FRAtoday February 2022
comunicaitons
FROM THE FINANCE OFFICER	3
SHIPMATE FORUM	5
On & Off captol hill	8
FEATURE  STORies	
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS18
SHIPMATE NEWS20
TAPS21
AUXILIARY OF THE FRA23
FINANCE MATTERS24

COMMINICATIONS

Rhode Island Seabee Museum
The Seabee Museum and Memorial Park in Rhode Island provides a memorial to the thousands of men and women who served at Naval Construction Battalion Center Davisville, Rhode Island, from its inception in 1942 until its closure in 1994. The museum is located on the former base, which is considered to be the Original Home of the Seabees.
During World War II, it was essential to preserve the secrecy of future base locations, so Seabees used the name “Island X” to identify their current location when writing home or creating base or command newsletters. After the war, the Seabees created several local alumni organizations named Island X- #, with different numbers, (i.e. Island X-7 Port Hueneme), which are still running.
Island X-1 Davisville approached the state with a plan to lease or transfer 6 acres of land, including the historic concrete Chapel in the Pines that was constructed by the Seabees in the 1960s. The museum’s property also includes two ammo bunkers and two Quonset huts, one of which hosts Branch 42’s meetings. A milestone was reached when the famous Gate Seabee was relocated a few hundred yards north to the new museum grounds. In 2008, the property was dedicated to the vision of Seabee Veterans of America, Island X-1, and a marker stone was installed. 
PNP Jansky invited National President Campbell to visit the museum while he was in the area attending the Senior Enlistment Academy graduation that was held in Newport, Rhode Island.  Campbell said, “It was my honor to be able to join Donna and the branch members who are also members of the museum. They are all very proud of their work in supporting the preservation of the Seabee history.” Contact Branch 42 for more details about how you can support the museum.        
In Loyalty, Protection and Service,
William D. Stevenson, Editor-in-Chief

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FROM THE FINANCE OFFICER

Making Sense of the FRA’s Dollars and Cents
I’m excited to have an opportunity to write about financial topics that may be of interest to FRA branch leaders, Shipmates and others.  
I would like to address the following three categories:
Financial Duties and Responsibilities at the NHQ Level
The FRA Constitution and Bylaws, under Section 809 of Article 8, go into great detail about what the duties of the Finance Officer are.
As I go through a typical workday here in Alexandria, Virginia, I use the C&BL as a guide to get my work done. I also follow GAAP, or Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These standards are  used by professionals in the industry to prepare and present financial information.
I see myself as the “financial captain” of the FRA. Just like a captain of any ship, I depend on others to successfully navigate through a “sea” of financial questions that come from the FRA membership, local and federal agencies, and outside vendors.
I rely on the FRA National Board of Directors, branch officers, the national executive director, the FRA budget and finance team and members of the headquarters leadership team.
My top priority is safeguarding the financial resources that have been provided to the FRA through dues, donations, and other income sources. Internal controls in place include quarterly reports to the FRA NBOD, the Budget and Finance Committee, and an annual financial audit by an independent certified public accountant firm. The results of the audit are provided to the FRA NBOD.
Over the past year and a half, I’ve worked very hard to make sure that the FRA is in compliance with federal and state agencies’ financial reporting requirements, which include filing annual informational returns and tax returns. They also include collecting required information from individuals who are considered independent contractors or who are provided monetary benefits or awards from the FRA in the amount of $600 or more.  

Branch-Level Financial Concerns
The same types of financial safeguards that I implemented at the NHQ level should be incorporated into FRA branches to safeguard funds.
Most FRA branches have their own employer identification number, which means they have some type of reporting requirement to the IRS and a state agency. Whichever branch officer is responsible for handling the financial transactions of the branch should also be providing branch members with comprehensive financial reports that include a balance sheet and a profit and loss statement.
Most branches are not large enough to have an independent audit, but a two-person internal finance committee could accomplish the same outcome. During the 2021 National Convention, I was provided with a copy of a document used by one of the FRA’s branches to carry out a self-audit.  Anyone wanting a copy can contact me directly.
 And then there’s me, the FRA finance officer. Feel free to use me as an additional resource on financial matters. I may not have an answer directly, but I’ll do some research and find one.

Individual Member Financial Topics
Each month in FRAtoday, we present a column entitled, “Finance Matters.” 
I encourage every member to read this every month. It provides a lot of information in an easy-to-understand manner. Also, when speaking to potential members, it’s great to point this column out as part of the value of an FRA membership. 
There are many topics that fall under the personal finance’s area. All the books and articles that I have read include this one piece of advice: Make a will. In a 2021 Gallup Poll, 54% of American adults reported not having a will, including 24% of those aged 65 and older.  
Finally, I want to thank everyone for every dollar that has been donated to the FRA. Your support makes a difference.         
In Loyalty, Protection and Service, 
Phillip Reid 

Phillip is the national finance officer of the FRA and may be reached at PhillipR@FRA.org.

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sHIPMATE FORUM

John F. Kennedy Article
I just got my latest FRAtoday, today and was reading the article on John F. Kennedy.  Author Grays article is accurate except for one small detail. 
When he got out of Officers Training School, he was assigned to the Staff of the Commander Sixth Naval District in Charleston, S.C. He was billeted in and worked out of what was then the Fort Sumter Hotel, located on the Battery, and which the Navy had taken over for the duration of the war. I was a teenager in Charleston at the time and had a friend who worked in the hotel. Kennedy developed a “friendship” with a lady that lived nearby. She was reputed to be a spy for Germany. His father found out about it and had him transferred to PT Boats, which he undoubtedly was happy about.
I served in the Navy while he was President and was attached to the Staffs of Commander in Chief, US Atlantic Fleet and Commander Naval Air Forces Atlantic, in Norfolk when he was assassinated.
I was also serving there during the Cuban Missile crisis and had been aboard USS Spiegel Grove LSD (32) in GITMO in February, 1962 and saw some of the missiles being brought in.
Thanks, 
CDR Bob Knight, USN (Ret.)

FRAtoday: Dear Commander Knight,
Bill Stevenson forwarded your correction to me, and I am most grateful to you for pointing out my error. Researching a person of such prominence, about whom so much has been written, for what is of necessity a short piece has its challenges, and I am also relieved to hear that I got most of it right! Thank you for your attention to the accuracy of FRAtoday.
It’s so important to all of us to get things right, out of respect for the service of all of the association’s members.
Sincerely yours, Ann.

Should VSOs Become Politically Active?
I read with great interest and general agreement several letters published in the Nov. edition of FRAtoday.  Specifically, I am referring to the letters supporting an apolitical stance by VSOs. While agreeing with the concept in principle, I do wonder if there are ever exceptions.
For instance, if an administration is seriously endangering our national security either by commission (intentionally defunding the military) or omission (not confronting our adversaries), should VSOs become politically active?
I think this is a question worth asking.
CAPT Jim Thur, 
MSW, MPH, USNR (Ret.)

