Location:
1100 Raymond Blvd. Newark NJ 4th floor
Public transportation is a block away (Newark Penn Station) No parking on site, public lots surround the building with varying parking fees.

Date: Monday 04/09/12 13:00 (allow time for parking and check-in)

Participants are required to register by emailing bradford.slutsky@dhs.gov
We have limited space and seats will be filled.
The below vacancy is for CBP Officer. It is recommended that those interested apply BEFORE attending this event because the applications are limited and the vacancy could close once a set amount of applications are received.

Apply Now

Topics discussed:

* CBP New York/Newark overview
* Veterans Preference when applying for federal gov’t positions
* Presentations from veterans who have transitioned to CBP
* Current vacancies

A little history most people will never know.

Interesting Veterans Statistics off the Vietnam Memorial Wall

There are 58,267 names now listed on that polished black wall, including those added in 2010.

The names are arranged in the order in which they were taken from us by date and within each date the names are alphabetized. It is hard to believe it is 36 years since the last casualties.

The first known casualty was Richard B. Fitzgibbon, of North Weymouth , Mass. Listed by the U.S. Department of Defense as having been killed on June 8, 1956. His name is listed on the Wall with that of his son, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Richard B. Fitzgibbon III, who was killed on Sept. 7, 1965.

There are three sets of fathers and sons on the Wall.

39,996 on the Wall were just 22 or younger.

8,283 were just 19 years old.

The largest age group, 33,103 were 18 years old.

12 soldiers on the Wall were 17 years old.

5 soldiers on the Wall were 16 years old.

One soldier, PFC Dan Bullock was 15 years old.

997 soldiers were killed on their first day in Vietnam ..

1,448 soldiers were killed on their last day in Vietnam ..

31 sets of brothers are on the Wall.

Thirty one sets of parents lost two of their sons.

54 soldiers attended Thomas Edison High School in Philadelphia .

8 Women are on the Wall. Nursing the wounded.

244 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War; 153 of them are on the Wall.

Beallsville , Ohio with a population of 475 lost 6 of her sons.

West Virginia had the highest casualty rate per capita in the nation. There are 711 West Virginians on the Wall.

The Marines of Morenci – They led some of the scrappiest high school football and basketball teams that the little Arizona copper town of Morenci (pop. 5,058) had ever known and cheered. They enjoyed roaring beer busts. In quieter moments, they rode horses along the Coronado Trail, stalked deer in the Apache National Forest . And in the patriotic camaraderie typical of Morenci’s mining families, the nine graduates of Morenci High enlisted as a group in the Marine Corps. Their service began on Independence Day, 1966. Only 3 returned home.

The Buddies of Midvale – LeRoy Tafoya, Jimmy Martin ez, Tom Gonzales were all boyhood friends and lived on three consecutive streets in Midvale, Utah on Fifth, Sixth and Seventh avenues. They lived only a few yards apart. They played ball at the adjacent sandlot ball field. And they all went to Vietnam . In a span of 16 dark days in late 1967, all three would be killed. LeRoy was killed on Wednesday, Nov. 22, the fourth anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jimmy died less than 24 hours later on Thanksgiving Day. Tom was shot dead assaulting the enemy on Dec. 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.

The most casualty deaths for a single day was on January 31, 1968 ~ 245 deaths.

The most casualty deaths for a single month was May 1968 – 2,415 casualties were incurred.

For most Americans who read this they will only see the numbers that the Vietnam War created. To those of us who survived the war, and to the families of those who did not, we see the faces, we feel the pain that these numbers created. We are, until we too pass away, haunted with these numbers, because they were our friends, fathers, husbands, wives, sons and daughters. There are no noble wars, just noble warriors.

If it weren’t for the

United States military,

there’d be NO

United States of America.

