Five former Department of Veterans Affairs secretaries and more than two dozen veterans groups joined the fight this week over legislation that would extend Agent Orange benefits to tens of thousands of Navy veterans who served on ships off the coast during the Vietnam War.

Military Update

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, met with Robert Wilkie to try to coax the new VA secretary out of his department’s newly stiffened opposition to a House-passed bill that would extend VA health care and compensation to tens of thousands of former sailors and Marines with Agent Orange-associated ailments. “We haven’t convinced him yet,” Brown said.

The remains of an Army master sergeant from Indiana and a private first class from North Carolina were included in the 55 cases of remains of missing Korean War veterans turned over in July by North Korea, President Donald Trump tweeted Thursday.

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Monique Bourassa Fuchs tried for a week to track down the owner of the envelope filled with photos, newspaper clippings and a 1969 letter from J. Edgar Hoover. With the help of a newspaper reporter, she learned the Marine veteran was one county away.

The Pentagon is poised to begin recovering the remains of more American troops killed in North Korea as soon as next spring, but U.S. officials are still negotiating the terms after Pyongyang made several unreasonable requests, said Kelly McKeague, the director of the Defense Department agency collecting the remains of U.S. prisoners of war and U.S. troops who went missing in action.

Veterans who started the 2018-2019 school year last month received incorrect payments caused by delays at the VA Office of Information and Technology with complying to new rules on how stipends are calculated.

Fabian Rebolledo, an Army veteran who was deported to Mexico in 2012, is now determined to help other deported veterans who served their country get back home.

Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals in Georgia, Texas, Oregon Tennessee and Colorado were removed from high-risk status based on new performance statistics released Tuesday.

Horses for Heroes Cowboy Up! offers a free horsemanship program to all post-9/11 combat veterans and active-duty military personnel, especially those dealing with combat trauma or physical injuries sustained during their service.

Members of Louisiana's congressional delegation are seeking to rename a veteran's clinic in Lake Charles after a Medal of Honor recipient who died in Vietnam.

On Jan. 9, 1968, while serving as a grenadier, Dave Boyer single-handedly knocked out an enemy machine gun position with grenades and provided cover for his company. Despite being wounded in action, he continued to help others, according to records.

They comprise one of the most famous crews in the U.S Navy’s history and they have returned to Pueblo this week for the 50th anniversary of the terrible year they spent as prisoners, often tortured, in North Korea.

McHenry VFW Queen of Hearts raffle organizers, a bit overwhelmed by the surge of ticket buyers as the pot ballooned, decided to end the game Tuesday night, meaning they will keep drawing until there’s a winner.

Mark D’Amico, the Burlington County, N.J., man accused of taking GoFundMe donations meant for Johnny Bobbitt Jr., said Tuesday he looks forward to explaining what happened to the money, saying it would become “crystal clear” how the funds were spent.

Six weeks ago, Army Spc. Alec Alcoser and his working dog, Alex, turned the corner of a narrow street outside Bagram Airfield just after dawn and saw a young Afghan coming toward them.

Arlington officials said earlier this year they can barely keep up with the current demand for full-honors burials. There are only eight horse-drawn caisson slots per day, and the cemetery performs up to 30 burials.

A Bristol, R.I. native who died serving in Afghanistan was honored Sunday for his patriotism on one of the country's most patriotic streets.

A soldier who died nearly 70 years ago while a prisoner of war in North Korea will be laid to rest in Nebraska, providing closure to a son who never got to know him.

“Urt Womp,” an annual bodysurfing competition in California, raised money for One More Wave, a nonprofit that aims to reduce veteran suicides by making custom-made surfboards for wounded vets.

When James Riney’s mother took him shopping for new bedding to outfit his room in their new house, the 4-year-old considered a few options: first sharks, then dinosaurs, then comic book superheroes. He passed on all three.

