Veterans

Speaking as a veteran who served for eight years as a Naval Reserve Officer, five in World War II and three more during the Korean Conflict, it was with tears in my eyes that I read The Sun's article, "VA falls short on helping veterans," (Jan. 27) as I sadly realized that I could have just as easily been a member of this group. In order to lend a helping hand to this national endeavor, a couple of years ago I signed up with the Wounded Warriors Project whose headquarters is located in Topeka, Kansas in order to make a monthly contribution to this worthy cause.

As officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs look internally for solutions to a claims backlog that is drawing increasing fire from Capitol Hill, they are also reaching for outside help from some of the nation's best-known veterans groups. Under pressure to speed the review of nearly 600,000 long-outstanding claims for veteran benefits, the VA has announced that it is teaming up with the American Legion and Disabled American Veterans to help ensure that new applications are complete and error-free so they can be processed more quickly.

Your recent article neglected to mention that the billions in budget cuts proposed by "sequestration" threaten to raise health care premiums and cuts benefit cuts for veterans ("Federal contractor? Brace yourself," Sept. 29). Young veterans recently returned from Iraq and Afghanistan would be hit hardest - they depend on health care, as 50 percent have claimed some kind of disability and nearly 30 percent are unemployed, making them less able to pay higher health care costs. Instead of raiding veterans' programs and benefits, leaders in Washington need to find money elsewhere.

John Richard "Dick" Irwin, a tough, accurate veteran police reporter with a heart of gold whose signature Police Blotter became required reading for both crime aficionados and the just plain curious, died Wednesday at Greater Baltimore Medical Center of complications from diabetes. Mr. Irwin, whose career at the News-Post, News American, The Evening Sun and The Baltimore Sun spanned more than 40 years, was 76. "He had the mutual respect of the police. He was an honest man, and he didn't like when people tried to fudge things with him. He believed that the police had to be as transparent as possible, and he was right," said Bill Toohey, former Baltimore County police spokesman.

Ask children what Memorial Day means to them and they'll frequently say: "That's the day that the pools open. " Yet no other observance in America is more somber: It is the day we remember our war dead, pay homage to their sacrifice and courage, and recall the selflessness that embodies military service. Memorial Day also honors the families of the fallen: the mother who hears her child's 21-gun salute; the husband or wife who receives a folded flag; the young son or daughter who knows mom or dad only from a photograph.

This July 4th finds us with servicemen and women celebrating Independence Day in other countries, carrying with them the creed that all men and women are created equal and endowed with the inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Recently, President Barack Obama announced a drawback of our troops in Afghanistan. Some of those troops will continue with their military careers, while others will transition to civilian life as veterans. I urge Marylanders to be proactive in welcoming home newly-returned veterans and to participate in helping them to transition and readjust to civilian life.

Albert Raim, my father, grew up on Lombard Street. By the end of World War II he had trained the crews who dropped the atomic bombs on Japan in how to fly their B-29s by instruments. Martin Klein, my father-in-law, grew up on Smallwood Street. He was one of the few unwounded soldiers in the first wave to make it to Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 — D-Day. I still find it amazing that these otherwise ordinary men had such a direct impact on two of the most monumental events in world history.

The General Assembly has voted unanimously to create a "veteran" status on Maryland driver's licenses. The move was recommended last year by the state Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board, which was chaired by Lt. Gov. Anthony G. Brown, who is a colonel in the Army Reserve. Brown called it "a simple way to help us connect veterans to numerous state programs and initiatives by better identifying those who are eligible. "It will also make it easier for veterans to identify themselves when accessing the various benefits, discounts and services they have earned," he said in a statement.

A free career expo will be held Thursday in Linthicum for veterans and transitioning servicemen and servicewomen. The job fair, hosted by Military.com and the Non-Commissioned Officers Association, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Four Points by Sheraton, 1001 Scott Drive. Defense contractors and local businesses looking to hire former military personnel will be present, according to the hosts. For more information, go to military.com/career-expo. ywenger@baltsun.com

Elizabeth Klingaman, formerly of Catonsville, earned a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Maryland in May. She achieved a 3.9 grade point average. Klingaman completed a one-year internship at the Denver Veterans Administration Medical Center, where she provided assessment, intervention and consultation to veterans and their families. . An alumna of South Carroll High School, where she was co-valedictorian, she graduated magna cum laude from Mary Washington College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in historic preservation and psychology.

