PHILADELPHIA, May 30 /PRNewswire/ — Father Rick Curry, the founder of the Writers Program for Wounded Warriors, will deliver remarks at the traditional Memorial Day ceremony held at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial at Front and Spruce streets.

The noon ceremony on Monday, May 31, will also feature “echo taps” by two Philadelphia Police buglers and two firing squads from the VVA Chapter 266 and the police.  Wreaths will be presented and a stirring rendition of “Danny Boy” will be sung by Michael L. Daily III.

A Jesuit since 1961, Father Curry is the founder and artistic director of the Writers Program for wounded Warriors of the National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped (NTWH).  The program has provided workshops for veterans that guide participants to learn to write and perform dramatic dialogue based on their experiences.  The nationally recognized program has helped veterans with emotional healing and in coping with their disabilities.

Father Curry, who founded in 1977 the parent organization NTWH, also founded the Academy for Veterans in Georgetown this year and hopes to launch a bakery program in the DC area that would employ veterans. He is a graduate of St. Joseph’s University and has a Master’s Degree in Theater from Villanova and a doctorate in theater from New York University.

The ceremony is being conducted by the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which has oversight of the Memorial in cooperation with the Fairmount Park.

PHILADELPHIA, May 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Congressman Chaka Fattah (D-PA), joined by Wounded Warrior veterans including a member of his own staff, today keynoted the national launch of the innovative AMVETS Warrior Transition Workshops.

The workshops were developed by combat veterans for combat veterans to assist in their transition from military to civilian life. The program is being introduced as the nation celebrates its veterans during National Military Appreciation Month.

The Warrior Transition Workshops are a partnership between AMVETS and Freedom & Honor, and will be expanded to five other cities.

AMVETS National Commander Duane J. Miskulin, who has made transitioning programs for recently discharged combat veterans his mission, outlined the Warrior Transition Workshops at the news conference at Elkins Estate in Elkins Park, Penna., where the workshops will be held.

Among those joining Fattah and Miskulin was William Cooper, an Army veteran seriously wounded in Iraq by an improvised explosive device (IED), who is celebrating his first anniversary in Fattah’s District office as a veterans’ caseworker. After 54 surgeries and a remarkable recovery, Cooper’s own transition began with AMVETS and led to his recruitment into the Wounded Warrior Program, an initiative by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to create fellowships that provide employment opportunities for wounded or disabled veterans within the House of Representatives.

“Our obligation to the courageous men and women who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan is only beginning when they return home,” Fattah said. “AMVETS is to be commended for its excellent work since 1944 to help our veterans as they transition to civilian life. Bill Cooper is a Wounded Warrior who is doing an extraordinary service to his fellow veterans in my office. He is a true profile in courage.”

Fattah, Pennsylvania’s senior member on the House Appropriations Committee, advocated for the current $53 billion appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs, an unprecedented $19.9 billion increase over the past two years. He supported the Veterans Caregivers Act signed this month by President Obama.

“AMVETS is constantly striving for new and better ways to perform this vital work,” Fattah said. “The national program that we inaugurate today, AMVETS Warrior Transition in partnership with Freedom and Honor, is a major advance in this effort.”

Also participating in the press conference were Angel Fernandez, an AMVETS staffer who served five tours in Iraq and Afghanistan; Major General William Terpeluk, 77th Reserve Support Command (ret); and Freedom & Honor program director Martin Richardson.

PHILADELPHIA, April 13 /PRNewswire/ — Veterans and other volunteers will gather Wednesday, April 14, at noon at the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial to voice their concern over vandalism and to offer their support by patrolling at the site.

The Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund is organizing veterans and others to monitor activities at the Memorial starting this week through Memorial Day. Veterans will be asked to speak at the noon press conference to voice their concern about the desecration of the Memorial.

More detail will be provided about the patrols and other measures to halt the vandalism from skateboarders and inline skaters, who have actually been destroying devices designed to halt such activity. Scores of veterans already have contacted the fund volunteering to patrol at the site on Front and Spruce streets.

A limited number of copies of the surveillance tapes showing the vandalism will be available, as well as new, more prominent signage outlining illegal activities at the Memorial. The Fund is a nonprofit organization that provides oversight at the Memorial in cooperation with the Fairmount Park.

Three juveniles from the Philadelphia suburbs were apprehended March 7 by police who have charged them with desecration of a memorial, a third degree felony that is punishable by fines and imprisonment.

Coordinating the Veteran activities will be Dennis Best, vice president of the Memorial Fund, assisted by James Moran, Memorial Custodian.

The Memorial Fund last fall completed the first phase of its “Duty to Remember” Campaign for the restoration and preservation of the Memorial at Spruce and Front Streets. The fund is working to raise $500,000 for the second phase which will involve creating an opening in the “wall of scenes” on the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to make it easier for police to spot offenders and also create greater awareness at the enclosed site. For more information, visit www.pvvm.org. The Memorial honors the 646 Philadelphians who were lost in the Vietnam War.

