US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
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US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
$12 Billion More for VA Medical Budget Urgently Needed, Department Says
If Congress does not include extra funding for Department of Veterans Affairs medical services in an upcoming stopgap spending bill, the department will struggle to keep up with demand for care, administration officials are warning.
On a conference call with reporters Monday, VA officials confirmed they are asking Congress to include an extra $12 billion for the department's medical budget in the upcoming stopgap spending measure -- which must be passed into law by the end of the month -- to ensure outreach to veterans and growth of the system can continue apace without compromising wait times and staffing levels.
"We have been on an unprecedented outreach campaign to get more veterans into the system," Shereef Elnahal, the VA's under secretary for health, said on the call. "So, if we have to be in a position to say, 'Well, we can't financially support the next set of veterans who can come into care, reduce their risk for suicide, get the highest quality care available,' then that would be a decision that we don't want to make. It's not commensurate with the promise that we've made to folks who wore the uniform and defended our freedom."
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Senators Propose Bill to Research Birth Defects in Descendants of Toxic-Exposed Veterans
A UH-1D helicopter from the 336th Aviation Company disperses a defoliant over farmland in the Mekong
Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) introduced a $15 million bill to fund research into birth defects and health conditions affecting the children and grandchildren of Veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during military service.
The “Molly R. Loomis Research for Descendants of Toxic Exposed Veterans Act” seeks to investigate the generational effects of hazardous exposures in combat zones. The proposed studies, conducted by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations, would address gaps in understanding how these exposures have impacted future generations.
The bill has been included in appropriations measures currently moving through the Senate, allocating funds for both the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior. However, the House of Representatives has not introduced a companion bill. The legislation is named after Molly Loomis, who was born with spina bifida, a condition linked to her father’s exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Her father, a Vietnam War Veteran who served on the USS Ogden, experienced health issues related to toxic exposure, and the bill seeks to investigate similar conditions in the descendants of other toxic-exposed Veterans.
While there has been some research into the connection between toxic exposures and birth defects, government-led studies are lacking. Most current evidence is anecdotal, highlighting the need for more rigorous research. This bill would commission studies to focus on diagnosing and treating health conditions in the descendants of Veterans exposed to substances such as Agent Orange, radiation, and toxic chemicals from burn pits.
Mokie Porter, a representative of the Vietnam Veterans of America, stated that many children and grandchildren of Veterans are suffering from chronic health conditions likely related to their family members’ exposure to toxic substances. Porter emphasized the importance of new funding to allow universities, medical institutions, and nonprofit organizations to investigate the connection between toxic exposure and the health of future generations.
The VA currently recognizes conditions such as spina bifida in children of Vietnam-era Veterans exposed to Agent Orange, but research into the generational effects of toxic exposure remains limited. The bill, part of the broader PACT Act, which provides benefits to Veterans affected by toxic substances, would also establish a federal group to raise awareness of links between toxic exposures and health issues in descendants. Additionally, it would require that research findings and treatment information be made publicly accessible through a dedicated website.
Senator Tester noted the importance of investigating the health effects of toxic exposure on Veterans and their families. Senator Rubio stated that the legislation would empower research groups to further study the effects of military toxic exposure on future generations. Supporters of the bill believe that Veterans and their families have waited long enough for answers, and this research is a critical step toward understanding the full extent of these health issues.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Was My Lai just one of many massacres in Vietnam War?
US Army helicopters pour machine-gun fire into the tree line to cover the advance of ground troops
In 1968 US soldiers murdered several hundred Vietnamese civilians in the single most infamous incident of the Vietnam War. The My Lai massacre is often held to have been an aberration but investigative journalist Nick Turse has uncovered evidence that war crimes were committed by the US military on a far bigger scale.
In a war in which lip service was often paid to winning "hearts and minds", the US military had an almost singular focus on one defining measure of success in Vietnam: the body count - the number of enemy killed in action. Vietnamese forces, outgunned by their adversaries, relied heavily on mines and other booby traps as well as sniper fire and ambushes. Their methods were to strike and immediately withdraw.
Unable to deal with an enemy that dictated the time and place of combat, US forces took to destroying whatever they could manage. If the Americans could kill more enemies - known as Viet Cong or VC - than the Vietnamese could replace, the thinking went, they would naturally give up the fight.
To motivate troops to aim for a high body count, competitions were held between units to see who could kill the most. Rewards for the highest tally, displayed on "kill boards" included days off or an extra case of beer. Their commanders meanwhile stood to win rapid promotion.
Very quickly the phrase - "If it's dead and Vietnamese, it's VC" - became a defining dictum of the war and civilian corpses were regularly tallied as slain enemies or Viet Cong.
Civilians, including women and children, were killed for running from soldiers or helicopter gunships that had fired warning shots, or being in a village suspected of sheltering Viet Cong. At the time, much of this activity went unreported - but not unnoticed.
Civilian casualties
Researching post-traumatic stress disorder among Vietnam veterans, in 2001 I stumbled across a collection of war crimes investigations carried out by the military at the US National Archives. Box after box of criminal investigation reports and day-to-day paperwork had been long buried away and almost totally forgotten. Some detailed the most nightmarish descriptions. Others hinted at terrible events that had not been followed up.At that time the US military had at its disposal more killing power, destructive force, and advanced technology than any military in the history of the world.
The amount of ammunition fired per soldier was 26 times greater in Vietnam than during World War II. By the end of the conflict, America had unleashed the equivalent of 640 Hiroshima-sized atomic bombs on Vietnam. Vast areas dotted with villages were blasted with artillery, bombed from the air and strafed by helicopter gunships before ground troops went in on search-and-destroy missions.
The phrase "kill anything that moves" became an order on the lips of some American commanders whose troops carried out massacres across their area of operations.
While the US suffered more than 58,000 dead in the war, an estimated two million Vietnamese civilians were killed, another 5.3 million injured and about 11 million, by US government figures, became refugees in their own country. Today, if people remember anything about American atrocities in Vietnam, they recall the March 1968 My Lai massacre in which more than 500 civilians were killed over the course of four hours, during which US troops even took time out to eat lunch.
Far bloodier operations, like one codenamed Speedy Express, should be remembered as well, but thanks to cover-ups at the highest levels of the US military, few are.
Gen Julian Ewell earned the nickname Butcher of the Delta during his time in Vietnam
Industrial-scale slaughter
In late 1968, the 9th Infantry Division, under the command of Gen Julian Ewell, kicked off a large-scale operation in the Mekong Delta, the densely populated deep south of Vietnam. In an already body count-obsessed environment, Ewell, who became known as the Butcher of the Delta, was especially notorious. He sacked subordinates who killed insufficient numbers and unleashed heavy firepower on a countryside packed with civilians.A whistle-blower in the division wrote to the US Army Chief of Staff William Westmoreland, pleading for an investigation. Artillery called in on villages, he reported, had killed women and children. Helicopter gunships had frightened farmers into running and then cut them down. Troops on the ground had done the same thing. The result was industrial-scale slaughter, the equivalent, he said, to a "My Lai each month". Just look at the ratio of Viet Cong reportedly killed to weapons captured, he told Westmoreland.Indeed, by the end of the operation Ewell's division claimed an enemy body count of close to 11,000, but turned in fewer than 750 captured weapons.
Westmoreland ignored the whistle-blower, scuttled a nascent inquiry, and buried the files, but not before an internal Pentagon report endorsed some of the whistle-blower's most damning allegations. The secret investigation into Speedy Express remained classified for decades before I found it in buried in the National Archives.
The military estimated that as many as 7,000 civilians were killed during the operation. More damning still, the analysis admitted that the "US command, in its extensive experience with large-scale combat operations in South East Asia, appreciated the inevitability of significant civilian casualties in the conduct of large operations in densely populated areas such as the Delta."
Indeed, what the military admitted in this long secret report confirmed exactly what I also discovered in hundreds of talks and formal interviews with American veterans, in tens of thousands of pages of formerly classified military documents, and, most of all, in the heavily populated areas of Vietnam where Americans expended massive firepower. Survivors of a massacre by US Marines in Quang Tri Province told me what it was like to huddle together in an underground bomb shelter as shots rang out and grenades exploded above. Fearing that one of those grenades would soon roll into their bunker, a mother grabbed her young children, took a chance and bolted.
"Racing from our bunker, we saw the shelter opposite ours being shot up," Nguyen Van Phuoc, one of those youngsters, told me. One of the Americans then wheeled around and fired at his mother, killing her. Many more were killed on that October day in 1967. Two of the soldiers involved were later court martialled but cleared of murder.
Commemoration
Last year, the Pentagon kicked off a 13-year program to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the war. An entry on the official Vietnam War Commemoration website for My Lai describes it as an "incident" and the number killed is listed as "200" not 500.Speedy Express is referred to as "an operation that would eventually yield an enemy body count of 11,000". There is almost no mention of Vietnamese civilians. In a presidential proclamation on the website, Barack Obama distils the conflict down to troops slogging "through jungles and rice paddies… fighting heroically to protect the ideals we hold dear as Americans… through more than a decade of combat".
Despite what the president might believe, combat was just a fraction of that war. The real war in Vietnam was typified by millions of men, women, and children driven into slums and refugee camps; by homes, hamlets, and whole villages burnt to the ground; by millions killed or wounded when war showed up on their doorstep.
President Obama called the Vietnam War "a chapter in our nation's history that must never be forgotten". But thanks to cover-ups like that of Speedy Express, few know the truth to begin with. About the author: Nick Turse has been researching US military atrocities in the Vietnam War for more than a decade and has detailed his findings in a book Kill Anything That Moves: The Real American War in Vietnam.
A Pentagon spokesman, when asked for a statement about the evidence presented, said he doubted that more than 50 years after the US went to war in Vietnam, it would be possible for the military to provide an official statement in "a timely manner."
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Vets with Rare Lung Disease Could Get Benefits More Easily Under Proposed Changes, VA Says
An airman tosses unserviceable uniform items into a burn pit in Balad, Iraq, March 10, 2008.
Veterans with a rare lung disease could have an easier time collecting Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits under proposed changes announced by the agency Wednesday.
The ailment, called constrictive bronchiolitis, or CB, is one of the burn pit-related illnesses covered under the PACT Act, the sweeping law passed two years ago that aimed to make it easier for veterans with certain diseases linked to toxic exposure to get VA care and benefits. But veterans with CB have reported still facing unique challenges to getting their benefits approved by the VA.
Now, the department is taking steps to remove the specific challenges veterans with CB face when applying for benefits.
"These steps are part of our comprehensive efforts to make sure that all those we serve -- including veterans who live with CB and their survivors -- get the benefits they deserve," VA Secretary Denis McDonough wrote in a letter to Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., released by the department Wednesday.
"Altogether, we are now delivering more care and more benefits to more veterans than ever before, but we will not rest until every veteran and survivor gets the care and benefits they deserve," McDonough added. "That is why today's proposed steps are so important, and that is why we will continue to do everything in our power to support veterans who live with CB and their survivors."
CB, also known as obliterative bronchiolitis or bronchiolitis obliterans, is the narrowing or obstruction of the lungs' smallest airways -- the bronchioles -- by scarring or fibrous tissue. The scarring prevents oxygen exchange between the lungs and the bloodstream, causing extreme fatigue.
Other symptoms include shortness of breath and unexplained wheezing or dry cough in the absence of a cold or allergies.