On Sept. 20, the 27-year-old was among hundreds of American soldiers who were ordered to cross the Waal River at the Dutch city of Nijmegen to make an amphibious attack on the heavily fortified German positions on the opposite side.

Black SEALs are a rarity, making up only 2 percent of the elite special operations unit, according to Pentagon statistics provided to USA Today in 2015.

After years of waiting, the 30,000 military veterans in Columbus and the surrounding Chattahoochee Valley area are finally getting a new primary care and mental health clinic as part of a $62.4 million project, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs confirmed Thursday.

When Gen. George Patton raced his 3rd Army across Europe in World War II, a 27-year-old brigadier general commanding a tank battalion for him was Albin F. Irzyk.

Retired Army Lt. Col. John C. Hedley once commanded "Fox Force," the reconnaissance platoon for E Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry, 4th Division. "These were the finest young men I've ever known," he said.

Kent Floerke could tell you dozens of stories from his military service and his career as an educator and counselor. He'll talk about how he became a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1964 and how he and his wife, Sandra, moved some 35 times throughout his career before landing in their current home in 1997. But this week, his story is about a crew of volunteers who have remodeled his home.

Antonio Ruiz, a U.S. Air Force veteran and a science teacher at the district, flew to the nation's capital this month on an Honor Flight to see all the monuments dedicated to servicemembers. "I'm 65 but I felt like a young kid," he said after the visit

Construction on the VA Outpatient Clinic in Columbus, Ga., which encompass slightly more than 70,000 square feet of space, is scheduled to begin in early 2019, with an estimated completion by spring 2021.

Leonard A. Tyma was just 21 when he and fellow Marines found themselves facing stiff Japanese resistance in November 1943 on the small island of Betio in the Tarawa Atoll of the Gilbert Islands, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

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More than 12 years after Ben Lunak lost part of his leg in combat in Iraq, he became a Colorado Springs police officer – only the fourth amputee to complete a police academy in the United States, officials say.

On Nov. 11, 2004, U.S. Army Capt. Tim Hornik was on patrol in Baghdad when he was shot in the head by a sniper. It resulted in the total loss of his eyesight. Since then, the 38-year-old has been on a mission to demonstrate that people with impaired vision can do anything.

New Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie urged senators in a letter Friday to reject legislation that would make health care and disability compensation available to approximately 90,000 “Blue Water” Navy veterans – those sailors aboard aircraft carriers, destroyers and other ships who contend they were exposed to Agent Orange.

More than 200 veterans receiving treatment at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in coastal Virginia were loaded onto buses Wednesday afternoon and dispersed among five other VA hospitals throughout Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.

Military Update

The VA has made many reforms in response to long neglected medical needs of a rising population of female veterans, according to a new report. But more improvements are needed, as women are carving out larger, more prominent places in the military and veteran spaces.

Veterans who own small businesses can get verified through the Department of Veterans Affairs, making them eligible for VA contracts and subcontracts — but efforts to improve the verification system have backfired, leading to delays and frustration.

Bruce Springsteen, Jon Stewart, Jim Gaffigan and Seth Meyers are headlining this year's Stand Up for Heroes fundraiser, which benefits injured veterans and their families.

Caleb Brewer's east Tucson home is currently under construction and is expected to be complete in early 2019. Beyond the technology, smaller touches have also been made — like hanging mirrors at an angle and installing pocket doors — to make things easier for Brewer when he’s in his wheelchair, said Chris Kuban, spokesman for the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Faced with a highly critical state audit, low morale and calls for it to fire top officials, the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs' governing board kept its executive director and is moving forward with the relocation of the Talihina Veterans Center.

After a dispute delayed negotiations on the Department of Veterans Affairs budget for fiscal 2019, lawmakers came to an agreement Monday for more than $200 billion for the agency that includes funding for the new VA Mission Act – legislation that expands private-sector medical care for veterans.

Former U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin is joining Dakotas-based Sanford Health as chief innovation officer.

