I have read the National Commander's Message for 11 years as a member of The American Legion. This is the first message that really moved me. Maybe having just lost my dad, a Korean combat Veteran that the message rang so true. I had to re-post. Please take the time to read it!

Theimportance of remembrance

National Commander James E Koutz

I remember Lonnie Weisheit like I saw himyesterday. He’d be about my age now, probably with grandchildren. Yet he livesin my memory as the smiling, dark-haired 20-year-old who went through Armybasic training with me at Fort Knox, Ky., and advanced infantry training atFort Ord, Calif. We both went to Vietnam. I came home. Lonnie didn’t.

Every time I’m in Washington, D.C., I go tothe Wall to honor the 58,282 Americans killed in the war and the thousands moreinjured or still missing. On Panel 9W, Row 77, is Lonnie’s name. The letters,etched in granite, are a lasting tribute. But I can’t help but see beyond themto the young corporal who grew up in Lynnville, Ind., 10 miles from myhometown, and was killed by enemy fire at Hua Nghia. He was someone’s son, andhe was my friend.

In one more generation, most of us who knewLonnie and all the others we lost in Vietnam will be gone. Even now, we’reholding fast to the few who have firsthand memories of those who died in WorldWar II and Korea. On a day not too far off, our last living connections tothese wars will be severed, and their dead will forever belong to history.

The responsibility of remembrance falls toall of us – not just The American Legion and other veterans organizations, notjust those serving in uniform, but every man, woman and child who woke up thismorning in the land of the free. It’s a fading priority, though, in this busy,fast-changing world where the meaning of Memorial Day is drowned out bymattress sales and barbecues.

More than ever, our elected leaders mustset the example by making sure our military is able to render proper honors tothe nation’s fallen. Instead, sequestration threatens to encroach on thissacred obligation. At home and around the world, U.S. forces are still fightingon our behalf and protecting us at home, but with far less. That means hardchoices about where the money goes, so we can expect diminished representationin this year’s Memorial Day observances. No flyovers. Limited troop formations.Fewer bands playing the national anthem.

In Europe, where some 101,000 Americansoldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are buried, this is embarrassing. ManyU.S. cemeteries will have only a color guard and one military officer as guestspeaker. The largest of these, the Meuse-Argonne, is the site of the U.S.Army’s deadliest battle, with 26,277 killed and 95,786 wounded. For the firsttime, the Army won’t have a presence at the ceremony there.

Some may see these as unnecessary expenses,but consider that during the Great Depression, the United States built eightfederal monuments on foreign soil commemorating Americans who fought in WorldWar I. Congress paid for Gold Star Mothers to make a pilgrimage to their sons’graves overseas. What message do we send to other nations when giving fullhonor to our war dead is suddenly subject to the budget axe? What does it sayto the men and women serving today?

Remembering the fallen in a mannerbefitting their sacrifice is not a luxury. It is our solemn duty. These aren'tthe kind of budget cuts Americans want.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/04/11/hagel-decision-next-week-on-drone-medal.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Hagel Decision Next Week on Drone Medal

Apr 11, 2013

Defense Secretary ChuckHagel on Thursday promised a decision next week on whether to change the orderof precedence that now places the new Distinguished Warfare Medal for dronepilots and cyber-warriors above the Purple Heart and Bronze Star with combat'V.'

"It is a concern tome, it is a concern to any veteran," Hagel said of the current order ofprecedence for the DWM that was approved in February by outgoing DefenseSecretary Leon Panetta in one of his final acts as the Pentagon chief.

Hagel said he woulddecide early next week in response to questions from Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C.,at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the budget. Wilson said herecognized the contributions of the drone and cyber operatives to the nation'sdefense but "unfortunately, there is this issue of precedence. This is agreat concern to many veterans and their families," Wilson said.

In creating the newmedal, Panetta said that it would provide "distinct, department-widerecognition for the extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combatoperations, but that do not involve acts of valor or physical risk that combatentails."

The Veterans of ForeignWars and other vets groups immediately questioned the order of precedence.Hagel, who received two Purple Hearts for service as an Army sergeant inVietnam, ordered a halt to the production of the medal for a panel led by Gen.Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, to study the issue.

VFW Commander JohnHamilton made sure to point out that he didn't want the debate over the medalto be misconstrued as a critique of drone operators and cyber specialists.

"This is a policydisagreement over the placement of the new medal, not whether drone operators,cyber warriors and others don't deserve to be properly recognized for thetremendous impact they are bringing to the battlefield in real-time," hesaid.

DODOpposes Purple Hearts for Fort Hood Victims

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/04/02/dod-opposes-purple-hearts-for-fort-hood-victims.html?ESRC=eb.nl

The U.S. Department of Defense says it opposes giving PurpleHearts to victims of a 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas.

A position paper, delivered by the Pentagon to congressional staffmembers Friday, says giving the award, for injuries sustained in combat, tothose injured at Fort Hood could "irrevocably alter the fundamentalcharacter of this time-honored decoration."

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/03/12/hagel-halts-production-of-drone-pilot-medals.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Hagel Halts Production of Drone Pilot Medals

Mar12, 2013

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesdayhalted production of the new Distinguished Warfare Medal for drone pilots andcyberwarriors, and ordered a review of its ranking above the Bronze Star withCombat "V" and the Purple Heart.

Hagel announced the review following heatedcriticism from Congress and veterans groups such as the Veterans of ForeignWars. No servicemember has received the medal thus far, said George Little, thePentagon's chief spokesman.

The defense secretary directed Army Gen.Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to conduct thereview of the medal's position in the "order of precedence" formilitary decorations and report back to him in 30 days, Little said.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/03/08/hagel-will-not-reduce-drone-medals-precedence.html?ESRC=eb.nl

Hagel Will Not Reduce Drone Medal's Precedence

DefenseSecretary Chuck Hagel will not alter the ranking of the recently announcedDistinguished Warfare Medal, intended for drone pilots that has drawncontroversy because it takes precedence over the Bronze Star for valor and thePurple Heart.

In a letterto the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the first group to come out against the newmedal's ranking, Hagel said he is satisfied with the criteria and placement ofthe new medal. The medal is intended for drone pilots and cyber warfarespecialists whose actions have a direct impact on combat operations.

http://www.military.com/daily-news/2013/03/07/senators-want-drone-medal-to-have-lower-precedence.html?ESRC=dod.nl

SenatorsWant Drone Medal to Have Lower Precedence

A Pentagonplan to award a medal for combat operations to drone pilots is being challengedby Senators who say the medal should not rank higher than medals earned underfire.

Sen. JohnTester, D-Mont., on Wednesday filed legislation directing the Department ofDefense to change the precedence of the new Distinguished Warfare Medal so thatit follows the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart; the bill corresponds to onefiled late last month in the House by Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif.

"Thefront lines of conflict are changing, but the folks who serve directly in thetheater of war are at greater risk and we should fully acknowledge the risksthat their service brings," Tester said in a joint statement.

The DWM,intended for drone pilots and cyber warfare specialists whose actions have adirect impact on combat operations, was announced in February by DefenseSecretary Leon Panetta. Officials said Panetta, Joint Chiefs' Chairman Gen.Martin Dempsey and the service chiefs all backed the medal and where it fitrelative to other military awards and decorations.

Butveterans' groups, starting with the Veterans of Foreign Wars, immediately tookissue with the medal's ranking above the Bronze Star, which is also awarded forvalor, and the Purple Heart, which is awarded for combat wounds and injuries.