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The Soldier stood and faced God,
Which must always come to pass.
He hoped his shoes were shining,
Just as brightly as his brass..
‘Step forward now, Soldier ,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?’
The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
‘No, Lord, I guess I ain’t.
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be a saint.
I’ve had to work most Sundays,
And at times my talk was tough.
And sometimes I’ve been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep…
Though I worked a lot of overtime,
When the bills got just too steep.
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear..
And sometimes, God, forgive me,
I’ve wept unmanly tears.
I know I don’t deserve a place,
Among the people here.
They never wanted me around,
Except to calm their fears
If you’ve a place for me here, Lord,
It needn’t be so grand.
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don’t, I’ll understand.
There was a silence all around the throne,
Where the saints had often trod.
As the Soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God.
‘Step forward now, you Soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well.
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell.’
Author Unknown~

It’s the Soldier, not the reporter
Who has given us the freedom of the press.
It’s the Soldier, not the poet,
Who has given us the freedom of speech.
It’s the Soldier, not the politicians
That ensures our right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..
It’s the Soldier who salutes the flag,
Who serves beneath the flag,
And whose coffin is draped by the flag.

Oak Ridge Boys

I DON’T KNOW HOW HE GOT THRU IT…………….

On the last night of our trip, we stopped at the Iwo Jima memorial. This memorial is the largest bronze statue in the world and depicts one of the most famous photographs in history — that of the six brave soldiers raising the American Flag at the top of a rocky hill on the island of Iwo Jima, Japan, during WW II

Over one hundred students and chaperones piled off the buses and headed towards the memorial. I noticed a solitary figure at the base of the statue, and as I got closer he asked, ‘Where are you guys from?’

I told him that we were from Wisconsin . ‘Hey, I’m a cheese head, too! Come gather around, Cheese heads, and I will tell you a story.’

(It was James Bradley who just happened to be in Washington , DC , to speak at the memorial the following day. He was there that night to say good night to his dad, who had passed away. He was just about to leave when he saw the buses pull up. I videotaped him as he spoke to us, and received his permission to share what he said from my videotape. It is one thing to tour the incredible monuments filled with history in Washington , DC , but it is quite another to get the kind of insight we received that night.)

When all had gathered around, he reverently began to speak. (Here are his words that night.)

‘My name is James Bradley and I’m from Antigo, Wisconsin . My dad is on that statue, and I wrote a book called ‘Flags of Our Fathers’. It is the story of the six boys you see behind me.

‘Six boys raised the flag. The first guy putting the pole in the ground is Harlon Block. Harlon was an all-state football player. He enlisted in the Marine Corps with all the senior members of his football team.. They were off to play another type of game. A game called ‘War.’ But it didn’t turn out to be a game. Harlon, at the age of 21, died with his intestines in his hands. I don’t say that to gross you out, I say that because there are people who stand in front of this statue and talk about the glory of war. You guys need to know that most of the boys in Iwo Jima were 17, 18, and 19 years old – and it was so hard that the ones who did make it home never even would talk to their families about it.

(He pointed to the statue) ‘You see this next guy? That’s Rene Gagnon from New Hampshire. If you took Rene’s helmet off at the moment this photo was taken and looked in the webbing of that helmet, you would find a photograph…a photograph of his girlfriend Rene put that in there for protection because he was scared. He was 18 years old. It was just boys who won the battle of Iwo Jima . Boys. Not old men.

‘The next guy here, the third guy in this tableau, was Sergeant Mike Strank. Mike is my hero. He was the hero of all these guys. They called him the ‘old man’ because he was so old. He was already 24. When Mike would motivate his boys in training camp, he didn’t say, ‘Let’s go kill some Japanese’ or ‘Let’s die for our country’ He knew he was talking to little boys.. Instead he would say, ‘You do what I say, and I’ll get you home to your mothers.’

‘The last guy on this side of the statue is Ira Hayes, a Pima Indian from Arizona . Ira Hayes was one of them who lived to walk off Iwo Jima . He went into the White House with my dad. President Truman told him, ‘You’re a hero’ He told reporters, ‘How can I feel like a hero when 250 of my buddies hit the island with me and only 27 of us walked off alive?’

So you take your class at school, 250 of you spending a year together having fun, doing everything together. Then all 250 of you hit the beach, but only 27 of your classmates walk off alive. That was Ira Hayes. He had images of horror in his mind. Ira Hayes carried the pain home with him and eventually died dead drunk, face down, drowned in a very shallow puddle, at the age of 32 (ten years after this picture was taken).

