“American Legion supports H.R. 4155 and S. 2239”

After serving our country honorably, all veterans deserve the chance to earn a paycheck and support their families. Unfortunately, the unemployment rate for veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan remains stubbornly high. According to the latest Employment Situation of Veterans’ annual report from The Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for veterans who served post 9/11 was 12.1 percent in 2011, compared with the jobless rate for all veterans of 8.3 percent. Those hit the hardest from that group are our young male veterans, ages 18-24, which have an unemployment rate of 29.1 percent, higher than the 17.6 percent jobless rate of their young male non-veteran counterparts.

This is unacceptable and unnecessary.

The Department of Defense provides some of the best vocational training in the nation for its military personnel. There are many occupational career fields in the armed forces that can easily translate to a civilian counterpart; additionally, there are many occupations in the civilian workforce that require a license or certification.

Upon separation, however, many service members, certified as proficient in their military occupational career, are not licensed or certified to perform the comparable job in the civilian workforce, thus hindering chances for immediate civilian employment and delaying career advancement. This situation creates an artificial barrier to employment upon separation from military service.

On March 7, U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham (CA-19) and Rep. Tim Walz (MN-1) introduced the Veterans Skills to Jobs Act, H.R. 4155, to streamline the bureaucratic processes for veterans with relevant training to get jobs when they return home. Later that month, a companion bill, S. 2239, was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Bill Nelson (FL) and cosponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe (ME), Amy Klobuchar (MN) and Richard Blumenthal (CT).

The Veteran Skills to Jobs Act helps address the unacceptably high rate of veteran unemployment by directing the head of each federal department and agency to treat relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training or certification requirements for federal license, so that veterans can get back to work quickly.

Congress and the nation have a compelling interest in fostering the employment of veterans. An expanded credentialing program has widespread support on Capitol Hill and from many top defense officials. It marks a major cultural shift for the military, which once held the view that making it easier for troops to get out would reduce retention and hurt the military. The federal government is uniquely situated and obligated to take the lead on this, not only to overcome old attitudes, but to set an example for state and local government agencies which grant occupational licenses and set certain professional standards.

As the nation’s largest veterans’ service organization, The American Legion believes there are none more deserving than America’s service members and veterans. All Legionnaires, concerned citizens, veterans and their families are requested to write, call and visit their congressional representatives to either request their co-sponsorship of the Veteran Skills to Jobs Act or to thank them for their support.

Action link: http://capwiz.com/legion/issues/alert/?alertid=61338796&queueid=[capwiz:queue_id]

May 11, 2012 – The leader of the nation’s largest wartime veterans organization expressed gratitude today after the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that seeks to protect the Department of Defense from massive budget cuts as Washington struggles to find answers to the federal deficit crisis.

“This is a measure that echoes The American Legion’s firm belief that a strong and properly funded military is vital to our nation’s well being,” American Legion National Commander Fang A. Wong said in response to the May 10 House vote on the Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act (H.R. 5652). The measure passed by a 218-199 vote.

“It is heartening to know that the men and women of the House, by virtue of their action, are truly concerned about the negative, possibly disastrous, effects that massive, automatic cuts in our nation’s defense funding would have on our security,” Wong said. “If history teaches us anything, it is that a nation unprepared for emerging threats, such as we face today, will ultimately pay a higher price in blood and treasure. House members, by and large, appear to have heeded this lesson. The act is excellent in principle and a good and necessary argument in the vital debate over our military’s future.”

The measure would provide protections for the DoD budget in fiscal 2013, the first year of automatic cutbacks due to be imposed in order to reduce the federal deficit.

Throughout its 93-year history, The American Legion has steadfastly supported a strong national defense. In a 500-word resolution originally adopted last fall and reiterated recently, The American Legion argued, in part, that “…a strong, adequately funded American military is essential for global peace and prosperity in the 21st century… leadership within the Department of Defense (DoD) has continually warned that significant reductions in defense spending pose serious risks to the future security of the United States (and) further cuts to the DOD budget will do irreversible and irreparable harm to the military capability of the United States to defend the nation.”

