The Superintendent of the DeKalb County Veterans Assistance Commission, Tammy Anderson, explained her passion for helping veterans receive their full benefits during this week’s Rotary meeting.  Anderson is a veteran herself.  She served eight years in the Air Force serving first in special investigations with time as a driving instructor (where she taught advanced safety and maneuvering skills) and then serving as a drill instructor.  She said after her discharge she had a bad experience going through the process of accessing her civilian benefits leading to her interest in her current job.  Anderson said the Commission helped bring in $4.4 million in federal funds last year as benefits to area veterans.

 

Anderson said she wants to dispel the myth that claiming veterans benefits takes away potential services from others.  She said each veteran earns the right to their benefits and they deserve the right to receive them.  This includes educational benefits, disability compensation, personal healthcare, burials, lost discharge searches, plus information on other state and federal benefits.  The Commission has resources to help homeless veterans (many suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) but that instances of these locally are low with some people improperly claiming to be veterans when they are not.

 

The DeKalb County Veterans Commission was created through voter approval in 2006.  A total of 51 counties in Illinois have such Commissions.  Those seeking assistance are encouraged to call the Commission office at (815) 756-8129 to schedule an appointment.

February 22, 1732 – George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia.  He served as commander of the Continental Army during the American Revolution and became the first U. S. President.

 

February 23, 1868 – African American educator and leader W. E. B. DuBois is born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.  He was one of the founders of the NAACP in 1909.

 

February 24, 1885 – Admiral Chester Nimitz is born in Fredericksburg, Texas.  He commanded Allied naval, land, and air forces in the South Pacific during World War II and signed the Japanese surrender document on September 2, 1945.

 

February 24, 1846 – American frontiersman “Buffalo Bill” Cody is born in LeClaire, Iowa.  He became world famous through his Wild West show which traveled throughout the U. S. and Europe for 30 years.

February 23, 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris invites three other business acquaintances to a meeting at his office for fellowship and service.  They continue to meet weekly and the group  expands to eventually become today’s Rotary International.

 

February 24, 1582 – Pope Gregory XIII corrected mistakes on the Julian calendar by dropping ten days.  The Gregorian or “New Style” calendar was then adopted by Catholic countries followed gradually by other nations.

 

February 24, 1867 – The U. S. House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson following bitter opposition to his post-Civil War reconstruction policies in the South. The effort to remove him from office failed in the Senate by one vote.

 

February 26, 1848 – The “Manifesto of the Communist Party” is published by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.