State Senator Joe Addabbo: Calling All Queens Veterans..! Register in National Purple Heart Roll of Honor...

New York State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., a member of the Senate’s Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs Committee, today called on all Queens veterans (or their next of kin) who were awarded the Purple Heart, to register in the Roll of Honor at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor. The facility is located in New Windsor, approximately 10 miles north of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point , NY .

The mission of the Hall of Honor is to collect, preserve and ultimately share the record of all Purple Heart recipients. The Roll of Honor is an electronic database created to preserve and present the stories of Purple Heart recipients. It can be accessed at eight interactive computer kiosks at the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, and there is also an abbreviated online version which can be accessed from any computer. Visitors to the Hall can learn about individual Purple Heart recipients by reading short narratives and looking at the photographs and other documents that have been submitted to the Hall of Honor. Registration is voluntary. If you are interested in learning more about the registration process, refer to “How do I register a Purple Heart recipient?” on the Hall of Honor Web site: www.thepurpleheart.com. You may also contact The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, P.O. Box 207, Vails Gate, New York 12584-0207, or call: 845-561-1765 or 877-284-6667; fax: 845-569-0382.

Explains Addabbo, “Since the award was established in 1932, there has not been a consistent record kept of the total number of Purple Hearts awarded. There have been an estimated 1.7 million Purple Hearts awarded since that time, of which there are currently 150,000 already enrolled in the Roll of Honor. Now, with the help from many such highly decorated veterans or their families from Queens and the greater metropolitan area, the Hall of Honor can enhance its registry of Purple Heart recipients from all branches of service, all wars for which the Purple Heart was awarded, and from across the nation. The Hall of Honor also is looking for photos, telegrams, letters home, news articles or other materials that help put a face and a context with each recipient’s name. So even friends of any deceased Purple Heart recipients who have no known living family members are also encouraged to check the Roll of Honor for names and to contribute such items.”

In order to verify receipt of the medal, requested documentation includes a variety of materials, including: DD-214 or other discharge forms listing awards; medical forms; a photo of the back of the medal bearing the recipient’s name; or other supporting materials.

“Enrollment is free; download an enrollment form online at: www.thepurpleheart.com (pdf attached). If you need help obtaining necessary military discharge papers for documentation, contact the National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. The NPRC can be accessed electronically, or through the mail. Their Web address is: http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/index.html. For the veteran or next of kin (defined by them as parent, spouse, child or sibling) the records can be requested at no cost, and can be applied for electronically through eVetrecs, their electronic request system, at: (http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/). If you are not a veteran or the next of kin, you must complete the Standard Form 180 (SF 180). This form is available at the National Archives and Records Administration,” notes Senator Addabbo.

Adds the Senator, “During this holiday season of giving and remembering others, two more outstanding programs would like to hear from you so that together, we can make a difference in the lives of our veterans or soldiers (and their families) currently serving in theatre, or facing deployment to, Iraq or Afghanistan”:

Cell Phones for Soldiers, 243 Winter Street, Norwell , Massachusetts 02061

Web site: http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

or

Call toll free at 800-426-1031; for all program inquiries, email: cellphonesforsoldiers@recellular.com.

For questions on calling cards, please email: bob@cellphonesforsoldiers.com.

America’s Adopt a Soldier, P.O. Box 1049, Springfield, Virginia 22151

Web site: http://www.americasadoptasoldier.org

or contact:

Mary E. Keeser, Chair & Founder

Phone: 703-405-9956

Fax: 703-321-4925

email: mary.keeser@americasadoptasoldier.org

Community of Veterans - Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)

Community of Veterans

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A joint effort of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) and the Ad Council, this site is designed as a resource to our nation’s newest Veterans. Comprising less than 1 percent of the population, Veterans face a myriad of challenges while feeling isolated and cut off from those to whom they can best relate – other Veterans. While addressing a range of topics, this site is ultimately a point of connection where Veterans are helping Veterans.

IAVA
Founded in 2004, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) is the nation's first and largest group representing veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. IAVA is a non-profit and nonpartisan organization with more than 125,000 active veteran members and grassroots supporters in all 50 states. For more information, visit www.iava.org.

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The Ad Council, www.adcouncil.org is a private, non-profit organization that marshals talent from the advertising and communications industries, the facilities of the media, and the resources of the business and non-profit communities to produce, distribute and promote public service campaigns on behalf of non-profit organizations and government agencies in issue areas such as improving the quality of life for children, preventive health, education, community well-being, environmental preservation and strengthening families.

The mental health consequences of combat threaten to overwhelm a new generation of veterans. There are 1.7 million men and women who have served, or are currently serving, in Iraq and Afghanistan. About 1 in 5 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are suffering from a mental health injury, ranging from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), as a result of their service.

Less than 1% of the U.S. population has served or is serving in the current conflicts and when they return home, their sense of isolation is often magnified. This campaigns long-term objective is to decrease the depression and PTSD-related outcomes among returning Vets by taking a two-pronged approach encouraging Veterans to join other Veterans at the first ever online community exclusive to OIF/OEF Vets, and separately, to empower their Friends and Family by helping them learn how to start constructive conversations. The challenges facing returning vets are myriad but with support from other Veterans, family, and friends the issues can be effectively dealt with.