Old 2020 Front Page News

nation parks pass free for veterans

National Parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands will be free for veterans to use starting Veterans Day, Interior Department officials announced.

The change extends to veterans the existing free admission policy already in play for active-duty troops and their families, as well as Guard and Reserve members. It waives both entrance and day-use recreation fees for lands managed by the Department of the Interior nationwide. The new program expands free park access to millions of honorably discharged veterans.

To gain access, veterans can present a DoD ID card, a Veteran Health Identification Card, a Veteran ID card, or a state-issued card displaying veteran status, according to the release. While their dependents can use the free pass for active-duty troops, veterans' new free-access rule does not extend to their immediate family members.

That means that at parks where entrance fees are paid per vehicle, veterans and their families will be able to enter free using the veteran pass. At parks where admission is paid per person, however, only the veteran will enter free.

Obtaining A Burial Flag

Did you know the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)provides a free burial flag to drape the casket or urn of deceased veterans who served honorably? The flag is often given to the next of kin as a keepsake after a funeral service. A flag can be issued to a funeral director or anyone else who certifies the eligibility of the deceased veteran. To streamline the process of getting a Burial Flag, applications should be completed as soon as possible and submitted to the post office.

Download Burial Flag application

Vietnam air ambulance movie

Recently, Charles Kelly Jr. called the Executive Director of the DUSTOFF Association to discuss some opportunities to tell the Kelly (first death of air ambulance crew member) story in cinema. Gregg Moscoe is a relatively well-known film developer/writer. Over the 25 years, Dan Gower has been Executive Director, he's had more than a few calls and requests for help. AND, for the most part, those requests tended to fall into the too difficult to do category. This is not one of those instances. Gregg has been at this a LONG time - the Kelly story is one he really wants to tell.

The timeline for this story is 1964-1968, primarily. There is a brief dig back to 1962 when the first group was dropped on an airstrip, and pretty much left to their own devices. That includes William McMaster, who returns at the end of the second act when Brady gets his promotion, and they put together the new unit to go back to Vietnam. But around that time, Medevac was also being dropped into Vietnam. Years 1965-67 is sort of a purgatory where we have to interweave the story of the Bradys and the battle for the hearts and minds of Dustoff and Medevac in-country.

Gregg is looking for stories of minority crew members, not to be politically correct, but to give them their fair due. Diversity is essential these days, and of course, great stories in general.

If he can get this movie made, he may be able to go back to the beginning and continue up through the exit from Vietnam in later seasons.
So Gregg's request, and it may sound like a strange, is there any great stories of Black, Hispanic or Asian pilots, medics or crewmen you can point him toward for an interview?

So while Kelly and Brady (first MOH earned by air ambulance crew member) story and Dustoff are clearly at the center of this story, he is trying to surround them with real persons and real person stories. And as we both know, minorities tended to be over-selected in the draft. So, did any of that bleed over into Dustoff and Medevac?
This is our chance to get a cameo and insert a bit of Medevac history into a movie about Vietnam air ambulances. The focal point for this endeavor will be Terry McCarl (historian@15thMedBnAssociation.org ), our Historian. Send anything you think would be a good story to him, and he'll consolidate the Medevac response.

New Threats for veterans

There has been a wave of “new and evolving phishing schemes,” relating to economic impact payments (EIP) according to an IRS release. “Veterans and seniors should be especially careful during this period.”

Here are examples of what scammers might try to do:
• Ask you to sign over your EIP to them.
• Tell you that they need personal or banking information in order for you to receive your EIP.
• Offer to expedite your EIP by working on your behalf.
• Mail a bogus check to you, opening the door for you to “correct” your personal information online.
As reported by the IRS, it’s best to avoid contact with anyone who initiates a conversation or a request for information about the EIP, whether it be in person or by phone, email, text, mail or social media account.

Hang up if someone calls by phone. Don’t interact if contacted in any other way. If you are contacted, it’s a good chance it is not official.

The IRS will not be reaching out to you.

IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig made that clear. “The IRS isn't going to call you asking to verify or provide your financial information so you can get an economic impact payment or your refund faster. That also applies to surprise emails that appear to be coming from the IRS. Remember, don't open them or click on attachments or links.”

location for 2021 reunion

Larry (Gray Ghost) Hatch has a reunion location suggestion. Members of the 15th Med Bn., Air Ambulance Platoon (AAP), have held a mini-reunion every August in Peru, IN, in association with American Huey 369 Org. Members in attendance are offered a flight on the very same helicopter, Huey 803, which flew AAP Med-Evac missions in Vietnam from 1965 to 1967; 803 was restored to flight status in 2009 and flies at several nation-wide events every year.

