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25 July 2009

LEGISLATIVE REPORT

For those of us who already may have a VA Medical ID card but for a while were told we were no longer covered by the VA there is this announcement. If you do not have a card, you may still qualify.

Priority Group 8 Adds Benefits for Thousands of Vets. Starting June 15, more than 260,000 Veterans will be eligible for healthcare program enrollment. The change affects Veterans whose incomes exceed the current VA income thresholds by up to 10 percent.

If there is anyone who cannot locate their DD214 and needs it or wants to make it available to their survivors in the future, the application is included in the back of this report. Also, If you were in a military group that served in Vietnam prior to the dates listed for getting an Ohio Wartime Bonus, don't simply give up. In the meeting I used the example of Specialist 4, James T. Davis (from Livingston Tennessee) who was killed on December 2nd, 1961 on a road near the old French Garrison of Cau Xang. Although he was a member of the United States Army Security Agency, he was assigned to the 3rd Radio Research Unit at Tan Son Nhut Airbase near Saigon, along with 92 other ASA members of his unit. Although not officially serving under the ASA name, their cover designation was Radio Research. Davis Station in Saigon was named after him and President Johnson termed Davis “the first American to fall in the defense of our freedom in Vietnam.” If Specialist Davis were from Ohio, under the Ohio Wartime Bonus dates, he would not be qualified for the bonus.

In section 1. the dates of service prior to 1993 are listed to show the dates of service necessary to qualify for the State of Ohio, Wartime Bonus.
The periods of service are: a. WWII, 12/07/1941 – 9/02/1945
b. Korea, 6/25/1950 – 7/19/1953
c. Vietnam, 8/1/1964 – 6/30/1973

If you served in such a unit and have not received your bonus, it is time that you contact your county Veterans Service Officer.