Army Stops Retiree Pay for Alaskans in World War II Force http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/25/us/25alaska.html?th&emc=th ANCHORAGE (AP) — The Army has decided to cut off retirement pay for veterans of a militia formed to guard the territory of Alaska from the threat of Japanese attack during World War II.
The change means 26 surviving members of the Alaska Territorial Guard — most in their 80s and long retired — will lose up to $557 in monthly retirement pay, a state veterans officer said this week. The payments end Feb. 1. Applications for retirement pay from 37 others have been suspended. The state is pursuing a remedy for “these brave Alaskans, who did so much for the cause of freedom during a time of great national peril,” said Gov. Sarah Palin, the former Republican vice-presidential candidate. The action comes nearly a decade after Congress passed a law qualifying time served in the unpaid guard as active federal service. The Army agreed in 2004 to grant official military discharge certificates to members or their survivors. An Army official said the law was misinterpreted. The law applies to military benefits, including medical benefits, but not to retirement pay, said Lt. Col. Richard McNorton, with the Army’s human resources command in Alexandria, Va. “The focus is to follow the law,” Colonel McNorton said. “We can’t choose whether to follow the law.” The Army does not intend to seek to recoup the past pay, he said. About 300 members are still living from the original 6,600-member unit called up from 1942 to 1947 to scout patrols, build military airstrips and perform other duties. But only a fraction had enough other military service to reach the 20-year requirement for retirement pay. Among those who did is Paul Kiunya, 88, in the western Alaska village of Kipnuk. Mr. Kiunya was 16 when he joined the territorial guard and worked in communications, reporting by radio any unusual noises or the direction of aircraft, including some Japanese planes, that he spotted. “We did not get one cent being in the territorial guard,” he said. “And we worked hard.” Mr. Kiunya, who later put in 22 years in the National Guard and another decade in the Guard reserves, will lose more than $358 a month from his retirement package because of the Army’s decision. “I don’t know why they’re trying to cut the pay. It’s not good for us right now,” he said in an interview by telephone. “It’s not right.” --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
