THE WOUNDED WARRIORS

THE WOUNDED WARRIORS
WILL BE AT American Legion POST 196
5716 Marlboro Pike
Forestville, MD
(301)420-9492
or contact John Canaday (CSM,USA,RET)
(202) 679-9387
FOR A NIGHT OF ENTERTAINMENT OF
DINING AND DANCING
COME ON OUT AND MEET AND GREET THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE GIVEN SO MUCH SO
THAT WE CAN ENJOY THE FRUITS OF FREEDOM.
"ALL GA VE SOME, SOME GA VE ALL."
DINING AND DANCING WITH DJ MASTER "T"
CONTRIBUTION OF FOOD AND MONEY ACCEPTED TO HELP THESE BRAVE MEN AND
WOMEN OF OUR ARMED SERVICES, TO ENJOY A NIGHT OUT WITH OUR LEGIONNAIRES AND
COMMUNITY MEMBERS, SO THAT THEY WILL KNOW WE APPRECIATE THEIR SERVICE AND
THEIR SACRIFICE.
HELP MAKE THIS NIGHT A NIGHT THAT WE CAN ALL LOOK BACK ON WITH
PLEASANT MEMORIES AND GOOD FEELINGS THAT WE AS A COMMUNITY GAVE
BACK SOME TO THOSE WHO GAVE SOMUCH.

On behalf of the

Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Maryland

14735 Main Street, Upper Marlboro, Maryland

The Honorable Sheila R. Tillerson Adams,

Seventh Circuit and Prince George’s County Administrative Judge,

Invites you to the

4^th Annual Veterans’ Appreciation Ceremony and Muster

On the Court House Lawn

In recognition of our Veterans’ dedicated service

In the Armed Forces of the United States

For our Country and County

The ceremony will be held in front of the Duvall Wing of the

Prince George’s County Court House on the

21^st day of May, 2013 at 9:30 a.m.

Following the ceremony, light refreshments will be served.

Dear Legion Family Members and Friends, The American Legion turns 94 today, March 15. It was on this date in 1919 when the first American Legion caucus was convened in Paris, coordinated by members of the American Expeditionary Force. Weary from war and its effects, they  were concerned about their lives after discharge, the welfare of their comrades and the general condition of our nation. Such concerns gave rise to a value system, and The American Legion swiftly became the nation’s largest veterans service organization. Today, with 2.4 million members, the Legion is as strong and relevant as ever. The American Legion birthday is a time to celebrate. Cake and candles are OK, but this Legion birthday, I am asking for something more. I am asking you to share your American Legion story. Share it by speaking in your community and engaging local media. Share it by posting news of your services on Facebook, Twitter and the Legiontown U.S.A. web platform. Here are just some of the ways you can join me in this year’s birthday celebration: Upload stories and photos about post activities, including birthday party celebrations, on the Legiontown U.S.A. site. Customize a draft speech available on the Legion website and deliver it in a public setting. The birthday speech can be downloaded free as a PDF or Word document  by visiting www.legion.org/publications and scrolling down to the Public Relations section. Tune in to The American Legion Amateur Radio Club (TALARC), which will operate N9L – November Niner Legion – as a special-event station to commemorate the Legion’s 94th birthday Friday and Saturday. In addition to operating SSB on 14.270 MHz +/- 5 KHz, central Indiana stations may contact N9L on 146.46 MHz Simplex, or worldwide via IRLP Node 4816, on Friday, March 15, between 10 a.m. EDT (1400 UTC) and 4 p.m. EDT (2000 UTC), and Saturday, March 16, between 9 a.m. EDT (1300 UTC) and 4 p.m. EDT (2000 UTC). N9L will also be available via IRLP Node 4816. A full-color N9L certificate confirming contacts will be sent on receipt of a 9-by-12 inch self-addressed stamped envelope to TALARC, The American Legion National Headquarters, 700 N. Pennsylvania Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204. Thank you for all you do every day – for veterans, their families and the communities in which they live. Happy birthday, American Legion! For God and Country,   James E. Koutz National Commander     James E. 'Jim' KoutzNational Commander The American Legion

Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps "pitch party"

D.C. office to host women entrepreneurs event The American Legion's Washington Office will host a "pitch party" sponsored by the Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps (WVEC) on March 14 from noon to 2 p.m. The event will invite women veteran business owners and entrepreneurs to the Legion's K Street building for a networking and "pitch" session, where feedback can be given on business and entrepreneurial ideas. The event is free, and any woman veteran who owns a business or aspires to own a business or become an entrepreneur can attend. Those planning to attend should email an RSVP to Harvetta Spann at wvec@countmein.org WVEC is a new business growth program for women military veterans and spouses with small businesses. Supported by the Legion's Economic Division, the organization aims to teach women veterans how to not only start a small business but sustain growth once the business is started. WVEC's first conference and competition will take place in McLean, Va., on April 29 - 30. Event info: Women Veteran Entrepreneur Corps "pitch party" Noon to p.m. Thursday, March 14 American Legion Headquarters, 1608 K Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20006

A Little-Known Benefit for Aging Veterans

By SUSAN SELIGER

Ricardo Arduengo/Associated PressAs veterans age, many are unfamiliar with a benefit that can help pay for care at home or in assisted living or a nursing home.