CB was one of the 23 ailments that the PACT Act classified as presumed to be linked to military service, meaning the burden is no longer on veterans to prove their illness was caused by military service in order to be approved for benefits.
But two specific issues have made it difficult for veterans with CB to collect benefits even after the PACT Act, veterans and experts recently told lawmakers in a roundtable to mark the anniversary of the bill.
First, CB is the only one of the PACT Act illnesses that does not have its own diagnostic code in VA disability claims systems, and the system rejects diseases without a designated code. Second, it is difficult to diagnose CB, with the only current way to definitively diagnose it being a painful, invasive lung biopsy.
To address those hurdles, the VA is taking steps to add a diagnostic code specifically for CB. The department is also moving to allow two additional medical tests to evaluate those with CB that will "make it easier for veterans to obtain an accurate disability rating," according to McDonough's letter. The tests are maximum oxygen consumption and metabolic equivalents, which respectively measure oxygen and energy usage during exercise.
The changes announced Wednesday are not taking effect immediately. The department must first go through the federal rulemaking process, a sometimes lengthy undertaking that includes soliciting public comment. The proposed rule change will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday, according to a draft published on the agency's website Wednesday.
In April, Tester led 17 other senators in calling on the VA to make the changes similar to those announced Wednesday after a PBS NewsHour story highlighted the issue.
A Senate aide told Military.com that, while not perfect, the VA's Wednesday announcement was a significant step forward and that Tester will monitor the implementation of the changes.
"Toxic-exposed veterans have waited decades to receive the benefits and health care the PACT Act provides, and it's critical VA is implementing the law the way veterans need and deserve," Tester said in an emailed statement Wednesday. "That means fixing outdated processes standing in the way of veterans and their newly expanded benefits. I'm glad to see the department answering my call to do this for veterans with constrictive bronchiolitis, and I'll keep holding VA accountable to roll out this law the way Congress intended."
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
The Next Deadline for Backdated PACT Act Payments Is Coming Soon. Here’s What You Need to Know.
U.S. Army Europe Expert Field Medical Badge candidates listen to a brief in Grafenwoehr, Germany. Candidates must perform multiple tasks with protective gear to prevent simulated toxic exposure.
The clock is counting down to the final deadline for certain U.S. military veterans, or their surviving family members, to receive maximum benefits for a toxic exposure-related medical condition under the PACT Act.
Those vets or family members who hadn’t yet filed a PACT Act claim but instead declared their “intent to file” ahead of a summer 2023 deadline locked in the earliest possible effective date for their benefits. But as soon as they filed the form declaring their intent, they had only 365 days to complete their claim -- and for those who did so last summer, that’s the looming deadline.
In fiscal year 2023, the first full fiscal year after the law’s signing, veterans turned in almost 2.3 million “intents-to-file,” according to the VA, a 62% increase over fiscal year 2022 and a new record.
Signed into law in August 2022, the PACT Act gave millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances while in uniform, or their survivors, the potential to receive disability compensation, health care, or dependency and indemnity compensation, with qualifying service going back to the 1960s.
The act classified certain medical conditions frequently resulting from toxic exposures as presumptive, assuming a connection with a veteran’s military service if the veteran served in a certain place at a certain time. Classifying conditions as presumptive lowered the burden of proof that a toxic exposure in the military definitively caused a disease, making it easier for veterans to receive disability compensation or VA health care if appropriate.
Who Can Still Receive the Maximum Backdated PACT Act Benefits?
Veterans or survivors who formally declared their intent to file a PACT Act claim by Aug. 14, 2023, may still qualify to receive the maximum backdated benefits, also referred to as retroactive benefits.To receive compensation backdated to the law’s signing on Aug. 10, 2022 -- the earliest start date for a new claim -- veterans and survivors had the option to formally notify the VA of their intent to file. Once they turned in the paperwork declaring their intent to file, they had 365 days to get their actual claim together.
Those who declared their intent last summer still have a chance to complete their claim and receive full backdated benefits.
“You can still finish your claim anytime, and we encourage you to do so,” according to the VA. “The only thing that may change is the effective date of your benefits.”
Qualifying veterans receive disability compensation, while qualifying survivors receive dependency and indemnity compensation. Those who filed a claim in the past for a newly presumptive condition should file a supplemental claim instead of a new claim. Depending on the circumstances, people who filed in the past could get their benefits backdated further.
If the VA denied a claim in the past for a condition that's now considered presumptive, the beneficiary should file a supplemental claim instead of a new claim.
Review your intent-to-file and any records submitted in support of a claim by logging in to va.gov with an existing Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon or My HealtheVet account.
If I Haven’t Filed Any PACT Act Paperwork, Can I Still Receive Backdated Benefits?
For PACT Act claims filed after Aug. 14, 2023, beneficiaries may still be eligible to receive a year of backdated benefits, but the year would count backward from the date they file their claim or intent-to-file and not go all the way back to the law’s signing, the Department of Veterans Affairs told Military.com."VA will review their record to determine the earliest benefit start date possible," a spokesperson said.
There is no final deadline to file a PACT Act claim. The Aug. 14, 2023, deadline to file or declare intent only applied to receiving the earliest effective date for benefits.
How Can I Get Free Help Completing a PACT Act Claim?
Veterans and survivors who feel uncertain about filing a PACT Act claim may enlist the help of the VA’s accredited representatives, including veterans service organizations (VSOs), or that of veterans offices run by state and local governments.VSOs help veterans file benefit claims for free with no obligation to join. Veterans offices that are part of local or state governments can also help with local and state benefits.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Love how you've taken this thread and ran with it.
De-escalation, negotiation, and Vietnamization
Creighton Abrams and Lyndon B. Johnson Creighton Abrams, U.S. commander in South Vietnam, speaking as Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson (center) and his advisers listen, 1968.
With the aid of some of the president’s other advisers and elder statesmen from the Democratic Party, Clifford succeeded in persuading Johnson that the present number of U.S. troops in Vietnam (about 550,000) should constitute an upper limit and that Johnson, as chief executive, should make a dramatic gesture for peace. In a nationally televised speech on March 31, Johnson announced that he was “taking the first step to de-escalate the conflict” by halting the bombing of North Vietnam (except in the areas near the DMZ) and that the United States was prepared to send representatives to any forum to seek a negotiated end to the war. He followed this surprising declaration with news that he did not intend to seek reelection that year.
Three days later Hanoi announced that it was prepared to talk to the Americans. Discussions began in Paris on May 13 but led nowhere. Hanoi insisted that, before serious negotiations could begin, the United States would have to halt its bombing of the rest of Vietnam. Meanwhile, fighting continued at a high intensity. The communist high command determined to follow the Tet attacks with two more waves in May and August. At the same time, Westmoreland ordered his commanders to “keep maximum pressure” on the communist forces in the South, which he believed had been seriously weakened by their losses at Tet. The result was the fiercest fighting of the war. In the eight weeks following Johnson’s speech, 3,700 Americans were killed in Vietnam and 18,000 wounded. The communists were reported by Westmoreland’s headquarters as having lost about 43,000 killed. The ARVN’s losses were not recorded, but they were usually twice that of the Americans.
In October the Soviets secretly informed Washington that the North Vietnamese would be willing to halt their attacks across the DMZ and begin serious negotiation with the United States and South Vietnam if the United States halted all bombing of the North. Assured by his military advisers that such a halt would not adversely affect the military situation, Johnson announced the cessation of bombing on the last day of October. The bombing halt achieved no breakthrough but rather brought on a period of prolonged bickering between the United States and its South Vietnamese ally about the terms and procedures to govern the talks. By the time South Vietnam joined the talks, Richard M. Nixon had been elected president.
Nixon and his close adviser on foreign affairs, Henry A. Kissinger, recognized that the United States could not win a military victory in Vietnam but insisted that the war could be ended only by an “honourable” settlement that would afford South Vietnam a reasonable chance of survival. A hasty American withdrawal, they argued, would undermine U.S. credibility throughout the world. Although public opinion made it impossible to commit more troops, Nixon was still confident he could end the war with a favourable settlement. He planned to achieve this through bringing pressure to bear from the Soviets and China, both of whom were eager to improve their relations with the United States, and through the threat of massive force against North Vietnam. To signal to Hanoi that he could still inflict punishment by air, the president decided to act on the proposal of Gen. Creighton Abrams, who had succeeded Westmoreland in July 1968, that the United States bomb the secret communist base areas in Cambodia near the Vietnamese border.
When the communists launched another wave of attacks in South Vietnam in early 1969, Nixon secretly ordered the bombing to proceed. Cambodian premier Norodom Sihanouk, tired of his uninvited Vietnamese guests, had confidentially approved the attacks, and Hanoi was in no position to complain without revealing its own violation of Cambodia’s neutrality. Although elaborate measures had been taken in Washington and Saigon to ensure that the air attacks be kept completely secret, the story broke in The New York Times in May. Infuriated by this breach of security, Nixon began a series of measures to plug “leaks” of information; these became part of a system of illegal surveillance and burglary that eventually led to the Watergate scandal of 1972.
Examine President Nixon's threefold plan to unilaterally de-escalate the Vietnam WarWhile conducting negotiations with North Vietnam, U.S. President Richard M. Nixon began a program of “de-escalation,” or reduction of U.S. combat forces, and of “Vietnamization,” or development of South Vietnam's ability to wage war on its own. From Vietnam Perspective (1985)
In view of the surprisingly good performance of the South Vietnamese army at Tet, and responding to growing pressure in the United States to begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops, the Nixon administration decided to accelerate a program to provide South Vietnam with the high-quality weapons and training that would enable them gradually to take over sole responsibility for fighting the ground war—a program labeled Vietnamization. In June 1969 Nixon announced the withdrawal of 25,000 U.S. troops from Vietnam. In September he announced further troop withdrawals, and by March 1970 he was announcing the phased withdrawal of 150,000 troops over the next year. Abrams protested that the still inexperienced and incompletely trained ARVN could hardly take over the job at such a rapid pace, but the withdrawals were enormously popular at home, and the White House soon found them politically indispensable.
My Lai MassacreVietnamese citizens photographed during the My Lai Massacre, March 16, 1968.
Though popular at home, the withdrawals lowered the morale of the troops remaining in Vietnam by underlining the apparent pointlessness of the war. By 1970 signs of serious problems in morale and leadership were seemingly everywhere. These signs included increased drug abuse, more frequent and serious racial incidents, and even “fraggings,” the murder or deliberate maiming of commissioned and noncommissioned officers by their own troops with fragmentation weapons such as hand grenades. News of the My Lai Massacre, a mass murder by U.S. soldiers of several hundred civilians in Quang Ngai province in 1968, became public at the end of 1969, further undermining convictions about the righteousness of the U.S. military effort in Vietnam. From 1965 to 1973, more than 30,000 U.S. military personnel either in Vietnam or in service related to Vietnam received dishonorable discharges for desertion (though only a small number of desertions actually took place on the battlefield).
