Last week I failed to mail in my weekly article due to the fact that I forgot to push send. I could come up with a rather exotic excuse although I just can’t think of a really good one. Hey, it could happen to anyone.
This week I hope I inform everyone what is going on in the veteran world. So here goes.
We have been holding Bingo at our post for the last couple of months and everyone seems to enjoy the fun of playing bingo. Food is served during bingo with various menus including soft drinks and snacks. Come and check us out at our next bingo night Thursday October 16 at 6 p.m.
This past weekend we had the annual Autumn Affair in town and I want to congratulate the Windham Chamber of Commerce.
Chamber president Lisa Jaeger and the entire chamber did one great job. Our post has a booth where we met so many people and they were very generous in buying raffle tickets.
One thing I want to correct is that the date on the tickets for the veterans breakfast states it is on November 15, and we had to change it. Now it is Sunday November 16 from 8 a.m. to noon. Raffle drawing at 11 a.m.
In a scathing response to a recent Washington Post piece, National Commander Witmore reminds the editors that veterans’ disability benefits are not charity and that many invisible war wounds are not new, they are just not being ignored.
To the Editors of The Washington Post: Your recent article, “How some veterans exploit $193 billion VA program, due to lax controls” (October 2025), is not just a disservice to veterans — it is a dangerously misleading piece that feeds into damaging stereotypes and ignores both the moral and legal foundations of the Department of Veterans Affairs disability system.
Let’s be absolutely clear: veterans’ disability benefits are not charity. They are compensation owed for injuries and conditions incurred in the line of duty — promised by a government that asked men and women to risk their lives and health, often irreversibly, on its behalf. These benefits are not some “loopholes” for opportunists to exploit; they are the very least this country can do for the people it sent to war repeatedly, especially after more than two decades of sustained conflict without a draft.
Lastly, let’s not ignore what this article really reflects: veterans make an easy scapegoat for the elites in this country. We’re a very small percentage of the population. Many Americans are disconnected from the wars they authorized or ignored. It is politically and socially convenient to question the integrity of veterans rather than confront the true cost of 25 years of war. But the cost is real. And the obligation to those who bore it is not optional.
I want to state that I am an Army veteran, not a US Marine Veteran, although this week I would like to highlight one particular US Marine.
His name is Lewis Burwell "Chesty" Puller (June 26, 1898 – October 11, 1971) was a United States Marine Corps officer. Beginning his career fighting guerillas in Haiti and Nicaragua as part of the Banana Wars, he later served with distinction in WWII and the Korean War as a senior officer. By the time of his retirement in 1955, he had reached the rank of Lieutenant General. .
Puller is the most decorated Marine in American history. He was awarded five Navy Crosses and one Distinguished Service Cross. With six crosses, Puller is second behind Eddie Rickenbacker for citations of the nation's second-highest military award for valor. Puller retired from the Marine Corps in 1955, after 37 years of service. He lived in Virginia and died in 1971 at age 73.
Puller remains a well-known figure in U.S. Marine Corps folklore with both true and exaggerated tales of his experiences being constantly recounted among U.S. Marines. A common practice in U.S. Marine Corps boot camp is to end one's day with the declaration, "Good night, Chesty, wherever you are!” Another common encouragement is "Chesty Puller never quit!"
In U.S. Marine Corps recruit training and OCS cadences, Marines chant "It was good for Chesty Puller/And it's good enough for me" as well as "Tell Chesty Puller I did my best." Chesty is symbolic of the esprit de corps of the Marines. Also, the recruits sing "Chesty Puller was a good Marine and a good Marine was he. U.S. Marines, while doing pull-ups, will tell each other to "do one for Chesty!" As our Marine veterans in VFW Post 1545 always say “Once a Marine – Always a Marine”. To all you Marine veterans, I say Semper Fi.
Remember to keep all who served our country and those still serving in your thoughts and prayers. May God Bless America.
Marc Farmilette, PDC – Commander VFW Post 1545
Colonel Puller. 1950 In Guadalcanal 1942 Retired w/ wife Virginia
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