Here’s a riddle: When is a government benefit that pays for caregivers, assisted living and a nursing home not a benefit? When hardly any people know they’re entitled to it.

That seems to be the story with a Department of Veterans Affairs benefit called the Aid and Attendance and Housebound Improved Pension benefit, known as A&A, which can cover the costs of caregivers in the home (including sons and daughters who are paid to be caregivers, though not spouses) or be used for assisted living or a nursing home.

The benefit is not insignificant: up to $2,019 monthly for a veteran and spouse, and up to $1,094 for the widow of a veteran.

Surprised that you’ve never heard of it? You’re not alone.

“It’s probably one of the lesser-known benefits,” said Randal Noller, a Veterans Affairs spokesman in Washington. Of the 1.7 million World War IIveterans alive as of 2011, who were in need of caregiving assistance and thus eligible, only 38,076 veterans and 38,685 surviving spouses were granted the A&A benefit that year, according to Mr. Noller.

Mr. Noller is not the first to acknowledge A&A is a well-kept secret. Jim Nicholson, former secretary of Veterans Affairs, said in a December 2006 news release that “not everyone is aware of his or her potential eligibility” for the program, which he called an “underused” benefit.

Not much has changed. A search of the Veterans Affairs Web site for evidence of public information efforts in the six years since came up blank.

“The sad thing is, it’s been an entitlement for 61 years, but it’s sat idle — the V.A. employees just haven’t been educated about it,” said Debbie Burak of Midlothian, Va. She said she repeatedly called department offices on behalf of her father, a World War II veteran, and her mother, who became homeless after their house caught fire and their injuries required extensive care. She was told there were no benefits they were entitled to. (Indeed, when I called two Baltimore-area Veterans Affairs offices for my father, a World War II veteran, no one had heard of this benefit or any benefit that paid for caregivers or assisted living or nursing homes.)

“My parents’ end of life was so difficult. They lost everything, were living in a terrible hotel, ran up every credit card we had,” Ms. Burak said. “My mother begged us not to cremate her, but there was no money for a burial; we had no choice.”

It was only after her father died that Ms. Burak discovered her parents would have been entitled to as much as $160,000 over the last decade through the Aid and Attendance benefit. She applied, but no money arrived before her mother died.

Mr. Noller said the program’s low visibility might be an effect of the size of the department. “The V.A. is the second-largest agency in the federal government, and you can’t expect everybody to know everything,” he said, referring to the agency’s work force.

To bridge the information gap, Ms. Burak introduced VeteranAid.org, a Web site and a 501(c)(3) charity, in 2005, to provide information about A&A eligibility and how to apply.

To qualify, a veteran need not have suffered a service-related injury. He or she only had to have clocked at least one day of his or her 90-day minimum military service during a time of war and need caregiving for activities of daily living.

Applying can be confusing and arduous. If you know the program’s name and search the Veterans Affairs Web site for Aid and Attendance, the first page states, among other things, that you are not eligible for A&A unless you already qualify for a basic Veterans Affairs pension — for which you have to be “totally disabled.”

That’s more than a little misleading.

“What people don’t know is that when wartime veterans turn 65, the V.A. automatically classifies them as ‘totally disabled,’ ” Ms. Burak said. And if they meet income and asset criteria, they are eligible for a basic pension.

The A&A benefit can be more than 50 percent higher than the basic veteran’s pension ($24,239 annually for a veteran and spouse with A&A, versus $16,051 for a basic pension). The income and asset cutoffs are also higher than for A&A benefits.

Karen McCarty, of Fort Worth, is one of the lucky ones who applied for A&A — and got it. She heard about it when the assisted living facility where her father-in-law, Robert McCarty, 92, was living, held a seminar on it.

Ms. McCarty, a former certified public accountant, started researching the application process at the Veterans Affairs site, but, she said, “the VeteranAid.org site was much clearer.” She found all the forms she needed, and her father-in-law received the first check in record time — six months.

Not all Veterans Affairs officers are in the dark about A&A.

After Annette Cadena’s parents were in a car accident and moved to a nursing home in their tiny hometown, Fossil, Ore., it was the local Veterans Affairs officer, Paul Conroy (now retired), who saw her on the street and mentioned that her parents might qualify.

“I was skeptical, to be honest,” said Ms. Cadena. “My husband did two tours in Iraq and has worked 30 years for the Washington State Army National Guard coordinating with the V.A. to help veterans, and he had never heard of it.”

Still, she applied in August 2009, and nine months later her parents started receiving the maximum $2,019 per month.

The benefit was a lifesaver. That is, until her father, Clinton Ray, died on Aug. 5. The payments to her mother, Bessie Ray, stopped, even though widows of veterans are also entitled to this benefit.