Another 10,000 deserters were still at large when the United States withdrew from the war in 1973; most of these took advantage of clemency programs offered under Pres. Gerald R. Ford in 1974 and Pres. Jimmy Carter in 1977. Also during the period 1965–73, about half a million men became “draft dodgers,” illegally evading conscription into the armed forces or simply refusing to respond to their draft notices. More than 200,000 men were charged with draft evasion and more than 8,000 convicted. Of those convicted, most were either offered clemency by Ford or pardoned by Carter.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
The United States negotiates a withdrawal
Henry Kissinger, Richard Nixon, and Alexander Haig(From left) U.S. National Security Adviser Henry Kissinger, Pres. Richard Nixon, and Deputy National Security Adviser Alexander Haig discussing the Vietnam War in Nixon's study at Camp David, Maryland, November 13, 1972.
While Vietnamization and troop withdrawals proceeded in Vietnam, the negotiations in Paris remained deadlocked. Kissinger secretly opened separate talks with high-level Vietnamese diplomats, but the two sides remained far apart. The Americans proposed a mutual withdrawal of both U.S. and North Vietnamese forces. Hanoi insisted on an unconditional U.S. withdrawal and on the replacement of the U.S.-backed regime of Nguyen Van Thieu by a neutral coalition government. Nixon considered using renewed bombing and a blockade of the North to coerce the communist leadership, but his military and intelligence experts advised him that such actions would not be likely to have a decisive effect, and his political advisers worried about the impact of such actions on an American public eager to see continued de-escalation of the war.
Witness American college students protesting U.S. attacks on sanctuaries for Vietnamese communist forces in Cambodia during the Vietnam WarLearn about American college students' protests against U.S. attacks on Vietnamese communist sanctuaries in Cambodia during the Vietnam War. From Vietnam Perspective (1985)
Nixon consequently refrained from striking North Vietnam, but he could not resist the opportunity to intervene in Cambodia, where a pro-Western government under Gen. Lon Nol had overthrown Sihanouk’s neutralist regime in March 1970. Since that time, the new regime had attempted to force the communists out of their border sanctuaries. The North Vietnamese easily fended off the attacks of the Cambodian army and began to arm and support the Cambodian communist movement, known as the Khmer Rouge. Eager to support Lon Nol and destroy the sanctuaries, Nixon authorized a large sweep into the border areas by a U.S. and South Vietnamese force of 20,000 men. The allies captured enormous quantities of supplies and equipment but failed to trap any large enemy forces. In the United States, news of the Cambodian incursion triggered widespread protest and demonstrations. These became even more intense after National Guard troops opened fire on a crowd of protesters at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four students and wounding several others, on May 4. At hundreds of campuses, students “went on strike.” Congress, meanwhile, repealed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.
How the U.S. Army used fake poop during the Vietnam WarLearn more about technology in the Vietnam War.
By the summer of 1970 the White House was left with little more than Vietnamization and troop withdrawals as a way to end the war. Vietnamization appeared to be proceeding smoothly, and American counterinsurgency experts had moved swiftly after Tet to help the South Vietnamese government to develop programs to root out the Viet Cong’s underground government and establish control of the countryside. The Viet Cong, seriously weakened by losses in the 1968–69 offensives, now found themselves on the defensive in many areas. However, the limits of Vietnamization were soon demonstrated, when in March 1971 a large ARVN attack into Laos, code-named Lam Son 719 and designed to interdict the Ho Chi Minh Trail, ended in heavy casualties and a disorderly retreat.
In the United States, large-scale demonstrations were now less common, but disillusionment with the war was more widespread than ever. One poll claimed that 71 percent of Americans believed that the United States had “made a mistake” in sending troops to Vietnam and that 58 percent found the war “immoral.” Discontent was particularly directed toward the Selective Service System, which had long been seen as unfairly conscripting young men from racial minorities and poor backgrounds while allowing more-privileged men to defer conscription by enrolling in higher education. College deferments were limited in 1971, but by that time the military was calling up fewer conscripts each year. Nixon ended all draft calls in 1972, and in 1973 the draft was abolished in favour of an all-volunteer military.
Encouraged by their success in Laos, the Hanoi leadership launched an all-out invasion of the South on March 30, 1972, spearheaded by tanks and supported by artillery. South Vietnamese forces at first suffered staggering defeats, but Nixon, in an operation code-named Linebacker, unleashed U.S. air power against the North, mined Haiphong Harbour (the principal entry point for Soviet seaborne supplies), and ordered hundreds of U.S. aircraft into action against the invasion forces and their supply lines. By mid-June the communists’ Easter Offensive had ground to a halt.
With the failure of their offensive, Hanoi leaders were finally ready to compromise. The United States had indicated as early as 1971 that it would not insist on the withdrawal of North Vietnamese forces from the South. Now Hanoi signaled in return that it would not insist on replacing Thieu with a coalition government. On the basis of these two concessions, Kissinger and North Vietnamese emissary Le Duc Tho secretly hammered out a complicated peace accord in October 1972. The Saigon government, however, balked at a peace agreement negotiated without its participation or consent and demanded important changes in the treaty. In November (following Nixon’s reelection), Kissinger returned to Paris with some 69 suggested changes to the agreement designed to satisfy Thieu. The North Vietnamese responded with anger, then with proposed changes of their own. Nixon, exasperated with what he saw as the North’s intransigence and also anxious to persuade Thieu to cooperate, ordered B-52 bombers again to attack Hanoi. This so-called Christmas bombing was the most intense bombing campaign of the war.
Hear U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announcing the January 1973 agreement to end the Vietnam WarLearn about the January 1973 agreement to end the Vietnam War, as announced by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon. From Vietnam Perspective (1985)
After eight days the North Vietnamese agreed to return to Paris to sign an agreement essentially the same as that agreed upon in October. Thieu, reassured by a massive influx of U.S. military aid and by a combination of promises and threats from Nixon, reluctantly agreed to go along. On January 27, 1973, the Agreement on Ending the War and Restoring Peace in Viet-Nam was signed by representatives of the South Vietnamese communist forces, North Vietnam, South Vietnam, and the United States. A cease-fire would go into effect the following morning throughout North and South Vietnam, and within 60 days all U.S. forces would be withdrawn, all U.S. bases dismantled, and all prisoners of war (POWs) released. The issue of POWs would remain a controversial one for decades, despite the fact that there was no credible evidence to suggest that U.S. POWs had been kept secretly in Vietnam after the signing of the Paris accords (see Sidebar: Vietnam War POWs and MIAs). An international force would keep the peace, the South Vietnamese would have the right to determine their own future, and North Vietnamese troops could remain in the South but would not be reinforced. The 17th parallel would remain the dividing line until the country could be reunited by “peaceful means.”
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Charlie Company
My Lai, a subdivision of Son My village, was located in the province of Quang Ngai, roughly 7 miles (11 km) northeast of Quang Ngai city. The area had been dubbed “Pinkville” by U.S. soldiers because of the reddish colour used to indicate the densely populated My Lai area on military maps. By the time Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Infantry Brigade, arrived in Vietnam in December 1967. “Pinkville” had earned a reputation as a heavily mined hotbed of Viet Cong activity. In January 1968 Charlie was one of three companies tasked with the destruction of the 48th Battalion, an especially effective Viet Cong unit operating in Quang Ngai province. Throughout February and early March, Charlie Company suffered dozens of casualties due to mines and booby traps, but it failed to engage the 48th Batallion. After the debacle of the broad Tet Offensive, the Viet Cong had returned to guerrilla tactics and tended to avoid direct encounters with U.S. forces.
Intelligence suggested that the 48th Batallion had taken refuge in the My Lai area (though in reality, that unit was in the western Quang Ngai highlands, more than 40 miles [65 km] away). In a briefing on March 15, Charlie Company’s commander, Capt. Ernest Medina, told his men that they would finally be given the opportunity to fight the enemy that had eluded them for over a month. Believing that civilians had already left the area for Quang Ngai city, he directed that anyone found in My Lai should be treated as a Viet Cong fighter or sympathizer. Under these rules of engagement, soldiers were free to fire at anyone or anything. Moreover, the troops of Charlie Company were ordered to destroy crops and buildings and to kill livestock.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Massacre at My Lai
Shortly before 7:30 am on March 16, 1968, Son My village was shelled by U.S. artillery. The preparatory barrage was intended to clear a landing area for Charlie Company’s helicopters, but its actual effect was to force those civilians who had begun leaving the area back to My Lai in search of cover. Minutes later, Charlie Company’s 1st Platoon, led by Lieut. William Calley, was inserted a short distance to the west of a sub-hamlet known locally as Xom Lang but marked as My Lai (4) on U.S. military maps.
y 7:50 am the remainder of Charlie Company had landed, and Calley led 1st Platoon east through My Lai. Although they encountered no resistance, the soldiers nonetheless killed indiscriminately. Over the next hour, groups of women, children, and elderly men were rounded up and shot at close range. U.S. soldiers also committed numerous rapes. Charlie Company’s 2nd Platoon moved north from the landing zone, killing dozens, while 3rd Platoon followed behind, destroying the hamlet’s remaining buildings and shooting survivors. At 9:00 am Calley ordered the execution of as many as 150 Vietnamese civilians who had been herded into an irrigation ditch.
Sgt. Ron Haeberle, a U.S. Army photographer attached to Charlie Company, documented the events of the day. He used a black-and-white camera for official Army records but shot in colour on his personal camera. Many of the black-and-white images depicted soldiers questioning prisoners, searching possessions, and burning huts; although the destruction of property violated U.S. military command directives, such actions were typical of a search-and-destroy mission and did not provide direct evidence of war crimes. Haeberle’s personal colour photographs, which he did not turn over to the Army, were later published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer and Life magazine. One graphically depicted a trail littered with the bodies of dead women, children, and infants, and another captured a group of terrified women and children moments before they were shot. These photographs served to galvanize the anti-Vietnam War movement and would become some of the most recognizable images of the war.
s the massacre was taking place, Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson was flying a scout helicopter at low altitude above My Lai. Observing wounded civilians, he marked their locations with smoke grenades and radioed for troops on the ground to proceed to those positions to administer medical aid. After refueling, Thompson returned to My Lai only to see that the wounded civilians subsequently had been killed. Spotting a squad of U.S. soldiers converging on more than a dozen women and children, Thompson landed his helicopter between the two groups. Thompson’s door gunner, Lawrence Colburn, and his crew chief, Glenn Andreotta, manned their weapons as Thompson hailed other helicopters to join him in ferrying the civilians to safety. In 1998 Thompson, Colburn, and Andreotta (posthumously) were awarded the Soldier’s Medal for acts of extraordinary bravery not involving contact with the enemy.
By 11:00 am as many as 500 Vietnamese civilians had been killed. Medina ordered Charlie Company to break for lunch and informed his superiors that scores of Viet Cong had been killed in the operation. The sole U.S. casualty had occurred when a soldier shot himself in the foot while trying to clear a jammed weapon.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Weapons of the Vietnam War
From air power to infantry to chemicals, the weapons used in the Vietnam War were more devastating than those of any previous conflict. United States and South Vietnamese forces relied heavily on their superior air power, including B-52 bombers and other aircraft that dropped thousands of pounds of explosives over North Vietnam and Communist targets in South Vietnam. While U.S. troops and their allies used mainly American-manufactured weapons, Communist forces used weapons manufactured in the Soviet Union and China. In addition to artillery and infantry weapons, both sides utilized a variety of tools to further their war aims, including highly toxic chemical defoliants or herbicides (on the U.S. side) and inventive booby traps using sharpened bamboo sticks or crossbows triggered by tripwires (on the North Vietnamese-Viet Cong side).