Latest Message From National President
Dear Shipmate Stevenson: 
Having just read Shipmate Fulton’s November’s From the Bridge Article in the Special Recognition section, I must state my partial agreement and vehement displeasure with the third paragraph of the article. 
Yes, [mentioning] the 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the withdrawal from Afghanistan was most fitting. However, the third paragraph of the Special Recognition section was particularly inappropriate for the FRAtoday forum. 
Shipmate Fulton has his feeling and views to which he is most certainly entitled but, as he stated most clearly was his disdain for the current administration.  This was in my view tactless and unprofessional.  Political feeling or statements have no place in the FRAtoday forum.  Mr. Fulton has maybe shown Protection and Service, but I question his loyalty.  
Respectfully, 
LNC Bill Winstel, MAL, USN (Ret.)

FRA As Apolitical
I take issue with the idea articulated in November I. C. Smith’s. “FRA as apolitical.”  There is something very wrong and illogical that FRA membership cannot discuss local, State or federal actions, vis-a-vis, political actions, proposed or taken.
No FRA magazine fails to list government agency actions being pursued by FRA, presented in pages 7-9, and which are considered relevant and in veteran interest by FRA leadership (but perhaps not well understood without discussion or update).
FRA members are veterans who served under contracts or commissions requiring them to “protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.”  
We are therefore obligated to know and understand the values projected in the Constitutions of our city, State or federal entities which we specifically defended at great personal cost.  Addressing upcoming and on-going Acts/ actions is, in fact, consistent with values demanded by our service and intended by the 'incumbent government’ comprised of politicians who are fallible human beings.
If the actions are not consistent with values we defended, then vagaries, self-centered pursuits and unconstitutional or non-freedom actions need to be acknowledged by FRA elected and its members.  At a common meeting these discussions become just as relevant to every member as those published by the FRA magazine, consistent with the Principles of the FRA - “Loyalty, Protection and Service to our shipmate.” Or we are a fraud to do otherwise.
We don’t work in isolation but as a team, in uniform and out.  This team approach fosters the necessity we address failure-at-hand, if and when known or occurring.  It is further incumbent on FRA membership to be made aware and act accordingly to protect and advocate for the values for which we stand as a nation and retired veteran, irrespective of political preferences or misguided allegiances not thoroughly understood or evaluated.  FRA members are the arena of friendship, comradeship and security wherein understanding and defense of this nation still lies.
Respectfully Submitted,
SKCM(SS) G.W. Smith, USN (Ret.)

November Article About John F. Kennedy
I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article about JFK.  You are about the only one that even acknowledges JFK today.  I especially enjoyed reading about his being a proud U.S. Navy Veteran.  I saw President Kennedy in Tampa Fl. as he was on his way to Texas.  I have also seen the movie, PT109.  I am just writing this because the article made me feel good that at least someone cared.  Thank you so very much for the very nice article; our country right now needs such. Again, an elder lady sends you thanks and blessings. 
Jean Whitfield,
Del Rio, Tennessee

FRAtoday: Dear Ms. Whitfield,
William Stevenson has forwarded your very nice message about the JFK article to me. You were so kind to let us know that you enjoyed it, and appreciated the attention given to John Kennedy and his pride in having served in the Navy.
I don’t think any of us who are old enough will ever forget where we were when the terrible news of his death reached us. It was a tragic loss to the nation, and a shock to the optimism so many of us felt in this eloquent young president and his vision of what we could be.
So thank you for letting us know you were happy with it. I enjoyed writing it, and learned many things in the process. And of course it is always a pleasure to hear that one’s attempts to communicate something have a good result.
Wishing you a warm and happy Christmas, and a good New Year.
With all best regards,
Ann.

Letters published in Shipmate Forum reflect the opinions and views of individual FRA members. They do not reflect the position of the FRA. The FRA is not responsible for the accuracy of letter content. To Submit letters to FRAtoday for consideration, please send them to: 125 N. West St., Alexandria, VA 22314 or to fratoday@fra.org.

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ON AND OFF CAPITOL HILL

Challenges for the FRA in 2022 
The second session of the 117th Congress began in January and your FRA Legislative Team is already working to promote the association’s extensive 2022 Legislative Agenda. (See the November 2021 FRAtoday to view the full agenda.) The FRA’s advocacy efforts this year are aimed first at keeping the hard-earned gains the association has obtained in recent years and then at pushing for improvements to programs that impact FRA members. Competition between weapons technology costs and personnel costs (“benefits vs. bullets”) will intensify, and we expect continued efforts to shift costs to beneficiaries. 

Congress tends to respond to those who are organized. Shipmates communicating regularly with their elected officials enhances the work of the FRA Legislative Team. The FRA Action Center located on the FRA website (www.fra.org) is an effective and user-friendly method of communicating with your elected officials. The Action Center provides pre-written messages either supporting or opposing legislation that Shipmates can edit and send to their elected officials in Washington. Grassroots advocacy has a direct influence on the association’s ability to effectively represent your concerns before Congress and appropriate federal agencies. 

Alternate NDAA Passes
In September 2021, the House passed its version of the FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA (H.R.4350). The Senate was unable to reach an agreement to vote on the NDAA. There was an impasse after behind-the-scenes negotiations failed to reach an agreement on which amendments should be considered on the Senate floor. Several of those Senate floor amendments were supported by the FRA, including: 
•	An amendment that would expand concurrent receipt to include Combat-Related Special Compensation, or CRSC, beneficiaries who are medically retired with less than 20 years of service.
•	An amendment that would authorize the retention of the full final month’s retired pay by a service member’s surviving spouse.
•	An amendment that would repeal the 180-day delay for military retirees applying for Defense Department civilian positions at pay grades GS-13 and below.
•	An amendment that would require a joint report from the DOD and the VA to designate the next national cemetery that would afford full military honors as Arlington National Cemetery reaches capacity.
•	An amendment that would prohibit forced arbitration provisions in financial contracts for service members and would prohibit the use of arbitration in re-employment disputes for reserve component members. 

Due to the stalemate in the Senate, the House and Senate Armed Services committees’ staffs worked to create a new NDAA. The bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees released a new NDAA (S.1605) following days of compromise negotiations. The new bill passed the House (363-70) and passed the Senate (88-11). No floor amendments were allowed to be considered for the new NDAA. The new FY2022 NDAA would:
•	Include no new TRICARE fee increases.
•	Prohibit drastic cuts to Defense medical staff for one year.
•	Provide an annual active-duty pay increase (2.7%) that keeps pace with civilian pay.
•	Exclude the provision present in an earlier version of the NDAA that would have required women to register with the Selective Service System. 
•	Remove sexual assault investigations from the chain of command.
•	Prohibit the dishonorable discharge of military personnel for declining to receive a COVID-19 vaccination.
•	Require the DOD to test for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, at U.S. bases that have had PFAS releases.
•	Provide a new basic needs allowance to ensure service members do not suffer from food insecurity.
•	Permit the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs to share medical facilities.
•	Require an independent review of the DOD suicide prevention program. 

As FRAtoday goes to press, the bill is expected to be signed into law by President Biden. The FRA is grateful for many of the above-referenced provisions but is disappointed that several critical issues, such as concurrent receipt expansion, were not addressed in the final bill.

Government Shutdown Possible After Feb. 18
The Senate and House worked out an agreement for a stopgap funding measure known as a continuing resolution to prevent the U.S. government from partially shutting down at midnight on Dec. 3, 2021. The CR keeps the government open until Feb. 18, 2022. 

