VFW District 8 Newsletter
CWO5 Randle M. Tolliver, USN (Ret)
Commander
For veterans in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line's number is "988” then press "1”.
Homebound veterans requiring assistance please contact any member.
Veterans experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, please contact any member or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.
Buddy Checks! Please call or go visit elderly or homebound veterans and see how they are doing and if they need help.
We are always looking to have veterans who are eligible and want to continue serving our community to join us. If you are interested, please contact any member or post.
For our comrades who want to continue serving their communities but no longer have a VFW post, VFW District 8 has the answer: the establishment of a VFW Detachment, having a presence in the community without the burden of maintaining a post. The Det would be in the community, doing VFW business and outreach as an element of the parent post. If you are interested, please contact (573) 924-2382.
Legislative news:
Folks, please contact your senator and representative to voice your support for several pieces of legislation to support Missouri Veterans. These include:
Funding the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) with a stable funding solution. The MVC manages the seven Missouri Veterans Homes, six cemeteries, and numerous veterans’ programs.
The Veterans community supports two property tax bills. The first, HB 2535, is to fund property tax relief for certain disabled veterans, Purple Heart recipients, and Gold Star spouses by raising cigarette taxes and creating new excise taxes on nicotine, vapor, OTP, paraphernalia, and hemp-derived products. The second, HJR 115 and SJR 88, is to place on the ballot in the November 2026 general election a constitutional amendment to provide ‘Disabled Veterans Property Tax and Homestead Exemption” for 100% service-connected disabled veterans. Versions of this bill has been filed every year since 2018 and every year, Missouri state bureaucracy has killed it. Both HJR 115 and HB 2535 have cleared committee, so please call rep. Jonathan Patterson, Speaker of the House at (573) 751-0907 and tell him to schedule HJR115 for floor vote asap and to support the bill.
Additionally, passing HB 3029, "The Veterans Benefits Protection Act”, to protect veterans from unaccredited "Claim Sharks” predatory claims assistance practices. It will enforce federal VA standards, prohibit charging for initial claims or pre-appeal fees. It also requires clear disclosures and prohibits unauthorized access to veterans VA data.
Concerning Claim Sharks, we are opposed to Section 42.028 of Senate Bill 974. We support the rest of the bill that does great things for the Missouri National Guard, but this section would effectively legitimize "Claim Sharks” business practices. Please contact Representative Harbison to voice your opposition of Section 42.028.
Passing HB 3029, "The Veterans Benefits Protection Act”, to protect veterans from unaccredited "Claim Sharks” predatory claims assistance practices. It will enforce federal VA standards, prohibit charging for initial claims or pre-appeal fees. It also requires clear disclosures and prohibits unauthorized access to veterans VA data.
We are adamantly opposed to Section 42.028 of Senate Bill 974. We strongly support the rest of the bill that would do great things for the Missouri National Guard, but this section would effectively legitimize "Claim Sharks” business practices. Please contact your representative to voice your opposition of Section 42.028.
You can find your representative at https://house.mo.gov/legislatorlookup and your senator at https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup
Also, please support the "Major Richard Star Act” (H.R. 2102 and S. 1032). Today, medically retired veteran’s Department of War retirement pay is reduced to offset their VA disability compensation. These are fundamentally different benefits, earned for different reasons, yet Congress refuses to act. Please thank Senator Hawley who is a co-sponsor, but call Senator Schmitt, at (202) 224-5721, and your Congressman / Congresswoman and ask them to do the right thing. You can find your congress person at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative .
Local events:
The time and place of these and local post meetings and other events are provided on each post’s Facebook site; come join us!
Post 3777 in Festus is hosting "Friday Night Live” with Bob Stegall on 24 April at 900 VFW Drive. For more information call (636) 937-5400.