Vietnam War: Weapons of the Air
The war saw the U.S. Air Force and their South Vietnamese allies fly thousands of massive low-altitude bombing missions over North and South Vietnam as well as over sites of suspected Communist activity in neighboring Laos and Cambodia. The B-52 heavy bomber, developed by Boeing in the late 1940s, helped the U.S. and South Vietnamese dominate the skies, along with smaller, more easily maneuverable fighter planes like the F-4 Phantom. Also widely used was the Bell UH-1 helicopter, dubbed the “Huey,” which could fly at low altitudes and speeds and land easily in small spaces. U.S. forces used the Huey to transport troops, supplies and equipment, aid ground troops with additional firepower and evacuated killed or wounded soldiers.Among the more devastating explosives used in U.S. and South Vietnamese bombing runs was napalm, a chemical compound developed during World War II. When mixed with gasoline and included in incendiary bombs or flamethrowers, napalm could be propelled greater distances than gasoline and released large amounts of carbon monoxide when it exploded, poisoning the air and causing even greater damage than traditional bombs. Though the large-scale U.S. and South Vietnamese aerial bombardment efforts damaged or destroyed much of the land and population of Vietnam, they proved less destructive to the enemy than expected, as North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops fought an irregular style of guerrilla warfare that proved much more resilient than the Americans had hoped.
U.S. and South Vietnamese Artillery & Infantry Weapons
The M-48 tank, with mounted machine guns, could travel up to 30 mph and was used to provide support for U.S. and South Vietnamese troops. Due to Vietnam’s soggy jungle terrain, tanks were not used extensively in combat during the Vietnam War. Armored personnel carriers such as the M-113 transported troops and performed reconnaissance and support functions. A common artillery weapon, previously used in World War II, was the 105mm howitzer, which could be towed behind a truck or carried by helicopter and dropped into position. Operated by crews of eight men each, the howitzers fired high-explosive shrapnel shells or “beehive” cartridges (thousands of small, sharp darts) at a rate of three to eight rounds per minute over a range of some 12,500 yards.One of the most common infantry weapons used by U.S. troops in Vietnam was the M-60 machine gun, which could also be used as an artillery weapon when mounted or operated from a helicopter or tank. The gas-powered M-60 could fire up to 550 bullets in quick succession at a range of almost 2,000 yards, or at short range when fired from the shoulder. One drawback of the M-60 was the heavy weight of its cartridge belts, which limited the ammunition that soldiers could carry. Standard issue for infantrymen in Vietnam was the M-16, a gas-operated, magazine-fed rifle that could fire 5.56 mm-caliber bullets accurately over several hundred yards at 700-900 rounds per minute on its automatic setting; it could also be used as a semi-automatic. Its ammunition came in magazines of 20-30 rounds, making it relatively easy to reload.
North Vietnamese and Viet Cong Weapons in Vietnam
Most of the weapons, uniforms and equipment used by North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces were manufactured by the Soviet Union and China. The portable, shoulder-fired SA-7 Grail missile was one of many anti-aircraft weapons extensively against American aircraft conducting bombing raids in North Vietnam. On the ground, the DP 7.62mm light machine gun (the equivalent to the U.S.-made M-60) was based on a Soviet design and manufactured in both the Soviet Union and China. The simple but deadly accurate AK-47, known to many as the “peasant’s rifle,” was shorter and heavier than the M-16, with a lower rate of fire (up to about 600 rounds per minute). It was extraordinarily durable, however, and was able to fire 7.62mm bullets either automatically or semi-automatically from a 30-round clip at a rate of up to about 600 rounds per minute, at a range of up to 435 yards. Another widely used semi-automatic rifle was the SKS carbine or “Chicom."Other Weapons Used in Vietnam
In addition to rifles and machine guns, U.S. infantry troops were armed with hand grenades (such as the Mark-2), which could be thrown or propelled using rifle-mounted launchers. Mines were used to guard the perimeter around campsites; they could be triggered by trip wires or exploded manually. In terms of chemical weapons, U.S. Air Force planes sprayed more than 19 million gallons of herbicides over 4.5 million acres of land in Vietnam from 1961 to 1972 as part of Operation Ranch Hand, a large-scale defoliation program aimed at eliminating forest cover for North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops, as well as crops that might be used to feed them. The most commonly used defoliant, a mixture of herbicides containing the toxic dioxin and known as Agent Orange, was later revealed to cause serious health issues–including tumors, birth defects, rashes, psychological symptoms and cancer–among returning U.S. servicemen and their families as well as among large sections of the Vietnamese population.For their part, North Vietnamese and particularly Viet Cong forces often used explosives captured from U.S. and South Vietnamese forces or cut open unexploded bombs to manufacture their own crude explosives. They also employed booby traps, including hidden bamboo maces or crossbows that could be triggered when soldiers stepped on a tripwire. One particularly common menace was the punji stake trap, a bed of sharpened bamboo stakes that was concealed in a pit for enemy soldiers to stumble across.
In addition to Soviet- or Chinese-supplied arms, Communist forces also carried weapons captured from the French and the Japanese in earlier Indochina wars or used weapons made by hand in Vietnam. Troops in the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) or the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN) had access to more standard-issue clothing and weapons, while Viet Cong often used improvised weapons and wore peasant clothing to blend in to the South Vietnamese population.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish ReportingViet-Nam Combat Veteran
VA Budget Shortfall Action Alert
Recently, VA announced a budget shortfall that may delay the timely delivery of benefits to people nationwide. Veterans, family members, and caregivers have earned VA benefits through service, and we are frustrated to hear certain ones may not be adequately funded through the end of the fiscal year. This is not a problem caused by Congress, but our elected officials in Washington, D.C., have the responsibility to ensure these benefits are paid on time to those who have earned them. Each year VA has been provided with the resources it requested for veterans’ care and benefits, and our legislators must ensure that happens this time as well. Congress must pass a supplemental funding bill by Sept. 20 to make sure veterans, survivors, and caregivers receive next months’ benefit payments without interruption. Congress must also hold VA accountable to prevent issues like this from happening in the future. However, this accountability can happen AFTER Congress provides supplemental funding, so veterans, survivors, and caregivers do not go without or face financial difficulties due to inadequate government funding.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Recently, VA announced a budget shortfall that may delay the timely delivery of benefits to people nationwide. Veterans, family members, and caregivers have earned VA benefits through service, and we are frustrated to hear certain ones may not be adequately funded through the end of the fiscal year. This is not a problem caused by Congress, but our elected officials in Washington, D.C., have the responsibility to ensure these benefits are paid on time to those who have earned them. Each year VA has been provided with the resources it requested for veterans’ care and benefits, and our legislators must ensure that happens this time as well. Congress must pass a supplemental funding bill by Sept. 20 to make sure veterans, survivors, and caregivers receive next months’ benefit payments without interruption. Congress must also hold VA accountable to prevent issues like this from happening in the future. However, this accountability can happen AFTER Congress provides supplemental funding, so veterans, survivors, and caregivers do not go without or face financial difficulties due to inadequate government funding.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Do Veterans Benefits Expire?
Some of the common benefits for veterans include health care, education benefits (like the GI Bill), and others related to disability claims and appeals.
However, many veterans aren’t aware that many of their benefits can expire.
Although these deadlines are generally firm, the VA does have provisions to waive them if you have a legitimate reason for not applying before the given deadlines. These may include health and disability issues. However, the VA will not waive a time limit for not knowing the deadline for your benefits. Missing these deadlines can impact your access to care and services. Here are some quick examples of common VA benefits and their time limits:
Veteran benefits aren't just a nice perk -- they are something you earned through service in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Space Force, Air Force or Coast Guard. But knowing what your benefits are and how to use them isn't a simple task. Where do you find them? How do you sign up? What are your veteran state benefits? How do you access your benefits through the Department of Veterans Affairs? How do you use your VA loan or GI Bill? Use Military.com's veteran benefits resources to learn about all of the benefits of military service provided by a grateful nation.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Deadliest Year for American Soldiers in Vietnam
According to various sources, including the Vietnam War’s official records and historical accounts, 1968 was the deadliest year for American soldiers in Vietnam. This year saw a significant escalation in combat operations, particularly during the Tet Offensive, which began on January 30, 1968.
During 1968, the United States suffered a total of 16,899 battle-related deaths, with 11,363 killed in action (KIA) and 5,536 dying from wounds received in combat. This represents a significant increase from the previous year, 1967, when 11,363 American soldiers were killed in action.
The Tet Offensive, launched by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) and the Viet Cong (VC), caught the U.S. military off guard and resulted in intense fighting across South Vietnam. The U.S. military responded with a series of operations, including the siege of Hue, the Battle of Khe Sanh, and the Battle of Saigon, which further escalated the conflict.
The human cost of the war was staggering, with both sides suffering heavy casualties. The Vietnamese people, including civilians and soldiers, lost an estimated 2 million lives, while the United States suffered over 58,000 combat deaths.
Key Statistics:
- 1968: 16,899 battle-related deaths (11,363 KIA, 5,536 died from wounds)
- Total U.S. combat deaths (1955-1973): 58,220
- Estimated Vietnamese civilian casualties (1955-1975): 2 million
- Estimated Vietnamese military casualties (1955-1975): 1,100,000
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Vietnam War U.S. Military Fatal Casualty Statistics
Introduction
The following tables were generated from the Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files, which is current as of April 29, 2008.
The Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File of the Defense Casualty Analysis System (DCAS) Extract Files contains records of 58,220 U.S. military fatal casualties of the Vietnam War. These records were transferred into the custody of the National Archives and Records Administration in 2008. The earliest casualty record contains a date of death of June 8, 1956, and the most recent casualty record contains a date of death of May 28, 2006. The Defense Casualty Analysis System Extract Files were created by the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) of the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Go Here.
Code:
https://www.archives.gov/research/military/vietnam-war/casualty-statisticsUS ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
If you are fighting in a war, going in and thinking its going to be a walk over is the wrong way to be thinking. That was the US in Vietnam. They are not trained in jungle warfare, you would have been better off with Ghurkhas on your side for that one.
When the US helped those in Afghanistan fight the Russians who wanted control of Afghanistan, why didn't the war machine learn from the Russian's mistake because they didn't as they went in there years later.
Early wars were about control over land and religion, later wars have always been able a commodity or drugs (funny that the US made deals with local war lords and in return they could continue sending their drugs to the US, not the first time something like that happened)
When the US helped those in Afghanistan fight the Russians who wanted control of Afghanistan, why didn't the war machine learn from the Russian's mistake because they didn't as they went in there years later.
Early wars were about control over land and religion, later wars have always been able a commodity or drugs (funny that the US made deals with local war lords and in return they could continue sending their drugs to the US, not the first time something like that happened)
As A veteran you should know about this
Congress must fund our military properly
The shenanigans we’re seeing play out on Capitol Hill are more than typical political bickering. They are endangering our national security, military readiness, and other core issues for veterans, service members and their families. In short: We’re less than two weeks away from a government shutdown as Congress is unable to pass spending legislation before a new fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Our elected representatives are looking at yet another stopgap measure, a continuing resolution (CR) which is akin to placing a bandage on a wounded body part that requires major surgery. There are numerous reasons why passage of a CR would gravely impact America. Among them:
Military readiness and operations: A CR would be disruptive in several ways, compromising military response operations to worldwide threats, reducing readiness training and putting the brakes on maintenance fixes, while simultaneously empowering known enemies.
