VFW District 8 Newsletter
CWO5 Randle M. Tolliver, USN (Ret)
Commander
For veterans in crisis, the Veterans Crisis Line's number is "988” then press "1”.
Homebound veterans requiring assistance please contact any member.
Veterans experiencing, or at risk of homelessness, please contact any member or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at (877) 424-3838.
Buddy Checks! Please call or go visit elderly or homebound veterans and see how they are doing and if they need help.
We, the VFW, are always looking to have veterans who are eligible and want to continue serving our community to join us. If you are interested, please contact any member or post.
Reminders:
The next meeting of the VFW Department of Missouri Council of Administration will be held on 20-21 February, at the Resort at Lake of Ozarks, located at 3076 Bagnell Dam Blvd, Lake Ozark Missouri. All members are encouraged to attend.
Road Trip to support Missouri Veterans! Please attend the 9 March Veteran’s Legislative Rally at 11 am in the Rotunda at the Capital building in Jefferson City to support the veteran’s community. We are working on renting a bus for free transport, if we can fill enough seats. If you want to go, but don’t want to drive, contact your local post commander. The major issues we are rallying for are:
Fully fund the Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) who manages the seven Missouri Veterans Homes, six cemeteries, and numerous veterans’ programs with a stable funding solution, or these programs are at risk.
Pass HJR 115 and SJR 88 to provide ‘Disabled Veterans Property Tax and Homestead Exemption” for 100% service-connected disabled veterans.
We need a Missouri law to fight unaccredited companies (Claim Sharks) that prey on veterans through misleading advertising by offering to file VA claims and the charge exorbitant fees for "consulting.”
Please contact your senator and representative to voice your support for Missouri Veterans. You can find your representative at https://house.mo.gov/legislatorlookup and your senator at https://www.senate.mo.gov/LegisLookup .
For your information:
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has released the 2025 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report. It provides the recent data on suicide among Veterans and non-Veteran adults. 6,398 veterans died by suicide in 2023, down from 6,442 in 2022. With the overall population of veterans declining, however, the rate of veteran suicide increased, from 34.7 per 100,000 in 2022 to 35.2 per 100,000 in 2023.The suicide rate for non-veteran U.S. adults in 2023 was 16.9 per 100,000 Americans. More than 6,000 veterans have died by suicide each year since 2001, with the figure peaking in 2018 at 6,738 deaths. The slight decrease follows the downward trend since 2018. For more information go to, https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:VA6C2:b7908829-5a8b-4577-a114-d7807ea359b4 .
For severely disabled veterans and service members who are eligible for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Specially Adapted Housing program, the VA has increased building and materials costs grant amounts. This program enables severely disabled veterans and service members to adapt their existing home or build or buy an adapted home. For more information please visit https://www.va.gov/housing-assistance/disability-housing-grants/how-to-apply .
Starting now, all VA education beneficiaries, including "Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance” students will be required to verify their enrollment EACH MONTH to receive their benefit payments. This is important, the student MUST VERIFY ENROLLMENT for the before the VA will BEGIN processing your monthly benefit. Once verified, payment processing can take five to seven calendar days. You can learn more about the different enrollment verification methods at https://www.va.gov/education/verify-school-enrollment/#verify-your-enrollment-online or contact your School Certifying Official. You can find their contact information listed at https://www.va.gov/education/gi-bill-comparison-tool .
Local events:
The time and place of these and local post meetings and other events are provided on each post’s Facebook site; come join us!
Every Tuesday, VFW Post 5331 in Cedar Hill host "Veterans Coffee Talk” at 9 am at 1 Lynn Lane in Cedar Hill. If you have questions or would like more information, please call EverTrue @ (314) 446-2539, Col. (retired) Ted Hodgson @ (314) 221-2096 or Mark Newton @ (636) 222-3521.
Every Wednesday, VFW Post 5896 is hosting an "all-you-can-eat” breakfast at 814 E Karsch Blvd, Farmington. Food service is 7 to 9:30 am and the cost is $8 and children under the age of 10 eat for free.
Every Saturday, VFW Post 1831 is hosting a Shooting Match at 1651 Veterans Dr., DeSoto. Doors open at 10 am, practice at 11 am and shooting starts at noon. Clubroom will open for drinks & appetizers. For more information call (636) 586-9271.
