Massachusetts - Disabled veterans may have status reviewed

OFF THE WIRE
 projo.com

The Department of Defense’s Physical Disability Board of Review is reevaluating Medical Evaluation Board and Physical Evaluation Board disability ratings for some veterans who were medically separated from the armed forces between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2009. This is being done to ensure that a correct disability-retirement determination was made initially.
Veterans who received a combined disability rating of 20 percent or less and were not found eligible for retirement can apply to have their MEB/PEB disability rating reviewed for fairness, consistency and accuracy. Former reserve members with greater than 20 years of total federal military service, but fewer than 20 years of active duty, and who meet the above criteria, are also eligible to apply.
Learn more about the PDBR and how to apply online at: http://www.health.mil/About_MHS/Organizations/MHS_Offices_and_Programs/PDBR.aspx).
Questions on the PDBR can be sent to PDBRPA@afncr.af.mil.
Kudos for hiring post-9/11 veterans
The National Chamber Foundation’s first annual Hiring Our Heroes awards program will recognize Rhode Island businesses that hire veterans and military spouses, and your help is needed to nominate those businesses worthy of recognition, which take active leadership roles in employing veterans and their families throughout the state.
A nomination form and set of eligibility requirements can be found online at http://nationalchamberfoundation.wufoo.com/forms/hiring-our-heroes-nomination-form/, and nomination applications are due Sept. 23 by noon. Award finalists and winners will be recognized at the annual Business Steps Up: Hiring Our Heroes awards program on Nov. 10 at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C.
There will be five finalists for each of the award categories with one winner chosen from the finalists. The award categories include: veteran and military spouse employment (general award); veteran and military spouse employment (small business award); wounded-warrior transition assistance; providing employment or internships to post-9/11 veterans; and, female veteran employment. For more information, call John Cronin, state director of the Rhode Island Small Business Development Center at Johnson & Wales University in Providence at (401) 598-2704.
Notes
News items of interest to veterans and the public:
Prof. Timothy Hoyt, of the U.S. Naval War College and the current holder of the John Nicholas Brown Chair for Counterterrorism Studies, will welcome a panel of commentators considering all aspects of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The free session, open to the public, will be held on Sept. 11, starting at 7:30 p.m., at VFW Post 916, 155 High St., South Kingstown. For more information, call (401) 782-6248.
The Rhode Island Commandery will observe the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Vietnam War and honor those who served at a reception set for Sept. 20, at 6:30 p.m., at the Quonset Officers Club in North Kingstown. Rhode Islanders who served during the Vietnam War will be honored along with the 200 state residents who were killed in action in the line of duty. Reservations must be made by calling Dennis Morgan at (401) 724-3913 or going online to http://www.rimofw.org/., click on announcements, download the response form and forward as directed.
RI4GIs, a nonprofit, volunteer organization formed last year, has shifted its fundraising focus from the Wounded Warrior Project to Operation Stand Down Rhode Island due to the uncertainty over whether any of the more than $9,000 raised by the group was ever directed specifically to Rhode Island wounded veterans. Since the well-established, Johnston-based Operation Stand Down has a known track record of assisting homeless and needy Rhode Island veterans, RI4GIs is fully supporting their efforts with their current fundraising. Over $5,000 of a recent donation was raised through a very successful motorcycle run held on June 26 and planned three-club golf tournament is scheduled for Oct. 1 along with a giant yard sale for Oct. 15-16. For more information, to make a donation or to volunteer at a fundraiser, send an e-mail to RI4GIs@yahoo.com, or visit the RI4GIs Facebook page.
The 18th annual three-day Operation Stand Down Rhode Island will be held Sept. 16 to 18 at Diamond Hill Park in Cumberland and is free to all homeless or needy veterans who need help finding essential services. For more Stand Down information, call the group’s headquarters, at 1010 Hartford Ave., Johnston, at (800) 861-VETS (8387), or send an e-mail to info@osdri.com.
Charles Mogayzel, a Pawtucket resident who is assisting the group Medal of Honor-Lost to History, is asking this column’s readers for help in locating information and the burial site for Frederick Charles Anderson who was born in Boston, on March 24, 1842, and died in Providence on Oct. 6, 1882. Anderson entered U.S. Army military service at age 22 from Dedham, Mass., fought in the Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for heroism on Aug. 21, 1864, at Weldon Railroad, Va. He may have been buried in Southeastern Massachusetts, possibly Somerset or Dighton, or in Rhode Island. Once located, his burial site will be marked with a Department of Veterans Affairs-approved Medal of Honor grave marker.
Anderson married in Somerset, Mass., and later moved to Providence and died from a heart attack while working as a truck driver at the Worcester freight yards.
Call Mogayzel at (401) 722-1990, or send an e-mail to charlsjen@aol.com.
Meetings
•American Legion Smithfield Balfour-Cole Post 64, 170 Pleasant View Ave., will meet Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m.
•Veterans of Foreign Wars: Leclair Kozlik Logan Bassett Post 6342, 98 School St., North Smithfield, will meet Thursday, at 7 p.m. The state commander and a delegation of officers will attend the national convention in San Antonio, Texas, from Aug. 29 to Sept. 2.
•Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 325 will meet on Thursday, at 7:30 p.m., at the Neighborhood Guild, 325 Columbia St., South Kingstown.
•NUSC/NUWC retirees group will have a luncheon meeting on Sept. 7 in the Laurel Room at McGovern’s Restaurant, 310 Shove St., Fall River, at noon; admission is $16 with no reservation required. For more information, call Jean at (401) 846-5146, or Bev at (401) 846-4292.
Send veterans’ meeting and news items to George W. Reilly at VeteransColumn@verizon.net. Veterans’ meeting and feature items can be read and posted for free at http://projothebeat.com.