Earlier, Congress had passed a continuing resolution (H.R.5305) just before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, 2021. This CR kept the government open at current spending levels until Dec. 3, 2021. That was supposed to give Congress time to approve appropriations bills. However, as FRAtoday goes to press, Congress has made progress on passing spending bills for FY2022. Congress needs to pass spending bills before Feb. 18 to avoid a government shutdown.

In the event of a government shutdown after Feb. 18, active-duty military personnel would be paid because they are considered essential workers. Retirees would also continue to be paid because funding for their benefits is considered mandatory funding, which does not require congressional appropriation. Additionally, TRICARE benefits would continue if there was a shutdown. Those receiving veteran benefits would also continue to get benefits because the Department of Veterans Affairs appropriates two years at a time (an FRA-supported initiative) and already has funding for FY2022.  

FRA and Others Request No More CRs
The FRA and other members of The Military Coalition signed onto a letter sent to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) urging them to pass the Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bills for defense spending and military construction, Veterans Affairs and related agencies before funding expires on Feb. 18. 

Congress recently passed a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels until Feb. 18. As noted in the letter: “A CR damages the uniformed services' ability to equip and train the total force. The services would be prevented from starting new programs that commanders need and instead, devote funds to lower priorities. During CRs resources tighten, procurement programs languish, and taxpayer dollars are spent ineffectively. Casualties of an additional CR could include mission-critical training (inclusive of vital reserve component training) and required maintenance. Military families could suffer from inadequate maintenance and upgrades to military installations, and significant delays in household moves. They deserve better, and their care is crucial to the readiness and retention of service members.”

Agreement on Debt Ceiling
Republicans and Democrats came to an agreement regarding the U.S. government’s debt ceiling (S.610), which also included delaying until 2023 a 10% Medicare reimbursement cut for doctors and hospitals that was scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2022. 

Effective Aug. 1, 2021, the two-year suspension of the U.S. government’s debt limit ended. The debt limit restricts how much the federal government can borrow to finance its existing obligations. The Treasury Department was taking what it called “extraordinary measures” to pay the government’s expenses, options that would have been exhausted by Dec. 15, 2021, if lawmakers had not addressed the cap. President Biden signed into law the bill that allows the government to borrow an additional $2.5 trillion, which will be added to the current national debt of $29 trillion.

FRA Provides Navy Legislative Fellows a Legislative Process Brief
FRA Director of Legislative Programs John Davis gave a legislative process brief to the  2022 Navy legislative fellows at FRA NHQ. This was the first legislative process brief since the pandemic. The Navy Legislative Fellows Program offers participants the opportunity to work in the legislative branch for one year. The program consists of three components: (1) training and education through the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University, (2) work on Capitol Hill in the personal office of a senator or representative and (3) a three -year utilization tour immediately upon completion of the fellowship. The FRA has provided both the Marine and Navy legislative fellows with their legislative process briefs in recent years.
FRA NP Participates in Pearl Harbor Attack Remembrance

FRA National President James W. Campbell participated  in a ceremony at the USS Arizona Mall Memorial in Tucson, Arizona, on Dec. 7, 2021, which was the 80th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona Mall Memorial at the University of Arizona pays tribute to those aboard the USS ARIZONA who died as a result of the attack. 

The ship is the final resting place for 1,102 of the 1,177 ARIZONA crewmen who lost their lives during the attack in 1941. The ARIZONA’s losses accounted for nearly half of the 2,403 service members and civilians who were killed during the attack. In all, 19 Navy ships were damaged or sunk. Other FRA branches around the country also hosted and participated in events to honor the anniversary.

PDBR Continues Review of Disability Claims
The Physical Disability Board of Review, or PDBR, was created by an FRA-supported provision in the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act to reassess the accuracy and fairness of combined disability ratings of 20% or less for service members who were separated from service, rather than medically retired, because of medical conditions.

To be eligible for a PDBR review, service members must have been medically separated between Sept. 11, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2009, with a combined disability rating of 20% or less and found ineligible for retirement. Although  more than 71,000 service members are eligible for review, many have not yet requested a review of their claim. The PDBR reports that more than half of the reviewed claims have been upgraded to a disability rating of 30% or more.

The review panel is authorized to recommend an increase in a disability rating, uphold the previous finding or issue a disability rating when a previous board did not assign one. The board, however, is not able to recommend a lower rating. Eligible veterans can request a board review by submitting a Department of Defense Form 294, which can be found at www.esd.whs.mil/Portals/54/Documents/DD/forms/dd/dd0294.pdf. Shipmates can learn more about the PDBR review process by typing “PDBR” into the search bar at www.health.mil.

Report on Veteran Homelessness
The Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released its annual report on homelessness with critical data on veterans experiencing homelessness. Each year, HUD releases a point-in-time count of unhoused people, including veterans. HUD conducted its annual count in January 2020, but experienced delays in releasing its initial report, a major resource for Congress in making decisions about how to legislate and allocate resources to respond to veteran homelessness. As FRAtoday goes to press, the more detailed “Part 2” reports for both 2019 and 2020 have yet to be released due to pandemic-related delays. 

Part 1 of the 2020 report found a less than 1% increase overall in veteran homelessness since 2019, the first increase in over a decade. Data also revealed that while female veterans comprise about 9% of homeless veterans, they are more likely to be caring for dependents. One-third of homeless veterans are Black despite only 12% of all veterans nationwide being Black. Although the report found that veteran homelessness has dropped by nearly 50% since 2009, HUD still counted over 37,000 homeless veterans in January 2020.  Members can weigh in on improving VA programs to address veteran homelessness  by going to the FRA Action Center at www.fra.org.

BAH Rates for 2022
The Department of Defense released the Basic Allowance for Housing rates for 2022. BAH rates increased an average of 5.1% as of Jan. 1. An estimated $25.6 billion will be paid to approximately 1 million service members. The DOD had temporarily authorized increases in the 2021 BAH rates for 56 housing markets (commonly referred to as Military Housing Areas, or MHAs) across the United States. However, these increased rates expired on Dec. 31, 2021. Service members can calculate their 2022 BAH payment by using the online calculator at: www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm.
 
The FRA welcomes the increased rates and seeks to restore BAH to 100% of housing costs from the current 95%. The association also wants to reform enlisted housing standards by planning for E-7s and above to reside in detached homes, tracking BAH to ensure it is commensurate with actual housing costs, promoting adequate housing inventory,  and ensuring that housing privatization programs are beneficial to service members and their families.

IG Report on DOD Suicide Screening Rates 
A recently released report from the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General indicates that the DOD screened only about one-third — 34% in FY2020 and 30% in FY2019 — of troops transitioning to civilian life, who face an overall risk of suicide 3 times higher than active-duty service members. The DOD was supposed to screen a minimum of 70% of transitioning service members beginning in 2019, with 100% as the desired goal.  
The lack of transition screenings for those at higher risk of taking their lives may have impaired the DOD’s and the Department of Veterans Affairs’ ability to predict health care needs and provide benefits at discharge, and may have jeopardized the safety of veterans, according to the IG report. 

Veteran suicide rates have been rising for two decades, and since 2005 have climbed faster than nonveteran suicide rates in the U.S., according to the Rand Corp. Many more veterans and active-duty troops have died by suicide over the past 20 years (30,177) than have been killed in Post-9/11 wars (7,057), according to research by Brown University’s Costs of War Project.