The resolution concludes, “that The American Legion demand Congress and the Administration cease all efforts to reduce the defense budget from its current level.”

The Legion’s stand against undue cuts in defense spending was recognized by Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a statement following the vote. “House members… are joined by a broad coalition of veterans organizations who believe it is critical that we not jeopardize support for our troops and their families,” he said. “They also know it is critical for those who take an oath to defend America (that they receive) every advantage possible and every tool available to accomplish that sacred mission.”

The Sequester Replacement Reconciliation Act will now be considered by the U.S. Senate, where it is subject to debate and revision before a vote.

Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr. is shown during his tour with Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division. He will receive the Medal of Honor May 16 for his valor in Vietnam.

By: ARNEWS

President Barack Obama has announced that Spc. 4 Leslie H. Sabo Jr., a rifleman with the 101st Airborne Division, will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor May 16 for his actions during the Vietnam War.

Sabo is credited with saving the lives of several of his comrades in Company B, 3rd Battalion, 506th Infantry when his platoon was ambushed May 10, 1970, near the Se San River in eastern Cambodia. Sabo shielded a comrade from an enemy grenade and silenced a machine-gun bunker before he was killed.

Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, and his brother, George Sabo, have been invited to the White House for the Medal of Honor ceremony. President Obama recently telephoned Sabo-Brown to inform her that her late husband would receive the nation’s highest award for valor.

“It was a very emotional day,” she said. “A very, very emotional day. I couldn’t even sleep that night. And when I did fall asleep finally and I woke up the next morning, I went, ‘Now wait a minute, did I dream this? Is it really real?’”

“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” Sabo-Brown said. In her home near New Castle, Pa., Sabo-Brown has set up museum of sorts in tribute to her late husband and his comrades who were killed in Cambodia.

Even though his platoon was ambushed from all sides by a large enemy force, Sabo charged the enemy position, killing several enemy Soldiers. He then assaulted an enemy flanking force, successfully drawing their fire away from friendly Soldiers and ultimately forcing the enemy to retreat. While securing a re-supply of ammunition, an enemy grenade landed nearby. Specialist Sabo picked it up, threw it, and shielded a wounded comrade with his own body – absorbing the brunt of the blast and saving his comrade’s life.

Although wounded by the grenade blast, Sabo continued to charge the enemy’s bunker. After receiving several serious wounds from automatic weapons fire, he crawled toward the enemy emplacement and, when in position, threw a grenade into the bunker. The resulting explosion silenced the enemy fire, but also ended Specialist Sabo’s life. His indomitable courage and complete disregard for his own safety saved the lives of many of his platoon members.

Sabo’s unit nominated him for the Medal of Honor, but the paperwork was lost until Tony Mabb, a Vietnam veteran of the 101st Airborne Division and a writer for the “Screaming Eagle” association magazine, came across a thick file on Sabo while on a research trip to the National Archives military repository in College Park, Md.

Mabb contacted his congresswoman, who recommended DOD reconsider a medal of valor for Sabo. Mabb also made contact with Sabo’s widow, Rose Mary Sabo-Brown, who lives in New Castle, Pa.

“The Leslie I know would give his life to anybody,” she said. “He would. He would give you the shirt off his back. That’s the kind of man he was.”

(Soldiers magazine reporter Elizabeth M. Collins interviewed Rose Mary Sabo-Brown in Pennsylvania last week and contributed to this article, which is based on a White House release.)

By: Ken Olsen

Kai Jorgensen was laid off just before Thanksgiving 2011, the third time the recession has cost him his job since he left the Marine Corps in May 2009. He wasn’t prepared for such a cold reception from the civilian world after four years of keeping troops on the front lines supplied with gear and working as a ground safety officer.

“I didn’t expect this at all, especially coming out in the field of logistics,” says Jorgensen, 25, a Beaverton, Ore., native who has applied for hundreds of jobs. “I’m very discouraged.”

Yet the fact that Jorgensen has found any employment – even minimum-wage work – makes him one of the more fortunate returning servicemembers. The job hunt has been even more difficult for Oregon Army National Guardsmen like Shad Vaughn. Half of the soldiers in Vaughn’s company didn’t have jobs when they came home in April 2010 after a yearlong deployment to Iraq, he says.