By Josh Truman

PHILADELPHIA, PA / DECEMBER 12, 2009 / DIVERSE NEWS — With the exterior having an almost White House look next to its twin, the Free Library, Philly’s family court, along with its terrazzo flooring and marble accents, gives you the ‘feeling’ of a place of honor. But it has its politics like every place else.
But sure, there are some good stories that come out of here and you will hear about it in the news when it does -like every 3 years or so- and it always gets good press with almost masonic mystique.

What doesn’t get good press is the horror stories. Of course, to protect family confidentiality laws, only initials can be given.

Last week, in one of many cases over the past 14 years, M.S. (a Disabled American Veteran) was once again denied custody of his child. This after very disturbing incidents claimed by the child (you can guess) from one of the mother’s boyfriends. Yet, the court is making a path for the mother, after rehab (‘parenting classes’), to gain custody – but not the Muslim father, just supervised visitation. The father had never been part of that type of abuse but the court and its Semitic judges, who just ‘happened’ to be assigned to all of M.S.’s custody cases, have found ways and means to deny him custody. M.S. had called many lawyers over the years about this discrimination but it kept coming. Read More »

Note: Hi to Gunny and Jim
PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Contractors are laying paving material this week that will transform the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial as part of the first phase of the restoration and preservation project for the Penn’s Landing landmark at Front and Spruce Streets.

The material, which will resemble granite pavers, is being poured throughout the week and replaces the bricks that have been in place since the Memorial was dedicated 21 years ago. Weather and wear had caused the bricks to become uneven and, in some cases, hazardous, noted Terry Williamson, president of the Philadelphia Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which oversees the site in conjunction with the Fairmount Park.

New flagpoles representing all of the Armed Services should be installed the following week behind the “all of Names” at the site. Other improvements include refurbishing the names on the wall, resurfacing and replacing damaged granite, installing a 24/7 security camera and moving the Purple Heart Monument to its own location on the north side of the Memorial

Work on the project started on August 1 and should be completed in late October. The $500,000 project is the first phase of the “Duty to Remember” initiative which will involve eventually opening up the Spruce Street side of the Memorial to provide direct access and a line of sight to the Wall of Names. The main purpose of that phase, however, will be to make it more difficult for vandals and others to desecrate the Memorial. The secluded nature of the Memorial makes it difficult for Police to view inside.

The Memorial fund is planning to raise another $400,000 to complete the second phase. To assist in that effort a grass roots fund-raising effort has been launched at the www.pvvm.org. Information is also available on 646 limited edition Memorial bricks removed from the original site.

Work on the project will be visible throughout the week. Contact Terry Williamson for more information.

Hotel Packages Starting At $110; Plus Free Admission And Discounts Through Veterans Day

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 11 /PRNewswire/ — Calling all military personnel — Philadelphia, the city where the U.S. Army, Navy and Marines were all founded, invites the military and their families to have some fun in America’s birthplace while taking advantage of tours and special offers available to them, now through Veterans Day. The Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation’s (GPTMC) Web site, gophila.com/history is loaded with special offers and themed itineraries dedicated to military visiting Historic Philadelphia. The site highlights places of historic interest to the armed forces and features information about hundreds of dollars in savings available to them. Best of all, Philadelphia is within a five-hour drive of military bases in Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Washington, DC, Ohio, Connecticut, Delaware and Pennsylvania, making for an easy deployment.

Promotions for gophila.com/history will soon appear on Comcast Cable, in conjunction with Lifetime’s Army Wives, and on FOX Philadelphia television station.

Here’s what military personnel will find at gophila.com/history: Read More »

MultiEthnic Behavioral Health, Inc. Charged with Fraud Scheme Involving Multi-Million Dollar City Contract

PHILADELPHIA—United States Attorney Laurie Magid today announced the filing of a 21-count indictment charging eight employees of a social service agency with defrauding the City of Philadelphia and the federal government by falsely claiming to provide social services to needy families and then billing the City for the services. A ninth employee is charged with a single count of lying to a federal grand jury. The indictment alleges that the fraud scheme was carried out by employees of MultiEthnic Behavioral Health, Inc. (“MEBH”) and contributed to the death of a 14-year-old girl for whom the City’s Department of Human Services had hired MEBH to provide services. Joining in today’s announcement were Health and Human Services Special Agent-in-Charge Pat Doyle, FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Janice Fedarcyk, and Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham.

The indictment alleges 12 counts of wire fraud, six counts of health care fraud, one count of conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation, one count of providing a false statement to federal agents, and one count of perjury before a federal grand jury. Charged in the indictment are Read More »