WWW.VFWPOST1260.ORG

December 2016 Volume 83, Issue 12

Harold Baggenstoss Post 1260

From the Commander

BY BRUCE MALTERUD

Comrades,

This month news letter came upon me quite suddenly. Already the 6th of Dec. and meeting night tonight.

We sure had a nice turn out for our annual Pearl Harbor Dinner last Sun-day afternoon the 4th of Dec.. We served 109 meals and a great lunch and the the guest speaker was a POW from Vietnam.

This has been a pretty busy month for me so the news letter for the month will be kind of short. For this coming Sat. the 10th we will be having the 9th District meeting here in Bemidji. And after that I will be on the road just about every day doing post inspections which will be done by the 18th of Jan.

This week, the Senate passed several veterans bills to honor veterans who were injured or became ill while in service and fund construction pro-jects for VA facilities in Nevada and California. These bills will now go to the House for further consideration. The House also advanced several bills to require the Department of Labor to better recognize efforts made by em-ployers to recruit and retain veterans. The house also passed bills to require VA to provide headstones, markers, or medallions for Medal of Honor recipi-ents who are buried in private cemeteries and send a Presidential Memorial Certificate to the families of deceased veterans; authorize congressional staffers greater access to the records of veterans who ask for help from their member of Congress; and a bill to rename the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California after Medal of Honor recipient Tibor Rubin. These bills await Senate consideration. Another bill passed by the House to im-prove VA’s Automobile Adaptive Equipment Program now heads to the president’s desk for his signature.

In a speech in Ohio last night, President-elect Donald Trump said he will nominate retired Marine Corps Gen. James N. Mattis to lead the Depart-ment of Defense. The general, who received the VFW's top Dwight D. Ei-senhower Award in 2015, served more than four decades before retiring in 2013 as the commander of U.S. Central Command. Of his selection, VFW National Commander Brian Duffy said "Our nation has been at war for more than 15 years with no end in sight. It makes perfect sense to put a warfight-er in charge of the war fighting. The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States looks forward to working with General Mattis."

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Adjutant’s Corner .................. 2

Veteran Service Officer .......... 3

Chaplain’s Corner .................. 4

Spot Light On ......................... 5

Veteran’s Employment Rep ... 5

Post Auxiliary ......................... 6

Activities Last Month ............. 7

Points of Contact ................... 7

SPECIAL POINTS OF INTEREST

Wreaths Across America:

Dec 10

District Meeting: Dec 10

VETERANS OF F OREIGN WARS

Mark your calendars! Next meeting is Tuesday, November 1st!!!

ADJUTANT’S CORNER

NOTICE: VFW website: www.vfwpost1260.org. All up-dated information is available concerning our local VFW Post #1260 as well as our state and national infor-mation. VFW Post #1260 Meeting Date: Tuesday December 6th at 7:00 pm at the Eagles Club. VFW Dist. #9 Meeting, Bemidji Saturday, December 10, ’16, Registration at

9:00 am. Bring another veteran to our meeting! Harold Baggenstoss VFW Post #1260 P.O. Box 1271 Bemidji, MN 56619 VFW Post Adjutant ckapphan@paulbunyan.net 218-243-3060

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

December 16, 1944 - During

World War II in Europe,

the Battle of the Bulge began

as the Germans launched a

big counter-offensive in the

Ardennes Forest along a 75-

mile front, taking American

troops by surprise. Aided by

foggy, snowy weather, the

Germans penetrated 65

miles into Allied lines by the

end of December.

December 17, 1777 - At Val-

ley Forge in Pennsylvania,

the Continental Army led

by General George Washing-

ton settled in for the winter.

December 18, 1916 - Dur-

ing World War I, the Battle

of Verdun concluded after

ten months of fighting in

which 543,000 French and

434,000 German soldiers

were killed.

