The American Legion Department of Colorado Blog

Auditions will get underway April 27 in Washington, D.C. for 5 Streams Global Entertainment’s “The Making of a Star,” a new performance reality competition series. In honor of the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, this first season is exclusively for U.S. veterans and servicemembers and has the support of The American Legion. The series is set to film in New York City and will premiere in primetime in July for 10 consecutive weeks, with some of the biggest names in entertainment scheduled to grace the stage.

Hosted by Grammy-winning singer/producer Donnie McClurkin, “The Making of A Star” contestant auditions will kick off on April 27th in Washington, D.C., and will visit seven other U.S. cities where the A-list “Making of A Star” industry judges will be in search of the military’s most talented service men and women to compete in the series finals. For requirements and audition registration information in your city, to www.legion.org.

“We’re proud to announce the nationwide launch of this series,” said Monica Sutton, executive producer of “The Making of a Star” and CEO of 5 Streams Global Entertainment. “We are committed to making this season the best it can be in honor of our military and their service to this country.”

The winner of “The Making of a Star” will be chosen during the grand finale event, which will be a live telecast in front of an audience of invited troops and a stellar line up of celebrity guest performers. Auditions for “The Making of a Star” are open only to U.S. veterans and servicemembers.

Audition dates and areas, along with the site or American Legion post that will serve as the site for the auditions, are: April 27, Washington, D.C. (Post 24, Alexandria, Va.); April 30, Charlotte, N.C. (Post 23, Gastonia, N.C.); May 1, Atlanta (Post 160, Smyrna, Ga.); May 3, New York City (Metropolitan Studios); May 6, Chicago (Post 1941, LaGrange, Ill.); May 7, Detroit (Walter P. Chrysler Museum); May 13, Los Angeles (Post 43, Hollywood, Calif.); and May 14, Dallas (Texas Star Facility).

REALifelines will help veterans, servicemembers and their families with the transition from the service into civilian life.

The Department of Labor has released an online tool, REALifelines, that assists veterans, servicemembers and their families in their transition to civilian life, providing them with quick and easy access to resources that help them integrate into the workforce and community life.

The REALifelines: Veterans Employment and Career Transition Advisor offers guidance on finding a new job, veterans rights when returning to a pre-service employer, opportunities for federal employment, benefits and other support services, in addition to assistance for family members. It also features specific information for wounded warriors, including guidance on job accommodations and other disability employment issues.

For veterans seeking employment and training, the Transition Advisor provides links to state-specific resources, such as available employment and training services and guidance on how to file for unemployment insurance. All state-specific information is integrated with the National Resource Directory (NRD), a web-based database of thousands of resources updated on a daily basis. The NRD is managed collaboratively by the Departments of Labor, Defense and Veterans Affairs.

The REALifelines: Transition Advisor is one of a series of elaws (Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses) advisors developed by DOL to help employers and employees understand federal employment laws and resources. To access it, visit the elaws website. To learn more about DOL’s efforts to assist veterans and transitioning servicemembers, visit the VETS website.

By: Craig Roberts

$50 million in housing vouchers designed to help chronically homeless veterans had been threatened by spending cuts in 2011 federal budget.

The American Legion is commending Congress for restoring funding that will help provide housing for homeless military veterans. Monies designated for the awarding of housing vouchers for chronically homeless veterans had been threatened by massive spending cuts contained in the embattled fiscal 2011 federal budget.

Originally, budget cuts would have eliminated $75 million in funding for homeless veteran housing. But the final continuing resolution adopted by Congress on April 8 to avert a government shutdown restored $50 million for the program.

“Leaders of both the House and Senate knew it was the right thing to do,” said Mark Walker, deputy director of the Legion’s Economic division. “Obviously, we cannot help homeless veterans without giving them a place to live, so these vouchers are key.”

The voucher program is a collaborative effort between the departments of Housing and Urban Development and Veterans Affairs (VA). Under the program, housing assistance authorizations – called HUD-VASH vouchers – are issued to veterans with serious mental illness, substance abuse problems and other disabilities to aid them in obtaining and maintaining permanent supportive housing.

“Supportive” housing means that appropriate in-house and outpatient medical and emotional treatment, counseling and support is given to each veteran awarded a housing voucher.

To date, 30,000 HUD-VASH vouchers have been allocated. The $50 million contained in the new budget agreement will fund 7,000 more. “That’s a good step forward in financing the 60,000 vouchers we believe we need to end chronic homelessness among veterans,” Walker said.

