Updated information is marked with an asterick*
Tribute for Newton Duke*
On June 7, 2008, a tribute was held at Gardendale First Baptist located in Gardendale, AL for Newton Duke, in honor of his service and sacrifice during the Korean War. Mr. Duke was a POW for 28 months (May 51- Aug 53), during which, he was wounded on eight different occasions. Mr. Duke was not awarded his POW medal until 1988, 35 years after his release. In 2003, 50 years after his release, he was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds he received while captive but the award has never been formally presented. LTG Kevin T. Campbell, the Commanding General of Army Space and Missile Defense Command located on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL, presented Mr. Duke with his Purple Heart at this tribute.
VETERANS BENEFIT FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES:*
Veterans Benefit Improvement Act of 1996 allows the surviving spouse an entire month of compensation for the month in which the veterans dies. If you receive a letter stating that you must return his check/deposit, that is not true.
Medal of Honor Posthumously Awarded - Keeble
The Medal of Honor was awarded posthumously to Master Sgt. Woodrow Wilson Keeble. He is the first full-blooded Sioux Indian to receive the Medal of Honor. It was presented to his stepson, Russell Hawkins on March 3, 2008.
Purple Heart Awarded - Yoss
Ray Yoss was awarded a Purple Heart Medal, he was from K Company 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division.
Purple Heart for DIC POWs (update)
Update reported by H. Rick Tavares
I have been reliably informed by Senator Barbara Boxer of California that the Department of Defense Manual of Military Awards and Decorations (1348.33-M), is now being revised for publication by mid-2008. The manual will now include eligibility for a Posthumous Purple Heart Medal, to include those who perished in POW facilities from causes such as starvation, torture, lack of medical care, death from disease and exposure, etc.
Purple Heart Awarded - Rodriquez
Our old Prisoner of War Buddy, Lupe Rodriquez, Medical Company 34th Infantry Regiment of the 24th Infantry Division, received his long overdue Purple Heart Medal today! It was 57 years ago that he earned this coveted medal!
Lupe had escaped with two other guys and both of them were shot to death. Lupe, was also wounded and brought back to our encampment at Kosan North Korea and forced to kneel with a stick between his legs and he had to hold a big rock above his head. Whenever he lowered the rock the North Koreans would start beating on him. It looked like they would pour kerosene over him and light it but for some reason they never did that.
Lupe was denied the Purple Heart on his first attempt and thanks to the many buddy letters that came from the Tiger Survivors his second application was approved. It was not until 1956 that Former Prisoners of War were authorized to apply for wounds received while a Prisoner of War regardless of the circumstances.
His grandkids are going crazy over this medal. It is wonderful to have success for a change. Maybe now approval for a Purple Heart for those who died while a Prisoner of War will become official.
How to Avoid Probate
A POW friend of mine who lived in Florida passed to Glory and his wife is now going through Probate. Probate can take up to 3 years and cost 10% of more of the estate. So it is common sense to avoid Probate if at all possible. How can one do this?
First of all have a will drawn up. Husband and Wife can draw up their own will if you prefer. We do not know who will pass first.
I suggest you get "An Agreement to Establish Right of Survivorship to Community Property between Spouses." Each state could be different so it is best to check with your lawyer about this where you reside. This agreement is good when both spouses intend to leave everything to each other. This is a simple agreement between them. This agreement would cover your home and other real property, all furnishings and household goods in the home, all automobiles and other vehicles, all bank accounts, stocks, bonds, IRAs, Certificates of Deposits, and all property jointly owned and all other property acquired during marriage, except property acquired by gift or inheritance, clearly identified as separate property and kept separate and apart from the community property of the Husband and Wife. This means that all community property of Husband and Wife shall pass to the surviving spouse upon the death of the first to die, without the necessity of Probate Court proceedings or other legal actions other than the recording of this Agreement in the records of the County Clerk where you reside at time of death.
If you have a Military ID Card through disability or Retirement you can use the services of the Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) office on any Military Base that has one. They can do a will for you and one for your wife and also this Agreement as well as a living trust etc.
Don't leave your spouse in a bind.
Respectfully submitted by Shorty Estabrook
‘Forgotten’ no longer
By TOM SHARPE | The New Mexican
July 27, 2007
Korean War memorial dedicated under an appropriate light rain
About 100 people, including 20 Korean War veterans, stood in a light rain Friday afternoon at Amelia White Park to dedicate a memorial to the “forgotten war” that ended 54 years ago.
Former California Rep. Paul “Pete” McCloskey Jr., who has owned a house in Madrid for 30 years, said the rain was appropriate for any Korean War commemoration.
“Is there any Korean veteran here that doesn’t remember being soaked for days at a time?” he asked. “I always thought when I came back from Korea, I’d never worry about the rain again because I knew I would be dry in a few hours, rather than a few weeks.”
Read the rest of the story at The Santa Fe New Mexican
Reprinted with permission
©Tom Sharp and The Santa Fe New Mexican
Parasites stick to POW as reminder of hard times
Monday, July 16, 2007 BY FORD TURNER Of The Patriot-News
The scans of his abdomen and legs were complete when Charles Egresitz was asked a strange question by the doctor.
Ever been to the Far East?
His answer of "yes" produced the biggest "Aha!" moment of his life.
The scans revealed small nodules embedded in his legs and abdomen. They were, Egresitz learned, dead, calcified parasites -- a kind he probably picked up when he ate rotten pork while a prisoner of war, about a half-century earlier, in North Korea.
On later X-rays, they showed up as small, white jellybeans.
"I couldn't believe it at first," said Egresitz, of Lower Paxton Twp. "And then I saw them."
For years after the war, he had suffered unexplained seizures. At least one of the worm-like parasites had worked its way into his head before it died. Egresitz and his wife, Judy, believe the parasites caused the seizures, although that's never been conclusively proven.
The seizures are over. Egresitz, 79, has accepted the little nodules as reminders of a harrowing time. They were discovered in his body in the late 1990s, not long before he attended his first veterans' reunion.
"It was so emotional," Judy Egresitz said. "All these men coming up to Charlie, talking to him. It was good for him. It got him to open up about those times."
Read the rest of the story at pennlive.com
FORD TURNER: 255-8486 or fturner@patriot-news.com
reprinted with permission, The Patriot-News July 2007