Vaughn’s family has lived off credit cards and hardship grants – and his children are on state assistance – while he looks for work and fights to get medical care for injuries he sustained when an 850-pound armored-vehicle tire fell on him three weeks before he left Iraq. “For guys who have not been hurt, it’s hard,” Vaughn says of the job search. “For guys who are hurt, it’s ridiculous.”

The men and women who have served since 9/11 have the highest unemployment rate among their peers, according to a 2011 congressional study. The magnitude of the problem is often understated, because the most commonly cited government numbers don’t tell the whole story. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is often quoted as estimating unemployment among returning veterans 18 to 24 at about the same level as nonveterans in that age group.

But Bloomberg News dug deeper into the government data and found a far grimmer picture. Veterans 18 to 24 had a 30.4-percent jobless rate as of October 2011, about double the unemployment rate of nonveterans in the same age range. That’s also a significant jump from the October 2010 unemployment rate of 18.4 percent among the youngest veterans, Bloomberg reported. Black veterans 18 to 24 were faring the worst, with a 48-percent jobless rate.

Fleeting Success

Jorgensen’s initial return to civilian life was more promising. He found work as a loss-prevention agent for a major department store soon after leaving the Marines but was laid off a year later. “Since then, it’s been real hectic and hard,” he says.

He found a no-benefits job driving a delivery truck in September 2010 but was laid off right after Christmas that same year. He turned to a minimum-wage job at a golf course and enrolled in college. Although he was told there was room for growth, Jorgensen soon discovered that people with four years at the golf course were only making an additional 50 cents an hour. “I decided to continue school without that distraction,” Jorgensen says. The decision came after he realized that he was barely earning enough to pay for his gas to drive to work. “A lot of us who spent four years on active duty don’t have a college degree, although when I read the requirements, I know I can do a lot of the jobs (that call for a degree).”

His luck appeared to turn in September 2011, when he found a job as a delivery driver and warehouse specialist. That ended shortly before Thanksgiving because the company lost a major contract due to government cutbacks.

“It’s gotten to the point I’m applying for jobs all over the country,” Jorgensen says.

Vaughn doesn’t have that option. A .50-caliber gunner and mechanic, his six-year hitch with the National Guard runs until 2015. Meanwhile, in addition to looking for work, he is focused on some missing paperwork that’s made it nearly impossible for him to get treatment for back, neck, shoulder and other injuries he suffered when a tire fell 14 feet from a forklift and knocked him unconscious near the end of his tour in Iraq.
The Army put him on light duty and told him to wait to seek treatment until he got home, Vaughn says. Once his unit returned to the United States, he went to VA, where his claim has been stalled because of the missing paperwork, he says. His primary-care physician, meanwhile, dismissed his complaints of neck pain without obtaining a CT scan that would later show fractured vertebrae.

“We’ve been fighting tooth and nail to get records of my injuries the last two years,” Vaughn says. “It’s been rough, especially for my wife and two kids. The sad thing is, I know there are a lot of guys out there with the same problems, but they don’t want to get involved in it. I can’t give up because I’ve got so much invested in it.”

American Legion service officer Gregory Demarais became aware of Vaughn’s case in early December and worked to push forward his VA disability claim. Demarais also secured temporary financial assistance through the Legion to help pay Vaughn’s rent, and obtained donations for Christmas presents for Vaughn’s family through The Salvation Army, American Legion Post 122, The American Legion Auxiliary and VA employees. This is nothing out of the ordinary for Demarais. He distributed $19,000 in emergency funding to unemployed Oregon veterans in the first 10 days of that month alone.

National Attention

Meanwhile, there are efforts in Washington to deal with the problem. The Legion and other organizations successfully pushed Congress to pass the Hire Heroes Act late last fall. The legislation gives private businesses up to $5,600 in tax credits for hiring unemployed veterans, and as much as $9,600 to businesses that hire unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities.