Passing of Former Senator Bob Dole
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation announced the passing of former Sen. Bob Dole. Dole was an Army veteran and World War II war hero who was badly injured in battle in Northern Italy. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and later to the Senate representing Kansas. He became the Republican leader in the U.S. Senate and won his party’s nomination for vice president in 1976 and president in 1996. He became a spokesman for the “Greatest Generation” of veterans and worked to create the World War II Memorial on the National Mall. In February 2021, Dole announced he was battling lung cancer.  Dole is survived by his second wife Elizabeth and a daughter from his first marriage, Robin. His remains lay in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.   

 

FEATURE  STORY

The SPARs of World War II
Blazing a Trail for Women in the Coast Guard

By Elise M. Howard

In July of 1942, the Coast Guard watched with keen interest as the Navy established its Women’s Reserve, nicknamed Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES. Like the Navy, the Coast Guard was being stretched thin as it tried to continue its traditional role of protecting the nation’s extensive coastlines while also participating in new wartime operations at home and abroad. Able-bodied guardsmen desperately needed at sea were trapped behind desks doing basic clerical work. Civilian replacements would be prohibitively expensive, unwilling to be dragged from duty station to duty station, and not secure enough to trust with sensitive materials.
Could the solution for the Coast Guard also be women? What would that mean for the barracks? For the mess hall? For basic training? Could women really handle the rigors of military life? Without other options, the Coast Guard decided the risk was worth taking. On Nov. 23, 1942, the U.S. Coast Guard Women’s Reserve was established.

The Challenges of Recruiting
Following in the footsteps of the WAVES was a double-edged sword blessing. The main benefit of a later beginning was that the Coast Guard did not have to start from scratch when it came to leadership recruitment, training facilities or program design. The Coast Guard Women’s Reserve was able to borrow heavily from the Navy Women’s Reserve, from its policies and structure right down to its members. Dorothy Stratton, a WAVE lieutenant, was recruited as director of the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve, which soon became known as the SPARs — an abbreviation for “Semper Paratus, Always Ready.” Similarly, the first classes of both commissioned and enlisted SPARs were WAVES who agreed to transfer to the Coast Guard. These transfers, and the early civilian recruits who followed them, were able to complete their initial training alongside future WAVES at Navy training facilities.

However, following on the heels of the WAVES put the SPARs forever in their shadow when it came to recruiting. SPAR recruiters across the country struggled to meet their quotas despite going to post offices, movie theaters and even cotton fields to find recruits. Throughout the war, recruiters and other SPARs were continually confused for WAVES, a matter made worse by both sets of women’s reservists wearing blue uniforms designed by Mainbocher. Public perceptions of military women as unladylike, milking taxpayers’ dollars or fleeing terrible home lives also created serious obstacles to recruiting.

“Military women were experiencing an image problem,” John A. Tilley wrote in “A History of Women in the Coast Guard.” “In 1943, a nationwide rumor mill gave rise to public speculation … that the female recruiting effort was a front for a government-sponsored prostitution ring, the function of which was to slake the sexual appetites of new male soldiers and sailors. … Newspaper editors and clergymen started warning parents not to sell their daughters into slavery.”

Despite their loved ones’ concerns, women still volunteered, seeking new opportunities and the chance to directly assist the war effort. By October 1944, the Coast Guard had all the SPARs it needed.

“We all gave up a familiar way of life for one that had never before been open to American women,” SPAR Lts. Mary C. Lyne and Kay Arthur wrote in their book “Three Years Behind the Mast: The Story of the United States Coast Guard SPARS.” “Most of us had no idea what we would be doing or where we would be doing it. We sternly put aside families, friends, … and a haphazard civilian existence lived without benefit of ‘The Bluejacket's Manual.’”

From Civilian to SPAR in Eight Weeks or Less
Although early recruits were trained at Navy-operated college campuses, by 1943 the SPARs were outgrowing this arrangement. In June of that year, SPAR basic training moved to the Palm Beach Biltmore Hotel in Florida.
Recruiters were told not to promise glamour, but the “pink palace” had a reputation that drew recruits anyways. And despite the Coast Guard’s best efforts in knocking down walls and removing luxurious decor, many aspects of the training station remained glamorous. Fragrant exotic flowers, hanging vines on the Mediterranean architecture and stunning views of the Atlantic were left untouched, as were lush carpets in the barracks and a mirrored ceiling above the personnel officers’ desks in the former cocktail lounge. Physical training was conducted under palm trees on the beach, although the picturesque scenery came at the price of marching in the sand and being the spectacle of local civilians. Over the course of 18 months, approximately 7,000 enlisted SPARs completed six weeks of basic training at Palm Beach. 

The primary training site for SPAR officers was the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. These SPARs were the first women not only to attend the Coast Guard Academy, but to attend any military academy. Over 800 female cadets completed their indoctrination alongside their male counterparts, although they maintained separate housing and mess areas.

“[We] sincerely appreciated this honor and realized what it must have meant to the men to have their last citadel invaded,” Lyne and Arthur wrote. “We actually went out in boats, we trod the same paths as the future male officers of the U.S. Coast Guard, we were surrounded by the proud tradition of the nation’s oldest, continuous, sea-going service.”

Following their six to eight weeks of indoctrination, most SPAR officers did not go on to further training because they already had civilian work experience in their fields. About 70% of enlisted SPARs, however, went on to specialized schools for rate-specific training. Although military service did offer new career opportunities to some women, many discovered that they had been recruited to take advantage of the very work experiences they were looking to leave behind. Enlisted SPARs were most often yeoman and storekeepers, but also served as switchboard operators, link trainer operators, boatswain’s mates, chaplain’s assistants, pharmacist’s mates, coxswains and radio technicians, among other roles. 

Fitting Into a Man’s Coast Guard
At first, male Coast Guardsmen were skeptical about the need for SPARs. Some eager for sea duty welcomed their SPAR replacements enthusiastically, while others were openly condescending or hostile. Tilley recounted the story of one enlisted SPAR, Betty Splaine, whose “officer in charge gave her a look of utter disgust and assigned her to a desk behind his so he would not have to look at a woman in uniform.” It wasn’t until his civilian secretary called in sick that he began assigning Splaine meaningful work.

“There was many a man whose ego was punctured when he found his place could be so easily taken by a woman,” Lyne and Arthur observed.

Over time, SPARs thoroughly demonstrated their capacity to perform men’s work. Once district officers had witnessed SPARs in action, their requests for SPARs shot up 81% from their initial manning estimates, according to Lyne and Arthur. The commandant urged field commanders to use SPARs in every role they possibly could to release men for sea duty, and by the war’s end, SPARs were serving in 43 different ratings.

“The Spars asked no favors and no privileges. They, like most Americans, knew there was a job to be done and they went to work,” Coast Guard Commodore J.A. Hirshfield wrote in the foreword of “Three Years Behind the Mast.” “The amazement of some of their hardbitten superiors is legendary. With enthusiasm, with efficiency, and with a minimum of fanfare, these young women began to take over.” 