John Walker, founder of American Huey 369 , has offered to sponsor a fly day for 15th Med Bn. Members on Saturday 12 Jun 21 in Peru, IN Moving the reunion to June is quite a departure from the historical April reunion every year but it offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for members, their family and friends, to fly on our very own Med-Evac helicopter and experience the basic part of the Battalion’s mission, to save lives.

Please visit American Huey’s Web site shown above.

Updated information about the reunion will be posted on our reunion page.

september-october saber article posted

The latest article about the 15th Medical Battalion in Vietnam is now available on this Web site under Informational/Historical Documents/Saber Articles. Mike Bodnar faithfully pens this article each month for the 1st Cavalry Division's Saber newspaper. We have back articles all the way back to 1999. So if you're stuck indoors for a while, why not browse through the old articles - it's interesting reading.

Pain May Be Considered A Disability

The Federal Circuit revived a U.S. Army veteran’s claim for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability benefits stemming from knee pain, ruling that pain alone can be considered a disability.

Apparently, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims misinterpreted a disability benefit statute when it ruled that Melba Saunders’ knee pain could not, in the absence of a specific diagnosis or other identified disease or injury, be considered the basis for benefits, a three-judge panel ruled in a precedential decision.

According to the court’s decision, “We conclude that pain is an impairment because it diminishes the body’s ability to function and that pain need not be diagnosed as connected to a current underlying condition to function as an impairment.”

may-june saber article posted

The latest article about the 15th Medical Battalion in Vietnam is now available on this Web site under Informational/Historical Documents/Saber Articles. Mike Bodnar faithfully pens this article each month for the 1st Cavalry Division's Saber newspaper. We have back articles all the way back to 1999. So if you're stuck indoors for a while, why not browse through the old articles - it's interesting reading.

purple heart day

Each year on August 7th, the nation pauses to remember and pay homage to the brave men and women who were either wounded on the battlefield or by an act of international terrorism or paid the ultimate sacrifice with their lives to defend the freedoms all Americans are privileged to enjoy. As America’s oldest decoration, the Purple Heart is awarded to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces that has been wounded, died as a result of wounds received in battle, by an act of international terrorism, or those who died in captivity while a prisoner of war (POW). We now celebrate Purple Heart Day on the anniversary of its creation by General George Washington on August 7, 1782.

This year, many States, Counties, and Cities; sport and entertainment entities; colleges and universities, and other patriotic entities across the nation who have proclaimed themselves as Purple Heart entities, will raise the Purple Heart flag in recognition of the service and sacrifice of their local sons and daughters. In numerous cities across the Nation, the State Capitol Buildings and other major landmarks will be bathed in purple light to commemorate Purple Heart Day.

Mar-apr saber article posted

The latest article about the 15th Medical Battalion in Vietnam is now available on this Web site under Informational/Historical Documents/Saber Articles. Mike Bodnar faithfully pens this article each month for the 1st Cavalry Division's Saber newspaper. We have back articles all the way back to 1999. So if you're stuck indoors for a while, why not browse through the old articles - it's interesting reading.

Veterans Beware! Deposited Check Is Fake

Regulators at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) are warning veterans to be on the lookout for fake check scams, which appear to be running rampant among the veteran demographic. In an update posted this week, regulators stated that fake check scams led the way in terms of individual median losses last year, at nearly $2,000.

“The FTC’s Sentinel Network database shows that people reported more than 27,000 fake check scams in 2019, with reported losses topping $28 million dollars,” the agency said. “Veterans are hit especially hard. Last year, veterans in their sixties were more than twice as likely as people 30 and younger to report losing money on a fake check scam.”

How The Scam Works

There are several different variations of the fake check scam, but each one involves a veteran being contacted by the scammer. The scammer usually sends the veteran a seemingly real check or deposit with instructions that they send some of the money on to a third party.

Since the money actually appears in the veteran’s account, the scam might seem legitimate at first. For honest people, sending the money on might not be too much of an ask - but there’s a hidden catch. When the veteran’s bank finds out that the check is fake, they will remove the fraudulent funds from their account, meaning that the money that was sent along was fully paid out by the veteran.

Army aviation digest

If you recall the days when Army Aviation Digest was delivered, you may be interested in knowing that the Digest is now published online. The focus of the Digest these days is the Aviation Branch and combat operations. In other words, you probably won't find many articles about medical air ambulances. But it's free, so check it out. If you would like notification of when the most recent issue is published, it is as easy as clicking on the ‘Subscribe Aviation Digest' link.