At The American Legion’s 2009 national convention, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki announced his pledge to end veteran homelessness within five years.

“It seemed like a very lofty goal at the time,” Walker said. “But with the survival of the HUD-VASH voucher program – and the continuing commitment of HUD, VA and advocates such as The American Legion – the fulfillment of the secretary’s promise seems increasingly more likely.”

In May 2007, The American Legion’s National Executive Committee passed Resolution 24, endorsing the Missing in America Project (MIAP) – a network of volunteers working to ensure that all veterans are properly laid to rest. Since its inception more than three years ago, MIAP has been responsible for properly interring the cremains of more than 1,000 U.S. veterans.

But earlier this year, MIAP’s work took on a bit of a different scope. On a cold, snowy morning at Calverton (N.Y.) National Cemetery, the remains of 20 veterans were laid to rest, traveling in a mile-long funeral motorcade from Queens to the cemetery. Along the way, law-enforcement officers, firefighters, veterans service organizations and U.S. citizens paid their respects, a throng of American flags waving around them.

“It was really an emotional sight,” said Legionnaire John Caldarelli, a member of Post 1244 in Greenlawn, N.Y., and the event’s organizer. “It’s difficult to express how it felt to see something like this.”

Caldarelli, the Legion rep for MIAP for Suffolk County, N.Y., and a national political representative for MIAP, said MIAP was contacted by a few veterans in Queens who wanted to give the 20 veterans – some who’d been dead for more than eight years – a proper burial but didn’t have the organization to do it. Caldarelli is normally only involved with cremains ceremonies, but he still said yes and then contacted Dignity Memorial Funeral Homes – a nationwide network of funeral, cremation and cemetery needs provider. The Dignity Memorial Homeless Veterans Burial Program has provided burial services for more than 600 homeless/indigent veterans since the program’s inception.

Dignity agreed to cover the expenses of hearses and cemetery services, freeing up Caldarelli to plan the event. “I was basically on the phone every day,” he said. “I talked to everyone I could: the New York Fire Department Piper, the fire commissioner of Nassau County, police departments, veterans groups. Then I started calling politicians and newspapers.”

Caldarelli’s efforts led a ceremony worthy of the 20 veterans. Leaving from Queens and heading more than 60 miles to the cemetery, the funeral procession – consisting of 20 hearses, New York City Police and Fire departments personnel, and various veteran motorcycle groups including American Legion Riders – was greeted along the way by flag wavers lining overpasses. Volunteer firefighters draped enormous flags from their fire trucks, and when the procession arrived at the cemetery, more than 1,000 firefighters and their vehicles were waiting, 25 American flags draped from the trucks.

With pipers playing, the caskets were loaded into a large tent where 500 people, including Legionnaires, were gathered for the ceremony. Caldarelli estimates there were easily another 500 people outside the tent area.

“It was a great turnout,” he said. “You could tell that the word had really gotten out about this.”

After each casket was draped with a U.S. flag, Caldarelli served as master of ceremonies for the service. Post 1244 Chaplain Alan Shaw gave the opening prayer, and the names of the 20 veterans, along with a little information about each, were read out loud. Guest speakers at the event included U.S. Reps Tim Bishop and Steve Israel, New York City Veterans Affairs Commissioner Terrance C. Holliday, Suffolk County Executive Steven Levy and Chris Marsh of Dignity Memorial.

Caldarelli followed with a eulogy, reading the poem “Go Gently.”

“Go gently, dear brothers, your wait is done,” he said. “Your final rest is here and peace has come.”

Following the eulogy, there was a firing of volleys and the playing of “Taps.” After the folding of the flags draping the caskets, Shaw followed with the benediction.

“I was just proud The American Legion was so well-represented at this,” Caldarelli said. “Before I was a part of the Missing in American Project, I was in The American Legion. And without the help from my post, this service wouldn’t have gone half as well as it did. I got a lot of help and support from my fellow Legionnaires.”

In the event of a federal shutdown, most Department of Veterans Affairs services will still be available. However, it’s important that you know what’s been impacted. For the full list of what will be available and what will be suspended, check out VA’s Veterans Field Guide at http://www.va.gov/FieldGuide_Flyer_Final_6261.pdf

The American Legion will stream several of its major summer events over legion.org live, free of charge, for the benefit of Legion members and other viewers.

The National Oratorical Contest Finals will be streamed during the competition in Indianapolis, April 17.