The VA considers backlogged claims to be veterans’ claims for benefits that take longer than 125 days to approve or deny. The VA Inspector General’s Office reported officials omitted 63,600 backlogged claims from its count during the first half of 2016, creating a misrepresentation of how many claims were delayed.

Air Force veteran Harold Palmquist and his dog, Daisy, are on a trip promoting Vets and Their Pets, an organization that helps homeless veterans keep their animals.

News outlets report the VA Medical Center in Huntington, W. Va., held a ceremony Sunday to officially rename the center after Medal of Honor recipient Hershel "Woody" Williams, a retired Marine and Department of Veterans Affairs service officer.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday called for more funding for Veterans Affairs programs in addition to a clear plan to fill vacancies at a department that he believes the Trump Administration is trying to eliminate.

David “Dee Dee” Osborne had little interest in pursuing the medals he had earned during his service in the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam. “I was 19 years old, a sergeant back then, and I turned 70 on Sept. 4,” he said. “It took 50 years.”

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While his wartime exploits were notable, Atilano “Al” David didn’t let them define him. “He enjoyed life and he told me he was lucky to live in a country that allowed him to be whatever he wanted,” his close friend, Richard Luena, said.

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Calendar sales raise money to support VA hospitals, ill and injured veterans, homeless veterans, deployed troops and military spouses. Pin-Ups for Vets also schedules tours of VA and military hospitals.

Tribal members from about 10 reservations attended the event, held to honor Native American servicemembers, at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center.

At a memorial service in Phoenix days after Sen. John McCain died from a brain tumor last month, tribal leaders from around Arizona gathered to pay their respects. A Navajo flutist was among the musical performers. McCain helped usher through Congress some of the most pivotal legislation in Indian Country, including the right for tribes to open casinos.

Two Marine Corps veterans and a female body builder were well into a 215-mile hike – from Ventura to San Diego – to create awareness for the plight of homeless veterans, when they considered giving up after four days of carrying 50-pound backpacks and a large American flag.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 470 in Erie will lay Army veteran Vincent Force to rest with full military honors on Sept. 15. Force was found buried behind a west Erie apartment house a day after he was reported missing in July.

Those who watched Ruth Sabecky, 85, present an American flag to the Edwardsville Center for Active Adults were full of admiration for her generosity. Sabecky's son, the late Staff Sgt. Ralph Eugene Bagnuolo, served two tours of duty in Iraq and requested and received a flag that had flown over his base.

Crawford Hicks' recent ride on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber ended better than one he took 74 years ago.

Fifty-three years after his plane was shot down over the jungles of North Vietnam, Vietnam War pilot Lt. Col. Fredric Moore Mellor is coming home for burial.

Six American and British veterans who walked across the U.S. to raise awareness about mental health problems related to combat service finished their trip Thursday in New York City, where they were met by former Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill.

When Army veteran Carlos Cruz-Echevarria was found dead along the side of a Deltona, Fla., road in November, Volusia County detectives believed he was a good Samaritan, randomly shot as he tried helping a stranded driver. An investigation soon revealed that the story went much deeper.

An Oceanside man pleaded guilty Wednesday to stealing more than $145,000 from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs by continuing to receive compensation meant for a military widow for nearly 10 years after her death, federal prosecutors said.

MILITARY UPDATE

Sometime in October military retirees can begin to review online the various features and monthly premiums of dental plan options for replacing their Tricare Retiree Dental Program (TRDP), which is set to expire after Dec. 31.

PHOTOS

The expansion will keep the cemetery – long viewed as a shrine to America’s fallen heroes – viable for about 10 years longer than expected. Plans for the new space, titled the Millennium Project, have been in the works since Bill Clinton was president in 1990s.

Nickolas Clarke never thought he would save people from drowning twice in his life, let alone in the same location. But while visiting the beach on Labor Day with his family, he and an airman jumped in the rough water to save a young boy.

