ANNOUNCEMENTS
     Please contact the office when you have a change of address,  phone or e-mail.  Save us some postage and be able to be reached with announcements in between newsletters.

HELP SUPPORT OUR SCHOLARSHIP FUND  ********
CALL FOR PICK UP OF YOUR USED HOUSEHOLD ITEMS.
1-866-241-8387 (TOLL FREE)
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CHAPTER INFORMATION
OFFICERS:  President:  Gregory C. McNeill
                    Vice President:  Stan Bollinger
                      Secretary:  Robert Jordan
          Treasurer:  Dennis "Doc" Kauffman
CHAPTER ADDRESS:  Vietnam Veterans of America, Inc.
      Chapter 500
              P.O. Box 255484
                         Sacramento, CA 95865
TELEPHONE:  916-481-6020
E-MAIL:  vva500@sbcglobal.net
CHAPTER WEBSITE:  www.norcaltrav.com/vva500.htm
FOR INFORMATION:  Call or e-mail, Executive Director,
             Mary Lou McNeill
NEWSLETTER SUBMISSIONS:  Mail to Chapter address or
             e-mail information.  Please send pictures in jpeg form.
VVA Chapter 500 is a non-profit organization, #68-0208305, CT#75945, United Way #12583.  All donations to support our projects such as our Scholarship Fund, Helping Hands Fund, Honor Guard and Library of Congress Veterans Stories Project will be gratefully appreciated.  You may earmark your donation to the project you wish to support.
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UPDATE ON THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL

     MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.....The contracts have been let to the Hornet Foundation.  This is a non-profit organization at CA State University.  Repairs should start soon.  For the future, the foundation will be in charge of seeing to the repairs and needs of the Memorial.  Donations can be made to them also.  This will facilitate action for the Memorial when needed and eliminate the bureaucracy of going through several departments and committees in the State chain for action.

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS

"A Continuing Tradition"

   ALAN L. FISHER             916-732-2000
   Vice President               Fax 916-457-7098
   CA Insurance Lic. 0783809

43rd & Folsom Blvd., P.O. Box 19334, Sacramento, CA 95819
East Lawn Insurance Services, Inc. License #0747585
www.eastlawn.com

HELP YOUR BUSINESS AND SUPPORT THE VVA
by advertising in the Capitol Veteran.  Reasonable Rates!!!
One issue, business card size is $5.00.  Get one month free by advertising for 6 months at $25.00.  Call the office for more information or submit your copy with a check to VVA by mail.
☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻☻
WELCOME HOME NEW MEMBERS
Richard Reynolds, Steve Burman, Doug Haney, George Vargas, AVVA member, Mary Ann Wisner
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!              
     Leland Duke - Navy♫♫♫Ron Menken - Air Force♫♫♫Jerry Quint - Air Force♫♫♫Ken Kitchen♫♫♫ Ted Esrey - Navy♫♫♫Richard Fresquez - Marines♫♫♫Ron Krueger - Army♫♫♫William Sullivan Army♫♫♫Daniel Williams - Army♫♫♫Jack Arnold - Marines♫♫♫
If your birthday is in August,  and you don't see your name here, the Chapter does not have a copy of your DD214.  National VVA would have it.  If you have a copy, send us one for our files and we can wish you Happy Birthday too!  AVVA members we need your Birthday Dates!!!

CALIFORNIA VETERANS BENEFITS CONT....
FARM AND HOME LOANS CONT...

Who May Be Eligible - Any veteran who served honorably on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States, who resides in and wishes to purchase a farm or home in California.
Where To Apply - Any CA Dept. of Veterans (CAL-VET District Office) (located in the state government section of your telephone book), OR the CA Dept. of Veterans Affairs Farm and Home Loan Division, 1227 "O" Street, Sacramento, CA 95814 - 1-800-952-5626 www.cdva.ca.gov.

