Legislative Update

This is TROA's Legislative Update for Friday, November 1, 2002.

Issue 1: New Congress Will Have Fewer Veterans

With each new Congress, we've noted with dismay the steady decline in the number of senators and representatives who have experienced some form of uniformed service. The following figures include any form of active, Reserve, or National Guard service.

This year's difference is highlighted by comparing those who left Congress by retirement or defeat vs. the freshmen legislators who replaced them:

Here's a breakdown of the Service affiliations among the veterans of the 108th Congress (in some cases, a member served in more than one uniformed service):

Finally, here's a look at the numbers of combat veterans and uniformed service retirees (with at least 20 years of regular and/or Guard/Reserve service):

The declining number of veterans in Congress is a reflection of the same trend among all Americans. With smaller forces, the proportion who have served will continue to decline as time passes. But we shouldn't jump to the conclusion that veteran status is a good litmus test of the legislator's likely support for issues affecting the uniformed service community. Many non-veterans are among our strongest supporters on the Hill, and some who have advocated severe benefit cutbacks have served in the armed forces with great distinction.

More than anything else, the figures above illustrate the education challenge we face in getting our legislators to understand our issues. Most want to do the right thing, but their unfamiliarity with our issues means constituents who are veterans need to make special efforts to outline both problems and solutions for them. We hope you'll help us take on that challenge again next year.

Issue 2: Happy Thanksgiving from TROA

This week's legislative update comes to you two days early, in anticipation of the Thanksgiving holiday. TROA's headquarters will be closed on Thanksgiving Day and on Friday, Nov. 29.

We hope that you will enjoy a happy holiday with family and friends, and give thanks for the many blessings we all enjoy. If you plan to travel, please do so safely.

We will forward your next legislative update on Friday, December 6.

Subscription Information

To subscribe/unsubscribe or change your email address for the legislative update, please go to http://www.TROA.org/email. If you are a TROA member you will need your membership number to sign in to the site. If you are NOT a TROA member, and you have not already completed the guest form and received a customer number, please go to the Guest Form and provide the requested information on the "Sign Up" page to receive your customer number before signing in to the site. If you have created a guest record you will need to go back to the original page and sign in to the Member/Guest sign in page to complete the process.

If you have questions regarding the content (ONLY) of the update, please send an email to mlegis@TROA.org (subscriptions and changes will NOT be processed through this address).

Copyright © 2002, The Retired Officers Association (TROA), all rights reserved. Part or all of this message may be retransmitted for information purposes, but may not be used for any commercial purpose or in any commercial product, posted on a Web site, or used in any non-TROA publication (other than that of a TROA affiliate, or a member of The Military Coalition) without the written permission of TROA. All retransmissions, postings, and publications of this message must include this notice.

 Top

Veterans History Project

Excerpt from TROA Benefits Information Update for December 2002 E-newsletter

There over 19 million veterans living in the U.S. today. With each is a personal story of battles fought, victories and defeats. Each story, though sometimes heartbreaking, is full of love, dedication and patriotism.

That's how Peter Bartis describes his work with the Veterans History Project. The grassroots effort that began two years ago -- and has now caught fire -- is hoping to keep those memories alive.

Bartis, a senior program officer for the project, said that each day some 1,500 U.S. veterans die -- and with them a treasured part of the nation's past. "These are some of the most amazing stories; when you put them all together you get a story of the nation," he said.

Over the past year alone, the project's staff of 16 has already collected more than 14,000 items, such as letters and other memoirs, and video and audiotape interviews.

With the idea that future generations could learn from the histories of the nation's veterans, the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, began the effort to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of American war veterans -- men, women, civilians who served in World Wars I and II, and the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars. The center needs contributions of civilian volunteers, support staff, and war industry workers also.

"This is not our project or the library's project. This is the nation's project," Bartis said. "We want people of all walks of life to feel ownership of this project." To learn more about the Veterans History Project, visit http://www.loc.gov/folklife/vets.

Copyright (c) 2002, The Retired Officers Association (TROA), all rights reserved.

President's Page

By Al Garcia

Capt. Gus Byrom, USAF, passed on Saturday, November 30, 2002 at San Juan Medical Center. I am sure it came as a shock to all members of the Chapter. Capt. Byrom, admired and respected by all of us was very proud of being a member of the Chapter according to Barbara, his wife of 53 years.. "A very important part of his life were the few years he spend in the US Army Air Corps as a B-25 pilot," she told me. "Belonging to the TROA Chapter gave him the opportunity to mingle with fellow officers in a civilian environment. I think he missed the camaraderie of being in the military and he found it here. He loved coming to the meetings," she concluded. He was a member of the First Weather Reconnaissance Squadron in the North Atlantic stationed in the Azores during WWII. He returned to civilian life after the war and became an engineer. He and Barbara came to Farmington in 1976. He joined the City of Farmington staff as the Director of Public Works and Airport Manager until he retired in 1990. We will miss Gus. We hope Barbara will remain as an auxiliary member in the Chapter.

We are coming to the end of the 2nd year of the 21st Century. We have come a long ways as a Chapter. I will not enumerate on the accomplishments but I want to tease your memory by asking you to reflect. As we approach the new year, we set our sights on new goals. Each of you has the opportunity of providing your input as to what we should do next year. For sure, the National Organization will change its name. We have voted to follow with the name change. What else do you see in the horizon for the chapter?

On behalf of the Chapter Officers and the Board of Directors and their spouses, I take this opportunity to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We hope that your personal goals and resolutions will come to fruition in the days to come. God be with you always.