At one of Post 41’s executive meetings, I received a list of legislative items supported by the American Legion for 2023 from our Post Legal Officer, Judge Brad Ellsworth.
It will take at least a couple of columns to go through them.
“Naturalization At Training Sites Act” of 2022 (HR-1182) ensures that new immigrants serving in the U.S. Armed Forces are able to complete the naturalization process and become U.S. citizens after honorable service.
S. 3212 “Unwavering Support For Our Coast Guard (USCG) Act”. During government shutdowns, Coast Guard men and women must work without pay because they are part of the Department of Homeland Security and not the Defense Department. This bill will ensure that the Coast Guard will be paid along with the other branches of the military.
I’ll cover the other legislative items in the next two columns.
Veteran statistics:
Texas County is home to 2,664 veterans, comprising 13.3% of the county’s population. We have 39 veterans of World War II, 174 from the Korean War, 929 from the Vietnam War, 584 from the Gulf War (part one) and 634 from the Gulf War (part two and continuing). I believe that our county is popular with veterans because we are less than an hour’s drive from a major Army support base. Also, the economy is easier on the pensions of retired military members.
And for retired sailors who used to get sea-sick, Texas County is far from the ocean!
Veterans organizations in Texas County:
•American Legion Post 41 meets at 6 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month at the meeting hall on the west end of Chilton Oil Company in Houston (just north of Pizza Hut). Changes to membership eligibility now allow U.S. veterans of all branches and periods of service to join the American Legion.
•Fleet Reserve Association Branch 364 meets at 2:30 p.m. on the fourth Sunday of each month at the American Legion Post 41 meeting hall in Houston. The FRA exists to serve all veterans and active-duty members of the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Coast Guard.
•Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 473 meets at 6 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at its meeting mall on U.S. 63 north of Cabool.
•Veterans Of Foreign Wars Post 6337 in Licking meets at 5:30 p.m. on the third Monday of each month at the meeting hall on Main Street just south of Highway 32.
Houston resident Robert E. Simpson is a retired U.S. Navy chief electronics technician who served from 1969 to 1990. Email gfjjkaa@gmail.com.