STATE PARKS AND RECREATION PASS

The Benefit - A lifetime State of California Parks pass for only #$3.50.
Who May Be Eligible - Any veteran with a service-connected disability rated at 50% or greater, or a former Prisoner of War.
How To Apply - To apply by mail, a veteran should submit:  1.  a completed Dept. of Parks and Recreation form, DPR619, 2.  a letter from the USDVA verifying a service-connected disability rated at 50% or greater, or former Prisoner of War status 3.  a copy of the veterans drivers license to verify California residency, and 4.  a check or money order for $3.50 made payable to the Dept. of Parks and Recreation.  Send to:  CA Dept of Parks and Recreation, Field Services Division, P.O. Box 942896, Sacramento, CA 94296-0001, 916-653-4272, www.parks.ca.gov.

PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS

The Benefit - Property tax exemptions on the assessed values of a home of: a.  Up to $100,000 of the total household income from all sources is over $40,000 per yr.  b.  Up to $150,000 if the total household income from all sources is under $40,000 per yr.
Who May Be Eligible - a.  Wartime veterans who are in receipt of service-connected disability compensation at the totally disabled rate.  b.  Unmarried Surviving spouses of veterans who are in receipt of service-connected death benefits.  c.  Wartime veterans who are service-connected for loss or loss of two or more limbs.  d.  Wartime veterans who are service-connected for blindness.  Those applying for benefits should bring proof from the US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, verifying receipt of service-connected disability/death benefits.
How To Apply - The local County Assessors Office (located in the county government section of your telephone book or at:  www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes.assessors.htm.
     We will continue with more benefits for California Veterans in next month's newsletter.

      Thomas originally posted to our website, but the e-mail address is no longer working.  If anyone knows him, please contact Joseph.  Would be great if we could make the connection.

AFTER ACTION REPORT

June 30 - M.L. McNeill attended a luncheon hosted by the Sacramento Veterans Resource Center.  Congressman Robert Matsui was the keynote speaker.  Several Veteran organizations attended and asked questions regarding Veterans issues.  A tour of the Center was given and the excellent program provided for homeless Veterans was explained.
July 4th - VVA500 led the Roseville Independence Day Parade.  Members of Chapter 500 also marched in Dutch Flat.
July 6th - VVA500 held its regular Board Meeting. Board decided to get the information necessary to register voters.
July 14th - President McNeill presided over the Veterans Affiliated Council regular meeting as Commander.
July 15th - M.L. McNeill attended a training session on Voter Registration and picked up supplies.
July 19th - M.L. McNeill attended the monthly Stand-Down Meeting at Mather Hospital.
July 19th - President McNeill attended the Marine Corps League Meeting in Folsom.
July 20th - VVA500 held it's regular General Meeting. Tom Murray and a former Captain, gave a presentation on the California Veterans Home in Yountville.  Sounds like a great place to retire.  If anyone needs information, call the office.  Membership decided on a tentative date of Sept. 11 to set up a Voter Registration Table pending permission from site.
July 24th & 25th - President McNeill and Mary Lou attended the California State Council Meeting.

INCOMING

     From the phone:  Donald Bell from Herald, CA. would like to make contact with any Brown Navy Vets.  Please call him at 209-758-2604.
Roy Kim would like to talk with any Vietnam Veteran that possibly was saved by or worked with Hmongs or Laotian gorillas in Laos, or around the Laotian/Vietnamese border, for an interview for newspaper article.  You can reach him at 916-263-4335.
     From e-mail and a posting on our website:
Hello Thomas J. Meekins! My name is Keri Campagna and I am writing to you for my father, Joseph Campagna.. aka Campy. I've always heard stories of you and my father. He wanted me to ask if you remember the "chocolate milk and cookies"? We were talking about spiders tonight and my father spoke of an incident from Vietnam. The more we spoke about his experiences the more he spoke of you and how he would love nothing more than to hear from you. I decided to do a search on the internet and found a posting in a California website in which you wrote. I'm taking my chances and hoping you will respond because my father would very much like to contact you. You may email this address and he will receive it right away or you can call 732-360-9374. I truly hope I have the right person. It would mean an awful lot to him to hear from you. Thank you and I hope to be hearing from you soon.
                                                    Keri Campagna
    ◄◄◄◄ See note previous column

