N O W H E A R T H I S! S P O K A N E C H A P T E R M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R S A S S O C I A T I O N O F A M E R I C A

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1 N O W H E A R T H I S! S P O K A N E C H A P T E R M I L I T A R Y O F F I C E R S A S S O C I A T I O N O F A M E R I C A President Dave Melges, LCDR, USN (Ret.) (509) mail@melges.net 1st Vice President & Travel POC Vacant Volume XXV Number 5 5 Star Chapter President s Message By Dave Melges Oct nd Vice President, Mbrship. Chair & Newsletter Coordinator Clif Collier, LtCol, USAF (Ret.) clifcoll@msn.com Secretary Dave Melges, LCDR, USN (Ret.) (509) mail@melges.net Treasurer Alan Davis, LCDR, USN (Ret.) rota_al@yahoo.com Auxiliary Liaison, Widows & Wives Beth Ann Daigre bethanndaigre@comcast.net IPP & Social Chair Rufus Hoefer, LTC, U.S. Army (Ret.) rands@comcast.net Director, Chief Recruiter, Newsletter Editor Marilyn Hunt, CDR, USN (Ret.) cinc@frontier.com Director & Veterans Home Chair Cindy Kelley, AUX missuscindy@aol.com Director, ROTC, Support the Troops Robert Imle, LtCol, USAF (Ret.) robertmargaretimle@gmail.com Director, Chaplain & Social Comm. Betty Krafft, LCDR, USN (Ret.) bkrafft@spocom.com Director & Social Committee Barbara Thornbrugh, AUX bjthornbrugh@comcast.net Director & Website Coordinator Greg Sassman, LTC, USA (Ret.) (509) gsassman@centurylink.net Personal Affairs Chairman Kay White kaywhite4@comcast.net Breaking news! Our 25 Oct speaker will be BGEN Bryan Hult, USAR (Ret.) who is the Veterans Service Officer in Bonner County, Idaho, and the former Deputy Chief of Chaplains for the U.S. Army Reserves! He will talk to us about VA disability claims on topics of timely interest to our members. Please see the article on page 3 for more details, then send in your reservation. As you know from reading last month s newsletter, a blaze ripped through the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis shortly after midnight on 12 July 1973, consuming over 16 million official military personnel files (long before computers kept such records safe). It affected Army & Air Force personnel discharged between these dates: Army: 1 NOV JAN 1960 Air Force: 25 SEP JAN 1964 (with names alphabetically after Hubbard, James E.) NPRC managed to save parts of some of these records, but about 10 million were totally lost. Few could have predicted the harm it would cause in denial of VA benefits some to this day because they could not reconstruct their military service files. However, there is hope. If you were one of the veterans whose records were lost, you can fill out a specific form at the National Archives website ( that authorizes the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) to search for other types of documents that would assist the veteran with their VA healthcare access or compensation claim, or for valuable research of their family member s service history. For more information, visit the Department of Veterans Affairs website for veterans whose records were destroyed: (Continued on page 3) Bring Something to the 25 OCT Social for SUPPORT THE TROOPS 2015 Chapter Social Dates 22 Mar Northern Quest Casino 26 Apr Mirabeau Park Hotel 14 Jun Eagles & Pappy Boyington Museum Hayden ID 27 Sep Highlands Golf Course Grill & Tap, Post Falls 25 Oct Coeur d Alene Resort 6 Dec Mukogawa Ft. Wright 2015 Widows & Wives Club Meeting Dates 6 Jan Darcy s 3 Feb Thai Bamboo 3 Mar Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar 7 Apr Beverly s CDA Resort 5 May Anthony s Restaurant 2 Jun Ripples on the River Red Lion 7 Jul Red Lion Templin s Post Falls 4 Aug Rusty Moose 1 Sep Corbin Park picnic 6 Oct Bistro on Spruce 3 Nov Max Restaurant Mirabeau Park 1 Dec Peacock Room, Davenport Hotel

2 Now Hear This! Welcome New Members LtCol Ron Deady, USAF (Ret.) & wife Deanne, Coeur d Alene BG Bryan Hult, USAR (Ret.) & wife Barbara, Sandpoint, ID Marilynn McDonald, AUX, Coeur d Alene Audrey Oates, AUX, Post Falls Member Recruiters Taps Audrey M. Bunn, AUX (9/3/15) LtCol Richard H. Oates, USMC (Ret.) (9/22/15) Our Hat Is Off To: Beth Ann Diagre 1 Chapter 2015 MOAA 2015 Marilyn Hunt 5 7 Bob Imle 3 Dave Melges 3 Spokane Chapter, MOAA 2014 Newsletter Second Runner Up! SPOKANE CHAPTER IS NOW ON FACEBOOK! LIKE US AT SIGN UP TODAY! WIDOWS and WIVES CLUB By Beth Ann Daigre Widows and Wives Club met September 1, 2015 for our annual picnic at Corbin Park in Spokane. The weather was lovely and warm with a light breeze. Our little box lunches from Christ Kitchen were tasty and enjoyed by all. The kitchen also delivered the lunches to our picnic site. Shirley Melges, our treasurer, made our annual donation to Christ Clinic in the amount of $100. Pat Tolley 1 TOTALS 7 13 CHAPTER SCOREBOARD 2015 JROTC Scholarship Funds on hand as of 9/19/15: $772 Legislative Letters, Postcards & s as of 9/27/15: Raffle Donations: MAR: $185 COL Spady Koyama JROTC Scholarships; APR: $160 Widows & Wives (for Wreaths Across America); JUN: $145 Newby-ginnings; SEP: $150 MOAA Scholarship Fund; OCT: Spokane Veterans Home; DEC: ROTC/JROTC Unit Support. Total to date: $640 Widows & Wives Wreaths Across America $190 (19 wreaths). Second Harvest $ Christ Kitchen $100. Homeless Veterans $346 & 1,458 items. Spokane Veterans Home $77 & 465 items including deodorant, gloves, kitchen gadgets, knit caps, men s pants, razors, shampoo, shaving cream, soap bars, socks, & dental hygiene items. Our door prize of the $5 gift card from Walmart was won by Louise Winn, and Shirley s friendship bundt cakes were won by Deanie Binsfield and Pat Connell. Our next luncheon will be on Tuesday, October 6 th at the Bistro on Spruce, 1710 North Fourth Avenue, Coeur d Alene. Pat Connell will be the hostess, so call her with your reservation The donations to our ongoing projects were generously given, and Pat Tolley let us know that the Homeless Veterans Program is in need of non-perishable food items, mostly protein. Examples include canned chicken, tuna, Vienna sausages, chili, beef stew, etcetera with pull tops when possible. And, as always, large white tube or crew socks. Remember our departed veterans at the Veterans Cemetery by ordering a wreath or two at Look for Washington State, then Washington State Veterans Cemetery, then Widows and Wives of Military Officers WA0016. For every two wreaths purchased under our number, the company will give us one extra wreath. Page 2/Oct 2015

3 Now Hear This! BGEN Bryan Hult, USAR (Ret.) - 25 October Speaker! By Marilyn Hunt It s not everyday that you get seasoned leadership skills and a Veterans Service Officer in the same person, but that s what s what we re going to see! Brigadier General Bryan Hult, USAR (Ret.) will be the speaker at our 25 October social at the Coeur d Alene Resort. In his final military assignment, Bryan served as the Deputy Chief of Chaplains, Army National Guard, starting in Simultaneously, he was the Senior Pastor of Grace Evangelical Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. He now serves as the Bonner County Veterans Service Officer in Sandpoint, Idaho, and he will provide information about VA policies regarding disability claims for the following presumptive conditions: 1) Parkinson s disease, 2) ischemic heart disease and 3) prostate cancer This is information that YOU WONT WANT TO MISS! You ll also get to meet his wife, Barbara. This may sound a bit morbid, but if you have one of these conditions and you get a VA disability rating for it, then die of this condition, it s possible that your spouse would qualify for Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). In other words, you need to build a bridge and it would be a HUGE help to your wife if you did it now so she doesn t have to do it after you pass. More info on page 4. LtCol Richard Dick Oates, USMC (Ret.) 1 DEC SEP 2015 By Marilyn Hunt Dick Oates served on our Spokane Chapter Board of Directors since January 2007, and was the Chapter President in He was a tremendous asset to the Board, sharing his time and talent to help the chapter grow and prosper. Sadly, he passed away suddenly on 22 September, the same day that Pope Francis arrived in the United States. I found that ironic, since Dick was a faithful member of St. George s parish where Bob and I would have coffee and donuts with him and Audrey after Sunday Mass. Dick grew up in Lusk, Wyoming, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1957 and married his beautiful bride, Audrey, the day after graduation. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1978 and they returned to Wyoming where he earned a degree in accounting. When their fifth child graduated from college, they moved to Germany where Dick taught at the university level and Audrey used her newly earned Ph.D. to work for the DoD school system. After 13 years, they returned to the USA and took up residence in Post Falls. Dick was a true patriot and a devoted husband and father. He and Audrey celebrated their 50 th wedding anniversary in Starting in 2013, they took lengthy cruises to Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, the Panama Canal, South Pole, Singapore, Japan, Korea, China, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, French Guiana, Barbados, Antilles and Aruba, and up and down the Amazon River. Now you know why he was our chapter s Travel Point of Contact! Dick was a mirthful person who loved his family and didn t take things too seriously. I once told him that I thought he was like this because he d died on the table of a heart attack while on active duty in San Antonio in 1978 and, after surviving that, most everything else seemed rather inconsequential. He looked me straight in the eye and gave me a great big grin. I will always remember that grin he would just smile big and laugh about many things. I never heard him say a bad word about anyone. Dick gave all he had to give to his