JOSEPH JOHNSTON

Department Commander

I am not ordinarily given to the recitation of “War Stories” but given the fact that Veterans Day and Thanksgiving occur this month I will make an exception. Several years ago, I was with an Airborne Infantry Company negotiating heavy jungle. It was the type that hinders your movement, is very nasty, and saps the strength from you by the heat that is trapped underneath the canopy. In this case we needed a resupply but our Hueys could not land to bring in the rations and ammo, so they hovered above the canopy, told us to take cover and watch out and started kicking the stuff out the door and it fell through the jungle canopy.

In every unit there is at least one trooper who can make everybody laugh—the company or platoon clown with never a frown on his face and a contagious laughter maker regardless of ones rank. In this unit we had such a man—let’s call him Smith. At any rate on this particular date and place, as the rations were dropped, everyone in the unit was standing next to a tree trunk looking up as this stuff fell over a hundred feet to the damp musky earth below. Everyone, that is, except Smith—who characteristically was hopping around and cutting up like normal. You can guess the next event in this story—a case of C-Rats (which weighs 25 pounds per case) came bouncing through the canopy and struck Smith squarely on top of his steel pot, and fell him as if poleaxed on the spot.

To all of our horrors, we expected him to have a broken neck and be dead but to all our amazement he was unconscious but breathing. “Doc” took a look at him and said—“gee, I don’t know whether his neck is broken or not but he’s out of it for the time being”. So we dutifully prepared a poncho field expedient litter and dragged/carried this bozo for the better part of 5 or 6 clicks to a spot where we could get a Medivac in to evacuate the turkey. During that time nearly everyone took a turn a carrying Smith. We were worried about his overall condition and at the same time everyone of us could have killed him for his gross stupidity. But that is the way it is with the military. We can find something to laugh about in every instance while being in misery at the time it is happening. We have a love/hate relationship with each other that binds us in a way that can never be understood by our civilian counterparts or in some instances even our families.

The moral of this story is short but compelling. Always count our blessings and be joyful about our fellow veterans and our families since we may never know minute to minute when those folks may not be around to share our lives and experiences. And that—even in the midst of toil and hard circumstances, our love and joy with one another can prevail. God Bless you all during this Thanksgiving season.

Joe Johnston

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

Nat’l. Hdqrs., DAV (877) 426-2838

NSO Office, Cleveland (216) 522-3507

NSO Office, Cincinnati (513) 684-2676

Washington Office, DAV (202) 554-3501

Cincinnati HSC,

Sheila Clements (513) 475-6443

Dayton HSC, (937) 268-6511

Gene McCorkle Ext. 2962

Wade Park HSC, (216) 791-3800

Walter Dryja Ext. 3395

Chillicothe HSC (740) 773-1141

Ext. 7916

Columbus Clinic, (614) 257-5487

Michael Hackworth

Brecksville HSC, (440) 526-3030

Don Branford Ext. 7353

Warren Clinic (330) 392-0311

Youngstown Clinic (330) 70-9200

Ext. 105

Veterans Administration 1-800-827-1000

DATES TO REMEMBER

February 22-25, 2009 DAV Mid-Winter Conference, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA

March 28, 2009 Auxiliary Commander Kathie Johnson’s Testimonial Dinner, Eagles, Wapakoneta, Ohio.

April 18, 2009 Testimonial Dinner Commander Joseph Johnston, Holiday Inn Eastgate, Cincinnati, Ohio

June 25-28, 2009 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

August 1, 2009 Forget-Me-Not, John W. Covert Chapter #47, East Liverpool, Ohio

August 22-25, 2009 DAV National Convention, Sheraton Hotel Denver, Denver, Colorado

Sept. 24 – 26, 2009 DAV Auxiliary Fall Conference, Drawbridge Inn, Fort Mitchell, Kentucky.

October 9-11, 2009 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

Feb. 28 – Mar. 3, 2010 DAV Mid-Winter Conference, Crystal Gateway Marriott, Arlington, VA

June 24-27, 2010 DAV Department Convention,

The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

July 31 – Aug. 3, 2010 DAV National Convention, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia

October 8-10, 2010 DAV Department Fall Conference, The Crowne Plaza, Dublin, Ohio.

Gulf War illness is real, panel finds

175,000 sickened, possibly by our own hands

By David Goldstein

McCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS

WASHINGTON -- Gulf War illness is a real medical condition that has affected at least 175,000 combat veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, according to a report released yesterday.

The Research Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illness, a congressionally mandated panel, said troops were exposed to a "toxic soup" of chemicals. However, they cited two primary causes for the illness, both stemming from American actions: pesticides sprayed on the troops during deployment, and pyridostigmine bromide, an anti-nerve agent.

The small, white pills hadn't been approved for nerve-agent protection at the time, but the Food and Drug Administration had allowed the military to use the pills to protect troops in case they were exposed to nerve gas.

Originally called Gulf War syndrome, the ailment has become an umbrella for a variety of unexplained problems, including chronic headaches, dizziness, memory loss, fatigue, skin rashes, joint and muscle pain, and respiratory problems, as well as more serious neurological conditions and brain cancer.

Federal research into the causes behind the mysterious malady has "not been effective," the committee said, and the report suggested that politics or financial concerns might have played a role.

"There is also a common perception that federal policymakers have not vigorously pursued key research in this area and that federal agencies have disincentives -- whether political or fiscal -- for providing definitive answers to Gulf War health questions," the committee said.

The report compared the foot-dragging and denials to the treatment of troops who said they were exposed to Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides in Vietnam and to radiation during World War II.

In both cases, the claims turned out to be true.