Delayed pay for troops: Active-duty personnel and reservists could experience delays in receiving hard-earned pay raises, negatively impacting morale and financial stability, especially in the current economic climate. Imagine being a young service member and having to talk with a spouse or partner about which bills to pay, just because Congress is mired in a political standoff.
Border security: Already stretched thin, border protection agencies could face staffing shortages and resource limitations, increasing their vulnerability to illegal activities and security threats.
Recruitment challenges: The armed forces are already faced with challenges when it comes to recruiting the best and the brightest. As the standoff takes its toll, potential recruits’ enlistment bonuses could be halted, risking that they forego military service due to financial uncertainty. Additionally, current service members could choose to not re-enlist, creating talent shortages in areas critical to national security.
Those are among the scenarios we will be facing with a CR, instead of a fully funded fiscal year. But there is still time for Congress to do the right thing.
Our members of Congress must push aside their political posturing, focus on completing the mandated task at hand and doing what is right for America, its military members and their families. I am calling on Congress to pass an actual spending bill on time to ensure our military is properly funded throughout this fiscal year.
National Commander
James LaCoursiere Jr.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Veterans at 5 VA Medical Facilities Will Have to Start Making Copayments on Prescriptions Again
Corrupted files in the electronic health records system at Mann-Grandstaff Veterans Affairs Medical Center led to operations closures. The facility is a test hospital for the VA's $16 billion electronic medical records platform.
Thousands of veterans will resume paying a portion of their prescription medication cost following a two-year suspension of the requirement at five Veterans Affairs facilities served by the department's new electronic health records system. The VA is notifying affected patients in the Pacific Northwest and Ohio this week by letter and email of the impending change, which will go into effect Oct. 1.
The affected hospitals are the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center and Jonathan W. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center in Washington; White City VA Medical Center and Roseburg VA Medical Center in Oregon; and the Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Ambulatory Care Center in Columbus, Ohio.
The resumption does not affect the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, Illinois, which also uses the Oracle Cerner system, because copays were not suspended during system deployment earlier this year, according to VA Press Secretary Terrence Hayes.
Outpatient pharmacy copayments at the five VA hospitals and their affiliated clinics were suspended in 2022 after the facilities transitioned to the Oracle Cerner electronic health records system.
The VA previously had canceled and refunded copays across its entire health system from April 6, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hayes said that copayments will appear in affected veterans' November statements. From then on, "pharmacy copayment charges will be seen on the next month's statement -- just as would happen for veterans receiving care and pharmacy benefits from any other VA medical center."
He added that, while copayments will resume, the department has not decided whether to pursue retroactive co-payments, which could, for some patients, tally thousands of dollars.
"VA is continuing to hold on collecting retroactive payments while we work with Congress and veterans service organization partners on potential relief for veterans," Hayes wrote in a statement provided to Military.com.
The $16 billion Oracle Cerner electronic health records system has a problematic history at the VA and is currently used at just five VA facilities and the Lovell Federal Health Center.
The pharmacy component of the system, which the VA now calls the federal electronic health records system, has proven particularly troublesome, with patients experiencing lost or delayed prescriptions, double orders and incorrect medications, among other issues.
In May, the VA Office of Inspector General determined that the new system contributed to pharmacy-related patient safety issues and that affected patients were not notified of the risk.
Oracle Cerner is developing an update to the pharmacy module to improve its effectiveness and accuracy, but the VA decided against installing the new version during the rollout at the North Chicago facility, with Dr. Neil Evans, acting program executive director for the VA's Electronic Health Record Modernization Integration Office, saying that, while it was working in the "vast majority of cases," it sometimes behaved "oddly" and was not ready for deployment.
All VA patients with the exception of those in Priority Group 1, which includes those rated 50% or higher for disability, those who can't work as a result of their disability and Medal of Honor recipients, are required to make pharmacy copayments. The VA caps yearly co-pays at $700.
Hayes said that, throughout the process, the VA will keep veterans apprised of any decisions about retroactive pay, and it encourages patients to reach out to the department regarding pharmacy billing or medical debt.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Hostile Fire Pay and Imminent Danger Pay
A combat controller, deployed with a U.S. Army Special Forces team in Afghanistan, searches for targets to provide close air support during an engagement with insurgents.
Hostile Fire and Imminent Danger Pay are payable for duty performed in an area designated as hazardous. You can't get Hostile Fire Pay (HFP) and Imminent Danger Pay (IDP) at the same time. Both are taxable, unless you are serving in a designated combat zone or support area.
The monthly rate is $225, and is payable when a member is subjected to hostile fire, explosion of hostile mines or other hostile action and is:
- Performing duty in a hostile fire area;
- Exposed to a hostile fire event;
- On duty during a month in an area in which a hostile event occurred that place them in grave danger of physical injury;
- Killed, injured, or wounded by hostile fire, explosion of a hostile fire event.
- Hostile Fire and Imminent Danger pay are prorated for partial months - you are only paid for the time in a designated area.
This is Unreal. When I was in Viet-Nam 1969/1972 our Combat pay was only 68$ a month - Unreal, we were only worth 68 bucks each ...
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Congress Approves Emergency VA Funding
Congress Approves Emergency VA Funding:
The Senate passed the House-introduced emergency appropriations bill to cover the VA’s $3 billion-dollar budgetary shortfall. If a spending bill had not passed by the end of the week, the results would have been financially devastating to millions of veterans. It’s worth noting that this bill would not have passed with bipartisan support if not for veteran advocates within Congress and the veteran community. The nearly 7 million veterans who rely on VA benefits, to include disability compensation and even the GI Bill, can now have peace of mind that benefits will be delivered on time, October 1st.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Congress Approves Emergency VA Funding:
The Senate passed the House-introduced emergency appropriations bill to cover the VA’s $3 billion-dollar budgetary shortfall. If a spending bill had not passed by the end of the week, the results would have been financially devastating to millions of veterans. It’s worth noting that this bill would not have passed with bipartisan support if not for veteran advocates within Congress and the veteran community. The nearly 7 million veterans who rely on VA benefits, to include disability compensation and even the GI Bill, can now have peace of mind that benefits will be delivered on time, October 1st.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
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Annual Cost-of-Living Boost for Veterans Benefits Finalized by Congress
Veterans will get a cost-of-living bump in their benefits next year after Congress passed annual legislation this week to guarantee the increase keeps pace with Social Security rates.
Before leaving town for an extended election-season break, the Senate approved the bill by voice vote Wednesday, sending the measure to President Joe Biden's desk for his expected signature. The House previously approved the bill by voice vote last week.
"At a time when folks are struggling with rising costs, from housing to groceries, veterans deserve absolute certainty when it comes to providing for their families," Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jon Tester, D-Mont., said in a statement Thursday. "Boosting veterans' hard-earned benefits to keep pace with the cost of living is a necessary cost of war, and I'm proud this bipartisan legislation will deliver a benefits increase to millions of disabled veterans and survivors nationwide -- including 30,000 in Montana."
The bill specifically ties the increase to the annual cost-of-living adjustment in Social Security benefits. The 2025 rate for Social Security won't be announced by federal officials until Oct. 10.
But the advocacy group Senior Citizens League is projecting the cost-of-living increase will be 2.5%, the organization said in a news release earlier this month. That would be lower than recent years, but in line with historical norms. In 2023, beneficiaries saw their highest increase in decades at 8.7%. This year's increase was 3.2%.
In 2010, 2011 and 2016, there was zero increase.
While giving veterans an annual bump in their benefits is considered noncontroversial, Congress still must formally approve the increase every year and sometimes comes down to the wire in doing so.
The official approval of the increase this year was applauded by lawmakers in both parties.
"With the rising costs of goods and living expenses, many disabled veterans and their dependents, including survivors, rely on VA for essential financial support," Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement Thursday. "Making certain earned benefits stay on pace with rising prices will help provide veterans and their families with much-needed peace of mind."
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
When Did the Vietnam War End?
In January 1973, the United States and North Vietnam concluded a final peace agreement, ending open hostilities between the two nations. War between North and South Vietnam continued, however, until April 30, 1975, when DRV forces captured Saigon, renaming it Ho Chi Minh City (Ho himself died in 1969).
More than two decades of violent conflict had inflicted a devastating toll on Vietnam’s population: After years of warfare, an estimated 2 million Vietnamese were killed, while 3 million were wounded and another 12 million became refugees. Warfare had demolished the country’s infrastructure and economy, and reconstruction proceeded slowly.
In 1976, Vietnam was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, though sporadic violence continued over the next 15 years, including conflicts with neighboring China and Cambodia. Under a broad free market policy put in place in 1986, the economy began to improve, boosted by oil export revenues and an influx of foreign capital. Trade and diplomatic relations between Vietnam and the U.S. resumed in the 1990s.
In the United States, the effects of the Vietnam War would linger long after the last troops returned home in 1973. The nation spent more than $120 billion on the conflict in Vietnam from 1965-73; this massive spending led to widespread inflation, exacerbated by a worldwide oil crisis in 1973 and skyrocketing fuel prices.
Psychologically, the effects ran even deeper. The war had pierced the myth of American invincibility and had bitterly divided the nation. Many returning veterans faced negative reactions from both opponents of the war (who viewed them as having killed innocent civilians) and its supporters (who saw them as having lost the war), along with physical damage including the effects of exposure to the toxic herbicide Agent Orange, millions of gallons of which had been dumped by U.S. planes on the dense forests of Vietnam.
In 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was unveiled in Washington, D.C. On it were inscribed the names of 57,939 American men and women killed or missing in the war; later additions brought that total to 58,200.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Vietnam Dustoff Crews to Receive Congressional Gold Medal
President Biden has signed the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act into law. Long sought by advocates, this legislation recognizes the pilots, crew chiefs, and medics who served honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air ambulances. The honor is collectively awarded to the more than 3,000 service members who flew between combat zones and field hospitals. Plans for the official Congressional Gold Medal presentation ceremony are under way and will be announced by the White House.
DUSTOFF CREWS OF THE VIETNAM WAR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
[[Page 138 STAT. 1550]]
Public Law 118-87
118th Congress
An Act
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff
crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their
extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Dustoff Crews of
the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, including a pilot,
crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter crew member who served
honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air
ambulances, which were both nondivision and division assets
under the radio call signs `
(2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacuation for
United States, Vietnamese, and allied forces in Southeast Asia
from May 1962 through March 1973;
(3) nearing the end of World War II, the United States Army
began using helicopters for medical evacuation and years later,
during the Korean War, these helicopter air ambulances were
responsible for transporting 17,700 United States casualties;
(4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of helicopter air
ambulances, United States Army Dustoff crews pioneered the
concept of dedicated and rapid medical evacuation and
transported almost 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and
other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded enemy forces;
(5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool to assist
those injured on the battlefield;
(6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews were able to
operate the helicopters and land them on almost any terrain in
nearly any weather to pick up wounded, after which the Dustoff
crews could provide care to these patients while transporting
them to ready medical facilities;
(7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required consistent
combat exposure and often proved to be the difference between
life and death for wounded personnel;
(8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated combat life-
saving system was cultivated and refined by United States
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
President Biden has signed the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act into law. Long sought by advocates, this legislation recognizes the pilots, crew chiefs, and medics who served honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air ambulances. The honor is collectively awarded to the more than 3,000 service members who flew between combat zones and field hospitals. Plans for the official Congressional Gold Medal presentation ceremony are under way and will be announced by the White House.