The Boys Nation candidate debates, elections, final senate session and graduation ceremony will be streamed during the conference in Washington, July 22-30. The American Legion Baseball World Series will be streamed from its new permanent home in Shelby, N.C., Aug. 12-16. The National Convention Color Guard Contest, Band Contest, Patriotic Memorial Service, parade and general sessions will be streamed during the convention in Minneapolis, Aug. 26-Sept. 1.

All streams will emanate from www.legion.org. Here is the complete schedule:

National Oratorical Finals – Indianapolis

Sunday, April 17, 11 a.m. EST

Boys Nation – Washington

Candidate Debates, Tuesday, July 26, 3 p.m. EST

Elections, Tuesday, July 26, 6:30 p.m. EST

Final Senate Session, Friday, July 29, 8 a.m. EST

Graduation Ceremony, Friday, July 29, 7:30 p.m. EST

Baseball World Series – Shelby, N.C.

Friday, Aug. 12

Game 1: Central Plains vs. Great Lakes, 10 a.m. EST

Game 2: Western vs. Mid-South (Doubleheader)

Game 3: Northwest vs. Mid-Atlantic, 5 p.m. EST

Game 4: Southeast vs. Northeast (Doubleheader)

Saturday, Aug. 13

Game 5: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 3, 10 a.m. EST

Game 6: Loser Game 2 vs. Loser Game 4 (Doubleheader)

Game 7: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 3, 5 p.m. EST

Game 8: Winner Game 2 vs. Winner Game 4 (Doubleheader)

Sunday, Aug. 14

Game 9: Winner Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 1 p.m. EST

Game 10: Winner Game 5 vs. Loser Game 8, 5 p.m. EST

Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (Doubleheader)

Monday, Aug. 15

Game 12: Winner Game 9 vs. Loser Game 11, 4 p.m. EST

Game 13: Winner Game 10 vs. Winner Game 11 (Doubleheader)

Tuesday, Aug. 16

Game 14: Winner Game 12 vs. Winner Game 13, 4 p.m. EST

Game 15, if Winner Game 11 loses Game 13 or if Winner Game 12 wins Game 14: (Doubleheader)

National Convention – Minneapolis

Color Guard Contest, Saturday, Aug. 27, 8 a.m. CST

Band Contest, Saturday, Aug. 27, 1 p.m. CST

Patriotic Memorial Service, Sunday, Aug. 28, 11 a.m. CST

Parade, Sunday, Aug. 28, 4:30 CST

General Session Day One, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 8:30 a.m. CST

General Session Day Two, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 8:30 a.m. CST

General Session Day Three, Thursday, Sept. 1, 8:30 a.m. CST

Each year, American Legion department service officers help thousands of veterans receive VA benefits they earned through service to their country. The Legion conducts, promotes and supports hundreds of career fairs for veterans and transitioning servicemembers, bringing employers face to face with job hunters. Through Operation Comfort Warriors, the Legion raises funds to provide comfort items for U.S. troops recovering in military hospitals and transition units worldwide. Legion staff lobbies Congress for better quality of life for U.S. military personnel.

Through American Legion Baseball, nearly 100,000 young men get to experience teamwork and competition each year. The Legion provides more than $138,000 in scholarships through The National American Legion High School Oratorical Contest. And Legion Riders, through the annual Legacy Run, have raised more than $2 million for the Legacy Scholarship, helping ensure the children of U.S. servicemembers killed on or after Sept. 11, 2001, have a chance at a college education.

None of these facts may be news to active Legionnaires, but chances are most prospective members do not realize all The American Legion does for people of all ages at the local, state and national levels. Now, it’s much easier to share that information with those prospective members.

The Legion’s “Why You Should Belong” booklet, available for download here or by contacting your department headquarters, is a one-stop recruiting tool that provides information on dozens of Legion programs, as well as the impact of those programs. It’s a valuable asset for any Legionnaire on the recruiting trail.

With help from The American Legion, a reality performance television program debuting this summer on a major broadcast network is looking for talented servicemembers and veterans.

Judges for “The Making of a Star” will be traveling the nation in the coming weeks, holding auditions in eight different cities, to select 12 finalists to compete for a chance to become a star. The series begins in July and wraps up in New York City during the week of the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Created by the producers at 5 Streams Global Entertainment, “The Making of a Star” is on a mission to prove that veterans, military personnel, National Guard members and reservists have the talent it takes for stardom.

