Sgt. James F. Carty, DSC VFW Post 1545 - 14 December 2025

Winter has rolled in with a big blast of cold weather for us this past week. We had bingo on Thursday December 4th along with some snow squalls which limited our attendance although it was a fun group who came and played. 

We were all warm and comfortable and I would like to thank all who showed up. Our next bingo night will be Thursday December 18 at 6 p.m. 

We judged all the Patriot Pen entrees and invitations will be going out to the students with a date to be determined for award presentations. Thank you to all who entered the contests.

Veteran news of interest to all veterans: VFW National Legislative Director Kristina Keenan testified at a hearing on pending legislation before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

H.R.6047, Sharri Briley and Eric Edmundson Veterans Benefits Expansion Act of 2025, would provide an added supplement to Special Monthly Compensation for catastrophically injured veterans and would raise Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for survivors.

However, it would be financed by removing the VA home loan funding fee exemption for disabled veterans rated 70 percent or below on their second and subsequent uses of the loan. 

“The VFW wants to see increases in monthly support to the most severely disabled veterans, and we want to see survivor benefits strengthened. We agree that these are long overdue, but asking disabled veterans to finance them is something the VFW cannot accept," said Keenan.

The VFW supports legislation to allow the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recover costs from Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans. 

This would significantly enhance and clarify VA's authority to recover costs directly from Medicare Advantage plans, helping to offset the expenses of care provided to veterans.

Currently, a problem arises with the duplication of Medicare payments for veterans enrolled in both VA and Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. 

Under existing law, VA is prohibited from billing Medicare for services provided to veterans, which results in private insurers receiving payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services without actually covering veterans' care. This loophole leads to taxpayers effectively paying twice for the same services.

 Many veterans are still being prescribed powerful psychiatric drug combinations without clear written information about risks, side effects or safer alternatives. 

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing to examine VA medication management for which the VFW submitted testimony for the record to convey to Congress how serious this problem has become. Two House bills have been introduced that would provide real protection.

H.R.4837, Written Informed Consent Act, would require written informed consent before VA prescribes certain psychiatric medications; and H.R.2623, Innovative Therapies Centers of Excellence Act of 2025, would expand access to innovative PTSD treatments to reduce reliance on heavy medication. Your voice matters, so take action now and tell Congress to support these solutions.

VFW Recovers $16.2 Billion for Veterans: VFW National Veterans Service (NVS) continues to stand as one of the strongest advocates for America’s veterans, delivering direct, life-changing support at no cost.

With a network of more than 2,300 highly trained VA-accredited representatives serving in communities across the country and around the world, NVS ensures veterans and their families receive the care, benefits and recognition they have earned.

These dedicated representatives have assisted more than 608,000 veterans with their claims and appeals, guiding them through a complex and often overwhelming process.

To date, their unmatched expertise and commitment has resulted in over $16.2 billion recovered in earned benefits, all free of charge to every veteran they assisted. NVS remains proudly mission focused: veterans first, always. 

Our post again this year will donate $500 in gift cards for items at Hannaford food stores to the Stratton VA Hospital volunteers.

The volunteer group has food items (dry goods) at the hospital on the 9th floor for veterans in need to pick up. The one thing that they do not have is refrigeration for dairy items etc.

These gift cards enable the veterans to pick up those items. Should you want to add to our donation, please donate to Post 1545, PO Box 598, Windham, NY 12496 with whatever you can, and we will add it to our total. 

For many, this past December 7th we remembered Pearl Harbor and the people who lost their lives in the Japanese attack. 

MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced six identifications and four burial updates for service members who have been missing and unaccounted for from World War II and the Korean War. This week we have announce U.S. Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Merrill E. Brewer, 26, of Monticello, Maine killed during World War II, was accounted for Dec. 20, 2024.

In the fall of 1943, Brewer served as the waist gunner aboard a B-24 Liberator bomber with 858th Bombardment Squadron, 492nd Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force. The unit was engaged in Operation CARPETBAGGER, a series of secret missions in which several specially designated bomb groups dropped supplies, arms, equipment, leaflets, and U.S. Office of Strategic Services and French agents to resistance groups operating in northern France. On Sept. 16, 1944, Brewer’s crew was scheduled to fly its final mission to drop supplies to resistance forces 40 miles east of the Moselle River. 115th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Gun Battalion, an American artillery unit stationed near Lebeuville, France, mistook Brewer’s B-24 for an enemy aircraft and opened fire upon it. Of the eight crewmembers aboard, two successfully parachuted to safety while the remaining six, including Brewer, died when the aircraft crashed. On the morning of Sept. 17, 1944, American soldiers recovered remains from the crash site, along with identification tags belonging to four of the crewmembers, including Brewer. They were subsequently buried in a common grave at U.S. Military Cemetery (USMC) Andilly, France. In 1949, official confirmed the group identification of the remains based on the presence of the identification tags and in 1951, they were repatriated to the U.S. and interred together in one casket at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in St. Louis, Missouri.

Brewer’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Lorraine American Cemetery, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for. Brewer was buried in Bridgewater, Maine, in September 2025.

Keep all MIA service men and woman who served our country, along with the still serving in your thoughts and prayers. God bless America.

Marc Farmilette, PDC ~ Post 1545 Commander

Staff Sgt. Merrill E. Brewer