DUSTOFF CREWS OF THE VIETNAM WAR CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL ACT
[[Page 138 STAT. 1550]]
Public Law 118-87
118th Congress
An Act
To award a Congressional Gold Medal to the United States Army Dustoff
crews of the Vietnam War, collectively, in recognition of their
extraordinary heroism and life-saving actions in Vietnam.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Dustoff Crews of
the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War
Congressional Gold Medal Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) a United States Army Dustoff crewman, including a pilot,
crew chief, and medic, is a helicopter crew member who served
honorably during the Vietnam War aboard helicopter air
ambulances, which were both nondivision and division assets
under the radio call signs `
Dustoff'' and `Medevac'';(2) Dustoff crews performed aeromedical evacuation for
United States, Vietnamese, and allied forces in Southeast Asia
from May 1962 through March 1973;
(3) nearing the end of World War II, the United States Army
began using helicopters for medical evacuation and years later,
during the Korean War, these helicopter air ambulances were
responsible for transporting 17,700 United States casualties;
(4) during the Vietnam War, with the use of helicopter air
ambulances, United States Army Dustoff crews pioneered the
concept of dedicated and rapid medical evacuation and
transported almost 900,000 United States, South Vietnamese, and
other allied sick and wounded, as well as wounded enemy forces;
(5) helicopters proved to be a revolutionary tool to assist
those injured on the battlefield;
(6) highly skilled and intrepid, Dustoff crews were able to
operate the helicopters and land them on almost any terrain in
nearly any weather to pick up wounded, after which the Dustoff
crews could provide care to these patients while transporting
them to ready medical facilities;
(7) the vital work of the Dustoff crews required consistent
combat exposure and often proved to be the difference between
life and death for wounded personnel;
(8) the revolutionary concept of a dedicated combat life-
saving system was cultivated and refined by United States
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
POW's in Vietnam
Captured U.S. pilot major Dewey Waddell is guarded by a militiawoman with a gun and a bayonet on a rice field. Vietnam, 1967.
The man in the picture keeps his eyes to the ground. Though there are no walls keeping him in — the image was taken in a rice field — there’s no mistaking that he is a prisoner. The rope that binds his arms is only just visible, but the militiawoman guarding him with her bayonet is plain to see.
And yet, 50 years after that striking photograph was taken, he remembers that the event it captures held for him a secret sense of possibility. That day was a breath of relief, and cause for a silent prayer of gratitude.
The man’s name is Dewey Wayne Waddell. Today, at 82, he’s retired and living in Marietta, Ga. Retired Air Force Col. Waddell (who goes by Wayne) spoke to TIME about the story behind the picture.
“It’s quite a shock when you’re zooming along and then all of a sudden you’re sitting on the ground,” Waddell says of what happened on July 5, 1967, when his plane was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam. Because his parachute did not fully open when he ejected from his plane, he knew it was possible the Air Force would believe that he had died in the fall. “One of the first thoughts I had when I was sitting on the ground was, Everybody I see from now on may be wanting to kill me. That focuses your attention. But conveniently they didn’t try to kill me. They just wanted to capture me.”
Waddell was imprisoned at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton,” and it was there that he recalls his captors playing him a few recorded “war crimes confessions” from other American prisoners of war. It was the era of Bertrand Russell’s war-crimes tribunal, in which the philosopher led an investigation in Sweden into U.S. actions in Vietnam, and Waddell was told that these confessions would be used at the tribunal — and that, like it or not, he would be confessing.
A little more than a week later, he was told that he was going somewhere “to be tested,” and that if he did not cooperate his life could not be guaranteed. He was given his own flight suit to wear, but it looked bloody; red ink had been splashed on it.
“I figured I was going to a kangaroo court, where you’re guilty when you walk in, to do one of those confessions,” he recalls. “So I was very pleasantly surprised when I got up there and they took off the blindfold, to see where I was.”
“They had me walk up and down the rice paddy a few times, and said, ‘Keep your head down and don’t say anything.’ But I always got right at the camera and looked up real quick, hoping that if these pictures got out somebody would recognize me,” he says. “I was looking for any way for my family to know I was alive.”
That possibility — that the men with the cameras would produce some image that would make its way out into the world and into the hands of his loved ones, who might otherwise believe him dead — was enough to color the memory of that day with unexpectedly positive feelings.
It helps, of course, that his plan worked.
Pilots in Pajamas was shown on East German television in early 1968, at which point the broadcast was picked up by U.S. military monitoring of the Communist nation’s propaganda. Toward the end of one of the segments, there was Dewey Wayne Waddell, his eyes flicking up to the meet the camera, just as he had planned.
“Well this thing that showed up turned out to be exactly what I’d hoped for,” he recalls. “When [the Air Force] saw that, they pulled off several stills and sent them to my family, who identified me of course. So that’s what changed my status from MIA to POW.”
Waddell was released on March 4, 1973. But the story of the photograph doesn’t end there.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
Tunnel Rats in Viet-Nam
In some parts of Vietnam, the Viet Cong lived for months at a time under the Earth, in elaborate tunnel systems so sophisticated that they included hospitals, training areas, and storage facilities as well as barracks. But from the surface, they just looked like holes in the dirt that only a snake would crawl into. And sometimes there were snakes there.
But during the Vietnam War, American soldiers had to slither into them, alone, with nothing but a flashlight and a .45-calibre pistol, and search for the enemy. These rare volunteers were called “tunnel rats.” And C.W. Bowman was one of them.
Bowman will return to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in Columbia on Friday, June 30, to tell what it was like, in a free lecture at noon. His program, “Tunnel Rats of Vietnam,” is part of the museum’s monthly Lunch and Learn series and is open to the public.
He’s been to the Relic Room before. He delivered his lecture at the museum four years ago, and it was well received. Now, you can find photos of him honoring his service in the major new exhibit, “A War with No Front Lines: South Carolina and the Vietnam War, 1965-1973.” Bowman retired in the community after serving as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson. He’s originally from Bordentown, N.J., but has called South Carolina home since 1973.
He was drafted into the Army when he was 19, and first went to Vietnam at the start of 1967. When he was there, he weighed 138 pounds, and had a 28-inch waist. Today, people sometimes look at him and laugh when he says he was a tunnel rat, because those guys had to be skinny, and he’s more like 200 pounds now. He just tells them they’ve probably gained a little since 1967, too.
How did he get to be a tunnel rat? One day his sergeant told him to check out a VC bunker, just underground. He went into the dark chamber with his heart in his mouth. All he could see was the light at the other end of the bunker, so he headed straight for it, telling himself if he made it, he would live. His adrenaline was pumping like crazy, but he made it. When he got out, he thought, “That was pretty cool.”
Some of the bunkers were connected by tunnels, so Bowman told another soldier that if he would check the bunkers, Bowman himself would take the tunnels. And so, he became a “rat,” from then on. It was best to entrust such a task to a volunteer with experience.
Units that had no such experts would generally just drop a grenade down the tunnel and moved on. Which raises the question, why climb down in there at all? Bowman has a short answer: “Intelligence.” One time, he brought up a map showing VC camps all over the area, and his unit’s operation was extended another two weeks, checking them out. His buddies showed their appreciation by saying, “Next time you find a map, leave the son of a bitch in the tunnel.”
One aspect of the Vietnam War that contributed to the difficulty in defeating the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army was their extensive use of tunnels and underground fortifications to avoid losses to massive American firepower. Both the VC and NVA built tunnel complexes when the terrain was suitable, the most infamous example being the extensive tunnels around the village of Cu Chi, near several bases of the 1st Infantry Division.
The existence of the tunnels in many regions of South Vietnam required Army and Marine units to develop a capability to fight underground. They organized makeshift units made up of volunteers, necessarily men of small stature, to go into the tunnels to confront the enemy. There have been accounts of firefights in the dark, and if American forces prevailed, they would destroy as much of the underground complex as possible with explosives. There was a scene in the 1986 film Platoon that can give you a small idea what tunnel warfare looked like.
In terms of formal military organizations, tunnel rats got their start in the Chemical Platoon of the 1st Infantry Division. The Division’s Chemical Officer, CAPT Herbert Thornton, organized a squad within the Chemical Platoon to fight in the tunnels beginning in 1966. The following year the division transferred tunnel rat duties to the 1st Engineer Battalion, as demolition was an important task in tunnel warfare. The engineers formed teams of a dozen volunteers under the command of a non-commissioned officer or junior officer for the tunnel rat role. The 1st Infantry Division created the most formal tunnel rat organization; however, any infantry unit that encountered tunnels would have their own tunnel rats, if only for a short time.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
C.W. Bowman was a ‘tunnel rat’ in Vietnam.
In some parts of Vietnam, the Viet Cong lived for months at a time under the Earth, in elaborate tunnel systems so sophisticated that they included hospitals, training areas, and storage facilities as well as barracks. But from the surface, they just looked like holes in the dirt that only a snake would crawl into. And sometimes there were snakes there.
But during the Vietnam War, American soldiers had to slither into them, alone, with nothing but a flashlight and a .45-calibre pistol, and search for the enemy. These rare volunteers were called “tunnel rats.” And C.W. Bowman was one of them.
Bowman will return to the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum in Columbia on Friday, June 30, to tell what it was like, in a free lecture at noon. His program, “Tunnel Rats of Vietnam,” is part of the museum’s monthly Lunch and Learn series and is open to the public.
He’s been to the Relic Room before. He delivered his lecture at the museum four years ago, and it was well received. Now, you can find photos of him honoring his service in the major new exhibit, “A War with No Front Lines: South Carolina and the Vietnam War, 1965-1973.” Bowman retired in the community after serving as a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson. He’s originally from Bordentown, N.J., but has called South Carolina home since 1973.
He was drafted into the Army when he was 19, and first went to Vietnam at the start of 1967. When he was there, he weighed 138 pounds, and had a 28-inch waist. Today, people sometimes look at him and laugh when he says he was a tunnel rat, because those guys had to be skinny, and he’s more like 200 pounds now. He just tells them they’ve probably gained a little since 1967, too.
How did he get to be a tunnel rat? One day his sergeant told him to check out a VC bunker, just underground. He went into the dark chamber with his heart in his mouth. All he could see was the light at the other end of the bunker, so he headed straight for it, telling himself if he made it, he would live. His adrenaline was pumping like crazy, but he made it. When he got out, he thought, “That was pretty cool.”
Some of the bunkers were connected by tunnels, so Bowman told another soldier that if he would check the bunkers, Bowman himself would take the tunnels. And so, he became a “rat,” from then on. It was best to entrust such a task to a volunteer with experience.
Units that had no such experts would generally just drop a grenade down the tunnel and moved on. Which raises the question, why climb down in there at all? Bowman has a short answer: “Intelligence.” One time, he brought up a map showing VC camps all over the area, and his unit’s operation was extended another two weeks, checking them out. His buddies showed their appreciation by saying, “Next time you find a map, leave the son of a bitch in the tunnel.”
Who were the "Tunnel Rats" in the Viet Nam war?