Auditions, some of which will be in Legion posts, are planned between April 27 and May 14, when the 12 finalists will be selected. Audition contestants will be drafted into a “performing arts boot camp,” where they will be trained to sing, dance and entertain. They will compete for various prizes, including a role in a feature film, a live international tour and other various sponsor-related awards.

Episodes of the star-studded series will be shot in New York City, where troops from all over the world will be entertained by some of the biggest names in the industry in every show.

The entire series supports The American Legion by raising awareness of the organization in audition cities and making a substantial financial contribution to Legion programs.

A link to a dedicated website will be posted on www.legion.org [1] in the coming days to provide the opportunity for online registration. Audition dates and cities are as follows: April 27, Washington, D.C.; April 30, Charlotte, N.C.; May 1, Atlanta; May 3, New York City; May 6, Chicago; May 7, Detroit; May 13, Los Angeles; and May 14, Dallas.

With a shutdown of the federal government imminent, The American Legion wants Congress and the White House to ensure that all active-duty service members will receive their full paychecks – uninterrupted and without delays.

“We know that Secretary Gates has promised our troops that they’ll keep getting paid if the government shuts down, but receiving it in the form of back pay is not good enough,” said Jimmie L. Foster, national commander of The American Legion. “The troops are either engaged in combat or supporting those who are. They don’t need to deal with this uncertainty.

“Thousands of our servicemembers and military families stand to suffer if they are shortchanged on their income for even one week. That could make the difference between paying a credit card bill on time or not,” Foster said. “And who will pay the late fees? Who will repair their damaged credit? We don’t think our elected leaders should allow it to go that far.”

Earlier today, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates told troops in Baghdad they would continue to be paid if the government shut down, but the money would be withheld from their paychecks. He said, “If the government shutdown starts on the 8th and goes for a week, you’d get half a check.”

The American Legion is also calling on creditors and businesses to help all servicemembers who may experience pay problems because of the shutdown.

“We think the patriotic thing to do in wartime is to give our men and women in uniform a break on paying their bills,” Foster said. “Extend their payment due dates. Don’t foreclose on their homes. These are the people who risk their lives to defend America, whether its government is working or not. More importantly, it shouldn’t come to that. Congress should address this issue before it becomes a real problem for our servicemembers, and that is what The American Legion is requesting.”

The Department of Veterans Affairs joins with the nation to observe Women’s History Month in March by recognizing and honoring women Veterans.

“Duty. Honor. Pride. These words reflect the spirit of generations of American women who have sought to defend the rights and freedom of others,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “The history of women in the armed forces began more than 220 years ago with women who served during the American Revolution and continues through the present day. VA is honored to serve these women who have contributed so much to our Nation.”

Women Veterans are one of the fastest growing segments of the Veteran population. Of the 22.7 million living Veterans, more than 1.8 million are women. They comprise nearly 8 percent of the total Veteran population and 6 percent of all Veterans who use VA health care services.

VA estimates women Veterans will constitute 10 percent of the Veteran population by 2020 and 9.5 percent of VA patients.

In recent years, VA has undertaken a number of initiatives to create or enhance services for women Veterans, including the implementation of comprehensive primary care throughout the nation; staffing every VA medical center with a women veterans program manager and regional offices with a designated woman Veterans coordinator; supporting a multifaceted research program on women’s health; improving communication and outreach to women Veterans; and continuing the operation of offices like the Center for Women Veterans and the Women Veterans Health Strategic Healthcare Care Group.

“During this observance of Women’s History Month, let’s remember the special contributions of the ever-increasing number of women serving in the armed forces,” said Tammy Duckworth, assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs. She noted that women currently make up more than 14 percent of the active-duty military and 18 percent of the Guard and Reserves.

VA has 43 women’s memorials and monuments at its National Cemeteries across the country. Additionally, several notable women are buried in VA National Cemeteries, including Chief Specialist Evelyn B. (Ulrich) Einfeldt, a Navy World War II Veteran who was one of the 67 Navy “WAVES” involved in Operation Magic. She assisted with the assembly of BOMBE (Enigma), a machine to decode German and Japanese transmissions. She was laid to rest at the Fort Sill National Cemetery on April 6, 2006.

Lillian Kinkela Keil, an Air Force flight nurse pioneer, is buried at the Riverside National Cemetery. She flew 425 combat missions and took part in 11 major campaigns, including the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge in World War II and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in Korea. One of the most decorated women in American military history, she was awarded 19 medals.