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Once again I would like to invite any of our younger veterans to get involved with the veterans of foreign wars. If any of you would like to join the ranks and help out with funeral honors and color guard detail it would be very much appreciated. Just call me at 218-854-7499 or cell # 218-766-3898 or send me an e-mail bmjm@paulbunyan.net. On the lighter side: Little Ole strikes again. The teacher asked the class to use the word “fascinate” in a sentence. Molly put up her hand and said, “My family went to my granddad’s farm and we all saw his pet sheep. It was fascinating.” The teacher said, “That was good, but I wanted you to use the word ‘fascinate,’ not ‘fascinating.” Sally raised her hand. She said, “My family went to see Rock City and I was fascinated.” The teacher said, “Well, that was good Sally, but I wanted you to use the word fascinate.” Little Ole raised his hand. The teacher hesitated because she had been burned by Little Ole before. She finally decided there was no way he could damage the word ‘fascinate’ so she called on him. Little Ole said, “My mom Lena has a sweater with ten buttons but she’s put on so much weight that she can only fasten eight.” The teacher sat down and cried. Commander Bruce Malterud

http://www.vfwpost1260.orgmailto:ckapphan@paulbunyan.net

BY SCOTTY ALLISON

VA PENSION PROGRAM In the past, I have talked about the Veterans Pension. This is a Veterans Administration (VA) benefit that many vet-erans and their families do not know about so I am going to review it again. This pension is available to wartime era veterans with limited income who are age 65 or older, or under 65, and are permanently and totally disabled, or, a patient in a nursing home, or, are receiving Social Security disability pay-ments. Veterans who are more seriously disabled may qualify for Aid and Attendance or Housebound benefits which provides higher levels of compensation. Generally, you may be eligible if you were discharged from service under conditions other than dishonorable, and, you served at least 90 days of active military service and at least 1 day was during a war time period. If you entered active duty after September 7, 1980, you must have served at least 24 months. The way this pension works is that you count all income then subtract any medical expenses from this to arrive at what you might be entitled to via the Veterans Pension. When a veteran is residing in an authorized assisted living or nursing home this benefit works the best as all costs associated with their care are considered medical expenses. As an example, if a single veteran is in a nursing home and he has a monthly income of $4000 and his total monthly medical costs are $4000 that veteran would be entitled to a pension of $1788 a month which is the maximum he could receive at this time. If you have any questions about this program please call us. If you receive medical care outside the VA and this care has been authorized by the VA, you should ensure that this authorization is in writing and that you have a copy. You then should review and understand what has been au-thorized to prevent medical billing issues later as it relates to your non VA medical care. If you were born in 1960 or later according to the law, you are supposed to register for the draft within 30 days of your 18th birthday. Selective Service can accept late registration but not after a man reaches his 26th birthday. If you do not register you may be denied student financial assistance, federal job training, and federal employment. I mention this because recently a veteran of the Army applied for help through the Dislocated Worker Program here in Bemidji after he was laid off from his job. While checking on his eligibility to participate in the program, it was discovered that he had never registered for the draft even though he served in the military. It took him about a month to correct this with Selective Service but during that time he could not access any of the benefits of the pro-gram. So my point here, is if you served in the military but did not register with the draft (or you do not remember doing so), you might want to contact Selective Service and ensure that you have been given credit by them for your military service otherwise you could find yourself penalized like this individual. If you are downloading any VA forms from the internet please remember that you can retrieve them from www.va.gov/vaforms/ free of charge. Don’t forget, if you have any questions regarding veterans’ benefits please call the County Veterans Service Office at 218-333-4177/4178.

VETERANS SERVICE OFFICER

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CHAPLAIN’S CORNER

Greetings Fellow Veterans/Friends,

Pearl Harbor Day

Heavenly Father, we are gathered here to commemorate those who

gave their lives at Peal Harbor on December 7th, 1941. Let us always

honor the memory of the brave men who sacrificed so that we may

experience freedom in a Country that is free. Let us be reminded of

life, liberty, justice, freedom and democracy that we may be ever

grateful to You and those veterans who gave so much for their

Country. We ask Your blessing upon us this day and grant unto us

Your continued fellowship that makes abiding peace.

Amen.

