FROM THE COMMANDER

Dear Comrades,

We have some fun family activities planned for the month of February.  Please join us for a Youth Ice Cream Social February 6th from 1300-1500hrs.

We also have a Mardi Gras event planned to raise money for the USO on February 19th from 1700-2100hrs. All are welcome, see ticket prices on attached poster below.

If you would like to attend the District 3 meeting, it is this Sunday January 30th from 1300-1400hrs at the Yelm Community Center (301 2nd St. Se. Yelm WA 98597)

Reminder: Post meetings are on the 3rd Tuesday of every month at 1900hrs. All Post members are welcome to attend.

Best Regards, 

Andrea Pace, Commander VFW Post 969 

FROM THE AUXILIARY PRESIDENT

Dear Members,

The New Year came on us so fast, we just looked up after the hard holiday volunteer work and wow!  We are in the second month of 2022.

Now it is time to have some fun while we continue our work for Veterans and their families. February 19, 2022 the Post and Auxiliary will supporting the USO by celebrating Mardi Gras with a fundraiser party.   If you have been to one in the past, you know its blast! Our special guest will be Don Leingang, USO Executive Director.

The fashion umbrella is back!  Decorate your umbrella contest for $$ prizes. There will be a mask contest as well. Join in on the annual dessert auction and other auction items. Please plan to bring a dessert to auction off or something worth bidding for. Tracie is experimenting with an apple bread pudding and caramel sauce.

The next event will be the Children’s Easter party. We look forward to working with you to make this a great success. Reminder all donations are much appreciated.    

The Post and Auxiliary and Club are working together to make things better for our members and Veterans and their families. Let’s all be a part of making us great.

Until then, stay safe and we are looking forward to seeing you. 

Eloise Sharp, President Auxiliary 969. 

CHAPLAINS CORNER

Life is like music, it has high notes and low notes. Each memory has a soundtrack of its own.  When you're happy you enjoy the music, but when you're sad just understand the lyrics.  Music speaks what cannot be expressed, it soothes the mind and gives it a rest, and it heals the heart and makes it whole.  No matter how high or low your notes may be keep in tune with God and you'll never go out of tune with the music of your life. Keep your tape rocking, and whatever life throws at you, remember to be kind, loving and thoughtful. Please remember our deployed Veterans near and far, our friends, and most importantly our family.  Smile and say thank you, this little act of kindness goes a long way, it is as precious as music is to our ears. 

God bless and take care, 

Dolores Lopez (Mama D), Chaplain Auxiliary Post 969 

VETERAN SERVICE OFFICER

Last month I discussed the three elements a Veteran must meet to obtain a disability rating with the VA according to the law. Conditions that cannot be proved service-connected by meeting these three elements will generally result in a denied claim.  This is unless the condition in question falls on the VA’s presumptive list which may in most cases fulfill the third element or medical nexus.

When a medical condition or diagnosis is included on the VA presumptive list, the VA "presumes” that the condition was caused by the Veteran’s military service even though there may be no medical reasoning that definitively proves this connection. When this happens, there is no need to establish a link between the incurrence in service and the current condition. The VA replaces the medical nexus with an assumption by telling us that the disease or condition is more likely than not caused by an event or exposure that happened during the time the Veteran was in service.  In this case, it fulfills the third element or nexus needed to obtain a disability rating and the conditions on the VA presumptive list will be considered service-connected unless there is clear evidence indicating that it was not caused by service.

To meet this presumption, presumptions are categorized according to (1) category of disease, (2) activity, and (3) location and evidence must establish that the claimant had a particular duty assignment or was in the particular location in order for the presumption to apply.  The presumption of exposure means the Veteran served a qualifying length of time, in a specified area, during a specified time, for a specific time frame. 

In certain circumstances, some of the conditions are required to meet a certain level of seriousness within a certain amount of time (i.e., manifest to at least 10% within 1 year of exposure). This means that the condition must meet the requirements for a 10% rating under its code within 1 year of exposure to meet the requirements on the presumptive list.

Now that I’ve mentioned presumptions, I want to circle back to some of the latest additions to the VA presumptive list.  In May 2021, the VA started implementing provisions of the William M. Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (NDAA) and added bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, and Parkinsonism to the list of medical conditions presumptively associated with exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam and certain other locations.

A few months later the VA added asthma, rhinitis, and sinusitis on a presumptive basis based on particulate matter exposures during military service in Southwest Asia and certain other areas for Gulf War and Post 9/11 Veterans.

If you fall within one of these categories and have had a previous claim denied or want to learn more about the VA’s presumptive list IAW 38 CFR § 3.309(a), contact Mel West at 253-376-8216 or vso@vfw969.org.

3510 McKinley Ave, Tacoma, WA 98404   |   253-272-1405   |   https://vfw969.orgTo find out more about Club/Special events, please check out the calendar on our website.