The Obama administration has also increased the number of veterans working for the federal government, despite an overall hiring decrease. The Defense Department, VA and the Department of Homeland Security employ the most veterans of any federal agencies. In late February, the U.S. Department of Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding with The American Legion to launch a nationwide veteran-hiring initiative that aims to employ veterans in rural areas. VA has increased its veteran-employee numbers from 59,563 in fiscal 2004 to 101,651 in fiscal 2011. Veterans now make up about 29 percent of the work force at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an arm of Homeland Security. CBP added more than 800 veteran employees each of the last two years alone with an aggressive recruiting program, says Judy Hatter, who oversees veteran recruiting for the agency. That includes more than 340 job fairs and other events aimed at attracting applicants with military experience.

USAJOBS, an online application program that is mandatory for most federal jobs, is notoriously confusing and time-consuming, according to many government job seekers. CBP sets up laptop computers at job fairs and walks veterans through the process. The Department of Homeland Security has also established a Warrior Transition Program that allows it to bypass USAJOBS and hire qualified veterans for some positions. The USDA initiative also envisions a more streamlined application process for veterans seeking particular jobs.

Doug Peters, a Marine Corps veteran who participated in the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, found a home at CBP last September. His advice to veterans: “Make every effort to go to school, even if it’s part-time, even if you have to work a job and take night classes.”

Peters’ experience, however, demonstrates that education alone isn’t enough. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a law degree after leaving the Marines in 2003. Even then, it took him 18 months and hundreds of applications to find a job after he graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law in May 2010.

“I was really having a difficult time even getting people to call me back,” says Peters, 32, now a labor and employee relations specialist with CBP in Washington. His break came when a representative from Naval District Washington’s Wounded Warrior Employment Program forwarded his résumé to CBP.

Combat Experience Wanted

Customs and Border Protection isn’t the only place where veterans are valued. West Coast-based private employer Vigor Industrial hires veterans because the ship-repair company values their technical skills as well as their ability to think quickly, ask questions and make suggestions.

“Veterans, especially people who have experienced combat training or combat, are well suited for ship repair,” says Daava Mills, a corporate recruiter for Vigor. “Things turn on a dime.”

The company does short-notice ship repair for everyone from oceangoing cargo companies to the U.S. Navy. That can mean showing up at 2 a.m. to get a ship in dry dock. “We have to make our deadlines, or companies have to rent ships,” Mills says.

The company’s employees range from Vietnam War veterans to men and women who recently returned from serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. They hold jobs from general labor to director of operations. Even the laborer jobs are not typical, Mills says. Workers have to be able to read blueprints and perform other technical tasks, such as figuring out how to safely block up a ship in dry dock. Veterans often have these skills.

Many of the veterans working at Vigor were Navy or Air Force avionics and electrical specialists. Because they are doing maritime electrical work, they are not required to get additional state licenses to work for Vigor. That’s an important advantage for veterans, who often find that employers don’t recognize their military licenses because of state and federal regulations.

Mills personally understands the challenges veterans face finding work. Her father struggled to find meaningful employment after 24 years in the Air Force, including a tour in Vietnam.

“He went from planning missions and planning wars to packing boxes, so I have an appreciation for what these guys go through,” Mills says. “Unfortunately, we aren’t in a position to hire all of the guys and girls who come home.”

Older veterans are also struggling. Tony Hoffman has applied for jobs with VA in Florida and Indiana for more than a decade, and he’s only landed one interview. Instead of a job, he says, VA offered him a volunteer position passing out magazines and pencils.

“I go up there every time there’s an opening,” says Hoffman, who served as a licensed practical nurse in the Army from 1984 to 1991. “I have an Expert Field Medical Badge. I ran a clinic in the Army for two and a half years. They said they didn’t understand all of that. I can qualify to work as a janitor, but not as a nurse who can start IVs and has skills above and beyond the average LPN. It’s disheartening.”

Hoffman worries about the hurdles facing job-seeking veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. “There’s going to be a whole lot of medics coming home soon,” he says. “I think the young guys are going to get discouraged.”

