V V A - Vietnam
Veterans of America
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V V A - Vietnam Veterans of America |
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MercuryNews.com
| 05/14/2005 | Veteran official cited in ...
... HE DROPS HIS BID FOR PRESIDENCY OF VIETNAM VETS; VA INVESTIGATING By Alison Young Knight Ridder. WASHINGTON - A top official at Vietnam Veterans of ... www.mercurynews.com/mld/ mercurynews/news/nation/11646855.htm HE DROPS HIS BID FOR PRESIDENCY OF VIETNAM VETS; VA INVESTIGATING
By Alison Young
Knight Ridder
WASHINGTON - A top official at Vietnam Veterans of America abruptly ended his bid to become the group's president this week after Knight Ridder obtained the results of an internal probe that concluded he had ``repeatedly and routinely submitted misleading and fraudulent
paperwork'' to help vets obtain federal benefits.
Officials at the pre-eminent advocacy group for the
nation's 8 million Vietnam-era veterans documented the
problem in 2001, but never shared their findings with the
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Instead, they allowed
Jim Grissom to quietly resign as a claims handler, yet hold
increasingly greater leadership positions within the
organization. The group did not know that he continued to
handle claims.
The VA now is investigating the case, which is a striking
example of the agency's lax oversight of thousands of
individuals who are
accredited to assist veterans through the complex process of
applying for disability compensation and other VA benefits.
The VA pays more than $20 billion in disability claims every
year, many of them based on the work of claims handlers such
as Grissom. But
a Knight Ridder investigation found that the handlers often
are not adequately trained and screened for integrity and
ability.
Although he is not a medical professional, Grissom signed
psychiatric evaluation forms that helped veterans get VA
medical treatment for
post-traumatic stress syndrome.
Grissom, who as national secretary holds the No. 3 position
at the Vietnam Veterans of America, said he never intended
to mislead the VA
or anyone else when he filled out and signed the forms. He
said he thought the issue was behind him. ``We came to an
agreement,'' said
Grissom, who lives in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. ``I resigned my
accreditation and that was it.''
As the VA's inspector general and Office of General Counsel
open investigations into Grissom's conduct, nine of the
nation's best-known
veterans charities began receiving letters from the VA this
week seeking information about how the groups educate, test
and supervise
VA-accredited claims helpers, called service officers. The
letters, which went to groups such as Disabled American
Veterans, Amvets, the
American Legion and the Marine Corps League, also asked
whether the groups think current regulations are adequate.
About two-thirds of veterans who apply for disability
compensation from the VA get help from service officers, who
may work for
non-profit veterans groups or county or state veterans
departments.
Federal regulations require the VA to accredit service
officers to ensure that veterans receive ``responsible,
qualified representation
in the preparation, presentation and prosecution of
claims.'' But Knight Ridder found that the VA largely has
ceded responsibility for
making that determination to the veterans groups. The VA
just rubber-stamps as ``accredited'' the names submitted to
it.
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From: Bmeeksjr@aol.com Date: Mon, 11 Aug 2003 23:05:09 EDT Subject: RE: VVA Follow-up Contact With The POW Network The
following update pertains to certain individuals listed on
your web site as members of Vietnam Veterans of America or
Associates of Vietnam Veterans of America and the current
status of said individuals in regard to information from our
VVA/AVVA membership database. |
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TO:
POW Network FROM: Bill Meeks, Jr. VVA At Large Director Chair, VVA Membership Affairs Committee Today (4/7/03) at 4:34:57 PM Central Standard Time I was given your web site address, asked to check it out and take immediate action in the best interest of all parties, especially Vietnam Veterans of America. At this late hour, you can see I've been very busy checking out your web site and have finally found time to contact your site by e-mail. First, with a membership of over 45,000 members it's impossible to catch every wannabe, phony or whatever you would call these individuals who masquerade under false pretense, unless they are exposed as such by our members or other veterans. We are very concerned about these individuals and will address each VVA member identified ASAP. Second, the Membership Affairs Committee knew there was a problem with the past edition of the Membership Directory, as several inquiries had been forwarded to my desk for action since my tenure as chair (less then 2 yrs) related