Lawmakers on Wednesday considered a bill to force the National Cemetery Administration to allow battlefield crosses, following the controversial removal of the grave markers from three veterans cemeteries last year.

A Christmas card arrives every December in Bill Belcher's mailbox, sent by the daughter of a 1940s fighter pilot he unearthed in the mountains of Papua New Guinea. The excavation was 20 years ago. But the woman's gratitude for her father's repatriated remains hasn't diminished with time.

Student veterans starting the 2018-2019 school year could receive incorrect housing payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs because the agency missed a deadline to fully implement changes to how the checks are calculated, lawmakers and veteran advocates said Wednesday.

Amazon founder and chief executive Jeffrey Bezos and his wife, MacKenzie Bezos, are making their first major political contribution with a $10 million gift to a super PAC focused on electing veterans to public office.

PHOTOS

Before his burial in Santa Fe late last month, Sgt. Alfonso Orlando Duran was one of nearly 73,000 American servicemembers still missing in action from World War II.

At 93 years old, Calvin Strickland was honored for his service to the U.S. Navy Tuesday in his hometown of Carlsbad.

Family, friends, and colleagues gathered on a summer Monday to pay tribute to George "Alexi" Whitney, who was killed in Afghanistan just before Christmas in 2016 and was finally being buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Stan Arachikavitz, a veteran of both the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army, said he began replacing worn flags more than 30 years ago when he spotted a tattered flag flying over a hotel in Florida. He thinks he's replaced about 200 since then.

The hearing came after Johnny Bobbitt's lawyers filed a lawsuit this week against the couple, alleging that the two committed fraud and conspiracy by taking large amounts of the donations to "enjoy a lifestyle they could not afford" and using the account as "their personal piggy bank."

Mike Jones said he started Bikes 4 Vets because he thinks some organizations that assist military veterans use too much of the money they receive to cover administrative costs.

The families of two Vietnam War-era soldiers killed in action were recognized at a special Friday ceremony, and by coincidence, they learned that their loved ones were tied to the same Army Special Forces unit and line of combat duty. Over a half-century later, the memories and emotional toil remain raw.

As the crowd looked up to see the U.S. Navy Blue Angels rumble overhead, it did not seem like a coincidence that the planes happened to be practicing for the Cleveland National Airshow this weekend. The Blue Angels diamond-shaped formation seemed like a fitting tribute as people gathered to unveil the Cleveland Gold Star Families Memorial Monument.

After many months of hard work and planning, the House of Valor in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, is ready to serve as a sanctuary to homeless veterans.

Chasing wolves and poachers through the Montana wilderness isn't what Colorado Springs resident Jamie Havig expected to be doing over the past year. But the Navy veteran known as "Doc" serendipitously found himself on Animal Planet's "Wolves and Warriors," helping other veterans regain a sense of purpose while helping wolves escape poachers in Montana's Bitterroot Valley.

The days of long waits are ending for veterans who want to see doctors outside of VA hospitals and clinics — at least for veterans in Northeast Oregon, Southeast Washington and Western Idaho.

World War II veteran John Varney turned 100 years old on Friday. The community put on a celebration fit for a military hero that even included a 21-gun salute by the Marine Corps League 963. Varney was also chosen to take an Honor Flight in September, after an application was submitted for him.

In the spring of 1967, Johnnie Ashe, a Marine counting down the days left of his time at war in Vietnam, realized that if he went home, his older brother, who had 15 months left in the Army, could be shipped off to Vietnam.

The nation’s largest veterans organization passed a resolution during a weeklong national conference in favor of returning church bells that were seized by U.S. troops after a battle with Philippine rebels in 1901.

“We were in combat immediately with no experience,” Sam Folsom, 98, told Stars and Stripes recently. “Green as can be – very few of us had any real flight experience." He would ultimately leave Guadalcanal with three air-to-air kills.

The Blue Angels diamond-shaped formation seemed like a fitting tribute as people gathered to unveil the Cleveland Gold Star Families Memorial Monument at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland on Friday.

