Story courtesy: Jerry Vogler, The McLean County VA
We care about our Vets because we know Freedom isn’t free. As always we will encourage you to donate to our partners: Hope for Warriors.
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VA VETERAN ID CARDS
The VA offers Veterans a free ID card which can be used to prove your Veterans status when needed at businesses and other locations. You might think: Why do I need a VA issued ID Card, since Illinois and several other states allow the word Veteran to be included on the Illinois State Driver’s License?
The VA already issues a VA Medical Healthcare System card which is almost universally accepted as prove of military service.
However, many Veterans may not have an Illinois Driver’s License and only about 33% of Veterans are enrolled in VA Healthcare.
The VA ID Card is easy to read, unlike the word “Veteran” in extremely small letters in the lower right hand corner of a driver’s license.
More important, the VA ID Card does not have personal information like age and address displayed on it.
Getting the VA ID CARD is easy and it takes about 15 minutes to visit HERE , create an account, enter your service data, and upload a selfie from your phone. You may need to upload a picture of your DD-214 in some situations.
This VA ID Card will facilitate accessing the many discount opportunities for those
who served, especially around Veteran’s Day.
POPPY DISTRIBUTION AT NORMAL WAL-MART
American Legion Post 635 will be conducting a Poppy distribution fundraiser on October 31, 2022 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Normal Wal-Mart store. All funds raised from this effort will be donated to the American Legion Gifts to the Yanks Who Gave Program which purchases Christmas Gifts to Veterans who are confined to Nursing Home facilities across Illinois.
The Veterans who live in the Nursing Homes in Normal will be given the gifts by the Post 635 Honor Guard just before Christmas.
Funds raised in Normal also are part of the funds used to provide Christmas gifts to Veterans who reside in the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs homes in LaSalle,
Manteno, Anna and Quincy.
VETERAN SCAM ALERT
Each fall Veterans receive calls or recorded messages claiming to be from ”Veterans services”.
These scam calls imply that they are affiliated with the VA. Additionally, the caller will
leave a massage like this:
“Your VA profile was flagged for two potential benefits to the changes in the VA program. These are time sensitive entitlements. Please call us back at you earliest convenience.”
Other scams include assurances by the caller that their organization can easily get the Veteran extra VA benefits and there are no costs for the organization to complete the VA forms and follow through with the VA to get the benefits.
Others will indicate that there is only a “small fee” for the organization to complete the paperwork.
Certified Veteran Service Officers (VSO) never charge the Veteran to perform the same services.
There are too many scams lurking around to mention them all.
Resources to help Veterans not become victims of a scam, include: Browsing on you computer, VA benefit scam, American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) scams section and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) website under “Scam.”
If you feel that you have been contacted by someone who may be trying to pull a scam, you should report what happened to your VA Office of Inspector General or by contacting the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-382-4357 or visiting this website
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