One aspect of the Vietnam War that contributed to the difficulty in defeating the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army was their extensive use of tunnels and underground fortifications to avoid losses to massive American firepower. Both the VC and NVA built tunnel complexes when the terrain was suitable, the most infamous example being the extensive tunnels around the village of Cu Chi, near several bases of the 1st Infantry Division.
The existence of the tunnels in many regions of South Vietnam required Army and Marine units to develop a capability to fight underground. They organized makeshift units made up of volunteers, necessarily men of small stature, to go into the tunnels to confront the enemy. There have been accounts of firefights in the dark, and if American forces prevailed, they would destroy as much of the underground complex as possible with explosives. There was a scene in the 1986 film Platoon that can give you a small idea what tunnel warfare looked like.
In terms of formal military organizations, tunnel rats got their start in the Chemical Platoon of the 1st Infantry Division. The Division’s Chemical Officer, CAPT Herbert Thornton, organized a squad within the Chemical Platoon to fight in the tunnels beginning in 1966. The following year the division transferred tunnel rat duties to the 1st Engineer Battalion, as demolition was an important task in tunnel warfare. The engineers formed teams of a dozen volunteers under the command of a non-commissioned officer or junior officer for the tunnel rat role. The 1st Infantry Division created the most formal tunnel rat organization; however, any infantry unit that encountered tunnels would have their own tunnel rats, if only for a short time.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
2025 Pay Raise for Disabled Veterans and Military Retirees
Vietnam veterans sing during a Vietnam Veterans Day celebration at the Veterans Association of North County, Oceanside, California, March 29, 2024.
Military retirees and disabled veterans will receive 2.5% increases to their monthly paychecks for 2025, thanks to the annual Cost of Living Adjustment, or COLA, tied to inflation.
While 2.5% may look low compared to recent years' COLA adjustments of 3.2% (2024), 8.7% (2023) and 5.9% (2022), it's still close to the average of about 2.6% for the past decade.
The Social Security Administration announced the COLA increase Thursday. Most government disability and retirement payments are required by law to increase annually by the same amount to account for the rate of inflation.
The Department of Labor determines the annual COLA by measuring the Consumer Price Index, or CPI, a measurement of a broad sampling of the cost of consumer goods and expenses. The CPI is compared to the previous year; if there is an increase, there is a COLA. If there is no increase, there is no COLA, and benefits remain the same -- they don't decrease.
Military Retirees
For 2025, retired military members will receive a $25 increase for each $1,000 of military retirement pension they receive each month.Retirees who entered military service on or after Aug. 1, 1986, and opted for the Career Status Bonus (CSB/Redux retirement plan) will have any COLA increases reduced by a percentage point, so they will receive a smaller increase of $15 per $1,000 in 2025.
Survivors receiving Survivor Benefit Plan payments will receive increases to their payments by the same amount as retirees.
Service members who retired in 2024 will receive a slightly reduced COLA in 2025. Their COLA is prorated based on which quarter they retired in (January-March, April-June, etc.). The prorated amount may also be adjusted based on when a member entered the service and which retirement plan they elected.
Disabled Veterans and Survivors
Disabled veterans will also receive increases to their benefit payments in the upcoming year. VA disability checks will go up about $4.28 per month for those with a 10% rating and $93.45 for those rated at 100% who don't have dependents.Here are the 2025 VA disability compensation rates.
Dependency and Indemnity Compensation, or DIC, benefits for surviving spouses of disabled veterans also increase in 2025. Here are the VA Dependency and Indemnity Compensation Rates for 2025.
Other Federal Retirees and Beneficiaries
Military retirees and VA beneficiaries aren't the only ones who benefit from the COLA increase. Civil Service retirees and Social Security recipients will also receive the 2.5% bump in their monthly checks.For Social Security recipients, the increase will mean about an extra $50 per month for the average beneficiary, according to the administration.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
The Vietnam War Crimes You Never Heard Of
On October 19, 2003, the Ohio-based newspaper the Toledo Blade launched a four-day series of investigative reports exposing a string of atrocities by an elite, volunteer, 45-man "Tiger Force" unit of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division over the course of seven months in 1967. The Blade goes on to state that in 1971 the Army began a four and a half year investigation of the alleged torture of prisoners, rapes of civilian women, the mutilation of bodies and killing of anywhere from nine to well over one hundred unarmed civilians, among other acts. The articles further report that the Army's inquiry concluded that eighteen U.S. soldiers committed war crimes ranging from murder and assault to dereliction of duty. However, not one of the soldiers, even of those still on active duty at the time of the investigation, was ever court martialed in connection with the heinous crimes. Moreover, six suspected war criminals were allowed to resign from military service during the criminal investigations specifically to avoid prosecution.
The Toledo Blade articles represent some of the best reporting on a Vietnam War crime by any newspaper, during or since the end of the conflict. Unfortunately, the articles tell a story that was all too common. As a historian writing his dissertation on U.S. war crimes and atrocities during the Vietnam War, I have been immersed in just the sort of archival materials the Toledo Blade used in its pieces, but not simply for one incident but hundreds if not thousands of analogous events. I can safely, and sadly, say that the "Tiger Force" atrocities are merely the tip of the iceberg in regard to U.S.-perpetrated war crimes in Vietnam. However, much of the mainstream historical literature dealing with Vietnam War atrocities (and accompanying cover-ups and/or sham investigations), has been marginalized to a great extent -- aside from obligatory remarks concerning the My Lai massacre, which is, itself, often treated as an isolated event. Unfortunately, the otherwise excellent reporting of the Toledo Blade draws upon and feeds off this exceptionalist argument to a certain extent. As such, the true scope of U.S.-perpetrated atrocities is never fully addressed in the articles. The men of the "Tiger Force" are labeled as "Rogue GIs" and the authors simply mention the that Army "conducted 242 war-crimes investigations in Vietnam, [that] a third were substantiated, leading to 21 convictions... according to a review of records at the National Archives" – facts of dubious value that obscure the scope and number of war crimes perpetrated in Vietnam and feed the exceptionalist argument.
Even an accompanying Blade piece on "Other Vietnam Atrocities," tends to decontextualize the "Tiger Force" incidents, treating them as fairly extraordinary events by listing only three other relatively well known atrocity incidents: former Senator, presidential candidate and Navy SEAL Bob Kerrey's raid on the hamlet of Thang Phong; the massacre at Son Thang -- sometimes referred to as the "Marine Corps' My Lai"; and the war crimes allegations of Lt. Col. Anthony Herbert -- most famously chronicled in his memoir Soldier. This short list, however, doesn't even hint at the scope and number of similar criminal acts.
For example, the Toledo Blade reports that its "review of thousands of classified Army documents, National Archives records, and radio logs reveals [the "Tiger Force"] ... carried out the longest series of atrocities in the Vietnam War [from May and November, 1967]...." Unfortunately, this seven month atrocity-spree is not nearly the longest on record. Nor is it even the longest string of atrocities by one unit within its service branch. According to formerly classified Army documents, an investigation disclosed that from at least March 1968 through October 1969, "Vietnamese [civilian] detainees were subjected to maltreatment" by no less than twenty-three separate interrogators of the 172d Military Intelligence (MI) Detachment. The inquiry found that, in addition to using "electrical shock by means of a field telephone," an all too commonly used method of torture by Americans during the war, MI personnel also struck detainees with their fists, sticks and boards and employed a form of water torture which impaired prisoners' ability to breath.
Similar to the "Tiger Force" atrocities chronicled by the Blade, documents indicate that no disciplinary actions were taken against any of the individuals implicated in the long-running series of atrocities, including 172d MI personnel Norman Bowers, Franciszek Pyclik and Eberhard Gasper who were all on active duty at the time that the allegations were investigated by Army officials. In fact, in 1972, Bowers's commanding general pronounced that "no disciplinary or administrative action" would be taken against the suspected war criminal and in a formerly classified memorandum to the U.S. Army Chief of Staff, prepared by Colonel Murray Williams on behalf of Brigadier General R.G. Gard in January 1973, it was noted that the "...determination by commanders to take no action against three personnel on active duty who were suspected of committing an offense" had not been publicly acknowledged. Their crimes and identities kept a secret, Bowers, Pyclik and Gasper apparently escaped any prosecution, let alone punishment, for their alleged actions.
Similarly, the Toledo Bladepays particular attention to Sam Ybarra, a "notorious suspect," who was named in seven of the thirty "Tiger Force" war crimes allegations investigated by the Army -- including the rape and fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old girl and the brutal killing of a 15-year-old boy. Yet, Ybarra's notorious reputation may well pale in comparison to that of Sergeant Roy E. "the Bummer" Bumgarner, a soldier who served with the 1st Cavalry Division and later the 173d Airborne Brigade. According to a former commander, "the Bummer" was rumored to have "personally killed over 1,500 people" during a forty-two week stretch in Vietnam. Even if the number was exaggerated, clues on how Bumgarner may have obtained high "body counts" came to light in the course of an Army criminal investigation of an incident that took place on February 25, 1969. According to investigation documents, Bumgarner and a subordinate rounded up three civilians found working in a rice paddy, marched them to a secluded area and murdered them. "The Bummer" then arranged the bodies on the ground with their heads together and a grenade was exploded next to them in an attempt to cover-up their crime. Assorted weapons were then planted near the mutilated corpses to make them appear to have been enemy troops.
During an Army criminal investigation of the incident, men in Bumgarner's unit told investigators that they had heard rumors of the sergeant carrying out similar acts in the past. Said one soldier in a sworn statement to Army investigators:
"I've heard of Bumgarner doing it before -- planting weapons on bodies when there is doubt as to their military status. I've heard quite a few rumors about Bumgarner killing unarmed people. Only a couple weeks ago I heard that Bumgarner had killed a Vietnamese girl and two younger kids (boys), who didn't have any weapons."
Unlike Sam Ybarra, who had been discharged from the military by the time the allegations against him came to light and then refused to cooperate with investigators, "the Bummer" was charged with premeditated murder and tried by general court martial. He was convicted only of manslaughter and his punishment consisted merely of a demotion in rank and a fine of $97 a month for six months. Moreover, after six months, Bumgarner promptly re-enlisted in the Army. His first and only choice of assignments -- Vietnam. Records indicate he got his wish!
Military records demonstrate that the "Tiger Force" atrocities are only the tip of a vast submerged history of atrocities in Vietnam. In fact, while most atrocities were likely never chronicled or reported, the archival record is still rife with incidents analogous to those profiled in the Blade articles, including the following atrocities chronicled in formerly classified Army documents:
A November 1966 incident in which an officer in the Army's Fourth Infantry Division, severed an ear from a Vietnamese corpse and affixed it to the radio antenna of a jeep as an ornament. The officer was given a non-judicial punishment and a letter of reprimand.
An August 1967 atrocity in which a 13-year-old Vietnamese child was raped by American MI interrogator of the Army's 196th Infantry Brigade. The soldier was convicted only of indecent acts with a child and assault. He served seven months and sixteen days for his crime.
A September 1967 incident in which an American sergeant killed two Vietnamese children -- executing one at point blank range with a bullet to the head. Tried by general court martial in 1970, the sergeant pleaded guilty to, and was found guilty of, unpremeditated murder. He was, however, sentenced to no punishment.