In a move that demonstrated the strength of the Coast Guard’s trust in its SPARs, the service decided in the summer of 1943 to staff its top-secret long range navigation, or Loran, monitoring stations with SPARs. The nature of the assignment was so closely guarded that the SPARs who volunteered had no idea what they were volunteering for, just a sense of adventure and a determination to win the war. Similarly adventurous were the approximately 400 SPARs who volunteered for duty in the territories of Alaska and Hawaii after Congress allowed women to serve overseas on Sept. 27, 1944.

Thanks to SPARs, well over half of male Coast Guardsmen were able to serve at sea during WWII, according to Lyne and Arthur. By the war’s end, over 10,000 SPARs had served; at their peak end strength, they accounted for one in every 16 enlisted Coast Guard members and one out of every 12 officers. Their skill and dedication transformed the views of both the men they worked alongside and the public at large.

A Lasting Impression
By law, female reservists had to be discharged six months after the war’s end. The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948, which allowed women into the regular Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, did not include the Treasury-run Coast Guard. As Lyne and Arthur faced their upcoming discharge, they felt compelled to write a book to preserve the memories of their service, which they foresaw as “wonderful yarns for old salts to spin years from now when the days of women in the Coast Guard are but a dim memory.” 

Little did they know the lasting impact that the SPARs had made. When the Women’s Reserve was integrated into the regular Coast Guard in 1973, the Coast Guard became the first service branch to open its officer candidacy program to women. In 1975, the Coast Guard Academy announced that it would accept women in the next academic year, months before Congress forced the other service branches to follow suit. The Coast Guard also led the charge in allowing women to be assigned to seagoing billets, removing all sex-based rating and career field restrictions by 1978. The first female pilot to land on a Navy aircraft carrier, the first active-duty woman to make chief and the first female commanding officer of an American military ship were all Coast Guardsmen. 
“All I can say is I am so envious of the women today,” former SPAR Betty Splaine said at the 2004 National World War II Reunion. “They have opportunities that we couldn't have even dreamed of.”                       

FEATURE STORY

Lt. Gen. Lewis Burwell “Chesty” Puller
A Private View of a Public Man
By Ann Norvell Gray

Lewis Burwell Puller was born in 1898 in the small Tidewater town of West Point, Virginia, situated on a peninsula where the Pamunkey and Mattaponi rivers converge to become the York, one of a number of wide, navigable rivers that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. He was 10 years old when his father died, leaving him with responsibilities too great for an ordinary child. But Lewis was no ordinary child. He sold the blue crabs that were plentiful in these rivers; worked in the local paper mill; and immersed himself in stories of the courage, tactical skills, and stamina of the Southern officers who were legendary in the states decimated by the Civil War. He never wanted to be anything but a soldier, and would have enlisted to fight in the First World War, but his mother refused the permission for her underage boy to go. But once he came of age, he enlisted, and his remarkable story began.
As every Shipmate knows, young Lewis Puller  grew up to become Lt. Gen. “Chesty” Puller, the legendary Marine who was, and is still, revered for his ferocity, his tactical skills under pressure and his unwavering commitment to the men under his command. Even now, 50 years after his death, he remains the most decorated Marine in the history of the Corps, earning five Navy Crosses and a host of other medals and commendations for valor and tactical leadership in the worst of conditions. The most often-quoted aspect of his brilliance as a small-unit officer is that he led from the front, never flinching, never losing sight of the objective and never treating his men as anything but comrades in arms. 
Every aspect of his military career has been reported, cataloged and publicly scrutinized in detail. His first postings in Haiti and Nicaragua, his service in China aboard USS AUGUSTA (CA-31), his heroic success at Guadalcanal, the withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir in Korea, the terrible price paid at Peleliu and the criticisms leveled thereafter — none of these stories are obscure, and are likely to be familiar to you already. So instead of retracing this heavily trafficked ground, a few more personal stories may shed some light on the private life of this very public figure.

Devotion to Family
The same devotion to a man’s duty that Puller embodied as a Marine informed his fierce love for his family. He is reputed to have proposed to teenage Virginia Evans on the night they met at a dance near West Point in 1926, and to have been flatly turned down by this lovely, sensible girl. He regrouped, reorganized his tactical approach and finally married her in 1937. Whenever possible, the family followed his postings around the world until a series of strokes so affected Puller’s health that he was retired in 1955, and the family returned to Virginia’s hometown of Saluda, Virginia.
Puller’s younger daughter, Martha Puller Downs, and I were in boarding school together at St. Margaret’s School in Tappahannock, 30 miles up the Rappahannock River from Saluda. Martha’s twin brother was Puller’s son, Lewis Burwell Puller Jr., who also became a decorated Marine officer. She reports that she was the more athletic and rebellious of the two of them, and he was the more academically successful, always on the dean’s list at Christchurch School, the brother institution to our girls school up the river. 
Lewis Jr. and Martha were children during their father’s years of active duty, and despite his long absences, his fatherly concern for them never left his mind. Puller’s deep commitment to his family is beautifully illustrated by a letter he wrote to his son in the 1950s while deployed far from home. He wrote: 
“My dear Big Man: I am very thankful that you are at home taking care of Mother, Virginia Mac., Martha Leigh, Grandmother, and Nannie while I am away. You must always protect your Mother and Sisters from danger and evil, regardless of the consequences and then you will be all man. I have not managed to get all the bad people here in the Brig yet but will return just as soon as I can. I miss you all terribly, and I am sure that all your prayers have kept me safe!”
Both Martha and her older sister Virginia married Marines. One has to admire the raw courage of a Marine with Chesty Puller for a father-in-law. Clearly, Martha and her sister inherited their mother’s Southern charm and the skills to live successfully in the role. In 1968, their brother Lewis was catastrophically wounded in Vietnam, survived against all odds, and lived a remarkable life as a husband, father and lawyer for the Veterans Administration until his recurrent depression and the substances that helped him cope overcame him, and he died by his own hand at the age of 48. His friends have said that it was only by his stubborn force of will that Lewis survived his injuries and their aftermath for as long as he did.

Life at Home
Everybody knew that Chesty Puller ran his Marines, but Mrs. Puller, known familiarly as “Miss Virginia,” ruled the household. Bill Broaddus is a retired lawyer and former attorney general of Virginia who was a student at Christchurch School with Lewis Jr. During Lewis’ school years, Chesty often went to the school for lunch on Sundays, and the boys at this small private school got to know him. Broaddus was editor of the yearbook in his senior year, and one of his responsibilities was to find a celebrity to choose the Queen of the Yearbook from photos of the boys’ girlfriends. He thought, “I’m going get somebody local whom we respect and admire. I’m going to ask Gen. Puller.” 
When Broaddus called the house, Chesty said gruffly, “I’m not gonna do it! When I judged a beauty contest over at the Lancaster County Fair, they said I picked the ugliest girl there, and I’m not gonna do it!” 
Miss Virginia was on the other line, and she said, “Lewis, you will too go help those boys! Bill, you call back! He’ll do it.” 
On the second call, the lieutenant general said, “Where do you want me?” and that was that. Broaddus doesn’t know whether the outcome was intentional or not, but sure enough, Puller picked the plainest one of the bunch. 
Years later, Broaddus’s young friend Eric Kauders married Chesty’s granddaughter Virginia Dabney, who was the child of highly decorated Marine Corps Col. William H. Dabney and Chesty’s elder daughter Virginia.  Broaddus asked the young man what he was going to call his father-in-law. Kauders replied, “I’m going to call him by his first name. I’m going to call him ‘Sir.’”
Martha is the last remaining member of Chesty’s immediate family. Her mother and father were older than her friends’ folks, and lived with a kind of old-fashioned formality, dining at the table every night and seeing that family and social obligations were never pushed aside. The rock-solid affection between her parents that filled the household, despite her father’s repeated, extended absences, is still with her as she talks about how she loved him, how he loved them all, how he instilled in them his unshakable sense of duty in all aspects of life, and how she still misses all of them.

