Retiree News Photograph
This photograph shows Norman Kaleo and Gerald Gapol. It was taken at the luncheon following the departure of the 154th Wing’s last F-15 Eagles on September 22, 2009.
Both Norman and Gerry served in the 154th Wing’s maintenance complex for many years before retiring.
From the Military Times website
More than 53,000 disabled veterans may be owed refunds totaling about $189 million in home loan fees they were incorrectly charged by the Department of Veterans Affairs, according to estimates from the VA Inspector General in a report issued on the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Auditors said they found it “troubling” that senior Veterans Benefits Administration officials were aware in October, 2014 that thousands of exempt veterans were owed refunds, but didn’t take adequate action to issue refunds.
Nearly 73,000 exempt veterans were incorrectly charged an estimated $286 million in funding fees for their VA home loans from 2012 through 2017, auditors estimated. During that period, VA issued about $97 million in refunds to 19,700 of the veterans — leaving an estimated 53,200 who may still get refunds.
To treat, or not to treat: That remains one of the tough conundrums for men with prostate cancer and their doctors, because some tumors may be aggressive, while others may take decades to cause harm.
Now, new research suggests that tracking specific changes in the number of chromosomes inside prostate cancer cells might help solve the riddle.
Besides giving new insights into how prostate tumors form and spread, the chromosomal data might someday “be employed clinically to inform risk stratification and treatment” decisions for patients, according to a team led by Angelika Amon, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
From the U.S. Army Center of Military History website
When the American Revolution broke out, the rebellious colonies did not possess an army in the modern sense. Rather, the revolutionaries fielded an amateur force of colonial troops, cobbled together from various New England militia companies. They had no unified chain of command, and although Artemas Ward of Massachusetts exercised authority by informal agreement, officers from other colonies were not obligated to obey his orders. The American volunteers were led, equipped, armed, paid for, and supported by the colonies from which they were raised.
In the spring of 1775, this “army” was about to confront British troops near Boston, Massachusetts. The revolutionaries had to re-organize their forces quickly if they were to stand a chance against Britain’s seasoned professionals. Recognizing the need to enlist the support of all of the American seaboard colonies, the Massachusetts Provincial Congress appealed to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia to assume authority for the New England army. Reportedly, at John Adams’ request, Congress voted to “adopt” the Boston troops on June 14, although there is no written record of this decision. Also on this day, Congress resolved to form a committee “to bring in a draft of rules and regulations for the government of the Army,” and voted $2,000,000 to support the forces around Boston, and those at New York City. Moreover, Congress authorized the formation of ten companies of expert riflemen from Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, which were directed to march to Boston to support the New England militia.
George Washington received his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army the next day, and formally took command at Boston on July 3, 1775.
Dear Savvy Senior: My son is getting his Ph.D. next month and I would like to fly my parents in from across the country for his graduation, but I have some concerns about the flights. My dad is 82 and has trouble walking long distances and uses an oxygen tank for his COPD. What airport or airline services are available to help elderly passengers?
Flying across the country can be exhausting for anyone, but for seniors with health issues or physical limitations it can be extremely challenging.
Here are a few flying tips and a number of resources that can help.
“When we honor our flag we honor what we stand for as a Nation
– freedom, equality, justice, and hope.” – Ronald Reagan
William Earl Anana, age 77, passed away at home on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Will retired as a captain with the Honolulu Fire Department in 1994.
He is survived by wife Ginger Anana; 4 Daughters & 2 Sons; 2 Stepdaughters & 1 Stepson; 4 Sisters; 1 Brother; 20 Grand-children & 21 Great-Grandchildren.
Family will be remembering & celebrating Will’s life on Monday, June 17, 2019 at Diamond Head Mortuary Chapel. Visitation: 9:00 a.m. Service: 10:00 a.m. Burial will follow at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl) at 1:00 p.m. Arrangements Provided By: Hawaiian Memorial Park Mortuary
Retiree News received the attached email this morning from a reader. We have not had any follow information from the event planners since our post on March 7, 2019.
There will be a Hawaii Veterans Summit in Honolulu, on 21-22 June 2019 – please open the attached documents for more information on this two day summit.
Taps Posts: Retiree News has received feedback about not having Taps posts about a few retired Guardmembers. The new shorter obituaries in the Star-Advertiser that started about two years ago are basically death notices that have little information about the person. We do not post obituaries without additional confirmation from other sources, usually other Guardmembers.
Additionally, many newspaper obituaries come out after private services are held. Please let Retiree News when a Hawaii Guardmember passes away. Email information to retireenews@gmail.com.
VA Health Care Facilities going smoke free: As part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) commitment to provide excellent health care for Veterans, the department will implement a new policy restricting smoking by patients, visitors, volunteers, contractors and vendors at its health care facilities by October.
VHA’s new smoke-free policy applies to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, any other combustion of tobacco and non-Federal Drug Administration approved electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), including but not limited to electronic or e-cigarettes, vape pens or e-cigars. Taken in part from a VA press release
Planning to travel abroad this summer? Before you go, remember that Medicare usually does not cover health care services or supplies while you’re traveling outside the United States (except in these rare cases).
That doesn’t mean you have to travel abroad without health coverage. Here are 3 ways you can get health coverage outside the U.S.:
– If you have a Medicare Supplement Insurance (Medigap) policy, check your policy to see if it includes coverage when traveling outside the U.S.
– If you have Medicare Advantage or another Medicare health plan (instead of Original Medicare), check with your plan to see if they offer coverage outside the U.S.
– Consider buying a travel insurance policy that includes health coverage.
Learn more – off the Medicare website
A hui hou kākou
click on photograph to enlarge
This notice was emailed out yesterday from the Defense Commissary Agency. Retiree News will post updates when received.
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
From the Images of Old Hawaii website
Camp Tarawa trained over 50,000 servicemen between 1942 and 1945. Originally an Army camp named Camp Waimea, when the population in town of Waimea on the Island of Hawai‘i was about 400, it became the largest Marine training facility in the Pacific following the battle of Tarawa.
There were three ways to get to Camp Tarawa – by narrow-gage sugarcane freight train; by hard-axle truck or on foot. Pyramid tent cities and streets of long convoys of jeeps, trucks, half-tracks, tanks, artillery, amphibious ducks made up the formidable, but top secret, Camp Tarawa.
From The Washington Post website
A team of researchers inside Pfizer made a startling find in 2015: The company’s blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis therapy Enbrel, a powerful anti-inflammatory drug, appeared to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 64 percent.
The results were from an analysis of hundreds of thousands of insurance claims. Verifying that the drug would actually have that effect in people would require a costly clinical trial — and after several years of internal discussion, Pfizer opted against further investigation and chose not to make the data public, the company confirmed.
Many people plan to work at least part-time in retirement because they want the income, enjoy what they do, hope to keep active or need a sense of purpose — or some combination of those reasons. But working in retirement can come with some unexpected costs and hazards.
Here are commonly asked questions that can help you plan for what’s ahead.
Retiree News 