VA claims can be confusing and even frustrating. One of our great VA contacts sent this quick guide that might help Veterans file a well-grounded claim. A successful claim for service connected disability compensation normally contains all of the following components: An event, illness, injury, or hazardous exposure in service Evidence of a currently
Written by Harry Van Riper I don’t know where I’d be without the Army. Before Vietnam took my arm, the Army saved my life. Harry Van Riper tells his story at a VBC breakfast in September 2016 at the 911th Airlift Wing I was a troubled teen, a real hellraiser. I rolled my
Written by Todd DePastino Twenty years ago, the prospect of a bionic arm controlled by the mind of an amputee was the stuff of science fiction. A brain-controlled prosthetic arm picks up a rubber ball But last year, Harry Van Riper volunteered for a VA feasibility study for just such a “smart” limb.
written by Todd DePastino In the world-changing year of 1945, one of the biggest shocks came on April 12, the day the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Roosevelt, unexpectedly died. He was only 63 years old. Few could imagine a future without him. It's hard to appreciate today, but FDR's sudden death
written by Carole Wagener For Bill and Carole Wagener, 1969 was The Hardest Year. Newlyweds separated by 10,000 miles, Bill served in the 865th Engineer Gas Generating Detachment at Cha Rang Valley while Carole was a student at protest-wracked University of Wisconsin-Madison. Their 300-plus letters back and forth are the basis of a new book recounting their
written by Bob Bukk Lieutenant Commander Michael John Estocin, USN, 1964 (NARA) VBC member Bob Bukk recalls Medal of Honor recipient Michael J. Estocin, Naval Aviator who went missing in Vietnam in 1967. One day, I asked a fellow golfer about his hat and jacket, both of which blazed with the USS Estocin’s name
