VFW Action Corps Weekly

VFW Shares Testimony Despite Cancelled Hearing: VFW National Legislative Director Patrick Murray was slated to testify on more than two dozen issues before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs. However, the chance to speak was taken away. “Just because the hearing was cancelled due to politics completely unrelated to veterans, it doesn't mean we don't still have something to say about proposed bills,” Murray said. Read the prepared testimony.

Veteran Wins Supreme Court Case on VA Education Benefits: The Supreme Court sided with James Rudisill in the case Rudisill v. McDonough by a 7-2 ruling. This decision could impact up to 1.7 million veterans, allowing those who accrue benefits under both the Montgomery GI Bill and the Post-9/11 GI Bill to use both benefits. Previously, a veteran could earn a maximum of only 36 months of education benefits, and had to either use the Montgomery GI Bill or transfer the entitlement to the newer and more expansive Post-9/11 GI Bill. The court found that Mr. Rudisill, who served in the U.S. Army during three separate time periods, accrued 48 months of benefits under the two different programs. VA is currently reviewing the decision. The VFW will provide updates as we learn the full impact of this ruling. Read more.

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced three burial updates for service members who have been missing and unaccounted for from World War II. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:

-- Seaman First Class James W. Holzhauer, 23, of Abingdon, Virginia, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. He was among 429 crewmen killed that day. He will be buried on May 20, 2024, at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Honolulu, Hawaii. Read about Holzhauer.
-- Army Air Force Tech. Sgt. Kenneth J. McKeeman, 23, of Brooklyn, New York, was assigned to the 724th Bombardment Squadron, 451st Bombardment Group, 15th Air Force. He was killed in action on March 11, 1944. He will be buried in Middletown, Connecticut, on June 7, 2024. Read about McKeeman.
-- Army Private 1st Class Harry Jerele, 26, of Berkeley, Illinois, was a member of the 192nd Tank Battalion. He was among those captured in the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942. He died while a prisoner of war on Dec. 28 that same year. He will be buried in Elwood, Illinois, on Oct. 6, 2024. Read about Jerele.

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