http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/76088.html?storylink=omni_popular
In a National hour of need, these men "gave their all". Most of us were not even born yet. Perhaps had they not been there the circumstances of our births might possibly have been different. But we'll never know because they were there, making sure our borders were safe. They gave their word, and lived by it, to do the right thing for our country and now they need our country to stand by it's word and honor our commitment to them for services rendered.
This is not a bailout or charity, this is a privilege we give to all the men and women that serve this country and it is rightly deserved.
Can this country be in such a dire need of revenue that we must change the rules this late in the ballgame for them, and strip them of their pensions?
In a strongly worded message to Congress outlining its priorities for a military spending bill, the Obama administration today said it disapproved of including money for pensions for 26 elderly members of the World War II-era Alaska Territorial Guard.
The Guardsmen are among those assigned to protect Alaska from the Japanese during World War II.
The Army decided this year to no longer count service in the Guard in calculating the military's 20-year minimum for retirement pay, although it still counts for military benefits. As a result, their pensions were decreased in January.
An estimated 300 members are still living from the original 6,600-member unit formed in 1942 to protect Alaska, then a territory, from attack. The 26 men have enough other military service to reach the 20-year minimum for retirement pay but would lose it if the Territorial Guard service doesn't count.
A Senate military spending bill up for a vote
