Stars and Stripes Veterans News

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February 9, 2022 | View in browser

 

VA secretary vows to boost health care workers pay, benefits as department grapples with employee burnout Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough vowed to work with Congress to increase pay caps for medical workers. Read more >

VA education program started during the pandemic to retrain unemployed veterans goes mostly unused Congress created the Veteran Rapid Retraining Assistance Program last year as part of the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion relief package that sought to bolster the economy as the country struggled with pandemic-related closures and layoffs. The program, known as VRRAP, offers education and training for veterans who became unemployed during the pandemic and have already used their GI Bill entitlement. Read more >

Legislation proposed to clear up confusion about GI Bill eligibility for children and spouses of troops Legislation introduced Wednesday would simplify the paperwork required for service members to transfer their GI Bill eligibility to their dependents, which lawmakers believe will lead to fewer errors and more students able to access the benefits. Read more >   Leave Afghanistan? Veteran-run businesses face hard decisions after Taliban takeover Some American veterans who invested in Afghanistan have closed up shop following the Taliban’s ascent to power, while others say business, in some ways, is now easier. Read more >   Bob Dole laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery Former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on Wednesday, on a hill that overlooks the U.S. Capitol. Read more >

Marine veteran accused in botched coup describes night of horrors under custody of the Venezuelan regime Matthew Heath, 40, was arrested four months after a botched coup of Venezuela in May 2020 launched from Colombia and led in part by a Florida company called Silvercorp USA, an effort that may have been stopped with the help of Venezuelan government infiltrators. Read more >   Father and son celebrate legacy of service with Maryland National Guard Maryland National Guardsman Kurt Rauschenberg grew up watching his father, Frank Rauschenberg, proudly wearing a uniform to Kurt's Little League baseball games and participating in drills at the Maj. Gen. Henry C. Evans Armory in Westminster. Read more >   ‘Total stranger’ in coffin of his dad, a decorated WWII veteran; man sues funeral home A lawsuit filed this week contends a funeral home informed Jerald Weber that “the person who was buried in his father’s coffin, received military honors and was wearing his father’s uniform was a total stranger” and not decorated World War II veteran William Weber. Read more >   Mississippi soldier, missing in action in 1942, finally ID’d The fate of Pvt. Andrew Ladner, a soldier from Harrison County, has been unknown since he disappeared during World War II, during the Battle of Buna-Gona. Read more >   How an enslaved Black soldier fought for independence and won his freedom Rhonda Brace will be in Philadelphia at the Museum of the American Revolution the evening of Feb. 17 to talk about her grandfather, Jeffrey Brace — who fought in Washington's Continental Army and was then freed by Benjamin Stiles — with scholar Kari J. Winter. Read more >   WWII Navy veteran who served on USS Yorktown honored with replica model During his time on the USS Yorktown, Julian Hodges saw the ship take damage during the Battle of Coral Sea in May 1942 and was injured when the ship was attacked and eventually sunk during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Read more >

 

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