Robert Randy has been so dismayed by his job searches that he’s considered leaving his four years with the Marine Corps off his résumé to see if it makes a difference. He earned a degree in international business after getting out of the service in 1990, and worked at a variety of companies until opening three cellular telephone retail stores in San Diego. Two of the stores went out of business after the economy soured. He sold the third after his wife landed a job in Oregon in 2007. He hasn’t been able to find a job since, even after applying for work as a state and county veterans service representative.

“I don’t know what I am going to do from here,” Randy says. “I want to work. I need to be able to work for my health.”

Veterans like Vaughn and Jorgensen also find it difficult to be optimistic. “It’s been one battle after another from every which way,” Vaughn says. “There’s no reason for the guys coming back to get this much crap.”
Jorgensen just wants the opportunity to get beyond the typical computer application process to sell himself in person.

“You want to come back, help your community, get an education, start a family,” Jorgensen says. “For me, it would be great just being able to get into the interview process. I think if I could just get face to face with employers, I could get a job.”

Ken Olsen is a frequent contributor to The American Legion Magazine.

Pointing out that the United States has been in this situation before, American Legion National Commander Fang A. Wong and the organization’s National Executive Committee are calling on Congress to leave the country’s defense budget alone.

During its Spring Meetings in Indianapolis this week, the NEC unanimously passed Resolution 1, in which the Legion “demands Congress and the Administration to cease all efforts to reduce the defense budget from its current level.”

“Sixty years ago, America was engaged in a bloody and horrific war on the Korean Peninsula,” Wong told the NEC. “The war did not have to last three years, and it did not have to cost 35,000 American lives. But America was caught off guard. Following World War II, the budget-cutters decided to take the greatest military ever known and gut it. The brave men of Task Force Smith were simply outnumbered and outgunned as they faced down the hordes of North Korean soldiers that overwhelmed them in 1950.”

Now, Wong said, the country is in a similar situation. “We have pulled our forces from Iraq and are in the process of winding down in Afghanistan,” he said. “The president and his Defense Department have already announced some planned reductions in force – reductions that pale in comparison to what happens if Congress and the White House fail to agree on spending cuts and sequestration hits. While many predict that the political survival instincts of our elected leaders will require them to work together, it is a gamble that we cannot afford to lose.”

Wong urged the NEC and every member of the organization to – in this, an election year – get all political candidates to state on the record what they will do to keep the country strong.

Past National Commander/Past National Adjutant Robert W. Spanogle also urged Legionnaires to stay informed. During this year’s national convention in Indianapolis, the National Security Commission will conduct a symposium that will feature a variety of experts speaking on the Defense budget and its impact on the rest of the country. The symposium will take place Aug. 27 from 1-4:30 p.m. in Rooms 205-207 in the Indiana Convention Center.

“I encourage all of you to go back to your departments and tell your members they’re going to miss one great program if they don’t attend,” Spanogle said. “When you leave, you will truly understand the Defense budget.”

A department staff member visited the devastated areas to hand out information and forms on the department’s Education and Welfare Fund, as well as the national-level’s Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) and National Emergency Fund (NEF) programs.

The NEF was conceived as a source of assistance after natural disasters. It has provided more than $6 million in direct financial assistance to both Legion family members and posts devastated by tornadoes, floods, earthquakes and other catastrophes, keeping them in their homes and helping them begin the process of rebuilding. NEF and TFA applications are reviewed and signed off by department commanders or adjutants, who then forward the applications on to National Headquarters. The departments have no direct involvement in awarding the grants.

The Department of Indiana was able to make its presence felt in the ravaged communities. The staff member who visited the area found that posts and districts were already in action, distributing information and helping out wherever needed. A week after the tornadoes, two truckloads of emergency supplies — as well as some of the nearly $10,000 in money and gift cards that had been donated from people and organization’s around the state — accompanied Department Commander Michael J. Miller as he assessed the situation on-site.

While touring the devastation, Miller and other department representatives saw its scope — many of those who would need help getting back on their feet were not part of the Legion family, making them ineligible for the Legion’s NEF assistance. However, the department of Indiana was driven to help all those in need, so they conceived a way to do just that and to focus on needs that might come up later in time than the initial rush of donations that come in after any disaster.