The VFW Chaplains Handbook

OUR SACRIFICE

Conflict Casualties

American Revolution 50,000

Northwest Indian War 1,881

War of 1812 20,000

Mexican American War 17,435

Civil War—Union 646,392

Civil War—Confederate ~524,000

Dakota War of 1862 263

Spanish-American War 4,068

Philippine-American War 7,126

World War I 320,518

World War II 1,076,245

Korean War 128,650

Vietnam War 211,454

Afghanistan War 23,625

Iraq War 37,052

NOTE: There are other smaller con-

flicts not listed where service members

sacrificed their lives

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HOT OFF THE PRESS

Associated Press | Oct 23,

2016 | by Matthew Daly

WHERE THEY STAND

Hillary Clinton has pledged to en-

sure veterans have access to timely

and high-quality health care and

vows to block efforts to privatize

the Veterans Health Administra-

tion, the VA's health-care arm.

Clinton also wants to bolster veter-

ans' benefits, including education

and housing aid included in the GI

bill. She would ensure that military

sexual trauma is acknowledged as

a disability under VA rules.

Donald Trump says he will expand

programs that allow veterans to

choose their doctor -- regardless of

whether they're affiliated with the

VA -- and still receive government-

paid medical care. Trump says

that's not privatized care but, he

told The Associated Press, "a way

of not allowing people to die

waiting for doctors."

Trump also pledged to fire or disci-

pline VA employees who fail veter-

ans or breach the public trust. He

also would increase mental health

professionals and create a "White

House hotline" dedicated to veter-

ans. If a valid complaint is not ad-

dressed, "I will pick up the phone

and fix it myself if I have to,"

Trump said.

"www.military.com for more info.

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SPOT LIGHT ON….

Meet your VFW Auxiliary Officers:

Margaret Booge (President) (Sr. Vice)

Mandy Malterud (Jr. Vice) Janie Malterud (Temp. Treasurer)

Donna Kimmes (Secretary) Margie Luadtke (Trustee)

Jobs currently available: Stop in or visit our website to learn more about the positions available and to apply. jobs.mdu.com

Training Available. Knife River Materials Northern Minnesota Division 4101 Bemidji Ave N Bemidji, MN 56601

VETERANS EMPLOYMENT REP-

THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

December 20, 1860 - South

Carolina became the first

state to secede from the

Union in a prelude to the

American Civil War.

December 20, 1989 - The

U.S. invaded Panama at-

tempting to capture Ma-

nuel Noriega on charges of

narcotics traffick-

ing. Operation Just

Cause occurred seven

months after Noriega had

declared unfavorable elec-

tion results in his country

to be null and void.

December 21, 1945 - World

War II General George

Patton died in Germany

following a car accident.

December 24, 1814 - The

Treaty of Ghent between

America and Britain was

signed, officially ending the

War of 1812.

Greetings Members of the Auxiliary to VFW Post 1260,

Greetings Everyone, Well, the hectic month of December is upon us! Things start ramping up all around. We have cele-brations to fit in our schedule; gifts to give and re-ceive; trying to make sure to remember the true reason for the season and many other things that occupy our minds and time. Sometimes our lives begin to feel like a toboggan ride where we just hold on tight and hope we make it to the end of the

