VA Proposes Disability Rating Changes
VA has proposed changes to its Schedule for Rating Disabilities for auditory, respiratory, and mental health conditions. These changes would incorporate modern medical data and terminology, allowing veterans to receive disability ratings based on the most current information. Ratings of veterans who currently receive VA disability compensation will not be impacted as a result of these changes. The VFW will carefully review the proposed changes and will submit a public comment to the Federal Register.
Two of our Washington State Comrades Come Home
MIA Update: The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced two burial updates and two new identifications for service members who have been missing and unaccounted-for from World War II and Korea. Returning home for burial with full military honors are:
Army Pfc. Kenneth L. Bridger, 17, Colville, Washington, was assigned to Company K, 3rd Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division. He was reported missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, on the last night of his unit’s stand at the defensive perimeter near the east side of the Chosin Reservoir, North Korea. Following the battle, his remains could not be recovered. Bridger will be buried in Twin Falls, Idaho, on May 21, 2022.
Navy Electrician’s Mate 1st Class Harvey C. Herber, 34, of Tacoma, Washington, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, when the ship was attacked by Japanese aircraft on Dec. 7, 1941. The USS Oklahoma sustained multiple torpedo hits, which caused it to quickly capsize. The attack on the ship result