During the department’s Spring Conference in April, the Department Executive Committee approved the creation of the Indiana Disaster Assistance Fund, which will offer grants to residents who continue to find themselves in need of resources when other sources of assistance may have been exhausted. To bolster the fund, the conference saw a donation of more than $12,000, as well as $750 in gift cards and an avalanche of school supplies — intended, again, for difficulties that may arise in the fall when children in the affected areas start a new school year. And as of early May, the fund was more than $21,000.

The Department of Indiana, like the Legion as a whole, strives every day — and through anything Mother Nature has in her arsenal — to live up to the Preamble of the Legion’s Constitution, especially “devotion to mutual helpfulness.” To learn more about the Indiana Disaster Assistance Fund, visit the Department of Indiana’s website, www.hoosierlegionnaire.org, or contact Buzz Smith via phone at (317) 630-1259 or email, bsmith@indlegion.org.

Since that time, Meyer’s GPS for Troops – through St. Augusta American Legion Post and Auxiliary Unit 621 in Minnesota – has shipped more than 500 GPS units to U.S. servicemembers who served in Iraq, or did or currently still serve in Afghanistan.

“I never thought it would get this big,” said Meyer, an Army veteran and retired school teacher. “We just saw an opportunity to do something for our troops, and it’s sort of grown from there. It’s a cause people want to support.”

Through an arrangement with Lowrance Electronics, Meyer is able to purchase the GPS units for almost one-third of the normal $300 price tag. The GPS units come complete with a microchip to download encrypted detailed mapping of Afghanistan.

“Lowrance has really taken a hold of this project,” Meyer said. “And because they offer us such a discount, that’s why we prefer people donating to the project, rather than purchasing the GPS units on their own and then donating them to us. We can get three for the price of one because of Lowrance.”

Word of the program has spread over the years, to the point where other posts and groups across the country are conducting fundraisers for GPS for Troops. “There’s a need, and when people understand what that need is, they want to help,” Meyer said. “They know the need is there.”

At Post 621, a wall has been set aside to display pictures servicemembers have sent to Meyer of them using the GPS units. Meyer said the project also has gotten several written testimonials from servicemembers who’ve received a GPS unit – and from members of their families:

“I got the GPS the other day & it works perfectly in the area around Tarin Kowt, Afghanistan. THANKS AGAIN!” – SGT. Donald Brown, from Tupelo, MS

“Having the GPS unit would allow myself and others in my vehicle get to a destination in any event. It is an assurance for us to know we would get to where we needed to be no matter what.” – SPC Douglas Androsky

“I think what y’all are doing is great. As a Sgt. in the Marines it is really hard to get great gear to take to the forward line and complete the mission. I support you guys as much as you’re supporting us. Thank you. ” – Sgt. Patrick Poindexter USMC

“Thank you so much!! What a thrill for us to know that he has the GPS. You have blessed a soldier and his parents!” – Rebecca

After the war, McHugh moved to Illinois, eventually settling in the town of Danville for about 40 years before his death in 1905. He and his wife were buried in the local Resurrection Cemetery, but his grave went unmarked for over 100 years. McHugh, and his wartime bravery, were forgotten.

In 2010, a member of the U.S. Medal of Honor Historical Society contacted the Vermilion County Clerk’s Office. They had discovered that McHugh was never issued a Medal of Honor marker. Machelle Long, who works in the clerk’s office, and Danville radio reporter Larry Weatherford eventually became co-chairs of a Medal of Honor Ceremony Committee that worked with the historical society for more than a year as it got the issuance of such a marker approved by the VA National Cemetery Administration.

On April 21, the Ceremony Committee – with the support of local Legion entities, among others – put together a day of celebration and remembrance for Seaman McHugh. A ceremony at Holy Family Church (the descendant of the First St. Patrick’s Church McHugh had attended) drew nearly 100 people to hear local and state politicians and others speak about the importance of never forgetting U.S. servicemembers, no matter how long ago they served. Interspersed in the ceremony were Bible readings, patriotic songs and hymns popular in the later 19th century.

