The meeting is scheduled for 11 a.m. at the Eastchester VFW post located at 433 White Plains Road.

Also on hand will be County Legislators Vito Pinto and Jim Maisano, both veterans and sponsors of the bill in Westchester.

In a press release, Paulin said she sponsored the bill and pushed it through in Albany because “all veterans who give their time to our country, both in times of war and times of peace, are at risk for harm and should be afforded equal treatment and benefits.”

Click here to read the bill on the state assembly website.

Zwick, a Westchester native, is a dedicated activist for veterans issues and spokesperson for the United Veterans Council, will be competing for the Miss America title in January.

“I’m delighted to be back home supporting veterans issues,’’ she said. “As Miss New York, my agenda is entirely directed toward the interests of our nation’s veterans. I urge Governor Paterson to sign this bill.”

The bill was sent to the governor on July 13. He has 10 days to sign it into law.

Back then, sexist remarks and worse were pretty common and NCOs tended to spend more time chuckling about complaints than doing anything about them.

A generation later, while the military’s treatment of female service members has certainly improved, women veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan continue to encounter unequal and sometimes degrading situations at VA hospitals, according to a government audit released this week.

Click here to read the Associated Press report on the audit. The story quotes Patricia Hayes, chief consultant of the veterans strategic health care group at the VA, who said that the avency recognizes the care given to women isn’t as good as what’s offered to men, but it’s made changes and will continue to do so.

The story also notes that the VA provided health care to 281,000 women veterans in 2008, a 13 percent increase from 2006. The number of female veterans is expected to increase by 17 percent over the next 20 years.

Hayes said that changes underway “will build the system that will provide care equal to the health care needs of all America’s veterans, regardless of gender.” Hayes said.
Let’s hope so.

“It was a minor incident in a faraway place,’’ Stanley Karnow told the Associated Press.

Karnow was Time magazine’s chief Asian correspondent at the time, making is first trip to Saigon. He heard about the attack and wrote a small story.

Buis and Ovnand were remembered in a ceremony yesterday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. You can read the entire AP report here.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that these two guys would be the first in a memorial to 50,000-some others,” Karnow said.

Few did. May they, and all who followed them, rest in peace.

Our friends at the VA told the newspaper that as more women serve in combat zones, the share of female veterans who end up homeless, while still relatively small at an estimated 6,500, has nearly doubled. Many have the added burden of being single mothers.

Click here to read the entire story.

Homelessness among veterans has been an issue in this country for decades. Makes you wonder what the government in general and the VA in particular are doing about it, other than reporting the numbers.

He only lived long enough to see two of his five kids graduate from high school and didn’t see any of us graduate from college. He never got to see that all of us somehow managed to to become productive adults – no criminals or ne’er do wells among us. He never got to see or dote on any of his now six grandchildren either.

Dad, an Air Force “lifer,” was away a lot when we were growing up – year-long trips to Vietnam and Thailand and six-month “temporary’’ assignments to Spain, England, Africa, and on and on. We always missed him. As a father myself now, I realize how much he probably missed us too.

Nonetheless, Dad, and we, were luckier than many others. No matter where he went, how long he went for, or how dangerous it was, he always came home. Many of those who serve their country never do.

I remember a few friends who lost their dads in Vietnam. When the blue staff car with the general’s star insignia rolled into base housing, we kids knew that it wasn’t coming to deliver good news. We all used to run home to make sure it wasn’t coming to our house. Most times, the family moved off the base pretty quickly after notification was made. We usually never got a chance to say goodbye to them, or find out what happened to them.

I was reminded of that today by this story that appeared in the Stars & Stripes. In what has become a tradition at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., relatives and friends of the fallen left messages and placed 2,000 roses at the Wall for Father’s Day. For some reason, it made me feel sad and glad at the same time. Sad, because it brought back a few painful memories about what for the most part was a great life growing up as a “military brat,’’ and glad, because it’s good to see that four decades later, the dads who never made it home are still in our collective hearts.

Chances are, you’re right.

The Associated Press is reporting that Department of Veterans Affairs will soon have a backlog of 1 million claims waiting to be processed, despite hiring an army (pun intended) of people over the past two years to handle them.

You can read the entire report here. Sounds like they need to get some drill sergeant types in there to get the processors motivated.

The program, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., will include food, entertainment, and fun. It’s free, with tickets available by calling local veterans posts or the Yonkers Veterans Services office at 914-377-6700.

The event, open to the public, begins at 1 p.m. when a wreath will be laid at the War Dog Memorial erected in 1923 as a tribute to the 7,000 four-legged veterans that served in World War I.

Also being remembered are all pets that have served humanity, including Seeing Eye dogs, therapy dogs and police and fire dogs.

Iraq veteran Tracy Wolak, a volunteer with the Yonkers Animal Shelter, will discuss the impact the current economy is having on animal shelters nationwide.

The cemetery, located at 75 North Central Park Ave. is a designated Westchester County landmark. For more information click here to see their website.

On Saturday (June 13), hundreds of area scouts will be sending more than 42,000 boxes of the tasty treats to service men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 8th annual “Operation Cookie Drop.’’

The girls will bring the cookies, donated by local communities,  to the state armory in Valhalla. Soldiers from Fort Dix will be on hand to load them onto three tractor-trailers and take them to the base. From there, they’ll be flown overseas and delivered to troops in the field.

I don’t know if they’ll get a merit badge for their effort, but I’m sure the scouts will make a lot of sweet-toothed GIs very happy.

The post, named after the first Harrison casualty of World War I, was formed June 12, 1934 and includes members who werved in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. The post has been active in raising money to buy calling cards for service men and women deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Here’s a hearty congratulations on your anniversary. Thanks for your service, and keep up the good work.