For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's military
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Site shares patriotism with children
Question: I do a lot of volunteer work with children. What can I do to help my children understand what it means to be a veteran?
Answer: Sharing your personal experience of military service can influence young people who don't have relatives who are veterans. You don't have to be a combat veteran. Many veterans' service organizations have formal programs in which members visit schools. The VA has an Web site called VA Kids at www.va.gov/kids. It has three major areas -- one for students in kindergarten through grade 5, grades 6 through 12, and for teachers.
Q: What are the credentials of the new VA secretary, Dr. James Peake?
A: Peake graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1966. Following service with the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star with "V" device and the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, he entered medical school at Cornell University in New York and was awarded a medical degree in 1972. Peake retired as a three-star general in 2004, following service as a cardiac surgeon and commander at several medical posts, culminating with the job of Army surgeon general. After retirement, Peake served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Project Hope, a nonprofit international health foundation. Peake spent 10 years on the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Veterans Health Administration.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran, call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049 or visit the VA Web site at
www.va.gov/hawaii or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.