Paying Respects
I am a native Virginian, too. My mother’s father was the rector of the Episcopal church in West Point, where everyone knew everyone else, so of course her family knew the Pullers. My cousin Pete was a decorated Marine officer, and was killed in Vietnam in the summer of 1970. At his simple family funeral at old St. Peter’s Church down a wooded country road between West Point and Richmond, Virginia, a modest Marine detail was in attendance. 
As we walked from the church to the graveside, a small elderly man in a brown suit was among the group behind us. It was Chesty Puller, coming with Miss Virginia to pay their respects. Although the disciplined comportment of the Marines never wavered, their eyes widened and their posture stiffened even more when they realized who he was. It would never have occurred to Puller not to show up for a young Marine who gave the last full measure of devotion, and to stand in solidarity with his grieving family.
When Chesty Puller died in 1971, Martha says, “My mother said that he wasn’t going to go to Arlington. He was going to be right there at Christ Church, our home parish in Saluda. My Aunt Betty told me that whenever you go over to where he is buried, visitors have always left something on his grave — all kinds of things — rings, money, medals … and I think they still do.” 
Photographs of the lieutenant general’s gravestone bear this out, with small tributes visible on the surface of the stone. Every year in October, a special service is held in the church to honor this revered native son of the commonwealth. A recent visitor to that service commented on the surprising juxtaposition of the Marines in dress blues and the representatives of a retired Marine biker club in leathers, standing at attention beside their powerful motorcycles in the quiet churchyard. 
Even now, more than 65 years after his retirement and 50 years after his death, with new conflicts around the world and new generations of Marines to confront them, the legacy of this remarkable servant leader is honored every time his fellow Marines say, “Good night, Chesty, wherever you are.”                  

Return to Table of Contents

 

MEMBERHSIP MATTERS

FRA Centennial Planning Underway

I hope you have all settled into your new routines for 2022. Since our discussion last month of 2021 results and goals for the new year, we’ve been busy putting plans into action. We’ll have updates on new branches and other initiatives later in the year, so watch this space!

Due to the oddities of publishing schedules, we must write these articles some months in advance. As I type, the 2021 Army-Navy football game just took place 5 days ago, on Dec. 11. By now I hope you all know that Navy came from behind to take an unexpected victory over Army, 17-13, and as a result of other interservice academy games, the Commander-in Chief’s Trophy is shared between the Navy, Army and Air Force for the first time since 1993.

There is an important lesson here. We all revel in the thrill of rivalries and competition because it’s exciting to pick a side and get energized about supporting our team. As a group, we embrace one another’s investments in the drama and heartbreak of defeat, and we similarly arise triumphant when the whiff of victory presents itself. There is no greater incentive for greatness than the tantalizing idea that greatness is suddenly within reach. 

Closer to home, we have similar reactions. We invest in ideas and plans for our leaders and their teams. We take on their ideas and make them our own, as spokespeople and agents of change. We learn to sniff out situations where our vision could lend itself to new opportunities, and we tell our stories with enthusiasm, trying to convey our energy to our audience. 

The FRA is no different. As we approach our centennial anniversary, many Shipmates whose tenure with the organization is measured in decades realize how important it is for the FRA to announce itself with pride and dignity on the national stage that will be ours in 2024. Veterans service organizations will all know that the FRA will have achieved a milestone that few others have, with a proud membership behind it and 100 years of experience informing its plans for the next century.

It takes time to build that kind of momentum. We encourage Shipmates everywhere to rally behind the team. Learn the history. Find Shipmates with stories to tell and listen to them. Listen a second time to get the details right. This material is what galvanizes large communities and gives them a shared goal, whether it’s a come-from-behind victory or a pitched battle fighting over every inch. We want our Shipmates to project their proud alliance with the FRA at every opportunity.

The effort starts close to home. If you’re part of a branch, make the effort to attend branch meetings. Stick around afterwards to chat with the folks you don’t normally see. Find common ground, even if you have to make the first move to get the conversation going. It’s OK if you’re not sure how to start, since you can assume the other people feel the same way. They want someone to break the ice, and it might as well be you. Leadership is a million small steps, rather than a single grand gesture. Be committed and make the first move.

If you’re not part of a branch, you can find other outlets. Use the FRA Branch Locator on our website to find a branch near you. If that doesn’t work, look for online groups, or other local veterans service organizations where you can get involved. Introduce yourself as a member of the FRA, and if your counterpart doesn’t know about us, tell them a little bit. Learn the history we have on FRA.org so you have a few facts and figures at your fingertips. It’ll help get the conversation going, and we are confident things will flow easily from there.

The mission of cheering on the FRA is one we all share. Win or lose, we believe in the team, and we want to come out on top. 2021 showed us it can happen even when the odds are against us, so let’s take that lesson into 2022 and beyond. Our centennial anniversary will soon be here, and we want everyone cheering the same message when it arrives.  

Christina is the director of membership development and may be reached at ChristinaH@FRA.org

Shipmate News

1. Branch 98, Shreveport, La.
On Veterans Day, PRPSC Emmett Smith (L-in red shirt) and Branch 98 Vice President Charles Smith (wearing FRA cover) presented a flag that was flown on board the USS LOUISIANA to Air Force JROTC Corps Commander Nicolas Schopfer who accepted the flag for Benton High School. 

2. 
Branch 136, Minneapolis, Minn.
Shipmates presented a 50-year Continuous Membership Certificate to Leroy Stanislowski on Veterans Day during the monthly meeting. (L to R) David Drajna, Leroy Stanislowski and Branch President Gene Jarnagin.

3. Branch 37, Portsmouth, Va.
Branch 37 Shipmate Abraham Thomas was awarded his FRA 60-year Continuous Membership Certificate and Pin on Nov. 7, 2021.

4. 
Branch 14, Milwaukee, Wisc.
RVPNC Marcia Cunningham was recognized by the I Am Not Invisible project for her service in the U.S. Navy. She was one of 24 women honored during a launch party at the War Memorial Center on Nov. 4, 2021. The exhibit will be traveling across the state.

5. 
Branch 126, West Jacksonville, Fla.
On Nov. 11, 2021, the annual the Veterans Day Parade in Jacksonville, Florida, was attended by Shipmates (L to R) Bill Walsh, Don Rodely, Ed Gribbin, NVP James Robbins, Johnnie Odom (seated), J. J. Thomas, Tony Placzkowski and Terence Johnson. 