"We cherish too, the Poppy red / That grows on fields where valor led, / It seems to signal to the skies / That blood of heroes never dies. " - "We Shall Keep the Faith" by Moina Michael For many Marylanders, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer. It is a day marked with trips to the beach, backyard cookouts, baseball games, community pool openings and, for the next 90 days or so, paying attention to Friday afternoon traffic reports detailing the backup at the Bay Bridge.

The Maryland Center for Veterans Education and Training's Baltimore complex is full of neatly made beds and shining-clean floors, a military-like environment for homeless former service members working to get their lives back on track. Its executive director, a retired Navy lieutenant, would love to expand the nonprofit so he can take in families — children as well as their veteran parent. But as David T. Clements works to pin down new funding for that effort, he's worried about the money he's already got. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently warned the center to expect a cut in grant funding of more than 3.5 percent, which Clements said would hit late next year.

Moving to Maryland has been a learning experience for Chad Barnhill, general manager of the Horseshoe Baltimore Casino that will fill the sweeping vacant lot currently greeting drivers coming into the city on Russell Street. At home within the walls of a casino - he's worked for Caesars Entertainment since graduating from college in 1994 - this is the first time he's overseen the building of a new facility. When he's not meeting with city officials regarding building permits, he's addressing neighborhood associations concerned about what plopping a casino near their houses might mean.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake appointed an executive with a disaster response company Friday to lead Baltimore's Transportation Department at a time when the agency continues to struggle with its speed camera program. Her pick, William Johnson, has worked since 2005 as a senior manager at O'Brien's Response Management, which billed itself as a provider of emergency preparedness, response management and crisis services when it merged last year with another firm. Johnson has 20 years of public- and private-sector experience in urban transportation, public works, and emergency preparation and response, the mayor's office said.

A Baltimore Circuit Court judge ruled that a jury will be able to hear the taped confession of a teenage defendant in a murder case, rejecting his lawyers' claim that the police had coerced the statement from him. Markell Shelton Jones and his mother, Lakisha Jones, testified Monday that they had been influenced by police, an argument Robert Linthicum, Jones' attorney, made again Tuesday. "The whole thing basically reeks of coercion," he said. But Judge M. Brooke Murdock said police had done nothing improper in the way they conducted the interviews and said she did not find the defendant's mother credible.

On Monday night, Eric DeCosta was in our house for once. The Ravens assistant general manager visited our offices down on Calvert Street to speak and answer reader questions in our latest Baltimore Sun Sports Forum. Among the highlights was DeCosta acknowledging that the team's “hunt goes on” for a veteran wide receiver . "We're still working. The roster is not set. We're always evaluating. We're always looking at guys,” DeCosta said. “Our pro personnel department looks at all available players and we'll make a decision at some point of what we want to do at that position.

Besides giving several injured players a chance to heal and recover, the bye week also provides some of the Ravens' younger players with an opportunity to get more involved in the game plan and get more reps in practice. Coach John Harbaugh confirmed that Wednesday's session was a chance to mix the younger players with the veterans. “Everybody is getting work in,” he said. “Everybody is healthy enough. There are a few guys we held out. It's just better for them not to be out here pounding - not that many.

There was a time before the three heart attacks, before he was effectively paralyzed in the lower half of his left leg, when Army Spc. Stephen Ramsey wouldn't do much on his Georgia farm other than pick cotton and peanuts, and hunt. Actually, he can still remember the first time he went hunting. He watched a commercial on television, turned to his grandfather and told him he wanted to hunt deer. The next day, the two sat silently in the deer stand and, in the glow of the sunrise, they watched turkeys and other small animals move past them until, finally, Ramsey spotted a deer.

When Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia was left without a job just a week before the regular season began this year, there was no doubt in his mind that he would pitch in the major leagues in 2013 if he was given the chance. Garcia - a 15-year major league veteran who won the World Series with the Chicago White Sox in 2005 and is the winningest Venezuelan-born pitcher in baseball history (152 career wins) - didn't need to prove anything after the San Diego Padres released him in late March.