July/August, 2012 Newsletter

Editor: Dennis O’Connell

Bvnc1@verizon.net

"IF I CANNOT SPEAK GOOD OF MY COMRADE,

I WILL NOT SPEAK ILL OF HIM OR HER."

OFFICERS OF THE BLIND CHAPTER

Commander Richard Bugbee
Phone 480 986-0304

Email: dadbug37@gmail.com

Senior Vice Commander Joe Wallace
1st Junior Vice Commander Stephen Moffitt

2^nd Junior Vice Commander William Burgess
3^rd Vice Commander James Hogan

4^th Junior Vice Commander Junior Farley

Judge Advocate Dennis O’Connell
Chaplain Rev. Tony Martino
Phone 847 736 2111
email: Deaconmart@wi.rr.com

Adjutant/Treasurer Paul Kaminsky (also webmaster)

Phone 904 291-0576
email: pkjax@kaminsky.com

Immediate Past Commander Dennis O’Connell

If you know of any member who is sick or deceased please inform one of the officers whose contact information is listed above.

VA CEMETERIES UPDATE

We’ve all been taught the consequences of the U.S. Civil War since

childhood. How it led to the emancipation of slaves, solidified state and federal rights, and further made the case for women’s suffrage. But the unprecedented carnage of the war also transformed the attitude of how the nation honors its military dead; a tradition now indelible to the American spirit. That was the premise behind a talk given by Harvard University President Dr. Drew Faust at VA central office in Washington this Spring. Through her research, Dr. Faust found that the Civil War fundamentally changed the way our country handled death on the battlefield. Both the Union and Confederacy were ill equipped to bury fallen troops in a dignified manner, and death notifications sent to families were informal and happenstance, if they happened at all. Unmarked and hasty graves littered fields and farms near battlefields where hundreds of thousands of men struggled and died. Humanitarian ideas and the dignity of the human spirit were transformed in the crucible of war, and an emerging sense of responsibility for our war dead led to drastic shift in government obligations.

Edmund Whitman, an Army officer and a quartermaster during the Civil war, led the effort. Whitman inspected cemeteries and battlefields across the south from 1865-1869, examined informal records, and conducted interviews to find out locations of fallen troops. He oversaw the re-interment of over 100,000 Union soldiers. About 300,000 were reburied in 74 national cemeteries, which now fall under the purview of the National Park Service. As Dr. Faust noted, it was Whitman’s mission to put human faces and human cost to the war, and to recognize the sacrifices of so many of our own. His work helped to establish the notion that those who fell in battle are to be honored, and it’s our duty as citizens to remember and cherish that. It’s difficult to fathom the damage of the war. An estimated 600,000 soldiers from both sides were killed; if the war were fought today with the same casualty rate, six million would lay dead. But it’s also hard to imagine a time when the care of our slain troops was an afterthought—an annoyance to both troops in the field and folks in the halls of government. It’s now one of VA’s most sacred obligations, but it took a war of staggering magnitude for our nation to realize it had a duty to honor the dead as

much as they honored us. For a video on VA’s Sacred Trust which covers many details of the National Cemetery Administration and its service to our nations Veterans plus how burials are conducted refer to

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81ESNHb9_YQ.

To determine eligibility for burial refer to:

http://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/pdf/IS1_Jan_2011.pdf.

NFB-NEWSLINE® ADDS READER’S DIGEST

Popular Publication Now on Free Service for Blind and Print-Disabled People

Baltimore, Maryland (June 18, 2012): The National Federation of the Blind is pleased to announce that NFB-NEWSLINE®-its free service that provides independent access by print-disabled people to hundreds of local and national publications, as well as TV and job listings-has partnered with The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. to offer its very popular monthly magazine to subscribers.

The addition of Reader's Digest will expand the already wide variety of content offered by the service, including magazines that focus on science, technology, and culture. Offering more than 300 newspapers, magazines, and wire feeds, NFB-NEWSLINE® provides subscribers with on-demand access and the ability to read only those sections and articles of interest to the user from the publications available. Subscribers may read their favorite publications via a variety of methods, including using a touch-tone telephone, accessing content on the Web, via an iPhone or other iOS device, or by downloading publications to a digital talking book player or MP3 player.

Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: "The addition of Reader's Digest-which is not only one of the most popular consumer magazines in the United States but also enjoys worldwide success-gives NFB-NEWSLINE® subscribers yet another choice in content, featuring a mix of compelling human interest stories, family-based articles, and humor. The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that NFB-NEWSLINE® continues to expand the diversity of its offerings to meet the variety of subscribers' interests and needs."

"This is great news for our subscribers," said Scott White, who directs the NFB-NEWSLINE® program. "Reader's Digest has been one of our most requested magazines and we are pleased to be able to offer it on the service."

Liz Vaccariello, V.P. and editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest, said: "We are very happy to partner with the National Federation of the Blind in offering our magazine content. Its commitment to providing equal access to printed material is unparalleled."

NFB-NEWSLINE® allows those who cannot read conventional newsprint due to a visual or physical disability to access publications as well as television and job listings over the telephone, on the Web, via an iOS device, or by download to digital talking book players or MP3-playing devices.

To learn more about NFB-NEWSLINE®, please visit www.nfbnewsline.org. Those interested in subscribing to the service may fill out the online application form, write to nfbnewsline@nfb.org, or call (866) 504-7300. In order to be eligible for NFB-NEWSLINE®, an individual must be a US resident who is legally blind or has a physical or learning disability that prevents the independent reading of newspapers.

DELEGATES REPRESENTING THE NVBC#1 AT THE DAV NATIONAL CONVENTION

With the convention just a few days away, I figured to again informing the membership who will be representing the blind chapter at the convention.

Delegates: Denis O'Connell, James Hogan, Gary Traynor, Steve Moffitt

Alternate Delegates: Tony Martino, Joe Wallace, Richard Bugbee, Bill Burgess (Bill is unable to attend)

Paul Kaminsky & Richard Bugbee will be stand ins so we will be represented at all committee meetings that we normally attend.

ALWAYS CHECK OUT OUR WEB SITE FOR NEW POSTINGS

If you never attended a DAV National Convention you can see photos of the 2011 DAV BVNC 1 Installation of Officers Breakfast.

GOD BLESS AMERICA!