6. Branch 89, Atlanta, Ga.
During a recent Seabee picnic, a drawing for a one-year membership was held. Shipmate and Life Member Rick Conn (L) won the drawing, so he gifted it to Shipmate James Anderson (C). Wayne Barron (R) was also at the picnic. Bravo, Zulu Shipmate Conn!
7. Branch 15, Walhalla, S.C.
Board member Tom Smith (L) and Branch Secretary and Treasurer Jim Jones (R) prepare for the Liberty, South Carolina, Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 7, 2021. 

8. Branch 117, Orlando, Fla.
Jr. Past Branch President James L. Middlekauff (L) presented a 65-year Continuous Membership Certificate and Pin to Shipmate Lloyd Gratto (R), who is one of two Shipmates in Branch 117 who are more than 95 years old with 65 years of continuous membership.

9. Branch 23, Buffalo, N.Y.
(L to R) Joe Coppola, Gary Williams, Nancy LaCount and Ruth Ann Coppola drove from western New York to Syracuse and gathered for their first of two FRA Christmas parties, which were a huge success.

10. Branch 182, Bethesda, Md.
Triangle Branch 182 Shipmates (L to R) Branch President Keith Kaider, PRPEC Randy Phillipp, Thomas Rauch, Rob Hebron and PNC Paul Gunther presented a wreath to honor and pay tribute to veterans during the Veterans Day Ceremony held at Rockville Veterans Park in Rockville, Maryland.  

11. Branch 207, Dale City, Va.
National President Jim Campbell and Branch Presisent William Ashton meet at Arlington National Cemetery for the Veterans Day ceremony that was held in November. 

12. Branch 146, Johnsville, Pa.
Four branch Shipmates were awarded membership longevity pins during the annual October awards dinner. (L to R) Branch President Otto Blavier, John Schutter (5 years), Henry Gwronski (50 years), Roy Schulenberg (45 years) and Charlie Glass (10 years).

TAPS

Name	Rating	Branch
Alford, Bobby D.	AWC, USN	MAL

Baecher, Gerald F.	AOC, USN	MAL
Ball, James L.	PO1, USN	MAL
Becker, Levi D.	CPO, USN	53
Blackmon, William J.	TMCS, USN	186
Blailock, Jackson P.	ADRC, USN	MAL
Blair, Robert S.	MM1, USN	367
Boor, Paul M.	AFCM, USN	210
Brown, Douglas A.	GMG1, USN	MAL
Brown, Joe E.	PNCM, USN	99
Brown, Larry W.	DM1, USN	MAL
Bryant, William H.	CDR, USN	86
Bullion, John	CSCS, USN	172
Bulot, Frederick F.	FTMC, USN	MAL

Call, Elton L.	GMTCS, USN	382
Cansler, Ivan D.	QMCM, USN	105
Chavez, Frank G.	MSGT, USMC	MAL
Coleman, Clyde L.	UTC, USN	268
Collins, Thaddeus J.	PHCS, USN	MAL
Collins, William R.	AMS3, USN	89
Cramer, Robert C.	HMCS, USNR	136
Crane, Donald L.	YNCM, USN	161
Day, Frank H.	SGTMAJ, USMC	MAL
Dellarco, Henry A.	ADRC, USN	294
DeSanto, Ellery D.	AVCM, USN	207
Detra, Elmo	QM2, USN	MAL
Diamond, Leonard	LCDR, USNR	292
Drogos, Eugene C.	AT1, USN	MAL
Drummond, William R.	   CTMC, USN	87
Dunn, Wilkie E.	CPO, USN	230

Eastman, Kenneth L.	ATC, USN	18
Eaton, Ray R.	YNC, USN	MAL
Edge, Jack	GMM1, USN	40
Evans, Otis	CPO, USN	01

Ferris, George E.	ADRC, USN	MAL
Fileccia, Nunzio S.	HMC, USN	MAL
Finch, Nathan H.	LIC, USN	MAL
Findley, Bobby J.	MMC, USN	112
Gallagher, James P.	SK1, USN	MAL
Galloway, Leonard R.	GMGC, USN	MAL
Gikas, James J.	CSCS, USN	MAL
Glass, Robert E.	CTOC, USN	MAL
Greer, Raymond C.	QMCS, USN	MAL
Gustin, Kurt	LCDR, USNR	273

Hall, Kenneth G.	ADC, USN	47
Held, Allen E.	ADJC, USN	156
Helmke, Paul C.	FTCM, USN	MAL
Hendrix, Edwin	EMC, USN	MAL
Herbert, Thomas E.	DK3, USN	67
Holstein, Thomas L.	CEC, USN	MAL

Jones, Clifford W.	FTC, USN	MAL

Kashuba, Peter L.	RMC, USNR	24
Keathley, William O.	HMC, USN	60
Kennedy, John W.	MCPO, USNR	MAL
Kircher, Raymond	AMHC, USN	192
Kubesh, Donald	USN	MAL

Lancaster, Billy C.	MAC, USN	MAL
Lee, Isom J.	MMC, USN	166
Lindley, Dale W.	SKC, USN	161
Lloyd, James J.	CWO3, USN	91
Loewen, Robert C.	AOCS, USN	91
Lorance, Hubert E.	GYSGT, USMC	302
Lowry, Robert W.	TM1, USN	172
Lozano, John J.	TMCS(SS), USN	230

Maness, James H.	TMC, USN	MAL
Manuilow, John	TM1(SS), USN	MAL
Mars, Robert C.	LCDR, USN	264
Massarella, Brenda	USN	60
McLaughlin, Moultrie M.   CTMC, USN	24
Melvin, Calvin A.	USMC	208
Miller, Buster L.	YNC, USN	MAL
Mitchell, Robert G.	PO1, USN	MAL
Mosholder, John E.	MMCM(SS), USN	60

Patenaude, George A.	TMC(SS), USN	20
Pennebaker, James C.	CTRC, USN	MAL
Peralta, Oscar R.	STCS, USN	MAL
Pettit, Robert	HMCS, USN	MAL
Pinter, Rene	TMC(SW), USN	117
Prevette, Allan R.	AFCM, USN	MAL
Prewitt, Dale A.	ATC, USN	177
Printy, John E.	CWO2, USN	126
Przyborowski, Simon P.	   TMC, USN	MAL

Quin, Jan W.	RMC, USN	MAL

Ribbe, Franklin L.	HTCM, USN	289
Richardson, Pearl W.	DTCS, USN	364
Rowe, Phil M.	BTC, USN	159

Sand, Richard A.	ATCS(NAC), USN	MAL
Shackelford, Voytle V.	LCDR, USN	210
Shouts, Howard G.	ENC, USN	136
Simons, Robert K.	GMTC, USN	MAL
Skeens, Susan L.	JOC, USN	31
Slempa, Peter P.	BTCM, USNR	MAL
Smith, Nathan H.	YN1, USN	261
Steagall, Inman	CWO2, USN	MAL
Steele, Richard T.	MMC(SW), USN	136
Stewart, Earl W.	LCDR, USN	MAL

Testa, John F.	PO1, USN	124
Tolley, Carl H.	HMCS, USN	MAL
Turner, Doil T.	CPO, USN	MAL

Ventroni, Robert A.	DSCM, USN	MAL

Walton, Don A.	AC1, USN	MAL
Warrington, Robert	YNC(SS), USN	60
Webster, Ira	ENC, USN	MAL
Whipple, Wallace W.	CPO, USN	273
Williams, Sydney O.	LCDR, USN	MAL
Williams, William	DTC, USN	MAL
Wright, James T.	RMCM(SS), USN	MAL
Wright, Thomas G.	CTRC, USN	MAL
Wyman, Charles P.	AMHC, USN	61

Return to Table of Contents

LA FRA Auxiliary

A Brand New Year, but the Same Old Issue

The issue at hand is: How do we keep LA FRA membership from continuing to decline? I am an analyst by trade, so it should not come as a surprise to most of you, if you know me, that I tend to overanalyze any situation. Buying a new car is excruciating for me! I have sat down and put together some statistics that may surprise you. 