country, his family, his friends, MOAA and the DAV. He reminds me of a quote by Erma Bombeck: When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me. President s Piece (continued from page 1) NPRC was able to recover 6.5 million of the 16 million records that were burned. They established a "B" registry file (or Burned File) to index them, then in April 1974 the NPRC established the "R" registry file (or Reconstructed File). Therefore, some parts of some records can now be accessed. You can learn much more about this at this website: NOW HEAR THIS! Is published at least 6 times per year by the Spokane Chapter, Military Officers Association of America, P O Box 466, Veradale WA Editor: Marilyn Hunt cinc@frontier.com Advertising limited to members/spouses only. No subject matter that would preclude non-profit mailing. Page 3/Oct 2015

4 Now Hear This! Agent Orange and DIC By Sharon DeVaney, Vice Chair, Surviving Spouse Advisory Committee After my husband died unexpectedly from a heart attack and the shock wore off, I began to learn about Agent Orange and the part it might have played in my husband's death. Like many veterans his age, he served in Vietnam and I thought he might have been exposed to Agent Orange. He was a Forward Air Controller and flew small planes over combat areas from After he returned from Vietnam, he was assigned to Strategic Air Command as a B-52 pilot. During , his temporary duty assignments took him from Minot AFB North Dakota to Thailand where he flew bombing runs over the war zone. We had a speaker from the VA at one of our monthly MOAA luncheons. He talked about Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC). He wasn't specific about who was eligible, but it seemed my husband's death might qualify me for DIC. I already had met with personnel at the VA soon after my husband's death so I would understand my benefits. I was disappointed with the reception and the information I received. I was reluctant to return to the VA to learn more about DIC. Then I met someone who was actively encouraging widows and widowers to attempt to find out about the benefits their spouses had earned through their service. I used the Internet to learn more about Agent Orange and found a list of presumptive diseases on the VA website. I realized the cause of death on my husband's death certificate was on the VA s list of presumptive conditions, which includes ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other B-cell leukemia, Parkinson's disease, prostate cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, Non- Hodgkin's lymphoma, or multiple myeloma. I made another appointment with the local VA. Fortunately, my appointment was with someone who was very understanding. I was asked to bring all paperwork that showed my husband had been stationed in Vietnam sometime between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, I brought a stack of papers, including a copy of the Red Cross telegram notifying my husband of our son's birth in May The VA representative reviewed my paperwork and prepared an application. A few months later, I was awarded DIC. If your spouse or a family member served in Vietnam and he or she has been diagnosed with one of the presumptive diseases, be sure to learn about possible benefits. For more in-depth information regarding DIC eligibility and the application process, visit the DIC section of the VA s website. If you believe you are eligible for DIC after reading through the information, we suggest you contact a local accredited Veterans Service Organization (VSO) to assist you in filing a claim. Editor s Note: Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC) is a tax free monetary benefit paid to eligible survivors of military Service members who died in the line of duty or eligible survivors of Veterans whose death resulted from a service-related injury or disease. If the veteran died on or after 1 January 1993, the current DIC Basic Monthly Rate is $1, [38 U.S.C. 1311(a)(1)]. Consult a Veterans Service Officer (VSO) to see if you are eligible. You can also go to this website: benefits.va.gov/compensation/current_rates_dic.asp#bm01. VSO s can be contacted at these locations: Vet Center in Spokane, Mirabeau Pkwy, (509) Kootenai County VSO, Post Falls, Idaho, 120 E. Railroad Ave. (208) Bonner County VSO, Sandpoint ID, 1500 Hwy 2, Ste 122, (208) Legislative Contacts President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington DC Washington Senator Patty Murray 10 North Post St, Suite 600 Spokane WA Fax Senator Maria Cantwell 920 W. Riverside, Suite 697 Spokane WA Fax Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers United States House of Representatives 10 N. Post St, 6th floor Spokane WA Fax Idaho Senator Mike Crapo 610 W. Hubbard Suite 209 Coeur d Alene ID Fax Senator Jim Risch 610 W. Hubbard, Suite 213 Coeur d Alene ID Fax Representative Raul Labrador, United States House of Representatives 1250 Ironwood Dr. Suite 243 Coeur d Alene ID Fax Page 4/Oct 2015

