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Looking for dog tag owners

September 25, 2012

Sgt. Shaft

Relative wants to find owners of dog tags from WWII

Dear Sgt. Shaft:

I currently have three dog tags that I would be willing to ship to the respective families if I could ever find them. They were stored with the WWII medals of my great uncle who passed, and I would venture to say that they must have been friends at some time. I provide the info from the dog tags as it may help you identify how to track the family members:

CALVIN
  MANSFIELD
  WOLF
  245-94-71
  T.9/22/43
  USNR-O

FRANCIS
  CECIL
  ALLEN
  832-18-30
  T.2/25/43
USNR-O

PATTERSON
  JAMES
  WESLEY
  965 87 39
  T 11/43
USNR-O P

Lt. Col S.G.
Canadian Army

Dear Col S.:

Hopefully by highlighting the names and information on these veterans, it may catch the eye of someone who knows the original owners of these valued mementos.

In addition an online search revealed that others who had found dog tags had good luck by going through the Military Personnel Records Center at the National Archives: http://www.archives.gov/st-louis/military-personnel/.

Another source of help could be the Department of Defense’s POW & Missing Personnel Office here: http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/.

Shaft notes

• The House Committee on Veterans‘ Affairs recently questioned officials from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on vital programs, including the perennially growing disability claims backlog, mental health care, and oversight and stewardship of VA funding over the past two years.

Questions remain regarding VA’s announcement earlier this year regarding the hiring of 1,600 additional mental health care professionals, following the release of VA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) report that indicated VA was not treating veterans in a timely manner.

Yet, at the time, VA had a shortage of 1,500 mental health care providers nationwide. VA Secretary Shinseki testified to the Committee in May that the department’s goal was to hire 1,600 by the end of this year. VA Deputy Secretary Gould reiterated that goal in testimony to the committee.

However, according to President Obama’s Aug. 31, 2012, Executive Order, that timeline appears to be in direct conflict with congressional testimony: “directs VA to use its pay-setting authorities, loan repayment and scholarships, partnerships with health care workforce training programs, and collaborative arrangements with community-based providers to recruit, hire, and place 1,600 mental health professionals by June, 2013 [emphasis added].”

“Data continues to show that 18 veterans per day commit suicide, and five of those were receiving VA care at the time of their death,” said Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans‘ Affairs. “As of mid-July, VA had hired less than 900 employees as part of this effort, and there seems to be confusion among officials as to what the goal is and when it will be reached. I have grave concerns about access to VA mental health care, which is clearly in crisis.”

The committee also questioned whether monies spent on VA executive conferences were a good use of taxpayer dollars, especially as several conferences took place just months after a government shutdown was averted last year, and weeks before the country was at risk of defaulting on its obligations.

“More than two weeks ago, the deadline [that] I and Ranking Member Filner set came and went without a response from VA to our basic questions regarding conference expenditures over the past three years and what actions have been undertaken since to safeguard veteran and taxpayer dollars. The committee, and apparently VA, does not know,” Mr. Miller said. “VA was, and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, continues to be, tone-deaf to the fiscal difficulties this country is facing. I am extremely frustrated by VA’s lack of transparency, accountability, and stewardship of funding entrusted to its officials.”

• The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense (DoD) is investing more than $100 million in research to improve diagnosis and treatment of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

“At VA, ensuring that our veterans receive quality care is our highest priority,” said Secretary Eric K. Shinseki. “Investing in innovative research that will lead to treatments for PTSD and TBI is critical to providing the care our veterans have earned and deserve.”

The two groups — the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD (CAP) and the Chronic Effects of Neurotrauma Consortium (CENC) — will be jointly managed by VA, and by the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), on behalf of the DoD.

More than 15 percent of service members and veterans suffer impaired functioning as a result of PTSD. CAP will study potential indicators of the trauma, as well as prevention strategies, possible interventions and improved treatments. Biomarker-based researched will be a key factor for CAP’s studies.

A primary goal of CENC is to establish an understanding of the aftereffects of an mTBI. Potential co-morbidities also will be studied; that is, conditions associated with and that worsen because of a neurotrauma.

“PTSD and mTBI are two of the most prevalent injuries suffered by our war fighters in Iraq and Afghanistan, and identifying better treatments for those impacted is critical,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, Dr. Jonathan Woodson. “These consortia will bring together leading scientists and researchers devoted to the health and welfare of our nation’s service members and veterans.”

On Aug. 31, the president signed an executive order to improve access to mental health services for veterans, service members and military families. As part of that executive order, Mr. Obama directed the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education to develop a National Research Action Plan that will include strategies to improve early diagnosis and treatment effectiveness for TBI and PTSD.

He further directed the Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a comprehensive mental health study with an emphasis on PTSD, TBI, and related injuries to develop better prevention, diagnosis and treatment options.

• Kudos to the federal government employees who will again soon be contributing to charitable organizations through the combined Federal Campaign program. As many of you know, the Sarge has a strong relationship with the all-volunteer Blinded American Veterans Foundation (BAVF). For any of my readers that would like to contribute, the CFC code number is 11282. Funds go directly to the VA in support of blinded vet programs.

• Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax 301/622-3330, call 202/257-5446 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.