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| Army Cuts Off Retirement Pay for Elderly WWII Alaska Militia Veterans |
| 2009-01-23 |
| The Army has decided to cut off retirement pay for veterans of a largely Native militia formed to guard the territory of Alaska from the threat of Japanese attack during World War II. The change means 26 surviving members of the Alaska Territorial Guard _ most in their 80s and long retired _ will lose as much as $557 in monthly retirement pay, a state veterans officer said Thursday. The payments end Feb. 1. Applications for retirement pay from 37 others have been suspended. The state is pursuing a remedy for "these brave Alaskans, who did so much for the cause of freedom during a time of great national peril," Gov. Sarah Palin said. The action comes almost a decade after Congress passed a law qualifying time served in the unpaid guard as active federal service. The Army agreed in 2004 to grant official military discharge certificates to members or their survivors. An Army official said the law was misinterpreted. The law applies to military benefits, including medical benefits, but not retirement pay, said Lt. Col. Richard McNorton, the Army's human resources command in Alexandria, Va. "The focus is to follow the law," he said. "We can't choose whether to follow the law." The Army doesn't intend to seek to recoup past pay, he said. About 300 members are still living from the original 6,600-member unit called up from 1942 to 1947 to scout patrols, build military airstrips and perform other duties. But only a fraction had enough other military service to reach the 20-year requirement for retirement pay. Among those who did is 88-year-old Paul Kiunya in the western Alaska village of Kipnuk. Kiunya was 16 when he joined the territorial guard and worked in communications, reporting by radio any unusual noises or the direction of aircraft, including some Japanese planes he spotted. "We did not get one cent being in the territorial guard," he said. "And we worked hard." Kiunya _ who later put in 22 years in the National Guard and another decade in the Guard reserves _ will lose more than $358 a month in his retirement package because of the Army's decision. With gasoline in his village at almost $10 a gallon, that's a huge amount to lose. "I don't know why they trying to cut the pay. It's not good for us right now," he said in a phone interview. "It's not right." |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #15 HERE is a good link for learning about the Alaska Territorial Guard. A fellow named Marvin R. "Muktuk" Marston worked to organize the ATG into a fighting force. Check out the links. I knew some of the old ATG vets up in NW Alaska. It appears that there were Japanese patrols wandering about in Western Alaska during the war. The army has its head up its a$$ for pulling some sh*t like this. I would imagine that our Alaska Congressional delegation is getting an earful as we speak. Hopefully this can be resolved quickly. If a CEO can get a redecorating for the latest bailout, a bit can go to these brave Alaskans for what they did. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2009-01-23 20:15 |
| #14 holy shit they are taking $557 away from these men who did their jobs and deserve every if not more than this small amount. Find 50 ppl who have been on welfare ALL their life , take it, give it too these men as their pay |
| Posted by: rabid whitetail 2009-01-23 16:25 |
| #13 Pay them. Pay them yesterday you pinchy lawyer wanna-bes. |
| Posted by: swksvolFF 2009-01-23 16:03 |
| #12 These guys saved the asses of a lot of confused US soldiers in the Aleutians, one of the most hostile environments on earth. They deserve their payday. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-01-23 15:37 |
| #11 To say nothing of the affront to our defenders - you'd think the Army would have enough brains to find 100K$ a year and avoid the negative PR. |
| Posted by: KBK 2009-01-23 13:45 |
| #10 Change Hope! |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles the flatulent 2009-01-23 12:13 |
| #9 Gov Palin should come to the rescue of these old heroes and shame the new administration at the same time. |
| Posted by: ed 2009-01-23 12:09 |
| #8 I don't remember the Japs getting with 500 miles of Anchorage. Only 1500 miles from Attu to Anchorage, about the same distance from Anchorage to Seattle. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-23 11:28 |
| #7 Take money away from elderly veterans to undoubtedly hand it to people who have never worked a day in their lives. Makes me want to puke. We're going to start the redistribution of wealth program right away I guess. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2009-01-23 11:23 |
| #6 I don't think you should be dissing Shineski for Japanese heritage. He was born in Hawaii and has served us honorably. And you don't know his opinion on this. |
| Posted by: George Glaling8854 2009-01-23 11:04 |
| #5 Isn't the new VA head Shineski, the ex-Army COS, who is of Japanese heritage? How about that for irony. Also, those militia guys (the eskimo version of "Dad's Army") did a hellva job. I don't remember the Japs getting with 500 miles of Anchorage. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2009-01-23 10:40 |
| #4 "The focus is to follow the law," he said. "We can't choose whether to follow the law." Laws come and go, you can choose how to interprete the law to save a quick buck tho! What a bunch of dicks! |
| Posted by: Grolush Darling of the Hatfields3195 2009-01-23 10:26 |
| #3 Recommend writing the new Chief of Veteran's Affairs. Oh wait........ |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2009-01-23 10:21 |
| #2 I guess the new tone has started. |
| Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2009-01-23 10:21 |
| #1 "The focus is to follow the law," he said. "We can't choose whether to follow the law." Well, if you can ignore a law governing the prosecution of terrorists, passed by Congress and validated by SCOTUS on the last go around, then why not this? When POTUS directs you to ignore the law and you willingly obey, you have a problem hiding behind that argument of picking and choosing. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-01-23 10:00 |