‘The next guy, going around the statue, is Franklin Sousley from Hilltop, Kentucky . A fun-lovin’ hillbilly boy. His best friend, who is now 70, told me, ‘Yeah, you know, we took two cows up on the porch of the Hilltop General Store. Then we strung wire across the stairs so the cows couldn’t get down. Then we fed them Epsom salts. Those cows crapped all night.’ Yes, he was a fun-lovin’ hillbilly boy. Franklin died on Iwo Jima at the age of 19. When the telegram came to tell his mother that he was dead, it went to the Hilltop General Store. A barefoot boy ran that telegram up to his mother’s farm. The neighbors could hear her scream all night and into the morning. Those neighbors lived a quarter of a mile away.

‘The next guy, as we continue to go around the statue, is my dad, John Bradley, from Antigo, Wisconsin , where I was raised. My dad lived until 1994, but he would never give interviews. When Walter Cronkite’s producers or the New York Times would call, we were trained as little kids to say ‘No, I’m sorry, sir, my dad’s not here. He is in Canada fishing. No, there is no phone there, sir. No, we don’t know when he is coming back.’ My dad never fished or even went to Canada . Usually, he was sitting there right at the table eating his Campbell ‘s soup. But we had to tell the press that he was out fishing. He didn’t want to talk to the press.

‘You see, like Ira Hayes, my dad didn’t see himself as a hero. Everyone thinks these guys are heroes, ’cause they are in a photo and on a monument. My dad knew better. He was a medic. John Bradley from Wisconsin was a combat caregiver. On Iwo Jima he probably held over 200 boys as they died. And when boys died on Iwo Jima , they writhed and screamed, without any medication or help with the pain.

‘When I was a little boy, my third grade teacher told me that my dad was a hero. When I went home and told my dad that, he looked at me and said, ‘I want you always to remember that the heroes of Iwo Jima are the guys who did not come back. Did NOT come back.’

‘So that’s the story about six nice young boys.. Three died on Iwo Jima , and three came back as national heroes. Overall, 7,000 boys died on Iwo Jima in the worst battle in the history of the Marine Corps. My voice is giving out, so I will end here. Thank you for your time.’

Suddenly, the monument wasn’t just a big old piece of metal with a flag sticking out of the top. It came to life before our eyes with the heartfelt words of a son who did indeed have a father who was a hero. Maybe not a hero for the reasons most people would believe, but a hero nonetheless.

We need to remember that God created this vast and glorious world for us to live in, freely, but also at great sacrifice

Let us never forget from the Revolutionary War to the current War on Terrorism and all the wars in-between that sacrifice was made for our freedom…please pray for our troops.

Remember to pray praises for this great country of ours and also …please pray for our troops still in murderous places around the world.

STOP and thank God for being alive and being free due to someone else’s sacrifice.

God Bless You and God Bless America .

REMINDER: Everyday that you can wake up free, it’s going to be a great day.

One thing I learned while on tour with my 8th grade students in DC that is not mentioned here is . . that if you look at the statue very closely and count the number of ‘hands’ raising the flag, there are 13. When the man who made the statue was asked why there were 13, he simply said the 13th hand was the hand of God.

Our Governor has signed the “Gaming Bill”. The new law and its parameters will go into effect on 3 March 2012. This new law will pertain to every post running small games of chance. This is great news for many of our clubs who have been struggling with the LCE and their enforcement of small games of chance laws. We are in the process of dissecting the new law and building an informational package to go out to all our Legion Clubs. The following is the actual press release from our State and we have put together some quick bullet points describing the changes to the old law. Please see that you disseminate this information to all posts in your respective areas. This information will be available on our web site ( www.pa-legion.com) If you have any questions please feel free to contact us. We will put out additional information as it is available.

