[lit-ideas] Info on Vietnam Veterans of America (co-founded by John Kerry)
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 6 Oct 2004 10:53:26 EDT
Hi, again...
Now you understand why my family was overwhelmed, I guess.
and there IS more...<wry look> but I'll spare you all for a while.
There is info on the Vietnam Veterans of America organization that John
Kerry co-founded. I do not think people are very aware of this. So, it might
be
argued that those still IN Vietnam went through a rough time by his
protesting (but I do think that they were not getting the support they needed
even by
then...), they have certainly been assisted greatly since then. Note at the
end I include their list of accomplishments...would not have happened without
John Kerry.
When you look at the Gulf War and the 'mysterious' diseases/birth defects
which have arisen since then in the lives of the soldiers since then and the
desire of many officials to not give them assistance and/or to hide those
facts...and look at how John Kerry is and has been working to do something
about
that...
He does, at least, care for those who were in harm's way...whether he wanted
them there or not. I suppose I feel the same...I HATE that we went to Iraq,
and I ache ache for those who have perished there--both the Iraqis as well
as Americans. But, I want *all* to have better lives...somehow.
Marlena in Missouri
WHO ARE THE VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA?
Founded in 1978, Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc. is the only national
Vietnam veterans organization congressionally chartered and exclusively
dedicated
to Vietnam-era veterans and their families. VVA is organized as a
not-for-profit corporation and is tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(19) of the
Internal
Revenue Service Code.
VVA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLE
"Never again shall one generation of veterans abandon another."
GOALS
VVA's goals are to promote and support the full range of issues important to
Vietnam veterans, to create a new identity for this generation of veterans,
and to change public perception of Vietnam veterans.
OUR FIRST PRINCIPLE
VVA holds as its first principle that the organization is measured by deeds
and openness as evidence of the core values of justice, integrity, and
meaningful achievement.
ORGANIZATION
Over 50,000 individual members.
43 state councils.
525 local chapters.
national board of directors
SPECIAL PROGRAMS
* Government Relations Advocacy on the range of veterans issues.
* National Task Force for Homeless Veterans.
* Health care for veterans, including disabled veterans.
* Issues pertaining to women and minority veterans.
* National scholarship fund.
* Program providing assistance to veterans seeking benefits/services
from the government.
FUNDING
Vietnam Veterans of America relies totally on private contributions for its
revenue. VVA does not receive any funding from federal, state, or local
governments.
Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) has received an assortment of e-mails
which (1) incorrectly assume VVA has endorsed Senator John Kerry for
President;
or (2) criticize Senator Kerry for his involvement with antiwar activities
after he served in Vietnam; or (3) incorrectly assume that Bobby Muller, the
President of a different organization (Vietnam Veterans of America
Foundation),
is the President of VVA. In response to all such e-mails, VVA says:
1. VVA's Constitution prohibits it from endorsing any candidate for any
elected office. Article IV, Section 3. E. of the VVA Constitution clearly says
that "[a] member, Chapter, State Council, or the Corporation [VVA] may not
endorse, on behalf of the Chapter, State Council, or the Corporation, any
candidate for any elected office or position."
2. John Kerry was a co-founder of VVA in 1979 and he is a life member of VVA.
3. Bobby Muller is not the President of VVA and he does not speak for VVA.
Bobby Muller is the President of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation,
which is a separate corporation with a separate board of directors and with
separate funding sources. Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation is not a
membership organization like VVA.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Vietnam Veterans of America, the nation's largest and most successful
Vietnam veterans organization, and the only Vietnam veterans organization
chartered
by Congress, is proud of what it has accomplished over the last twenty
years. Those accomplishments are many and varied.
They include:
* Rebuilding the camaraderie of Vietnam-era veterans and providing a
sense of self-worth and pride in service.
* Holding biennial National Leadership Conferences and National
Conventions, which provide a forum for veterans and their families to interact
with
community leaders and their counterparts from across the country.
* Creating and maintaining our Vietnam Veterans Assistance Fund (VVAF),
a philanthropic effort that provides financial assistance to VVA, its state
councils, and its chapters.
* Taking the lead in working with homeless veterans, including
sponsorships of national and local symposiums and stand-downs. Among many
other
milestones in this area, VVA worked with congressman Lane Evans to hold the
first-ever hearing on homeless veterans in the House of Veterans Affairs
committee in September of 1986.
* Developing a unique program as a national advocate for Vietnam
veterans who were subsequently incarcerated, helping them gain access to VA
benefits and services to which they are entitled.
* Leading the fight for full accounting of POW/MIAs for twenty years.
We hold as a profound trust and obligation the responsibility to account for
those American service members who remain unrepatriated, missing, or
otherwise unaccounted for as a result of their service to our country during
the
Vietnam War.
* Initiating the successful Veterans Initiative program, a
veteran-to-veteran effort that, since 1991, has promoted the direct exchange
of
information on unaccounted-for American servicemen and Vietnamese war
casualties
between American and Vietnamese veterans. The Veterans Initiative has
produced
measurable results towards full accounting on both sides.
* Taking the lead on women veterans' issues, including ensuring
recognition of service access to benefits and appropriate medical treatment of
women veterans in VA facilities.
* With "never again will one generation of veterans abandon another" as
its founding principle, VVA has reached out to veterans of other
conflicts, including providing office space and significant tangible support
to the
National Gulf War Resource Center.
* Single-handedly leading the fight for judicial review of disabled
veterans' claims for benefits. The result: In 1988, Congress passed a law
creating the U.S. Court of Veterans appeals. This allowed veterans to appeal
VA
benefits denials to a court and required VA to obey the rule of law.
* Spearheading a long and successful lobbying effort to establish and
maintain the Vet Center program.
* Providing unwavering advocacy for congressional passage of laws
supporting increased job training and job-placement assistance for unemployed
and
underemployed Vietnam-era veterans.
* Taking the lead on minority veterans' issues, including early and
staunch support for the creation of the Center of Minority Veterans and the
Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans Affairs.
* VVA has been the major force on the issue of Agent Orange for the
past two decades. Our Nehmer v. Veterans Administration lawsuit, filed in
1986,
forced the VA to begin compensating veterans with diseases linked to Agent
Orange. VVA convinced Congress to pass the Agent Orange Act of 1991, which
required the National Academy of Sciences to report on what diseases were
related to Agent Orange. As a result, VA now pays compensation for nine such
diseases.
* Being responsible for a 1996 law that, for the first time in our
nation's history, provides medical care and compensation to the children of
veterans whose parents suffer genetic damage from their military service-in
this
case Vietnam veterans' children with the birth defect spina bifida, which has
been linked to their parents' exposure to Agent Orange.
* Running the Veterans Benefits Program, which provides education to
veterans about government benefits to which they are entitled and trains
individuals to represent veterans in their claims to secure benefits from the
U.S.
Department of Veterans Appeals.
* Consistently winning a higher percentage of cases at the VA's Board
of Veteran's Appeals than any other veterans organization. VVA also has
increased the number of cases they handle at the BVA, to an all-time high in
FY
1998.
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