The South Dakota American Legion Legislative Committee will hold its annual meeting on Monday, November 3, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. at the Pierre American Legion Post #8. The primary purpose of the meeting will be to formulate the Legislative Agenda for the South Dakota American Legion for the 2004 South Dakota Legislative Session.

Resolutions which were passed by the 2003 South Dakota American Legion State Convention that require legislative action include:

• Display of the POW/MIA flag at all rest areas on the Interstate Highway System in South Dakota along with the Flag of the United States and the flag of the State of South Dakota.
• Creation of an additional full-time position within the South Dakota Division of Veterans Affairs that would be known as the Veterans Service Information Officer.
• In an attempt to make employment with the SD Division of Veterans Affairs more attractive and possibly help stop the trend of Division employees leaving the Division to work for the US Department of Veterans Affairs because of increased earning potential, The American Legion supports efforts to increase the salaries of the SD Division of Veterans Affairs claims officers who work in the VA Regional Office in Sioux Falls.
• Change the definition of a veteran as included in SD Codified Law 33-17-2(6) to reflect a period of qualifying military service which commences on August 2, 1990 and which continues until the cessation of hostilities on a date to be determined by the government of the United States of America.
• Establish a bonus for service members from South Dakota who are or have served in Operation Enduring Freedom during the Iraqi conflict of a nature similar to bonuses given to South Dakota servicemen and women serving in each of the prior conflicts in which the United States of America has been involved.

Major General Michael Gorman, SD Adjutant General, has been invited to attend the meeting and to provide input related to legislative issues which could impact on veterans or veterans organizations. The Director of the SD Division of Veterans Affairs and the Superintendent of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice State Veterans Home in Hot Springs have also been invited to attend the meeting and to provide the members of the committee with updated information on the proposed FY-2005 budgets for the SD Division of Veterans Affairs and the State Veterans Home.

In a letter dated October 9, 2003, National Historian Fae Casper announced that South Dakota American Legion Department Historian Charemon Dunham of Iroquois had placed first in the Department Narrative History (1 out of 3) and second in the Department Yearbook History (2nd out of 7).

Harris Dennis Post #151, Mellette Post Historian Bernard Fischbach won first place in the Post History Book contest.

Stratford Post #207 Stratford received an Honorable Mention. Thomas Saunders is the Stratford Post Historian.

Congratulations to the above listed Historians.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, has been officially added to the list of diseases for which Vietnam War veterans can receive free-of-charge health care and disability compensation from the VA. American Legion National Commander John Brieden praised VA’s publishing of a final rule in the Federal Register that codifies VA Secretary Anthony Principi’s January announcement that the government will extend benefits to Vietnam veterans suffering from CLL.

"The Institute of Medicine found a link between CLL and exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, and that finding is a sound basis on which to award just compensation and VA health care to Vietnam veterans suffering from the disease," Brieden said. "Secretary Principi did the right thing by deciding to award these benefits back in January.

"The government still must carry out a large-scale study of the health and herbicide exposures of Vietnam veterans. The American Legion and Columbia University broke ground with a joint study conducted in the 1980s and a recent follow-up study. But the government must plan and fund a more comprehensive study because, obviously, the health of many Vietnam veterans shows the long-lasting effects of their wartime experiences. Certain veterans’ illnesses are related to exposure to Agent Orange or to some other hazardous conditions of battle. By doing a study, the government can determine what exactly is making them sick and grant them long-overdue health care and disability compensation."

Veterans seeking more information about how to obtain benefits under the new regulation should contact their County Veterans Service Officer.

We all know that Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. We know that Veterans Day pays tribute to men and women who sacrificed for freedom in the U.S. armed forces. We know that democracy flourishes the world over because of the sacrifice of America's veterans. We know that Veterans Day originates from the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 when World War I ended.

Our nation praises its veterans with a holiday, with the construction of moving memorials, and with a solemn final tribute: placement upon their coffins of a U.S. Flag. Our state and federal governments set aside pristine expanses of hallowed ground in which America's veterans rest in eternal peace. Yet, as pro-veteran as the United States of America is, there are aspects of the relationship between our grateful nation and its veterans that most Americans probably do not know.

Did you know that, pending the enactment of key legislation, military retirees who suffer from disabilities related to their military service are taxed a dollar of their retired pay for every dollar they receive in disability compensation? If their disability compensation exceeds their retired pay, then they must forfeit their retired pay in order to collect disability. Yet retirees from federal civilian service who have disabilities stemming from military service are not taxed in this manner.

Did you know that since the Berlin Wall was dismantled, signaling America's victory in the Cold War, the U.S. armed forces have experienced a one-third cut in the active-duty force and a 300 percent increase in deployments? The growing mismatch between deployments and the total force has resulted in the repeated long-term deployment of National Guard units, precluding them from performing homeland-security duties and other functions for which the nation's governors might need them. Cracks in Reserve retention show the wear and tear on over-deployed Reservists, most of whom lose money during activation because their civilian jobs pay substantially more than Uncle Sam, and most corporations do not pay the difference, which would stabilize the citizen-soldiers' take- home pay during many months of activation.

Did you know that on a given night, about a quarter-million veterans are homeless; lacking both permanent shelter and hope? One-third of adult homeless men and nearly one-quarter of all homeless adults are veterans. Clearly, programs must be strengthened that provide medical, rehabilitative and employment assistance to those who served.