FEATURED LEGISLATOR

     We will go back to our Featured Legislator next month, and continue with "JUNGLE ROT"................
     The evasive and almost cryptic human enemy to which I refer are microscopic fungal molds with very weird sounding names, e.g., Penicillium marneffei, Aspergillus fumigatus known specifically to Vietnam and other regions of Southeast Asia, and there are nearly 100 more known around the globe, some as or more dangerous.
     Penicillium marneffei, a very pathogenic fungus, was first isolated in 1956 from the gut of a bamboo rat in the highland of central Vietnam, by researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Dalat, Vietnam.  Fungi (mold) cells are very similar to animal and human cells, but unfortunately for their human prey - are, much older and more "seasoned" environmentally having more than a billion years head start.
     According to the HKU-Pasteur Research Center in Paris, France, while epidemiological studies have focused on the association of P. marneffei with bamboo rats, to date, no other animal besides humans is known to naturally acquire an infection by this mold species.  Despite the apparent relationship between the fungus and rodent, exposure to these animals has not been established as a risk factor for acquiring penicilliosis.  Instead, exposure to soil appears to be the critical risk factor associated with acquisition of P. marneffei infection.  This finding is perplexing since P. marneffei has rarely been isolated from nature.  The environmental niche for P. marneffei is unknown although it is also assumed to be a soil organism.  A matter of much concern is that the organism also causes infection in persons who are apparently immune competent (i.e., who have healthy immune systems), meaning that they were perfectly healthy when infected.
     In my 17 year career - converting from a Senior Publications Writer with the America's Space /Shuttle Team - to that of an Environmental Health Science researcher and writer - leading to the ongoing study of human and microbial interactions and behaviors, I have come to appreciate the methods molds use to turn humans into the "Carbon Cycle" or in layman terms, "dust-to-dust."  This is an extremely slow and deliberative process of many mold species first working in conjunction with animals and humans on health terms until such time as the biological functioning of the mold's prey starts to give off chemical indications that the body is in decline physically .  This is when molds, e.g., P. marneffei, exposed to long ago and lying in a dormant state for years begins its parasitic quest to negotiate its ecological purpose and attack its human host "little-by-little" until enough cells are either mutated or killed to initiate full-fledged disease - with a versatile arsenal of weaponry contained within their hard chitin shell, called mycotoxins (i.e., fungal poisons).  This does not happen as the result of one particular mold species, but as molds begin to battle for a territorial nest" occupied by other mold species in  a long "evolutionary dance" played over and over again throughout their billions of years of existence.  Continued next column ►►►

"JUNGLE ROT" Continued.............

     According to my friend, Harriett Ammann, PH.D., and a Senior Toxicologist with the State of Washington, in her article, "Is Indoor-Mold Contamination A Threat To Health?", "Mycotoxins are also products of secondary metabolism of molds.  They are not essential to maintaining the life of the mold cell in a primary way (at least in a friendly world), such as obtaining energy or synthesizing structural components, informational molecules, or enzymes.  They are products whose function seems to be to give molds a competitive advantage over other mold species and bacteria.  Mycotoxins are nearly all cytotoxic (i.e., poisonous to animal and human cells), disrupting various cellular structures such as membranes and interfering with vital cellular processes such as protein, RNA and DNA synthesis (i.e., chemical exchange)."
     "Mycotoxins vary in specificity and potency for their target cells, cell structures or cell processes, by species and strain that produces them.  Higher organisms are not specifically targeted by mycotoxins, but seem to be caught in the crossfire of the biochemical warfare among mold species and molds and bacteria vying for the same ecological niche."
     There remains a great deal of research into whether P. marneffei, Aspergillus fumigatus, which are structurally very similar, have a direct correlation with many of the skin, blood, bone marrow, lymph node, liver and lung ailments affecting Vietnam veterans long after returning stateside.  Fortunately, the scientific data and medical technology is available to thoroughly research this connection before it is too late to do something about it for millions of living Vietnam veterans.  There certainly is enough preliminary information to prompt serious study by the Veterans Administration.  It is one thing to fight for America, however when it comes to Americans and their health and safety we should not have to succumb to any politics and delay tactics as well.
     In 1999, when I initially began researching the possibility that mold exposures influenced diseases I was of the bias that people were blowing this whole "exposure thing" all out of proportion just for the money they could collect.  So much of my thinking has changed since then, simply by the sheer preponderance of research evidence that mounts daily from the many disciplines of science studying molds.  Two years ago, I had only one medical doctor who would listen to my hypothesis on how molds "cause" cellular mutations and consequently, cancers and other deadly diseases.  Today, well over 100 medical doctors and scientists across the nation and around the world are listening, and joining forces in adding to the research behind my claims.  And, I am very proud to share that these numbers are growing!
     We are about to embark upon an independent study relating mold exposures and fungal diseases experienced in Vietnam to serious diseases later in life.  If you are a Vietnam veteran who is experiencing multiple health problems associated with bone disease, neural disorders, blood and other ailments for which you are being tested or treated, please call your Chapter 500 office 916-481-6020 and become part of this research program when it begins.