to the directory and each inquiry had been addressed by VVA up to this point and time. In our (committee) preliminary work on the upcoming 2004 Membership Directory, the committee had recommended to the VVA BOD that no information about medals or awards would be noted without being substantiated by proof from the VVA member. There is a lead time of 14 months to publish the directory and the warning flags are up to resolve this problem. Third, VVA's Membership Committee will review all the VVA members listed on http://pownetwork.org/ and will submit a report to the VVA BOD with recommendations for action. At that time VVA will take appropriate action based on the report and recommendations from the Membership Committee. Finally, I would ask that you post my e-mail on your web site as proof of our (Vietnam Veterans of America) sincere efforts to resolve this matter and help clear the tarnished image these individuals have cast over our organization and the good honest veterans who are members. Semper Fi, Bill Meeks, Jr. |
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CARMELLI,
JOHN D 10/2003
DECEASED JAN 6, 2008
Claims printed in TEXARKANAGAZETTE.com "Carmeli joined the Army at age 17 in 1957 and
served with the 82nd Airborne in what was then called French
Indochina, before it became Vietnam. He has been reported as having worn Captain bars on his jacket in Parades. "....there was a reason he wore captain insignia and it wasn't to promote himself." - NOTE CAME WITH THE NOTICE OF HIS DEATH, JAN 20, 2008 Records indicate Carmeli never
left Ft Bragg. He served as a Spec 4, from Jan 1957 until Oct
1959. He has NO awards or decorations. |
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02/15/2001 These names and claims were recently published in the 2000 Membership Directory of Vietnam Veterans of America. They are NOT found in historical PUBLISHED records and were NOT the only false claims found: |
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Listed as Prisoner of War:
Listed as Medal of Honor: |
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CLICK on above link for the "rest of the story".... UPDATED 2004 |
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| 02/25/2003
TAP's Section of the V V A
magazine The Veteran.
"Jerry Washington Capt, SOG 1970."
[No Jerry Washington listed in the Big Yellow Book of SOG. Not listed as a member of the SOA or SFA] "Louis Weiler severed with Army Special Forces in RVN and was a POW for 18 months"
[No one by that name listed as a member of the SFA or
SOA, not listed in the Big Yellow Book of SOG. And
the biggest surprise of all no one by name is listed as a
returned POW during Vietnam.]
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| Marvin Enoch
Potter -- 10/2002- claims USMC, earned the Navy Cross in
Vietnam - stole citation of Medal of Honor recipient and
presented it as his own. Claims 3 Silver Stars, PH, 3 tours in
Nam, 70-73, in Briar Patch -
operating in a "Shadow Force", attached to
-VMFA-333 (Trip-Trey), F-4
fighter jet squadron. After attending jump, diving,
survival, recon schools assigned to Force
Reconnaissance - may
not show up due to him being CIA. VVA member.
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| Here's the exact quote from the "Locators"
section of the October/November
2000 VVA VETERAN
"Trying to find an American who saved my life when I was a POW in Vietnam. I had suffered numerous bullet wounds and was in a camp with American soldiers when they were rescued by an explosion knocking out the wall. A young American transported me to the Red Cross and saved my life. Contact: Annabella, soul_2023@hotmail.com " |
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| *** Thursday,
February 03, 2000 ... Here's the exact quote from the "Locators" section of the Dec 1999/Jan 2000 VVA Veteran: "USMC, 1st Force Recon, 1969-73, SOG; Phoenix; POW: seeking fellow POWs I helped escape from Cambodia. Seeking F. Sinkovitz, D. Cerisi, D. Beaver, USMC to verify stressors for PTSD claim and Medal of Honor. Contact: Dan Jones, P.F.C.H.A., 38 Short St., Harrisburg, PA 17109; 717-657-3991." |
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YET ANOTHER
... Here's the exact quote from the "Locators"
section of the VVA Veteran: {NOTE: He ran a similar ad in the VFW magazine May '99} When called by a REAL former POW, he stated he escaped 4 times, he worked against Nixon, his records were destroyed. He was taken North of the DMZ all 4 times, can't remember any camps, claimed USMC.} |
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CLAIMING VIETNAM PRISONER OF WAR: V V A - Claims by members of Vietnam Veterans of America ================================== |
RE: ANY NAME ON THIS PAGE: If anyone has viable proof of their captivity [or claims] which is accepted by the American Ax-POWs, NAM-POWs, DoD and DMPO - PLEASE contact us immediately. We will take corrective action and work with them to be recognized for their sacrifice. |