Yours in comradeship,
Kit D. Watson
Kit D. Watson
Department Adjutant
Pennsylvania American Legion

Gov. Corbett signs bill increasing prizes for small games of chance

HARRISBURG – Governor Tom Corbett signed eight bills into law Thursday, including a bill that amends the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act to create new definitions, increase prize limits, and provide for additional rules and regulations for licensing of organizations.
The bill was sponsored by Rep. Sheryl Delozier (R-Cumberland), and would amend the current Small Games of Chance law to allow nonprofit associations, charitable organizations and other civic groups to raise revenues to support their community as well as maintain their operation.
Delozier’s bill would update the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act, which has not been changed since 1988, allowing for increased limits for prize payouts.
Small games of chance licenses are used by charitable organizations to raise funds to assist those in the local community. These nonprofit groups assist community residents by sponsoring youth sports, supporting fire companies and veteran events, refurbishing local parks, and giving out grants and scholarships to our students.
“The passage of this bill means we are actively working to preserve the role that local organizations have in our communities,” said Delozier. “Most of the money that is spent on these small games of chance does return to the community with a multiplier effect that benefits all of us.”
House Bill 169 would increase limits for prize payouts from $500 to $1,000 for daily drawings, from $5,000 to $25,000 for weekly drawings and from $5,000 to $10,000 for raffles per calendar month.
Under the bill, at least 70 percent of proceeds raised by these organizations would be distributed for public interest purposes, and up to 30 percent of the money raised can be used by the organizations to help maintain capital projects such as fixing a roof or heating system.
“The upcoming budget season is going to be a tough one,” Delozier noted. “Allowing for increased fundraising will help our nonprofits to fill some of the gaps in funding from government and stay afloat during hard economic times. This bill is the support system our communities need.”
House Bill 169 was amended in the Senate to include measures that permit fire and emergency services to hold a raffle with a $50,000 limit. Measures to require clubs with liquor licenses to submit semi-annual reports to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue were also among the changes to the House version of the bill.
“House Bill 169 has been overwhelmingly supported statewide by community organizations and legislators on both sides of the aisle,” said Delozier. “I am pleased we are finally able to get this bill to the governor’s desk and ensure our nonprofit organizations are able to continue to meet their expenses and fund projects and services throughout our local communities.”

HOUSE BILL 169
A. SYNOPSIS:

Amends the Local Option Small Games of Chance Act to create new definitions, increase prize limits, and provide for additional rules and regulations for licensing of organizations.
B. BILL SUMMARY:

Preliminary Provisions:
· Clarifies the following terms: Civic and service organization, club, daily drawing, eligible organizations, fraternal organizations, games of chance, public interest purposes, raffle and weekly drawing.

· Defines “licensed distributor” as a distributor of games of chance that is licensed under Act.

· Defines “prize” as cash or merchandise awarded from a game of chance.

· Defines “proceeds” as the difference between the actual gross revenue collected by an organization from the conduct of games of chance and the actual amount of prizes paid by an organization from a game of chance, plus the cost of the purchase of the game.

Games of Chance:
· Increases the maximum prize for a single chance from $500 to $1,000.

· Increases the maximum weekly prize limit from $5,000 to $25,000 in a seven-day period.

· Raises the prize limit for raffles from $5,000 to $10,000 per calendar month.

· Allows a raffle to exceed the $1,000 per single chance limit if the organization has obtained a special permit. Eligible organizations can obtain no more than 8 special permits per license term, except for volunteer fire, ambulance and rescue organizations which can obtain 10 per license term. Total cash value of all prizes under a special permit is $100,000 per calendar year.

· Permits a volunteer fire, ambulance or rescue organization to award up to $50,000 from raffles that is not subject to the aggregate limit.

· Clarifies that only a daily drawing and weekly drawing can be conducted at the same time.

· Requires each manufacturer and distributor to submit a background check for all officers, managers and other responsible persons. These background checks shall be obtained from the PA State Police and shall be submitted with their application or renewal.

· Requires organizations to report to Revenue on prizes awarded of $600 or more, as required by the Tax Reform Code.

· Requires organizations to report the amounts expended on public interest purposes.

· Clarifies that an auxiliary group is not eligible to obtain a license or limited occasion license to conduct games of chance.

· Clarifies that the licensing authority can use the license fees to administer the act.

· Clarifies that an organization must conduct small games of chance at their licensed premise. The organization must list the licensed premise on their application. Only one license shall be issued per licensed premise.

· Allows an organization which has obtained a limited occasion license to use the premise of another licensed organization. When an organization permits a limited occasion licensee to use their premise, the organization must cease the operation of their own games of chance.