I have included two graphs that show that our membership increased by an average of 101% every 10 years for the first 50 years of the auxiliary’s history. We had a major jump after World War II and hit our peak by 1983. Our average decrease in membership over the past 40 years has been 29% per year. If we continue our trend, by 2026 we will have less than 1,000 members — that is only 50 members more than we had in 1933. How can we sustain our organization with so few members? The answer is… we can’t. We will not likely see the LA FRA’s 100th birthday in 2030. Now is the time to make every effort to increase our membership before it’s too late.

How will we do it? We need to get our accomplishments recognized by the public. The auxiliary does so much for so many and we need to let the public know. When out in gatherings and you happen to proudly mention that you just participated in a community event, do you hear, “Wow, that’s incredible. How can I be a part of that?” or “What’s the LA FRA?” Our accomplishments get set aside by the primary question; “What is the LA FRA? What does it do?” 

One easy way to let others know what we do is, if you are a member of Facebook, to be sure to join some LA FRA group. Lots of proud members share great accomplishments that can be great ideas for your community. Some groups by name are: LA FRA Southwest; North Central Region; FRA Branch 61; LA FRA Unit 161 MO-KAN;   LA FRA East Coast Region; FRA Branch 302; Fleet Reserve Association Branch 163; Fleet Reserve Association NE/NEng Region; and most of all… Fleet Reserve Association National Headquarters! There are more, so if I didn’t list your unit or branch names, invite me to join! I love to see all the community involvement. Remember to share with your friends so they can share; it’s the best way to get the word out. Let’s go viral!

Don’t forget to remind our Shipmates to pass on the names of wives, husbands, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, stepchildren, grandsons, granddaughters, moms and dads, too! Sixteen opportunities to increase our membership.      

In Loyalty, Protection and Service,
Nadine Fulton

Nadine is the LA FRA national vice president.

FINANCE MATTERS

10 Tips for Clear and Accurate Beneficiary Designations
Beneficiary designations can provide a relatively easy way to transfer an account or insurance policy upon your death. However, if you’re not careful, missing or outdated beneficiary designations can easily cause your estate plan to go awry.
We often complete these designation forms without giving them much thought, but they’re actually important and deserve careful attention. Here’s why: Beneficiary designations take priority over what’s in other estate planning documents, such as a will or trust. 
For example, you may indicate in your will you want everything to go to your spouse after your death. However, if the beneficiary designation on your life insurance policy still names your ex-spouse, he or she may end up getting the proceeds.

Where You Can Find Them
Here’s a sampling of where you’ll find beneficiary designations:
•	Employer-sponsored retirement plans such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, etc.
•	IRAs.
•	Life insurance policies.
•	Annuities.
•	Transfer-on-death (TOD) investment accounts.
•	Pay-on-death (POD) bank accounts.
•	Stock options and restricted stock.
•	Executive deferred compensation plans.
Because you’re asked to designate beneficiaries on so many different accounts and insurance products, it can be difficult to keep up. However, it’s worth the effort; failing to maintain the beneficiary designation on that 401(k) from three employers ago could mean money will go to the wrong place.
When you first set up your estate plan, go over all the designations you have previously made and align them with your plan. After that, you should review and update them regularly — at least once a year. 

10 Tips About Beneficiary Designations
Because beneficiary designations are so important, keep these things in mind in your estate planning:
1. Remember to name beneficiaries. If you don’t name a beneficiary, one of the following could occur:
•	The account or policy may have to go through probate court. This process often results in unnecessary delays, additional costs, and unfavorable income tax treatment. 
•	The agreement that controls the account or policy may provide for default beneficiaries. This could be helpful, but it’s possible the default beneficiaries may not be who you intended.
2. Name both primary and contingent beneficiaries. It’s good practice to name a “backup,” or contingent, beneficiary in case the primary beneficiary dies before you. Depending on your situation, you may have only a primary beneficiary. In that case, consider whether a charity (or charities) may make sense to name as the contingent beneficiary.
3. Update for life events. Review your beneficiary designations regularly and update them as needed based on major life events, such as births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. 
4. Read the instructions. Beneficiary designation forms are not all alike. Don’t just fill in names — be sure to read the form carefully. 
5. Coordinate with your will and trust. Whenever you change your will or trust, be sure to talk with your attorney about your beneficiary designations. Because these designations operate independently of your other estate planning documents, it’s important to understand how the different parts of your plan work as a whole. 
6. Think twice before naming individual beneficiaries for particular assets. For example, you establish three accounts of equal value and name a different child as beneficiary of each. Over the years, the accounts may grow unevenly, so the children will end up getting different amounts, which is not what you originally intended.
7. Avoid naming your estate as beneficiary. If you designate an individual as the beneficiary on your 401(k), for example, it won’t have to go through probate court to be distributed to that person. If you name your estate as the beneficiary, however, the account will have to go through probate. For IRAs and qualified retirement plans, there may also be unfavorable income tax consequences. 
8. Use caution when naming a trust as beneficiary. Consult your attorney or certified public accountant before naming a trust as a beneficiary for IRAs, qualified retirement plans or annuities. There are situations where it makes sense to name a trust — for example, if:
•	Your beneficiaries are minor children.
•	You’re in a second marriage.
•	You want to control access to funds.
Even in cases like these, understand the tax consequences before you name a trust as beneficiary. 
9. Be aware of tax consequences. Many assets that transfer by beneficiary designation come with special tax consequences. It’s helpful to work with an experienced tax advisor, who can help provide planning ideas for your particular situation. 
10. Use disclaimers when necessary, but be careful. Sometimes a beneficiary may actually want to decline (disclaim) assets on which they’re designated as beneficiary. Keep in mind disclaimers involve complex legal and tax issues and require careful consultation with your attorney and CPA. 

Next Steps
•	When creating, updating, or simply reviewing your estate plan, pay attention to your beneficiary designations.
•	Remember, beneficiary designations take precedence over what you may have specified in a will or trust.
•	Put a reminder on your calendar to check your beneficiary designations annually so you can keep them up to date.      

Trust services available through banking and trust affiliates in addition to non-affiliated companies of Wells Fargo Advisors.
Wells Fargo Advisors and its affiliate do not provide tax or legal advice. Please consult with your tax and/or legal advisors before taking any action that may have tax and/or legal consequences.
This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Carl M. Trevisan, Managing Director-Investments and Stephen M. Bearce, First Vice President- Investments in Alexandria, Virginia at 800-247-8602.
Investment and insurance products are:
• Not insured by the FDIC or any federal government agency.
• Not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by, the bank or any bank affiliate.
• Subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.
Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company.
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