"Government has been very slow to accept what the research shows," said James Binns, the committee's chairman and a former top Defense Department official.

"These problems have for too long been denied or trivialized," said Binns, at the committee meeting where the report was released.

The report, six years in the making, should be a boon to Gulf War veterans who for years have been trying to persuade the Department of Veterans Affairs to recognize their medical problems.

Often too ill to work, many have been unable to get medical disability payments from the VA because they couldn't prove that their ailments were real.

Committee member Steve Smithson, the deputy director for claims for the American Legion, said he hopes the report will trigger "sweeping changes" in compensation for Gulf War veterans.

The committee met yesterday at VA headquarters, two blocks from the White House.

Thanking the members for their work, VA Secretary James Peake, a former Army surgeon general, said, "I personally neither denied nor trivialized the issues of our veterans, having been among them myself. It's not something we are going to wash away."

The VA said Peake had directed the agency "to review and respond to the committee's recommendations in the near future."

The new report criticizes past U.S. studies, which have cost more than $340 million, as "overly simplistic."

Government officials and some scientists have said stress and psychiatric problems were the cause of the Gulf War maladies, while other scientists and veterans argued for other causes.

The committee said it had studied numerous reports about Gulf War illness from this country and overseas and concluded that it was "a real condition with real causes and serious consequences."

"This is not caused by stress, and it's not a psychiatric illness," said Lea Steele, an epidemiologist at Kansas State University and the committee's scientific director for five years. "VA doctors paying attention to this should no longer treat their patients as if they had psychiatric illness."

The committee said it also couldn't rule out exposure to sarin, a toxic nerve agent, as a possible cause of Gulf War illness. Troops were exposed to sarin when coalition forces blew up an Iraqi missile arsenal after the war.

Other potential causes were the use of multiple vaccines and the breathing of the thick, black smoke from the massive oil-well fires ignited by Iraqi troops as they fled Kuwait.

A quarter to a third of the 700,000 troops who served in the war suffer from Gulf War illness. Less than 10 percent have recovered or showed improvement, the report says.

Information from Cox News Service was included in this story.

NOTES FROM YOUR STATE ADJUTANT

Thought for December: Let’s spread

good cheer and good will by greeting everyone we meet with a smile and a hearty “Merry Christmas”!!!

Alliance Chapter #50 Sr. Vice Commander Harold Messner signed up two new DAV Members from his church. See, there is always another source to find and sign up members!

I signed up the State 1^st Vice Commander of AMVETS as a new DAV Member. Keep it up guys and gals. We need all the new members we can get. Remember to sign up Auxiliary Members, too.

On a sad note…Former Ohio Senator Gene Watts passed away on Veterans Day. Gene served for 16 years in the Ohio Senate, continuing to work for veterans for years after leaving public office. As a consequence of his veterans advocacy – among other accomplishments – Gene was inducted into the

Ohio Veteran’s Hall of Fame in 2004.

Also, John Irby, Past Commander, Order of The Purple Heart, passed away a couple of days before Gene Watts. John was a Army Enlisted man who retired as a 1^st Lieutenant. Due to his heroics while serving in Vietnam, as well as his outstanding veteran’s advocacy after leaving the Army, John, too, was inducted into the Ohio Veteran’s Hall of Fame. Both Gene and John will be sorely missed by all Ohio Veterans who knew them.

I just read that President Elect Barack Obama supports advance VA funding. Nine Veteran’s Groups have been calling for budget reform, asking that Congress pass a budget for veteran’s programs a full year ahead of time, which would mean that in 2009, lawmakers would need to pass both a fiscal 2010 budget and a fiscal 2011 budget. When budgets are not passed on time the VA cannot plan capital

improvements or buy major medical equipment and hiring is delayed, said DAV National Legislative Director Joe Violante. Another benefit to advanced funding is that veterans programs would get a first Slice of the federal budget, without having to directly compete with other federal programs.

If Obama is serious about helping veterans and limiting the influence of special interests, he should consider sending David Chu, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness packing! Chu, a career federal service employee, is no friend of veterans! In a 2005 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Chu said Congress had gone too far in expanding military benefits. Chu has long been advocating that VA benefits should only be paid to those who are injured in actual combat.

Express Scripts Data Breach: One of the Nation’s largest processors of pharmacy prescriptions said this week that extortionists are threatening to disclose personal and medical information about millions of Americans if the company fails to pay the money they are demanding. Express Scripts said that in early October it received a letter that included names, birth dates, social security numbers and, in some cases, prescription information on 75 customers. The letter threatened to expose millions of consumer records if Express Scripts declined to pay up. Their Chief Executive George Paz said that Express Scripts has no intention of paying and that his company is working with the FBI to track down those responsible for the scam. Express Scripts is the third-largest US pharmacy benefit management firm, processing and paying prescription drug claims. Working with more than 1,600 companies, it handles roughly 500 million prescriptions a year for about 50 million Americans.

E Express Scripts has notified all its clients of the threat and, has set up a website to give consumers tips on how to protect their identity. They do not know how the data was stolen or how their data base was accessed. They have offered a $1 million reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction

of the perpetrators and, are offering free identity restoration services if any customer becomes a victim of identity theft because of this incident. For further information and guidance you may visit Express Scripts website at www.esisupports.com

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day and, didn’t get too “stuffed” with turkey.

Everyone has heard “Why did the chicken cross the road?”. I have a new one…Why did the spider cross the road? Well……to find a new website, of course!

A As always, keep our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan in your thoughts and prayers as they fight, like we have fought, to keep America free. Never shall we forget that Freedom is not Free!!

Information Bulletin

IMPORTANT NUMBERS

NOTES FROM YOUR STATE ADJUTANT