Fighting the Good Fight

Kudos to Col. Lee Lange, USMC-Ret., and Col. Steve Strobridge, USAF-Ret., for their very fine article on [the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP)] and the inequities imposed on military widows by the SBP Social Security offset [“Fighting for Fairness,” April 2003]. I would now hope that everyone who read the article would take a moment to phone and write a personal note to [his or her legislators] about this issue. 

About two months ago I met with my congresswoman, who is a member of the Armed Services Committee. I was amazed at [her woeful lack of] knowledge of the issue, although she has signed on to H.R. 548. She, and politicians all over this country, will be participating in Memorial Day services throughout our great land and will be telling us how they support our troops and our fallen warriors. Our hearts will be stirred as we listen to the strains of the bagpipes, and tears will fill our eyes as we listen to taps. We widows will feel a loss beyond all imagination. We must not be placated by these tributes. We all must fight for what was promised to us and is rightfully ours. 

Carolyn Epling
Albuquerque, N.M.

I would hope all the pertinent congressmen and senators be afforded a copy of [“Fighting for Fairness”] as it explains our dilemma regarding this grossly unfair situation they have allowed to be created. My wife is 84 years old, and we doubt very much she will benefit much even if H.R. 548 and S. 451 are passed, as it would take five years for the correction to come to fruition. But this change, when enacted, will benefit those who come after us.

Lt. Col. Thomas J. Ford, USAR-Ret.
via e-mail

Thank you so much for the [SBP] article in your April 2003 publication. This is the first time I have seen the whole, complete story of SBP, from how the amount of payments by the retiree were determined to the end result of offsets. It has been a big puzzle to me, and I have really tried to get the whole picture.
Having lost my husband last year, I am vitally interested in this issue. Is there anything we can do to try to help get the H.R. 548 and S. 451 legislation passed?

Elizabeth V. Gaynor
via e-mail

Editor’s note: The best way for members to help is to keep asking your legislators to cosponsor and pass H.R. 548 and S. 451. Use MOAA’s Web site (http://capwiz.com/ moaa/issues/bills) and toll-free Capitol Hill hotline ((877) 762-8762), or best of all, write your own personal letter.

Not-So-Permanent Record

Answer Digest in the April 2003 issue prompts me to write. ... I recently ordered copies of my records held at the National Personnel Records Center [NPRC]. Others who do so should be aware of what I discovered, that those records may be extremely scant. Except for my dd-214, there was no documentation of the last 12 years of my 26-year military career. For those who hope to reconstruct major portions of their service records, NPRC may be only an incomplete answer.

Lt. Col. Cal Taylor, USAF-Ret.
via e-mail 

Will to Live

The April 2003 edition of Military Officer arrived recently, and it is just as good a resource for our continuing needs as ever. I found Helen B. Price’s article concerning living wills particularly interesting. Fortunately my late wife and I completed our living wills not too many years ago, so hers was available when we needed it. ... In my case, and I’m sure in a great many other situations, the need for the will didn’t develop until after we were at the hospital. Fortunately, all I had to do was walk out to the hospital parking lot and get her living will out of the glove compartment of our car, where we had stored them. 

I’m sure there are many situations where the need [for] a living will first arises when all the people concerned are already at the hospital and their car is in the parking lot. The glove compartment of the car is a very good place to store a copy of living wills.

Lt. Cmdr. E. Horton, USN-Ret.
Orlando, Fla.

I’m sure your article on living wills is well-intentioned. However, as a nurse, I know there are almost as many exceptions to the things a living will attempts to cover as there are people. The best thing you can do is make sure that someone who knows you and loves you can speak for you in the event that you can’t speak for yourself.

Also, realize that a “persistent vegetative state” is not terminal. For someone in this state, food and water are not life-prolonging, but life-sustaining. If nourishment is withheld, the person in this state will most certainly die.

Kathleen Richardson, R.N.
Palmetto, Fla.

Chopper Chuckles

[Having been] married to an Air Force helicopter pilot for almost 28 years and having a good friend of 24 years [who is] also an Air Force helicopter pilot, I beg to differ with Harvey Turner [“Fill ’Er Up,” Encore, April 2003]. I believe helicopter rotors do scramble a pilot’s brain! (Actually, I am just kidding ... although at times, I wonder.) 

I did enjoy [Turner’s] story, and it reminded me of when my husband and some others flew an hh-3 from Anchorage, Alaska, to somewhere in Florida. In recounting their trip, I believe my husband mentioned flying low to check the interstate signs, at times, to check on where they were! Maybe he was just teasing.

Mary M. Miller
Reno, Nev.

Strategic Understanding

[“Global Transaction Strategy,” May 2003, was a] terrific article. I try to keep myself informed on international affairs and issues, and this article really brought a lot of loose and fuzzy ends together for me. The concept is so all-encompassing!

I do hope the concept is known and understood by our leaders at many levels and in many fields.

Lt. Col. John B. Gregg, USA-Ret.
via e-mail

Thunder Rolls

I was very glad to see the article on Rolling Thunder [“Rev It Up,” May 2003]. As a walker, I participated in Rolling Thunder 2000, 2001, and 2002. ... 

Active duty [personnel] ride in Rolling Thunder, and I met a retired Marine officer from the Camp Lejeune area. Two years ago, I met an 87-year-old retired Navy master chief who was riding in Rolling Thunder. ... He has a picture on his motorcycle of the ship he was on in World War II. It was sunk by the Japanese when he was on it. I also met Vietnam veterans from Canada and Australians. The Australians shipped their motorcycles to the United States by air freight.

Bob Sawallesh
Tampa, Fla.