Military Update

In March 2016, Veterans Affairs received the latest in a series of scientific literature reviews from the National Academy of Medicine on Agent Orange-associated ailments. VA officials promised to review the results and that then-VA Secretary Bob McDonald would act on the Academy report’s findings by July 2016.

When John McCain is buried in the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery on Sunday afternoon, the late U.S. senator and Vietnam War POW will rest amid many Navy heroes with their own ties to the academy and to each other.

Speaking to hundreds of American Legion members on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence lauded President Donald Trump as a champion to veterans and listed off a series of what he described as major achievements under his administration.

On Jan. 17, 1966, an Air Force B-52 bomber collided with a refueling plane, dropping four hydrogen bombs near Palomares, a small farming village on the Spanish coast. The bombs did not detonate, but two of them cracked on impact, releasing more than 3 billion micrograms of plutonium over the Spanish countryside.

Austin Holcomb thanked everyone for sticking by him while he served time in jail for a crime for which he was later found not guilty. In the last 18 months, he said, he had lost his ability to trust. But he had found faith.

For 100 years, the American Legion has been a voice for veterans in Washington, influencing government policy on veterans’ health care, education and national security. But at its national convention this week doubts about its influence emerged.

They did not meet face-to-face until after their release, but Fred Purrington had heard about John McCain's character from fellow prisoners. What he heard inspired respect. And, as it turned out, the prison grapevine was "pretty damn accurate."

Matthew Aid began delving into military and intelligence matters in his early teens, then became a Russian-language expert in the Air Force before he was court-martialed in the 1980s for possessing classified information and impersonating an officer.

The Cleveland Gold Star Families Memorial Monument is part of a campaign by Hershel "Woody" Williams to have similar markers placed in communities across the country.

Sen. John McCain said, after the death of his friend Adm. Charles Larson in 2014, that he would like to be buried where it all started — in a plot very close to Larson. McCain and Larson met at the Naval Academy in the 1950s.

Some lawmakers and veteran advocates are calling for more change to how the Department of Veterans Affairs handles claims of sexual trauma in the military after it was discovered the agency denied benefits to hundreds of veterans without due diligence.

Local Veterans Affairs officials in July had informed the 108 veterans who receive treatment at the VA's Adult Day Health Care program that the clinic would close by Oct. 1. Now, family members say, VA administrators say the clinic in the Northtown Plaza will close at the end of this week, making it harder for them to find an alternative provider for those services.

Genevieve Morris was selected to lead a multibillion-dollar overhaul of the Department of Veterans Affairs' electronic health records. She resigned Friday, citing differences with VA leadership.

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When David Carrasco got to the funeral home on Monday morning, he wasn't sure what he would find. But he wanted to pay his respects to the man who had represented Arizona in the Senate for 31 years, and who had fought in the same faraway Vietnam War he had, decades earlier: Sen. John McCain.

The new features, available now, let military service members and their families search "Jobs for Veterans" and then enter specific military job codes to find civilian jobs with skills similar to those they used in the military.

By the fall of 1942, Casimer L. "Casey" Bukowski decided he had learned enough about being a machinist and quit Emerson Vocational High School to put his skills to work in support of World War II.

The American Legion held its very first national convention in Minneapolis in early November 1919, but its parade of 15,000 marchers through downtown was marred by 11-degree temperatures and light snow, leading delegates to change their minds about putting the national headquarters in the city. They chose Indianapolis instead. Ninety-nine years later, the Legion returns to Minneapolis for its 100th convention – in August this time.

As the Santa Fe Indian School gymnasium began to fill early Friday morning, one face etched with age stood out. Clemente Otero sat with his U.S. Army veteran baseball cap shading his eyes as the assembly around him rose with cheers and applause.

John Giese has spent his life serving his community and his country: first as a Marine, then as a police officer and police chief, and finally as an elected official.