Every 3rd Sunday of each month, VFW Post 6516 in High Ridge will host "Meat Shoot” at 2220 Gravois Rd, High Ridge. Rain or shine, shooting starts at noon. Ages 12 and up are welcome and they provide the shells. Nothing smaller than a .678 choke tube and no scopes, optics, bull barrels. For mor information call (636) 677-1772.
VFW Post 6883 in Bonne Terre will host multiple BB gun shooting contest at 1112 Roe Street in Bonne Terre. The schedule is 15 February and 1, 15, & 29 March. House guns are available. For more information, call (573) 358-4440.
On 14 February, Bonne Terre VFW Post 6883 is hosting a Valentine's Day Party. Doors open at 6 pm and the party is from 7 to 11 pm. There is no charge for admittance, and it is a cash bar. Music by "Voices.” For more call (573) 358-4440.
Legislative news:
Please support the "Major Richard Star Act” (H.R. 2102 and S. 1032) to fix a decade’s long injustice - over 50,000 medically retired veteran’s Department of War retirement pay is reduced to offset their VA disability compensation. These are fundamentally different benefits, earned for different reasons, yet Congress refuses to act. Please contact Senator Hawley at (202) 224-6154, Senator Schmitt, at (202) 224-5721, and your Congressman / Congresswoman. You can find your congress person at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative .
Now let us talk a bit about our history:
222 years ago this week, on 16 February 1804, Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decatur, with 75 sailors bordered and destroyed the captured frigate USS Philadelphia during a raid on Tripoli harbor. This occurred during the First Barbary War (1801–1805), which began when President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay tribute to the pirates for safe passage of American merchant ships in the Mediterranean and sent the Navy to protect American ships. While blockading Tripoli Harbor the USS Philadelphia ran aground, was captured, and the crew enslaved. The Navy squadron commander, Commodore Edward Preble, decided to destroy the frigate anchored in Tripoli harbor to prevent use by pirates and selected Decatur to command the mission. Decatur and his men sailed into Tripoli harbor in a captured Tripolitan ship. After boarding the Philadelphia, Decatur’s men set Philadelphia on fire and safely withdrew. Preble recommended Decatur for promotion to Captain, making him the youngest captain in U.S. Navy history. He went on to an incredible career, becoming a founding legend in the Navy. Decatur died in a duel with Commodore Barron on 22 March 1820 and was buried in St. Peter’s Churchyard in Philadelphia. For more information I recommend two books, "Jefferson's War: America's First War on Terror 1801-1805” by Joseph Wheelan, and "Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U. S. Navy” by Ian W. Toll.
I offer this quote from Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, Royal Navy, who is regarded as one of the greatest naval commanders in history. His victory at the Battle of Trafalgar resulted in British naval supremacy for over a century. It is said he called the burning of the Philadelphia "the most bold and daring act of the age". However, the authenticity of this quote remains in doubt.
Bulletin Board:
The VA one-stop telephone number is 1-800-698-2411 and press "0” for immediate assistance. The VA one stop website is VA.gov Home | Veterans Affairs .
For more for information concerning VA "End of Life” benefits and services see www.va.gov/initiatives/end-of-life-benefits/
Veteran employment opportunities! Please visit https://news.va.gov/138283/hiring-veterans-job .
The Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC) one-stop Benefits and Resource Portal is (573) 522-4061 or www.veteranbenefits.mo.gov .
To pre-certify for burial in a Missouri Veterans Cemetery, apply at https://my.mo.gov/gsp?id=vcp_preapplication . For information on burial eligibility, visit https://mvc.dps.mo.gov/cemeteries .
The Missouri Job Center offers no-cost employment assistance for veterans and spouses. Contact (417) 257-2630 or visit jobs.mo.gov/vets.
To order military service documents such as a DD 214/Separation Document or Official Military Personnel File (OMPF), contact the National Archives, National Personnel Records Center at https://www.archives.gov/veterans/military-service-records, or call (866) 272-6272.
For more information, follow us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/967395123712841 or visit movfw.org
"Here to Serve”
