Veterans Of America

On May 30, 2003, JOHN E. LEE, JR., of Westminster; husband of Mattie Shipe Lee; father of Bill J., Donald W. and Ronald L. Lee; father-in-law of Barbara, Bernardine and Sheilah Lee; brother of Louise Shriver, Winnie LaChance, Carol Joiner and Fred Lee. Also survived by ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A Memorial Service will be held on Wednesday at 3 P.M. at the Pritts Funeral Home and Chapel, P.A., 412 Washington Road, Westminster. The family will receive friends from 2 P.M. until start of service.

Suddenly, on November 15, 2004 ROY J. PISKOR beloved son of Betty E. and the late Joseph J. Piskor; devoted brother of Patrick J. Piskor, Ramona M. Piskor, Veronica R. Piskor, Brenda A. Prevas and the late David J. Piskor. He is also survived by many loving nieces and nephews and devoted friends. Visitation at the Kaczorowski Funeral Home, P.A., 2525 Fleet Street on Wednesday from 7 to 9 and Thursday from 4 to 6 and 7 to 9 p.m. Services and interment private. In lieu of flowers, please make donations in his name to The Vietnam Veterans of America, 8605 Cameron Street, Suite 400, Silver Spring, MD 20910-3710.

Funeral services for Richard Kaschner, a retired Westinghouse assembly worker, will be held at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow at Holy Trinity Church, Glen Burnie.Mr. Kaschner died Friday at his Glen Burnie home of cancer. He was 66.Born in Buttonwood, Pa., Mr. Kaschner moved to Maryland to work for Westinghouse in 1960. He retired from the assembly line in 1985 after 25 years of service.Mr. Kaschner served in the U.S. Army during World War II and saw action in the Philippines. He received a Purple Heart and was a member of the Glen Burnie chapter of the Disabled Veterans of America.

On February 4, 2005, DOROTHY ZEBEC; beloved wife of the late Angelo Belcastro; devoted mother of Dennis Belcastro, Nancy Wolcott, Dale Fogarty, Diane Peterson, Sharon Bader, and Aline Belcastro; dear sister of Joseph Zebec and Marie Defeo. Also survived by sixteen grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the Schimunek Funeral Home, Inc., 9705 Bel Air Rd. (Perry Hall), on Saturday from 2 to 4 P.M., with a Memorial Service at 3:30 P.M. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Vietnam Veterans of America, Baltimore Chapter #451, 6401 Beckley St., Baltimore, MD 21224 or to the American Red Cross.

Representatives from five of the major U.S. veterans groups met for more than an hour March 4 with Representative Beverly B. Byron, D-6th, to discuss the return from war of the newest group of American veterans and the role that other veterans might play as Desert Storm troops begin arriving home.Byron said she called the meeting because she felt the stunning success of the coalition forces in the Persian Gulf War and the tremendous public support for the U.S. effort there "gives us the opportunity to acknowledge all our veterans, particularly our Vietnam vets who never received the kind of welcome home they deserved."

Nearly a quarter-century after the Vietnam War ended, memories of the conflict -- and its lingering emotions -- return today to Middle Branch Park, where the Maryland Vietnam Veterans Association will hold a rededication service honoring Americans killed and missing in action. About 400 people are expected to attend the ceremony, which begins with a parade across the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge at 11 a.m. and culminates with the rededication in front of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The National Fair Housing Alliance and Paralyzed Veterans of America announced Wednesday that they have settled a federal housing discrimination suit against a Virginia real estate developer. The groups claimed HHHunt Corp. built several apartment complexes, including one in Maryland, without respect for accessibility requirements. HHHunt will make the complexes accessible within the next three years and has agreed to pay its opponents' attorneys' fees, according to a statement from the groups.

At 62, Maryland American Legion Commander Michael L. Mooney is one of the younger members of his Baltimore County post. And that, he said, is part of the problem. Membership of the Parkville American Legion Post No. 183 has dropped by half over the past decade, he said, and is losing another 5 to 7 percent each year. "Ours is a primarily World War II post," said Mooney, a Vietnam-era veteran. With the youngest survivors of World War II now in their mid-80s, and few of the tens of thousands of new veterans minted in Iraq and Afghanistan during the last decade showing much interest in taking their place in veterans service organizations, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and other groups are struggling to hold on to the active membership they need to remain vital.

Many Memorial Day observances are scheduled for the Baltimore area today. Among them:* ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY* 9 a.m. Annapolis. Parade, starting at Amos Garrett Boulevard. To National Cemetery on West Street for services, then down West Street, through downtown to U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery for services, out to Memorial Circle at City Dock, more services. West Street, College Avenue and Randall Street will be closed from 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m.* BALTIMORE* 10:45 a.m., West Baltimore. American Legion services at Baltimore National Cemetery on Frederick Avenue.