Veterans can get some extra help preparing and paying their income and property taxes this year.

New York’s “Cold War veterans,” meaning those who served in the armed forces between Sept. 2, 1945, and Dec. 26, 1991, are eligible for property tax exemptions this year, but due to some delays at county and municipal levels, it seems only veterans living in Rye Brook may be able to take advantage of the discount in Westchester this year? Veterans should contact their local tax assessor to find out whether their municipality has adopted the exemption.

For income taxes, the West Point Tax Center can assist active duty military service members, military retirees, and immediate family members. IRS-trained tax preparers are available to answer questions and file tax returns from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. and from 1-4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Walk-ins are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis, but scheduled appointments are given priority. Call 845-938-5920 for more information.

The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program also offers free tax return preparation to military personnel and their fmailies, working with the Armed Forces Tax Council. Military-based VITA sites provide free tax advice, tax preparation, return filing and other tax assistance to military members and their families. For more information, call Read more of this entry »

Edited 3/17: Added photos of Atwood and Samples.

In addition to my blog entry last week, my story in today’s Journal News explains a bit more about the “Support Our Troops Drive” being held this Sunday in the basement of St. Augustine’s Church, 18 Cherry Ave., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Recipients include Capt. Ryan Samples, the Army Ranger who plans to wed Larchmont nanny Michelle Atwood during his two-week leave in May. (The LoHud blogs are still experiencing technical difficulties, so I can’t upload any photos right now – I’ll try again Monday.) Here’s a photo of Samples in northern Iraq, and with his fiancee last fall.

Travel-sized donations – no chocolate, large liquids or used items – will be accepted Financial contributions can help defray the cost of shipping. Volunteers are also welcome to help assemble the boxes and write letters to the troops on the day of the event.

For more information, post a comment on this blog entry (click on the “Comments” link at the bottom of this post) or contact organizer Jennie McFarland at Read more of this entry »

Sorry Nicole and I haven’t posted in a while. We’ve had few technical glitches this week. Hopefully, everything is OK now.

A Pew Research Center study found that the American public is less aware of developments in the Iraq war than they were last year, mainly because it’s getting less media attention. A story in the Washington Post notes that the number of news reports about the war have dropped sharply since last summer.

In earlier surveys, about half of those asked about the death tally responded correctly.

There has been plenty of criticism about media coverage of the war, with many saying “good news’’ stories about progress being made are not reported. Early on in the conflict, there was a lot of debate within journalism over whether reporters who were embedded with military units were being “handled” and not able to report what was really going on.

I know plenty of Vietnam veterans who insist that media coverage of that war turned the American people against it and made it impossible for anything positive to be accomplished. My late father was just such a veteran.

As a public information specialist in the late 1970s at an Army base in Germany, I was responsible for putting out hometown news releases about promotions, awards, participation in NATO exercises and the like. I also wrote the occasional “human interest” story about things like twin brothers in the same unit, open house events and units hosting West Point cadets or National Guard troops, etc.  Needless to say, I never was allowed to report on things like fatal drug overdoses, soldiers being arrested in the town near the base or other “negative’’ news.

As a journalist, I strongly support freedom of the press. As a former soldier, I understand why the military sometimes has a problem with that freedom. I’m curious to hear what you all think of media coverage of Iraq and Afghanistan, and what kind of coverage you think there should be.

Check out this story from Sunday’s Connecticut Post about a group of female World War II veterans looking to boost their dwindling numbers, possibly by bringing in members who served in more recent conflicts.

The WAVES, which stands for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, were an all-female division of the Navy. According to the Wikipedia entry, most of the women did clerical work, but some took positions in the aviation community, Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), medical professions, communications, intelligence, storekeeper, science and technology.

The group has 98 units nationwide, with 3,600 members. According to the Connecticut Post story, 17 women belong to WAVES National Unit 82 based in Fairfield, Conn. (the closest unit to the Lower Hudson Valley), and they’re looking for more members.

Of course, this begs the question: what happens to veterans groups tied to a specific conflict, when all the members begin to die off? Imagine Read more of this entry »

Jim Barker, a Vietnam veteran who served as an Army linguist in 1971-72, has put out a call through the National VVA Magazine for other veterans to share their “most ‘comic to bizarre’ experiences during your Vietnam tour for possible publication.”

