We are moving closer to spring as the month of April is here. Our post will be holding an awards ceremony for the entrants of our Patriot Pen and Voice of Democracy essays on Wednesday April 8 at 6:30 p.m.
We hope to see all who participated in the VFW contest along with their families to get their monetary awards and certificates.
There are a few veteran news clips I would like to pass on to all veterans. The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a markup business meeting on pending legislation and has advanced 24 bills for consideration, many of which the VFW has supported in testimony.
These proposals span a wide range of issues including establishing parity in education benefits for National Guard and Reserve service members, improving VA’s disability compensation claims and appeals processes, and studying the generational impacts of toxic exposures.
If enacted, these bills would strengthen benefits and services for veterans, caregivers and survivors while advancing key VFW legislative priorities.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) announced today the launch of a new online tool designed to simplify and accelerate the process for veterans seeking help filing for their earned U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) benefits.
The new system allows veterans, service members within 180 days of separation and survivors to complete a brief online form that instantly generates a case record in the assigned VFW Accredited Service Officer’s system, enabling an efficient review of qualifying information, and expediting the initial intake and follow up period.
“For more than a century, the VFW has helped veterans navigate and access the benefits they earned through their service – last year we recovered $16.2 billion from the VA on their behalf,” said Mike Figlioli, VFW Director of National Veterans Service.
“This new tool removes unnecessary barriers and connects veterans with expert help faster than ever before.” To learn more or begin the process, visit claims.vfw.org.
Just a reminder to everyone that we will be holding our next Bingo Night on April16t at 6 p.m. Come and have some fun and maybe you might go home with a few extra dollars. The Queen of Hearts game is up to over $1,600. Good Luck.
To start off in April, I would like to highlight Audie Murphy. He was widely celebrated as the most decorated American combat soldier of World War II, and has been described as the most highly decorated enlisted soldier in U.S. history.
He received every military combat award for valor available from the United States Army, as well as French and Belgian awards for heroism.
Murphy received the Medal of Honor for valor that he demonstrated at age 19 for single-handedly holding off a company of German soldiers for an hour at the Colmar Pocket in France in January 1945, before leading a successful counterattack while wounded.
Murphy was born into a large family of sharecroppers in Hunt County, Texas. His father abandoned the family and his mother died when Murphy was a teenager.
Murphy left school in fifth grade to pick cotton and find other work to help support his family; his skill with a hunting rifle helped feed his family. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Murphy's older sister helped him to falsify documentation about his birthdate to meet the minimum age for enlisting in the military.
Turned down initially for being underweight by the Army, Navy, and the Marine Corps, he eventually was able to enlist in the Army. He first saw action in the 1943 Allied invasion of Sicily; then in 1944 he participated in the Battle of Anzio, the liberation of Rome, and the invasion of southern France.
Murphy fought at Montélimar and led his men on a successful assault at L'Omet quarry near Cleurie in northeastern France in October. Despite suffering from multiple illnesses and wounds throughout his service, Murphy became one of the most praised and decorated soldiers of World War II. He is credited with killing 241 enemy soldiers.
Because Murphy had what would today be described as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), then known as "battle fatigue", he slept with a loaded handgun under his pillow.
He looked for solace in addictive sleeping pills. In his last few years, he was plagued by money problems but refused offers to appear in alcohol and cigarette commercials because he did not want to set a bad example.
Murphy died in a plane crash in Virginia in 1971, shortly before his 46th birthday. He was interred with military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.
After the war, he bought a house in Farmersville for his eldest sister Corinne and her husband, Poland Burns. His other siblings briefly shared the home.
The loss of his mother stayed with Murphy throughout his life. He later stated: “She died when I was sixteen. She had the most beautiful hair I've ever seen. It reached almost to the floor. She rarely talked; and always seemed to be searching for something. What it was I don't know. We didn't discuss our feelings. But when she passed away, she took something of me with her. It seems I've been searching for it ever since.”
Brigadier General Ralph B. Lovett and Lieutenant Colonel Hallet D. Edson recommended Murphy for the Medal of Honor. Near Austria, on 2 June 1945, Lieutenant General A.M. Patch presented Murphy with the Medal of Honor and Legion of Merit for his actions at Holtzwihr.
When asked after the war why he had seized the machine gun and taken on an entire company of German infantry, he replied, "They were killing my friends”.
God Bless America and keep our service men and women safe. Remember all who served our country and keep them in your thoughts and prayers.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander VFW Post 1545
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Audie Murphy's headstone with incorrect 1924 date of birth at Arlington National Cemetery