After the ceremony, a procession of flag-bedecked vehicles, the Patriot Guard, Legion Riders, and five color guards – including one composed of Civil War re-enactors – made their way to Resurrection, where the Medal of Honor marker, a headstone and a historical marker were placed at McHugh’s grave during a formal dedication. Seven other Medal of Honor recipients from the area were also recognized. The day concluded with a reception at the Vermilion County War Museum, partly sponsored by the Legion.

American Legion Past National Commander Marty Conatser, an Illinois native, said that the members of the Ceremony Committee grew to feel “almost like they were family to McHugh now.” He was in Danville on April 21, and evoked “ageless bravery” in describing the events. “America never forgets,” he said.

On a Memorial Day spent at his grandparents’ house as a child, a boy discovers his grandfather’s old footlocker in a dusty barn. After making a deal with the boy to explain selected items, the grandfather finds himself talking for the first time about his sometimes difficult experiences in the war. The boy takes his memory of that day with him as he goes through similar experiences as an adult serving overseas, in the process building a “footlocker” of his own – to perhaps use to start a conversation with his own child one day.

Co-executive producer Jeff Traxler, a Legionnaire who served from 1981 to 1993 mostly as an Army Reservist, first got the idea for “Memorial Day” while participating in Living History Days – historical re-enactments of military conflicts from the Civil War through today. A friend came to one re-enactment from a soon-to-be-torn-down house in which he had found numerous old items, including a military footlocker. Traxler found himself wondering about what kind of story lay behind the antique. After talking with and studying footage from director Sam Fischer, who he had hired to film the final Living History Day, he was suddenly inspired. “It all made sense,” Traxler said. He decided on the spot to bring a footlocker – and the service behind it – to the screen.

Traxler owns a hunting club in Minnesota and raised funds for the production from members. He spent 18 months fundraising, developing the story, and gathering his crew and cast – what he describes overall as “a pretty big project.” That cast includes “All My Children” alum Jonathan Bennett, Oscar-nominated actor James Cromwel and James’ son John Cromwell, who plays the grandfather (James’ role) as a young man during World War II.

During the Minnesota filming, everyone involved “tried to keep it on a realistic basis” in terms of portraying soldiers’ experiences in war, down to the details. Co-executive producer Kyle O’Malley served with Traxler and is currently a sergeant with the Army National Guard, 34th Infantry Division – known as the Red Bull, and also the unit the grandson in the movie ends up serving with. Just back from his first tour in Iraq when filming started, O’Malley provided useful technical advice. The primary military technical advisor was Maj. Darrin Janisch, also a Red Bull, who served as a liaison to the Guard and the DoD office in Hollywood. Traxler’s story idea appealed greatly to Janisch, who had a similar story to tell about his grandfather.

“He was a veteran of the Korean War,” Janisch said, “and there were all these foreign things in this footlocker and all these uniforms hanging way in the back of this big closet.” Janisch didn’t get answers from his grandfather right away, but “after that day, he would talk a little here and there with me about Korea. It kind of started to open the door to that part of his life.”

Perhaps the single most realistic element in the film, in addition to Guard expertise and rented Guard equipment, is the use of actual Guardsmen: 39 Red Bulls, most of whom played extras, with one or two given speaking roles. As a thank-you to the division for all of its help, Traxler and his team organized a dual screening this spring that involved both the unit – many of whom, including O’Malley, are currently serving in Kuwait – and the families back home in Minnesota. The families could talk to each other and conduct Q&As via remote link. Traxler says it was “exciting to see people new to the movie reacting to it.” And he will have the opportunity to see many more such reactions; in addition to the GI Film Festival screening on May 19, the film has been accepted into the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival and the Newport Beach Film Festival.

“It was truly an honor to work with [Traxler] and the cast and crew, because they were so committed to portraying soldiers not as people view them, or imagine them or believe them to be, but how they really are: good, bad and otherwise,” Janisch said.

Traxler hopes that the film will encourage conversations, especially for older veterans. “World War II veterans didn’t say much,” he said. “They just didn’t.” American Legion and VFW posts were often used as “a place to go and talk with their own,” rather than potentially burdening loved ones. But “people want to remember now …. If they’re going to live on, they have to tell them.”

