Shrink
08-07-09, 06:52 PM
Following is a letter received Wednesday, August 5, from U.S. Senator Jim Webb. Many of you know that Senator Webb is a genuine MC hero, and was retired physically as a result of wounds. I have attached below a picture of Jim taken in Viet Nam.
First in his class of 243 at the Marine Corps Officer's Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, Jim served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam, where as a rifle platoon and company commander in the infamous An Hoa Basin west of Danang he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts.
No doubt at least some of you have read at least one of the six best-selling novels written by Senator Webb: Fields of Fire (1978), considered by many to be the classic novel of the Vietnam war, A Sense of Honor (1981), A Country Such As This (1983), Something To Die For (1991), The Emperor's General (1999) and Lost Soldiers (2001
Jim's championing this new GI Bill indicates that his first interest is with the "troops" who bear the brunt of every war.
I received this letter courtesy of "Seamus." Semper Fidelis, Sully
http://webb.druffs.net/images/vietnam200x200_2.jpg
I have spent my entire life in and around the United States military. My father was a bomber pilot in World War II, flew in the Berlin Airlift, and later became something of a pioneer in the Air Force's missile program.
I grew up on military bases watching the sacrifices of people who were serving away from their families, giving dedicated service to our country. I had the honor of serving our country during the Vietnam War as a Marine, as did my brother, who was a Marine helicopter pilot. I'm also very proud of both my son and my son-in-law, who served as Marine infantrymen in Iraq.
I take very seriously our continuing commitment to those who have served. It is for this reason that I wrote and introduced on my first day in office the "Post-9/11 GI Bill," which offers today's service members the same opportunity for a first class educational future as those who served during the World War II era.
After an extensive and challenging 18-month effort, that bill was enacted into law a little more than one year ago.
On Monday, I was proud to be joined by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, former Senator John Warner, and several hundred fellow veterans at George Mason University to officially launch the new program. Now, veterans and service members who have served honorably since September 11, 2001 will be eligible for comprehensive educational benefits, earned for answering the call of duty to our country.
Across the nation, this new, stronger Post-9/11 GI Bill will provide full tuition and fees at any public school, a monthly housing allowance, and a yearly stipend for books and supplies. The new program represents the broadest expansion of veterans' educational benefits since the original GI Bill was enacted by Congress in 1944.
Over time, we were able to garner support despite strong opposition from the Bush Administration and certain Republican senators who argued that this new bill would be too generous to our veterans, would be too difficult to implement, and would harm retention rates.
I am very grateful to the many Americans who rallied to our cause. In the end, we had support from a bipartisan group of 58 cosponsors in the Senate and 295 in the House. We had the support of the educational community. And we had the organized veterans' groups meeting with us every week, starting very early on.
Our reward for this investment in our service members begins today -- by immediately strengthening our nation's economic foundation. And it will continue for many years as we look around and see the successes that were made possible by a generation of people who used this GI Bill.
We began with a simple concept that we should take care of the people who have taken care of us. On Monday, that goal was accomplished.
Thank you,
Jim Webb
U.S. Senator
First in his class of 243 at the Marine Corps Officer's Basic School in Quantico, Virginia, Jim served with the Fifth Marine Regiment in Vietnam, where as a rifle platoon and company commander in the infamous An Hoa Basin west of Danang he was awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star Medal, two Bronze Star Medals, and two Purple Hearts.
No doubt at least some of you have read at least one of the six best-selling novels written by Senator Webb: Fields of Fire (1978), considered by many to be the classic novel of the Vietnam war, A Sense of Honor (1981), A Country Such As This (1983), Something To Die For (1991), The Emperor's General (1999) and Lost Soldiers (2001
Jim's championing this new GI Bill indicates that his first interest is with the "troops" who bear the brunt of every war.
I received this letter courtesy of "Seamus." Semper Fidelis, Sully
http://webb.druffs.net/images/vietnam200x200_2.jpg
I have spent my entire life in and around the United States military. My father was a bomber pilot in World War II, flew in the Berlin Airlift, and later became something of a pioneer in the Air Force's missile program.
I grew up on military bases watching the sacrifices of people who were serving away from their families, giving dedicated service to our country. I had the honor of serving our country during the Vietnam War as a Marine, as did my brother, who was a Marine helicopter pilot. I'm also very proud of both my son and my son-in-law, who served as Marine infantrymen in Iraq.
I take very seriously our continuing commitment to those who have served. It is for this reason that I wrote and introduced on my first day in office the "Post-9/11 GI Bill," which offers today's service members the same opportunity for a first class educational future as those who served during the World War II era.
After an extensive and challenging 18-month effort, that bill was enacted into law a little more than one year ago.
On Monday, I was proud to be joined by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, former Senator John Warner, and several hundred fellow veterans at George Mason University to officially launch the new program. Now, veterans and service members who have served honorably since September 11, 2001 will be eligible for comprehensive educational benefits, earned for answering the call of duty to our country.
Across the nation, this new, stronger Post-9/11 GI Bill will provide full tuition and fees at any public school, a monthly housing allowance, and a yearly stipend for books and supplies. The new program represents the broadest expansion of veterans' educational benefits since the original GI Bill was enacted by Congress in 1944.
Over time, we were able to garner support despite strong opposition from the Bush Administration and certain Republican senators who argued that this new bill would be too generous to our veterans, would be too difficult to implement, and would harm retention rates.
I am very grateful to the many Americans who rallied to our cause. In the end, we had support from a bipartisan group of 58 cosponsors in the Senate and 295 in the House. We had the support of the educational community. And we had the organized veterans' groups meeting with us every week, starting very early on.
Our reward for this investment in our service members begins today -- by immediately strengthening our nation's economic foundation. And it will continue for many years as we look around and see the successes that were made possible by a generation of people who used this GI Bill.
We began with a simple concept that we should take care of the people who have taken care of us. On Monday, that goal was accomplished.
Thank you,
Jim Webb
U.S. Senator