5 Spokane Chapter, MOAA P.O. Box 466 Veradale WA Now Hear This! Sunday, 25 October 2015, Coeur d Alene Resort 115 S. 2nd Street, Coeur d Alene, Idaho 1230 Social time, Meeting 1315, 1330 Meal Service SERVED MEAL, not a buffet. Cash bar in our room. Guest Speaker: BGEN Bryan Hult, USAR (Ret.) - Veterans Service Officer, Bonner County, Sandpoint, ID Please see article on page 3 Mail reservation early. We must receive it by Monday, 19 October. No late reservations or walk-ins. To cancel a reservation, call Barbara Thornbrugh (509) NLT 19 October for a refund. MENU: SERVED MEAL consisting of salad, rolls & butter, dessert, coffee/tea, no-host bar & choice of: 1) English Roast Beef atop fried buttermilk onion rings, plus mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables OR 2) Parmesan Crusted Chicken finished with parmesan reggiano cream, buttered red potatoes and fresh vegetables. Cost is $31 per person. Please reserve places for the Sunday, 25 October 2015 luncheon at the Coeur d Alene Resort. My check in the amount of $ is enclosed ($31 x number of reservations). Make check to Spokane Chapter MOAA and mail to chapter mailbox above. Name: member/guest (circle one). BEEF or CHICKEN (circle one) Name: member/guest (circle one). BEEF or CHICKEN (circle one) Sunday, 25 October 2015, - 12:30 p.m. Coeur d'alene Resort, 115 S. 2nd Street. DIRECTIONS: From I-90 eastbound, take Exit 11, turn right on Northwest Blvd toward City Center. Go about 2 miles to the Coeur d'alene Resort, which will be on your right. You may park in the parking garage unless you have a tall vehicle. As you leave the luncheon, take your parking ticket to the front desk near the elevator and the attendant will validate your ticket. Insert the ticket in the machine as you drive out of the parking garage. Questions? Call Barb Thornbrugh We will sign legislative letters. Please bring: 3 stamps and 6 address labels per person Something for the raffle Something for Support the Troops. Last chance before Christmas. They really like hand & foot warmers, beef jerky, cookies, peanuts, crackers w/small cans of tuna & chicken, small bottles of shampoo, conditioner, lotion & shaving cream. Cash donations help to pay for additional items and postage. Membership Chair/Committee REQUEST, CHANGE OF ADDRESS or PHONE, or Spokane Chapter, MOAA TEMPORARILY AWAY: P.O. Box 466 Clip and complete this form and send it to the Veradale WA address on the left so we can update our database. Thank you. NOTE: We do not send junk or spam. Also, we do not give away, sell or trade your address. Member name: (Please print clearly) [ ] I would like to be added to the chapter list. I specifically request to (check all that apply): [ ] Receive the chapter newsletter by [ ] Receive important information in a timely manner. [ ] My address is (Please print clearly) [ ] My mailing address, address, and/or phone number has changed to: [ ] I will be temporarily away starting and returning. I do / do not (circle one) wish to receive the newsletter while I m away. If do please send it to: Signed: Page 5/Oct 2015

6 WE RE ON THE WEB! Spokane Chapter Military Officers Association of America P.O. BOX 466 Veradale WA Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage Paid Permit No Spokane WA WASHINGTON Need a Ride to a Chapter Social? Call Anyone Listed Below IDAHO Clif Collier Ralph Shrigley Floyd Geiger How To Personalize MOAA Legislative Letters By Marilyn Hunt Most everyone knows how to go to the MOAA website and letters to your congressmen that support a strong national defense and provide good pay and benefits for all active duty personnel and veterans, including retirees. But many people don t take the time to personalize them. To do this, go to and click on Take Action, then Top Issues, then the Take Action button. When a letter comes up, you can modify it to suit yourself if you wish. Here s how I recently changed the beginning of one to Block Big Rx Fee Hikes. This is just an example to encourage you to use the system and try to make a difference. My modifications are in CAPITAL LETTERS. I REMEMBER THAT MY HEALTH CARE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE FREE FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE IF I RETIRED FROM THE U.S. MILITARY. IT WILL NEVER BE FREE, BUT I am writing to MOST STRONGLY urge you to prevent stiff budgetary penalties on the military community. Try it. You ll like it. Casualty Assistance Officer: Karen Van Pelt is the casualty assistance officer for Fairchild AFB and surrounding area. She is in Bldg. 240 at 7 W. Arnold St., If you leave a message, she will call you back. Page 6/Oct 2015 FAFB Retiree Activities Office (RAO) Bldg. 240, 7 W. Arnold St., Ste. 109, Hours: They need volunteers. Serving at the RAO is a perfect excuse to travel out to the base and visit the exchange/commissary at the same time. Call them!