· Requires an organization to keep a separate bank account for proceeds of games of chance and retain account records for two years.

· Requires a club licensee to submit an annual report at the time of application for a license or renewal.

· Requires each organization to submit a background check for the executive officer and secretary or any other person required by Revenue. Background checks shall be obtained from the PA State Police and shall be submitted with their application or renewal.

Club Licensees:
· Provides additional requirements for club licensees.

· Beginning in 2013, a club shall submit semi-annual reports to Revenue for the preceding 6-month period containing the following information:

. The proceeds received by the club from each game of chance, itemized by week.

. The amount of prizes paid from all games of chance.

. Other costs incurred related to the conduct of games of chance.

. The verification of amounts distributed for public interest purposes, itemized by recipient.

. An itemized list of expenditures made or amounts retained.

. The address and county where the club is located.

. Other information required by Revenue.

· Requires Revenue to provide a copy of the report to the Bureau of liquor Control Enforcement (BLCE).

· Requires Revenue to post reports on their internet site.

· Permits clubs to use proceeds for operating expenses, as well as public interest purposes (not less than 70% public interest, 30% general operating). Proceeds may not be used for wages, alcohol or food purchases, or fines levied against the organization. Operating expenses include: Real property taxes, utility and fuel costs, heating and air conditioning equipment and repair, water and sewer costs, mortgage payments, interior and exterior repair costs, new facility construction, entertainment equipment, and other expenses as regulated by Revenue.

· Requires that amounts retained for public interest purposes are to be expended within the same calendar year unless the organization notifies Revenue that the funds are being retained for a specific purchase or project.

· Requires a club to maintain records, including invoices for games purchased. Records shall be made available to the BLCE or other entity authorized to enforce the Act.

· Requires a club to maintain records relating to the printing or purchase of raffle tickets and the printing or purchase of materials to be used for a weekly drawing.

Enforcement:
· Adds the following as grounds for suspension, revocation or nonrenewal:

. Failure of a club licensee to file an accurate report

. Failure of a club licensee to comply with the filing requirements or the distribution of proceeds

· Requires licensees to, upon request, provide their license, books, accounts and records relating to games of chance to the licensing authority, BLCE, or law enforcement agency or official. A club licensee shall retain their records for 5 years.

· Permits the licensing authority to enforce the Act and impose civil penalties.

· Permits BLCE, for club licensees only, to enforce the Act. An administrative law judge may impose civil penalties following the issuance of a citation by BLCE.

· Requires BLCE to conduct random audits of 5% of club licensees.

· Permits the District Attorney to investigate all violations of the Act. If a violation has occurred the DA may impose a criminal penalty.

· Clarifies that, for a club licensee, violations of the Act do not constitute a violation of the Liquor Code. If the club has committed three or more violations of the Act, BLCE may enforce a violation of this Act as a violation of the Liquor Code.

· Imposes civil penalties as follows:

. For organizations:

. First violation – up to $500.

. Second violation – up to $1,000.

. Third or subsequent violation – up to $1,500.

. For Clubs:

. First violation – up to $800.

. Second violation – up to $1,000.

. Third or subsequent violation – up to $2,000.

· Changes criminal penalties to:

. First violation – not exceeding $1,000 and forfeiture of license for not more than 30 days;

. Second violation – not exceeding $1,500 and forfeiture of license for not less than 30 days and no more than 180; and

. Third violation (within 3 years of most recent violation) – not exceeding $3,000 and forfeiture of license for 30 months.

New Law effective date: 30 days (3 March 2012)
C.CURRENT LAW:
The Local Option Small Games of Chance Act (Act 156 or 1988) recognizes that certain nonprofit organizations need to raise funds, for the promotion of charitable or civic purposes, by having small games of chance. The Act establishes the rules, regulations, and guidelines necessary for the conducting of small games of chance.

Yours in comradeship,

Kit D. Watson

Kit D. Watson
Department Adjutant
Pennsylvania American Legion

our mission is to assure our veterans and their families receive all benefits and services they deserve and our posts continue to serve the communities where they are located.

Tango Mike Mike