“They cut her off cold,” Ms. Cadena said, and told her she would have to apply all over again as a widow, which could take 9 to 18 months. “My mother said, ‘Oh, my God, are they going to kick me out of the home?’” Ms. Cadena recalled.

Still, when the benefit comes through, it can make a real difference.

Marcia Hruska’s mother, 85, had run through all her savings after seven years of worsening Alzheimer’s and round-the-clock care in her apartment in Coconut Creek, Fla. Assisted living was the next step, but Ms. Hruska didn’t know how they would pay for it, with Social Security her only income.

“One of the assisted living facilities we visited asked if my dad had been in the service,” and mentioned A&A, Ms. Hruska recalled. So she filled out the 26-page Veterans Affairs application — which used to be only four pages — and on Sept. 1, six months after applying, she received the first monthly check for $1,019. “This relieves a lot of tension,” Ms. Hruska said.

One warning note: Scams abound. The department forbids anyone to charge to help veterans fill out these challenging forms, yet a growing number of companies — many of which, on a Web search for “Aid and Attendance,” pop up with waving flags and red-white-and-blue banners — offer to “help” veterans fill out the forms free, then charge thousands of dollars for financial consultation.

And, Ms. Burak warns: “Financial planners at assisted living facilities are putting on seminars about the A&A benefit — but it isn’t out of the goodness of their hearts. They are trolling for residents who have too much money to qualify, to get them to move assets into annuity products that don’t count as income or assets and yield big commissions.” (This is possible because, unlike Medicaid, with its five-year lookback, Veterans Affairs has no lookback on asset transfers.)

The department does not reveal maximum allowable assets. But $80,000 (the house and a car are exempt from this total) seems to be in the ballpark, though someone with more assets could still qualify if expenses were very high, according to Ms. Burak.

Income limits are not set in stone either. But the maximum is around$20,000 to $23,000 after deducting costs for medical expenses, caregivers, assisted living or nursing home fees.

Some people are taking advantage of A&A to protect assets for their heirs, Ms. McCarty said. Still, she said,”it’s a wonderful benefit.”

2012-2013 Southern Maryland Calendar

29 July – 12 pm	SMD Advisory	BELTWAY POST 172 7105 CIPRIANO RD LANHAM,MD 20706
12 Aug – 1 pm	SMD Meeting	HENDERSON-SMITH-EDMONDS POST 86 2013 VIERS MILL RD ROCKVILLE, MD 20853
18 Aug-8:00	County Commander Seminar	JEFF DAVIS Post 18 2619 CENTERVILLE RD. CENTERVILLE, MD 21617
19 Aug – 1 pm	DEC Meeting	KENT ISLAND POST 278 800 ROMANCOKE RD STEVENSVILLE,MD 21666
11 Sept	Patriots Day
14 Oct – 1 pm	SMD Meeting	PATRICK HENERY POST 34 5526 BELLE GROVE RD BALTIMORE, MD 21225
11 Nov	Veterans Day
18 Nov – 1 pm	DEC Meeting	EDWIN C. CREEGER,JR. POST 168 8 PARK LANE THURMONT, MD 21788
20 Jan – 1 pm	SMD Meeting	RIDGE POST 255 13390 POINT LOOK OUT RD RIDGE, MD  20680
25 Jan – 4 pm 10 Feb-9:00- TBA	Oyster Bowl Cutoff SMD  Oratorical Contest	CLINTIN POST 259
17 Feb – 1 pm	DEC Meeting	SYNEPUXENT POST 166 2308 PHILADELPHIA AVE OCEAN CITY, MD 21843
23 Feb – TBD	Oyster Bowl	HARRY-WHITE WILMER POST 82 6330 N. CRAINE HWY LA PLATA, MD 20646
3 Mar 9 Mar	Dept. Oratorical National Commanders Visit	TBA HARRY-WHITE WILMER POST 82 6330 N. CRAINE HWY LA PLATA, MD 20646
10 Mar – 1 pm	SMD Meeting	GREENBELT POST 136 6900 GREENBELT RD GREENBELT, MD 20770
11 May	SMD Reception for Dept.	GREENBELT POST 136
5 May – 1 pm	SMD Meeting /     Law Enforcement	HARRY-WHITE WILMER POST 82 6330 N. CRAINE HWY LA PLATA, MD 20646
19 May – 1 pm	DEC Meeting	PROCTOR-KILDOW POST 71 OAKLAND,MD
1 June – 4:00	SMD Reception	STALLINGS-WILLIAMS POST 206 3330 CHESAPEAKE BEACH RD CHESAPEAKE BEACH, MD 20732
30 June – 1 pm JULY  16	SMD Caucus  CONVENTION	STALLINGS-WILLIAMS POST 206 3330 CHESAPEAKE BEACH RD CHESAPEAKE BEACH, MD 20732
15 July - 3:30 pm	Change of Hats	Ocean City
15 July – 4 pm	Fish Fry	Ocean City