Did you know that an estimated 164,000 veterans in the lowest of the Department of Veterans Affairs' eight priority treatment groups have been suspended from enrolling for health care at VA since January 17? Did you know that before VA simply stopped veterans from entering the system, within which they are entitled by law to seek treatment, there were more than 200,000 veterans waiting from six months to two years to receive an initial primary-care appointment at VA? The American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans and other veterans service organizations are still fighting for a law that would fund VA health care on a mandatory rather than a discretionary basis, just like Social Security and Medicare, so that the funding rises with the increased demand for treatment. The war on terror will only make this situation worse, as U.S. forces in Iraq average 40 wounded troops per week, and a rising number of recently medically retired troops seek treatment at VA.

Did you know that as the war on terror and other military commitments to vital U.S. interests create a new generation of potential users of the VA system, more VA hospitals are cited to be closed than to be built? The American Legion is participating in VA's realignment process to ensure that services are not curtailed where they are sorely needed.

Did you know that, until last month, when wounded troops departed military hospitals, they received a bill for their meals -- $8.10 a day? That was a lot of money to the more junior personnel who had been hospitalized for weeks or months, not to mention a ridiculous price to pay by someone who already paid a price for his or her country. Thank goodness Congress got around to legislation aimed at correcting that problem. But short-term relief from hospital-food billing for our wounded troops still must be made permanent.

Did you know that thousands of Guard and Reserve personnel are counting on the enactment of legislation that will provide them health insurance to replace the employer-paid coverage that their families lost when they were called up for months -- in many cases for more than a year -- to fight the war on terror? Contrary to traditional public perception, Guard and Reserve personnel are not "weekend warriors." They are an integral part of the total force, activated for months, even years, nearly every time they are called up. If they can answer their nation's call as active-duty troops do, then they should have access to the active-duty force's health care program, known as Tricare.

What does all of this mean? It means the time has come to introduce a new Veterans Day tradition to the existing one.

Be a part of the Veterans Day commemorative events in your area. Take your children, if possible. Your presence says "thank you for your service" to veterans and to their families. These events are a part of our nation's existing annual holiday tradition.

Further, if you appreciate the sacrifices of those who stood, and those who still stand, in harm's way, then please consider starting another holiday tradition. This new tradition boils down to two simple civic duties: Save this column until next year's election campaign. Insist the candidates address, indeed embrace, the policies that you know in your heart are right and just.

Veterans number 25 million, not even a tenth of the U.S. population. Nevertheless, we are reminded daily, particularly by the news from Iraq and Afghanistan, that veterans comprise a brave and selfless fraction that has helped to deter and to avenge tyranny. Veterans have fought for you and for all -- have been willing to die for you and for all -- to advance the cause of liberty. Circumstances suggest that America's veterans need the American people to stick up for their cause.

We know that freedom isn't free. We know that our elected leaders in Congress will do the right thing for America's veterans -- and will pass just about any other law -- if the American people really want it. We know in our hearts that the selfless sacrifice that liberates the oppressed and protects our shores deserves to be justly compensated. We know that our nation owes its veterans a square deal, and that this is a cause worthy of the passion and energy of a grateful and free people, not only on Veterans Day but every day.

With the Supreme Court announcement that it will decide in 2004 whether it is constitutional for public-school teachers to lead students in the Pledge of Allegiance because of the words "under God," the nation’s largest veterans organization pledged its commitment to the legal battle. The 2.8 million-member American Legion is prepared to fight this at the highest judicial level for the right of public-school teachers and students to voluntarily observe the time-honored tradition.

"The heart of this case is about allowing the Constitution to appropriately reflect the intent of our republic’s founders and the values of the American people," American Legion National Commander John Brieden said. "We believe our nation will be stronger when the courts let our Constitution protect the rights of all the people rather than merely the wrongs of a few people.

"The American Legion filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance at federal court in San Francisco. The American Legion is committed to take this fight all the way to the highest court in the land. Teachers leading students in the Pledge of Allegiance is as constitutional as "In God We Trust" stamped on our nation’s currency and references to "God" in the oaths taken in our courts.

"But this case is bigger than the Pledge. What is really at stake here is the moral direction of the nation. The right of the people to declare their patriotism by voluntarily reciting the Pledge is but one battle. The right of the Boy Scouts of America to select its leaders consistent with its founding principles is another battle. The right of the people to protect the U.S. Flag from acts of physical desecration is a battle that The American Legion has been fighting since the Supreme Court in 1989 invalidated flag-protection laws in 48 states; a constitutional amendment approved by the House and soon to come to a vote in the Senate is the remedy."

The 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled 2-1 in June 2002 that reciting the Pledge in public schools is unconstitutional. The court reaffirmed its decision in February, amending the ruling to say that "teacher-led" recitation of the Pledge is unconstitutional. The rulings came after Michael Newdow, an atheist and father of an elementary school girl, filed the case against the United States, Congress, California and two school districts. Newdow’s daughter lives with her mother, who has sole custody of the young girl.

The daughter attends public school in Elk Grove, Calif., near Sacramento and according to reports regularly attends church. Newdow’s complaint alleged that, "his daughter is injured when she is compelled to ‘watch and listen as her state-employed teacher in her state-run school leads her classmates in a ritual proclaiming that there is a God and that ours is one nation under God.’"

2004 membership stands at 19,031 or 71.50 percent of goal.