ride. In the midst of all this activity, please make time to remember all of our Veterans and their families. They are the reason we exist as a Post and Auxiliary. Look for ways to include them in celebrations and be sure (as always) to think them for their service. On December 10th, 2016, our Post and Auxiliary will host the District 9 Meeting. The meeting will be held at the Bemidji Eagles Club. We hope you will take this opportunity to attend and be part of a District Meeting. The day begins at 10:00 a.m. with a coffee and donuts social time; at 11am, there is a live auction of donated items; at 12, noon lunch will be served; and at 1pm the business meetings are held. Thee is a $10 registration fee that includes your lunch. This is an excellent opportunity to meet district officers, ask questions and meeting members rom other posts/auxiliaries. Please put this on your calendar and plan to attend. The Auxiliary member are busy getting ready for the district meeting as well as putting together baskets for these events. Holiday greeting cards are being sent to local vets and deployed service men and women. We also help the local post when they service lunch to the veterans at the various care facilities. In the coming year we hope to have a schedule set for times to go to care facilities to spend time with veterans reading, writing letters for them, playing cards, etc. We also plan to start making more towel bud-dies for needy vets in January. Please come join us for these activities and get involved in the Auxiliary. It is fun and rewarding. Please keep our former Treasurer, Eizabeth Parthun, in your prayers as she recovers from a stroke she had in late September. If you have a chance , stop at Havenwood to visit her, or send a get well card to help cheer her during her recovery. Take time to take care of yourself and your loved ones during the holiday season. Also, keep our veterans and their families in your thoughts and prayers that they might know peace and joy now, and throughout the com-ing year. Wishing you all the blessing of the holiday season.

Margaret Booge, President, VFW Auxiliary 1260

POST AUXILIARY

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Members of Post 1260 participated in the flag retirement cere-mony at Commander Bruce Malterud’s home this last month.

ACTIVITIES THIS MONTH

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POINTS OF CONTACT Commander Bruce Malterud 218-766-3898 bmjm@paulbunyan.net

Adjutant Clare Kapphahn 218-243-3060 ckapphan@paulbunyan.net

Quartermaster Kelly Booge 218-308-1171 kelbooge@paulbunyan.net

Sr. Vice Commander Dave Christianson 218-244-3381 davebeky@paulbunyan.net

Jr. Vice Commander Dr. Jason Dixon

Surgeon Bruce Skipton 218-760-1130 bskipton@att.net

Chaplain Charlie Brown 218-751-4293

Asst Chaplain Jerry Wraa 218-776-3949 jlwraa@gvtel.com

Veterans Service Officer Scotty Allison 218-333-4178 campbell.allison@co.beltrami.mn.us

Vet Employment Rep Vacant

Vet Center Shari Kosobuski 218-722-8654 shari.kosobuski@va.gov

Post Auxiliary President Margarete Booge 218-751-3258 kelbooge@paulbunyan.net Post Auxiliary Treasurer Janie Malterud 218-854-7499 bmjm@paulbunyan.net

DAV Chapter #7 Thomas Annonson 218-251-3025 torgor@lightspeed.net

Support Numbers

Education: http://www.mymilitaryeducation.org

Health Care: 1-877-222-8387

Suicide Prev. Hotline: 1-800-273-8255

Fargo VA: 1-800-410-9723

Help Line: 1-855-VET-TALK

VA Community Outpatient Clinic-Bemidji: 218-755-6360

OUR DAILY COMMITTMENT Hours served last month: 155 41 members volunteered last month Current Members: 258 2016 TAPS Jack Mattison Don Hammer Merald Meyers Irene Safford James Hensel Donald Sweeney Karel Knutson James Hensel Vernon Gary

HAROLD BAGGENSTOSS

POST 1260

The purpose is fraternal, patri-

otic, historical, and education-

al; to preserve and strengthen

comradeship among its mem-

bers; to assist worthy com-

rades; to perpetuate the

memory and history of our

dead, and to assist their widows

and orphans; to maintain rue

allegiance to the Government

of the United States of America,

and fidelity to its Constitution

and laws; to foster true patriot-

ism; to maintain and extend

the institutions of American

freedom, and to preserve and

defend the United States from

all her enemies, whomsoever.

WHAT THE VFW DOES FOR THE COMMUNITY

Youth activities, Voice of Democracy & Youth Essay

Patriotic Activities

Aid to Schools & Churches

Membership

Help to obtain benefits

Legislative Service

Buddy Poppy Promotion

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE

PAID MAILED FROM ZIP CODE 56601 PERMIT NO. 3

Harold Baggenstoss

VFW Post #1260

P.O. Box 1271 Bemidji, MN 56619

Phone: 218) 243 3060

E-mail: ckapphan@paulbunyan.net

mailto:ckapphan@paulbunyan.net