“Memorial Day” will be released on DVD, and available for digital download, on May 29. Go to http://www.memorialdayfilm.com/ to learn more about the film.

The GI Film Festival is dedicated to honoring military films, and is a past recipient of The American Legion’s National Commander’s Public Relations Award. Wounded warriors recovering in the Washington area will be presented with special gifts courtesy of the Legion’s Operation Comfort Warriors during a screening of the film “Battleship” at the festival on May 17. More information about the GI Film Festival is on its website at http://gifilmfestival.com/.

In early 2011, American Legion Post 754 in New York City hosted a special screening of “Chosin,” a documentary film on the Korean War, for more than 300 Legionnaires and locals. The film left an immediate impact on those in attendance – especially Post 754 members.

“Part of the film deals with interviewing veterans who came back from the Korean War looking for jobs,” said Richard Sweeney, commander of Post 754. “There wasn’t a dry eye in the house because it’s the same kind of challenges we see today with our returning veterans … they’re unemployed, looking for jobs and trying to target their skills to a business.”

The film inspired Post 754 members to tackle these challenges, and they are doing so by networking with local organizations who have the same mission – helping returning veterans with employment and education. In an effort to spread awareness of its mission, the post recently hosted a dinner reception at the New York Athletic Club, the post’s home. The reception featured National Commander Fang A. Wong as guest speaker.

Wong emphasized the need to find an answer to how servicemembers will be taken care of upon their return home. “I’ve had a lot of opportunity to talk to troops, and I always get the feeling that they are ready to do their job if we give them our support,” Wong said. “We are doing that. But then, when you look at when they come home, how are we supporting them? I’ve realized that when the troops come home, three things, not necessarily in this order, are most important to them: job, education and family.”

Post 754’s alliance with veteran-focused organizations that share the same mission is one of the many ways NYC locals are supporting returning servicemembers. Sweeney and Post 754 member Rick Miners currently are creating relationships amongst the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce, NYC Mayor’s Office of Veterans’ Affairs, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Robin Hood Foundation.

“We are all putting together a concerted effort to identify what exactly is the problem with veterans finding jobs, how many veterans are looking now for a job and how many New York City residents will be coming back looking for jobs,” Sweeney said. “And rather than put the veteran out looking, we want to train them beforehand on how to look and prepare for a job.

“The good thing about this (alliance) is that if we can get something successfully done in a huge metropolis like New York, than it’s easily transferable to regionalize it.”

Miners then emphasized that, “We want to give veterans the confidence to go out there and present their credentials successfully so they can engage with whoever is interviewing them. We want to help veterans portray their skills in a positive light.”

Wong echoed Sweeney’s and Miners’ sentiments on ensuring that veterans are well-prepared for finding and interviewing for a job. “People hiring like to look for those buzz words – words that will fit exactly what they are looking for,” Wong said. “If you put yourself down as an infantry officer, they don’t understand what that is. Human Resources has no clue what military personnel will bring to their company if the veteran doesn’t highlight his or her skills. They are the best trained, the most intelligent, the most dependable, the most capable and the most disciplined employees you can find.”

In addition to its focus on veteran employment and education, Post 754 is looking to educate the hiring population on how to interview veterans. “We see time again where people who are interviewing the veterans don’t know what to ask them,” Miners said. “They never ask about their service, branch of service, what they learned or what skills they had.”

Sweeney has been searching for organizations or individuals who train employees how to interview veterans; his search has come up empty. “It’s important that those interviewing veterans recognize his or her service because if not, oftentimes the veterans walk away saying, ‘I’ve been humiliated, and it’s already tough enough that I have to look for a job,’” Sweeney said. “Educating the hiring population is one of simple things that we can work on to make a difference for our veterans.”

Legion Post 754 was chartered in 1919, is located on the 12th floor of the New York Athletic Club and has nearly 230 members. A few of its former members include World War I Army Gen. John Pershing, and political leader, Medal of Honor recipient and Legion founder Theodore Roosevelt Jr.