His book will give credit to the contributors, or keep them confidential if requested, and Barker says he will equally distribute any proceeds.

Barker, who now lives in San Jose, Calif., became known to some of Rockland’s VVA members years ago when they saw this 1992 New York Times story mentioning his participation in Vietnam’s first international marathon.

He’s also collecting information about what kind of music soldiers enjoyed during their combat tours. Vietnam veterans are asked to send him their top three songs from that era, “their order of importance, and a statement or two as to their meaning and significance.”

Do you have any funny stories or music memories to share with him? If so, Read more of this entry »

The Westchester County Veterans Service Agency is hosting a town hall meeting next week at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. Representatives from a number of organizations will be on hand to answer questions on a myriad of topics.

The agenda will include presentations on veteran housing and educational oportunities; employment and counseling; the new property tax credit for “Cold War’’ vets, the “Canines for Combat Veterans” program and long term care insurance.

The meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 12 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. That’s 1730 to 1930 for you hard core types.

Look for an advance story with more details next week on Lohud.com and in The Journal News.

Edited at 11 a.m.: I corrected the starting point for the White Plains parade.

When I think of St. Patrick’s Day, I think of four-leaved clovers, snakes, leprechauns, green beer, those Shamrock Shakes McDonald’s convinces festive folks to drink every March, and … veterans? Well, of course, what’s a parade without military bands and flags?

Most local veterans groups, including chapters of the Vietnam Veterans of America and Marine Corps League (pictured below last year in Pearl River), will march in at least one of the St. Patrick’s Day parades in Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties this weekend. (Easter falls early this year, so most places are celebrating the annual March 17 Irish saint’s day earlier than usual, so as not to conflict with Holy Week.)

Here’s a schedule of parades coming up in our area; click on the towns for more information.

March 8

WHITE PLAINS: Noon, Steps off from Mamaroneck Avenue & Bloomingdale Road.

March 9

PEARL RIVER: 1:30 p.m., Steps off from Wyeth Corp.’s south parking lot on Crooked Hill Road.

GREENWICH: 2 p.m., Steps off from Town Hall, 101 Field Point Road.

MAHOPAC: 2 p.m., Steps off at Mount Hope Road & Route 6.

March 15 Read more of this entry »

From one of the folks behind the blogosphere curtain at The Journal News/LoHud.com:

“In the coming days, we will be moving this and other LoHud blogs to a dedicated server that will provide more stability and better troubleshooting capabilities than what we currently have. Please bear with us during this transition. Some features may not be available during this time. We will reincorporate them as soon as possible.

We apologize for any inconvenience you might encounter and thank you for Read more of this entry »

There’s usually not much to report when I get into the office at the crack of dawn, but today was an exception: someone apparently tried to blow up the Armed Forces Recruiting Station in Times Square around 4 a.m. No one was hurt in the small explosion, but the NYPD shut down a six-block area of the busy Manhattan crossroads to investigate with bomb-sniffing dogs.

Interesting situation, especially if it turns out an anti-war group is somehow involved. Then again, maybe it’s just coincidence that the target was a military recruiting station – New York certainly has its share of troubled souls who commit irrational crimes.

What do you think?

According to this story, the Times Square recruiting station has been a part of New York City since 1946. In 1950, Borough President Robert Wagner granted the Armed Forces indefinite use of the land free Read more of this entry »

The late comedian Bob Hope will always be remembered by veterans for his wildly popular USO shows that brought the troops a little glimpse of home while they were far, far away.

This generation of soldiers won’t see Bob, but according to this story in the Stars & Stripes, troops in Kuwait are getting a visit from Jessica Simpson, the Pussycat Dolls and other contemporary performers in a show that’s sponsored by MySpace website, which will webcast it live.

Did any of you who served in Vietnam, Korea or other overseas hot spots ever get a chance to see Bob Hope or any of the other USO shows? I remember watching one of the Vietnam Christmas specials on TV with my brothers and sisters, while my mom kept telling us to “look for daddy, look for daddy.’’

We never did pick him out from all the GIs in the crowd shots, but a few weeks later my Dad mentioned in a letter that he’d seen Bob Hope.

What do you remember about the shows you saw?