An atrocity that took place on February 4, 1968, just over a month before the My Lai massacre, in the same province by a man from the same division (Americal). The soldier admitted to his commanding officer and other men of his unit that he gunned down three civilians as they worked in a field. A CID investigation substantiated his confession and charges of premeditated murder were preferred against him. The soldier requested a discharge, which was granted by the commanding general of the Americal Division, in lieu of court martial proceedings.
A series of atrocities similar to, and occurring the same year as, the "Tiger Force" war crimes in which one unit allegedly engaged in an orgy of murder, rape and mutilation, over the course of several months.
While not yielding the high-end body count estimate of the "Tiger Force" series of atrocities, the above incidents begin to demonstrate the ubiquity of the commission of atrocities on the part of American forces during the Vietnam War. Certainly, war crimes, such as murder, rape and mutilation were not an everyday affair for American combat soldiers in Vietnam, however, such acts were also by no means as exceptional as often portrayed in recent historical literature or as tacitly alluded to in the Blade articles.
The excellent investigative reporting of the Toledo Blade is to be commended for shedding light on war crimes committed by American soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division in 1967. However, it is equally important to understand that the "Tiger Force" atrocities were not the mere result of "Rogue GIs" but instead stem from what historian Christian Appy has termed the American "doctrine of atrocity" during the Vietnam War -- a strategy built upon official U.S. dictums relating to the body count, free-fire zones, search and destroy tactics and the strategy of attrition as well as unofficial tenets such as "kill anything that moves," intoned during the "Tiger Force" atrocities and in countless other atrocity tales, or the "mere gook rule" which held that "If it's dead and Vietnamese, it's VC." Further, it must also be recognized that the "Tiger Force" atrocities, the My Lai massacre, the Herbert allegations and the few other better-known war crimes were not isolated or tangentially-related incidents, but instead are only the most spectacular or best publicized of what was an on-going string of atrocities, large and small, that spanned the entire duration of the war.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
This is a good story and must read.
Two Veterans Will Argue to Supreme Court that VA Disability Claims Aren't Getting 'Benefit of Doubt'
The U.S Supreme Court is viewed from the lawn of the U.S. Capitol, June 20, 2024, in Washington.
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Wednesday in a case that challenges the Department of Veterans Affairs' handling of benefits applications and appeals, a question that could affect thousands of previously decided or current claims.
In the case Bufkin v. McDonough, the plaintiffs challenged decisions by the VA and the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims denying benefits for health conditions. They argue that the Veterans Board of Appeals, and later, the appeals court, failed to apply a "benefit-of-the-doubt" rule that should have resulted in disability compensation awards.
By law, veterans are entitled to receive the benefit of the doubt when the presented evidence, either for or against approval, is close. The Veterans Appeals Court, established in 1988, weighs decisions by the Veterans Board of Appeals and is supposed to ensure that the board followed all regulations when making a decision, including giving "the benefit of the doubt to the claimant," according to the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2002.
But veterans Joshua Bufkin, who served in the Air Force from 2005 to 2006, and Norman Thornton, a former Army soldier who served from 1988 to 1991, say the board and the courts, including the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, did not follow the law when upholding the board's decision.
Both plaintiffs applied for benefits but were denied repeatedly by adjudicators and on appeal, with the VA deciding they were ineligible in Bufkin's case, or did not qualify for a ratings increase, as Thornton requested.
According to court documents, Bufkin served in the Air Force for six months during a time when his wife experienced mental health issues, and he was under tremendous strain to balance family and work life. He was awarded a hardship discharge after consulting an Air Force psychiatrist and later applied for VA health care and benefits, with VA doctors in disagreement over whether Bufkin had post-traumatic stress disorder and, if so, whether it was service-connected.
Adjudicators, the board and the court all rejected his disability compensation claim for PTSD.
Thornton was a soldier who deployed to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the Persian Gulf War, serving on a tank crew and performing combat lifesaving duties. He applied for disability benefits in 2005 and received a 10% disability rating for PTSD. That later was upgraded to 50%, a decision he appealed and was denied.
In both cases, the Veterans Board of Appeals considered the evidence, which, in Bufkin's case, conflicted, and in Thornton's case, did not support a higher disability rating.
When the cases went before the Veterans Court of Appeals, the court determined that no errors were made by either the adjudicators or the board. The court did not conduct a benefit-of-the-doubt review, and the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals agreed it was not necessary.
The plaintiffs appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the lower court was wrong, given that the law spells out that veterans deserve the benefit of the doubt.
"The Federal Circuit ignored the plain text of the statute and frustrated Congress's clear intent to provide for enhanced appellate review and enforcement of the benefit-of-the-doubt rule," attorneys wrote in their petition to the highest court.
The VA argued that the claims were properly handled, with Bufkin failing to provide evidence that his condition was service-connected or that he even had PTSD, and Thornton, who received a benefit-of-the-doubt decision that resulted in a 50% disability rating, did not meet the criteria for a 70% rating.
VA attorneys said the Court of Appeals and the Federal Circuit both ruled appropriately and the law only requires the Veterans Court of Appeals to review board decisions for error, not to review benefit-of-the-doubt determinations.
"Even if the question presented warranted this court's review, these cases would be poor vehicles in which to address it," Justice Department attorneys for VA Secretary Denis McDonough wrote in response.
A ruling in favor of Bufkin and Thornton could force changes in how the VA appeals court considers such cases, potentially changing the outcome of claims currently under consideration as well as past claims.
Renee Burbank, director of litigation for the National Veterans Legal Services Program, one of the nonprofits that filed a brief to the court supporting the plaintiffs, said Tuesday a decision to overturn the ruling could put the veterans court in a stronger position to examine the evidence and make more decisions than it currently does.
It also could help speed up the legal process regarding appeals, since currently, claims may languish in the court for years as veterans file repeated appeals that never come under benefit-of-the-doubt consideration, she said.
A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs would not be a huge burden on the court, she said.
"[It would require the court to get] a sense of whether the board looked at all of it and made an analysis of whether evidence was in a rough approximate balance, and if so, [a] tie goes to the veteran," Burbank said.
Additional groups that filed amicus briefs favoring the plaintiffs included Disabled American Veterans, the National Law School Veterans Clinic Consortium, Military-Veterans Advocacy and the Federal Circuit Bar Association.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
This is an Update on 2025 VA Military Benefits
The following tables show 2025 Department of Veterans Affairs monthly disability rates for veterans with a rating of 10% or higher. These amounts are effective Dec. 1 of each year. They are tax-free.
VA disability payments are made to veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to veterans whose service made an existing condition worse.
You may qualify for VA disability benefits for physical conditions (such as a chronic illness or injury) and mental health conditions (such as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD) that developed before, during, or after service.
An annual payment increase is tied to an increase in Social Security payments by the U.S. government known as a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
*The following 2025 rates are tentative based on the 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment announced by the Social Security Administration on Oct. 10, 2024. The Department of Veterans Affairs will announce the official rates later.
Parents may be considered dependents if the veteran provides more than 50% of their support. Veterans with a disabled spouse may also be eligible for increased benefits. Check with the VA for details.
US ARMY SPC 5 whitefish Reporting
Viet-Nam Combat Veteran
See Your 2025 VA Disability Pay Rates
The following tables show 2025 Department of Veterans Affairs monthly disability rates for veterans with a rating of 10% or higher. These amounts are effective Dec. 1 of each year. They are tax-free.
VA disability payments are made to veterans who got sick or injured while serving in the military and to veterans whose service made an existing condition worse.
You may qualify for VA disability benefits for physical conditions (such as a chronic illness or injury) and mental health conditions (such as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD) that developed before, during, or after service.
An annual payment increase is tied to an increase in Social Security payments by the U.S. government known as a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).
*The following 2025 rates are tentative based on the 2.5% Cost of Living Adjustment announced by the Social Security Administration on Oct. 10, 2024. The Department of Veterans Affairs will announce the official rates later.
*10%-20% Disability
| Percentage | Rate |
| 10% | $175.51 |
| 20% | $346.95 |
*30%-60% Disability
| Dependent Status | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% |
| Veteran Alone | $537.42 | $774.16 | $1,102.04 | $1,395.93 |
| Veteran with Spouse | $600.97 | $859.24 | $1,208.64 | $1,524.05 |
| Veteran with Spouse and Child | $648.12 | $921.76 | $1,286.54 | $1,617.33 |
| Veteran with Child | $579.44 | $830.54 | $1,172.76 | $1,481.00 |
| Each Additional Child Under 18 | $31.78 | $42.03 | $52.28 | $63.55 |
| Each Additional Schoolchild Over Age 18 | $102.50 | $136.33 | $171.18 | $205.00 |
| Additional for Disabled spouse | $58.43 | $77.90 | $97.38 | $116.85 |
*70%-100% Disability
| Dependent Status | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
| Veteran Alone | $1,759.19 | $2,044.89 | $2,297.96 | $3,831.30 |
| Veteran with Spouse | $1,907.81 | $2,215.04 | $2,489.63 | $4,044.91 |
| Veteran with Spouse and Child | $2,017.49 | $2,340.09 | $2,630.06 | $4,201.34 |
| Veteran with Child | $1,858.61 | $2,158.66 | $2,426.08 | $3,974.15 |
| Each Additional Child Under 18 | $73.80 | $84.05 | $95.33 | $106.14 |
| Each Additional Schoolchild Over 18 | $239.85 | $263.68 | $308.53 | $342.85 |
| Additional for A/A spouse | $137.35 | $156.83 | $176.30 | $195.92 |
*30%-60% Disability (With Dependent Parents)
| Dependent Status | 30% | 40% | 50% | 60% |
| Veteran with One Parent | $588.67 | $841.81 | $1,187.11 | $1,498.43 |
| Veteran with Two Parents | $639.92 | $909.46 | $1,272.19 | $1,600.93 |
| Veteran with One Parent and Child | $630.69 | $898.19 | $1,257.84 | $1,583.50 |
| Veteran with Two Parents and Child | $681.94 | $965.84 | $1,342.91 | $1,686.00 |
| Veteran with Spouse, One Parent and Child | $699.37 | $989.41 | $1,371.61 | $1,719.83 |
| Veteran with Spouse, Two Parents and Child | $750.62 | $1,057.06 | $1,456.69 | $1,822.33 |
*70%-100% Disability (With Dependent Parents)
| Dependent Status | 70% | 80% | 90% | 100% |
| Veteran with One Parent | $1,879.11 | $2,181.21 | $2,451.71 | $4,002.74 |
| Veteran with Two Parents | $1,999.04 | $2,317.54 | $2,605.46 | $4,174.18 |
| Veteran with One Parent and Child | $1,978.54 | $2,294.99 | $2,579.83 | $4,145.59 |
| Veteran with Two Parents and Child | $2,098.46 | $2,431.31 | $2,733.58 | $4,317.03 |
| Veteran with Spouse, One Parent and Child | $2,137.41 | $2,476.41 | $2,783.81 | $4,372.78 |
| Veteran with Spouse, Two Parents and Child | $2,257.34 | $2,612.74 | $2,937.56 | $4,544.22 |
Increased Disability Payments for Veterans With Dependents
Veterans entitled to compensation who have a disability rated at 30% or more are entitled to additional compensation for dependents. Dependent children between the ages of 18 and 23 must be attending school and a dependent for tax purposes.Parents may be considered dependents if the veteran provides more than 50% of their support. Veterans with a disabled spouse may also be eligible for increased benefits. Check with the VA for details.
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