Every Tuesday, Post 5331 in Cedar Hill host "Veterans Coffee Talk” at 9 am at 1 Lynn Lane in Cedar Hill. If you have questions or would like more information, please call EverTrue @ (314) 446-2539, Col. (retired) Ted Hodgson @ (314) 221-2096 or Mark Newton @ (636) 222-3521.
Every Wednesday, Post 5896 is hosting an "all-you-can-eat” breakfast at 814 E Karsch Blvd, Farmington. Food service is 7 to 9:30 am and the cost is $8 and children under the age of 10 eat for free.
Every 3rd Sunday of each month, Post 6516 in High Ridge will host "Meat Shoot” at 2220 Gravois Rd, High Ridge. Rain or shine, shooting starts at noon. Ages 12 and up are welcome and they provide shells. Nothing smaller than a .678 choke tube and no scopes, optics, bull barrels. For mor information call (636) 677-1772.
Post 6660 and VFWA 6660 are performing an environmental cleanup project across Reynolds County to remove and properly dispose of metal, tires, and other debris from along state and county roads, creeks, and with the cooperation of the owner’s, private property. In addition to the aesthetic value of removing such material from our forest and roadways, metal waste can leach into the soil and adjacent waterways, causing soil contamination. A lot of folks rely on wells for drinking water and to water stock. These pollutants can affect groundwater. Please contact (803) 924-0608 or (573) 924-2382 if you have material to remove.
Now let us talk a bit about our history:
81 years ago, on 12 April 1945, Harry S. Truman of Independence, Missouri, became the 33rd President of the United States upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Truman, who served as a Captain of Field Artillery during World War I, was later an unsuccessful haberdasher in Kansas City. He was elected as the Jackson County eastern district court judge in 1922. This was an administrative rather than a judicial office, similar to our county commissioners. Truman was not reelected in 1924, but was elected as presiding judge in 1926, and re-elected in 1930. As presiding judge, he coordinated new public works projects including roads and construction of a new County Court building. In 1926, he also became president of the National Old Trails Road Association where he oversaw the dedication of the 12 "Madonna of the Trail” monuments. He was appointed as Missouri's director for the Federal Re-Employment program in 1933 and elected to the U.S. Senate in 1934. Taking the office of Vice-President on 20 January 1945, his tenure in that office lasted only 82 days. To learn more about our fellow Missourian you can visit the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum located in Independence or see https://www.trumanlibrary.gov .
108 years ago, the 94th "Hat in the Ring" Aero Squadron flying Nieuport 28 fighters became one of the first American fighter squadrons to see combat service in WW I. The roster of squadron pilots reads like a "Who's Who" of early aviation and included Eddie Rickenbacker and Raol Lufberry. Today, the 94th is based at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, the 94th Fighter Squadron fly the F-22A Raptor, the world’s most advanced Air Dominance fighter. To learn more visit https://www.jble.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/show/Article/257732/94th-fighter-squadron .
I offer these wise words from President Harry S. Truman "America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination, and unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.”
Bulletin Board:
The VA one-stop telephone number is 1-800-698-2411 and press "0” for immediate assistance. The VA one stop website is VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs .
For more for information concerning VA "End of Life” benefits and services see www.va.gov/initiatives/end-of-life-benefits/
Veteran employment opportunities! Please visit https://news.va.gov/138283/hiring-veterans-job .
The Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) one-stop Benefits and Resource Portal is (573) 522-4061 or www.veteranbenefits.mo.gov .
To pre-certify for burial in a Missouri Veterans Cemetery, apply at https://my.mo.gov/gsp?id=vcp_preapplication . For information on burial eligibility, visit https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/cemeteries .
The Missouri Job Center offers no-cost employment assistance for veterans and spouses. Contact (417) 257-2630 or visit jobs.mo.gov/vets.
To order military service documents such as a DD 214/Separation Document or Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), contact the National Archives, National Personnel Records Center at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, or call (866) 272-6272.
For more information, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/967395123712841 or visit movfw.org
"Here to Serve”