Congressman Robert Matsui visits with Veterans Organizations, June 30.

Chapter 500 leads the Roseville 4th of July Parade

VVA Color Guard

Do you have pictures of your time in the service?  Send them (we'll return them) or e-mail them for publication in the newsletter.
 

Members gather after the Parade

John Madri, at left, who keeps our Color Guard in step is also a member of the State Military Reserve

Oldies but goodies!  President McNeill in Nam

FLAG ETIQUETTE
STANDARDS OF RESPECT

     The Flag Code, which formalizes and unifies the traditional ways in which we give respect to the flag, also contains specific instructions on how the flag is not to be used.  They are:
●The flag should never be dipped to any person or thing.  It is flown upside down only as a distress signal.
●The flag should not be used as a drapery, or for covering a speakers desk, draping a platform, or for any decoration in general.  Bunting of blue, white and red stripes is available for these purposes.  The blue stripe of the bunting should be on top.
●The flag should never be used for any advertising purpose.  It should not be embroidered, printed or otherwise impressed on such articles as cushions, handkerchiefs, napkins, boxes, or anything intended to be discarded after temporary use.  Advertising signs should not be attached to the staff or halyard.
●The flag should not be used as part of a costume or athletic uniform, except that a flag patch may be used on the uniform of military personnel, fireman, policeman and members of patriotic organizations.
●The flag should never have placed on it, or attached to it, any mark, insignia, letter, word, number, figure, or drawing of any kind.
●The flag should never be used as a receptacle for receiving, holding, carrying or delivering anything. ►►

   More on the flag.......
●When the flag is lowered, no part of it should touch the ground or any other object; it should be received by waiting hands and arms.  To store the flag it should be folded neatly and ceremoniously.
●When a flag is so worn it is no longer fit to serve as a symbol of our country, it should be destroyed by burning in a dignified manner.

 MARK YOUR CALENDARS

AUGUST 14TH - From Art Bishop, Commander of MOPA, Chapter 385. "You are all cordially invited to attend the annual California Purple Heart Veterans Day ceremony at 10 AM on August 14th at the Mather National Guard Aviation facility. There will be directional signs at Mather showing the way. The ceremony will feature the National Guard Army Band, Color Guard, Honor Squad, a twenty-one gun salute followed by a presentation of a Purple Heart wreath. The keynote speaker will be Maj. Gen. Eres, the California National Guard Adjutant General. The event is being sponsored by the Military Order of the Purple Heart, Capitol Chapter #385 of Sacramento".
OCTOBER 1,2,&3 - the annual STAND-DOWN.  Volunteers will be needed.  Bring men's & women's  clothing to VVA meetings.  T-Shirts @$10. and Hats @$5. are for sale to raise funds.  Call the office with your orders.
NOVEMBER 13 - VETERANS DAY PARADE IN DOWNTOWN SACRAMENTO