Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 05/13/2002

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
To add a comment about the Blue Star Banner mentioned in your April 29, 2002, column:

When my husband Jim died in Vietnam, our local American Legion presented me with a Gold Star Banner. It has a red border with a gold star in the middle. They also gave me a bag to keep my flag in. I never heard about the Blue Star before he died. I am a little disappointed that these banners are being sold and not just given to the family of someone who is serving.

Gold Star Wife
Internet user

Dear Gold Star Wife:
These banners honor the courageous individuals who have been called to duty and help us remember the dedication of all their families as well. American Legion posts across the country are buying the banners and distributing them free of charge. But people have the option of buying the banners from Emblem Sales. Banners also may be ordered from The American Legion's web site at www.legion.org. Additionally, The American Legion’s new Blue Star Corporate Flag, with which America's business and industry leaders can recognize their employees-or the relatives of their employees who have been called to active duty as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, may be obtained from The American Legion at 1-888-4-LEGION.

Shaft Kudos
The Sarge joins the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) in urging veterans and their families to write to their senators to request supplemental funding for VA health care. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Anthony Principi has projected that, if he does not receive an additional $400 million in supplemental funding for VA health care programs this year, he may have to curtail enrollment of veterans seeking medical care. However, the Administration has asked Congress for only $142 million additional for the VA. Senators Susan Collins, Tim Johnson, and Paul Wellstone have prepared a letter to be sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee urging the Committee to provide a minimum of $400 million for veterans' health care in the fiscal year (FY) 2002 supplemental appropriations bill. The veterans organizations coauthoring The Independent Budget sent a letter to all other senators urging them to join with Senators Collins, Johnson, and Wellstone as signatories on their letter to the Appropriations Committee. These three senators have also invited their senate colleagues to sign the letter. To persuade senators to join in this letter and effort to get this essential supplemental funding, the DAV and its Auxiliary members have begun this grassroots campaign to request that all Senators join in this letter to the Appropriations Committee. See the DAV web site at www.dav.org for an e-mail message to send to your senators.

The Sarge is looking forward to joining fellow members of the National Press Club, other media representatives, and guests at upcoming Club luncheons featuring remarks by two special guests: fellow Vietnam vet and now U.S. Senator Max Cleland (D-GA) on May 16 and, on May 24, the esteemed actor and director Ossie Davis, whose late sister, Essie Morgan Davis, shared her skills as a long-time employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Good friend Max Cleland has served his state and nation for more than 30 years. Max earned his undergraduate degree at Stetson University and took a Second Lieutenant's commission in the U.S. Army through its ROTC program. In 1967, Max volunteered for duty in Vietnam, where was promoted to the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army. In 1968, Max was seriously wounded by a grenade explosion and lost both legs and his right arm. He has since been awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service and the Silver Star for Gallantry in Action. After returning home from Vietnam, he was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1970. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Max to head the U.S. Veterans Administration. In 1982, Max was elected Georgia’s Secretary of State, and, in 1996, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, where he currently serves on four Senate Committees: Armed Services; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Governmental Affairs; and Small Business. Senator Cleland recently published his second book, “Going for the Max: 12 Principals for Living Life to the Fullest,” a collection of inspirational quotes and anecdotes the Senator has collected over the years (his first book was an autobiography entitled “Strong at the Broken Places”). 

Ossie Davis has been working on the American stage and screen for nearly 50 years. He and his wife and frequent collaborator, actor Ruby Dee, are longstanding political activists who were highly visible during the height of the civil rights movement and continue to speak out at rallies for progressive and humanitarian causes. Davis delivered the moving eulogy at the funeral of slain civil rights leader Malcolm X (which he repeated in Spike Lee's 1992 biopic. After a stint in the Army during WWII, Davis debuted on Broadway in 1946, playing the title role of "Jeb". His numerous roles on Broadway include the lead in "A Raisin in the Sun" (succeeding Sidney Poitier). In 1961, he wrote and starred in the Broadway hit, "Purlie Victorious", which he then adapted for the screen as "Gone Are the Days" (1963). He also wrote the book for the Broadway musical "Purlie." His movie credits include "No Way Out" (1950), "The Cardinal" (1963), "The Hill" (1965), and "The Scalphunters" (1968). He was writer-director of "Cotton Comes to Harlem" (1970) and subsequently directed "Kongi's Harvest" (1971), "Black Girl" (1972), "Gordon's War" (1973), and "Countdown at Kusini" (1976). He has since appeared in several films of Spike Lee: “School Daze," (1988); "Do the Right Thing," (1989); and "Jungle Fever" (1991). His most recent film credits include "Grumpy Old Men" (1993) and as a jurist in "The Client" (1994), a role he recreated in the TV spin-off. 

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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