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First a little history, in case you went to public school. Back in June of 1942 the Japanese attacked the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. Alaska had no national guard, it was called up and moved to Washington state in August 1941. So the 34,000 miles of coastline would be defended by a volunteer group of men(and women). Their ages ranged from 12-80. Even the territorial governor was a member. They were trappers, prospectors, and hunters. Their backgrounds were Aleuts, Yupik, and European Americans. They were all patriots. They were invaluable to the military as the majority of troops were unprepared for Alaska's brutal terrain and climate. They served as scouts, special forces and also helped forage for food for the troops. One year after the Japanese took over two of the islands the military was able to retake the islands. The veterans of America's forgotten battle never asked for kudos. Most went back to their small villages after the war. Some went on to join the Alaskan guard. Some helped bring Alaska to statehood. In 2000 Senator Ted Stevens' bill passed granting full veteran status to all members of Alaska's territorial guard. Of the 20,000 that protected Alaska, only 300 are still alive today. Of the 300, 26 have the required 20 years of military service to qualify for retirement benefits, that is until Obama got into office. He had the Army stop payment to these 26 and throw out the other 37 applications. He did stop short of asking for the money back they already received. Mighty nice of them. Alaska's senators(one a Rep, the other a Dem) wanted to fix this with the current defense bill. The white house has sent a message saying it disproved of including pensions for these heroes.
"its not appropriate to establish a precedent of treating service performed by a state employee as active duty for purposes of the computation of retired pay."Apparently fighting for your country is "state service", nothing more. They are no more important than a DOT worker! Once again Obama has proven he holds the military in contempt. Please contact your senator and tell them to vote against Obama's hatred for WWII veterans. Or better yet call Obama and ask him why he wants to eliminate the pensions for brave veterans of Alaska's Territorial Guard.
White house phone number:(202) 456-1414
*Update* The senate passed the defense bill yesterday, and kept the provision to pay the Alaskan vets. We'll see if Obama will use a line item veto on this.
