the VVA’s special advisor to the National Committee on Agent Orange and Mike Eckstein, the VVA State Council Chair for New Jersey’s Agent Orange efforts, will all speak. 

This is an unique opportunity to listen and learn about a subject constantly in the papers but not well understood.  The Press Release below tells you more: (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — Understanding Veterans Real Estate Tax Exemptions in PA and NJ

LVMAC Poster Art 2005Real Estate tax exemptions for veterans have come up more than once at veterans group meeting. Confusion often reigns. Word of mouth frequently leads to misunderstandings.  Perhaps the worst part is surviving spouses are often forgotten – to include the surviving spouses of a servicemembers killed in action. This article is an attempt to clarify the situation for our members who live in Pennsylvania and that other country, New Jersey.  While it is beyond the scope of this article to determine with certainty any local ordinances regarding exemptions exist (none are currently known), the existing laws in both states are discussed.

First, the belief that real estate tax exemptions for a disabled veteran are federal law is not true.  Any real estate tax exemption, waiver or reduction (hereafter, called “exemption”) is the result of a local ordinance or state law. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC — Photos of Lehigh and Northampton Vietnam Veterans Wanted for Vietnam Veterans Memorial

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Source: VVMF’s Education Center Webpage

The Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), in partnership with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, Inc. (VVMF) — the nonprofit organization authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1980 to build a national memorial dedicated to all who served with the U.S. armed forces in the Vietnam War — is asking that you help them locate more than 600 photos of Pennsylvanians who sacrificed their lives in the Vietnam War and for whom VVMF has no photos.  As of 14 August, twenty-eight on the list are from Lehigh and Northampton counties. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit — Local Vietnam Veterans Memorial to be Dedicated

EAHS Vietnam Veterans Committee Logo 2013-195x285After years of hard work, the Easton Area High School Vietnam Veterans Memorial Committee has announced it will be conducting a dedication ceremony for its high school’s Vietnam Veterans Memorial on 29 August at 10 a.m.  The public is invited.

The memorial was erected to pay tribute to those who attended Easton Area High School and went off to serve in the Vietnam Conflict — some of whom never returned home.  It is one of the few such high school memorials in the nation.  Working strictly at a grassroots level, the effort is a stellar, everyman achievement, and speaks well of their community and our Lehigh Valley in regard to recognizing both the importance and price of military service to our nation. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

LVMAC Tidbit: At Last! An Agent Orange Seminar for the General Public

VVA 415 AO Town Hall Flyer No. 2 19Sep2015Editor’s Note:  We wish to bring your attention to something we consider to be a very special event in the Lehigh Valley — a seminar on Agent Orange not only for veterans, but also their progeny and the general public.  Pennsylvania VVA Chapter 415 of the Vietnam Veterans of America is sponsoring it and is bringing in well-known, national-level speakers, some with academic credentials.  Please note we’re using the term “Agent Orange” as an umbrella term for several different kinds of herbicides used in Vietnam … and in the United States.

You may be asking yourself why invite the progeny of veterans and the general public,  for weren’t the effects of Agent Orange limited to those military veterans who served in Vietnam?   It is because, many believe, more than military veterans have been affected but also their progeny and, additionally, the general public — these products were not only used in Vietnam.  Consequently, the chapter is seeking to heighten their awareness through education and to gain their assistance in pushing needed government research studies long overdue and resisted.  The Congress, the Department of Veterans Affairs and other departments of government may have been turning a blind eye to a matter of importance to all of us.

For more information and how to register for the event, refer to the article below, which is being republished with the kind permission of its author and appeared in the June 2015 issue of Lifestyles over 50. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago

Forward Observer — Finally! Pennsylvania In-State Tuition Rate Now Applies to “State-less” Veterans

LVMAC Poster Art 2005After years of foot dragging, the General Assembly has finally acted.  The one-year residency requirement to receive the in-state tuition rate at a public institution of higher leaning in Pennsylvania is now officially waived.  Act 11 of 2015 was signed into law by the Governor on 29 June.  It amends Act 287 of 1982 by requiring community colleges and state related/state-owned institutions to provide in-state tuition rates for veterans, their spouses and dependent children wanting to use their GI Bill benefits regardless of how long they have resided in the state. (more…)

By LVMAC, ago