Small Town Veteran: Some sample HEROES Act letters

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2005.01.21

Some sample HEROES Act letters
Having trouble getting started on those letters to your Senators and Congressmen encouraging them to support the HEROES Act? Would some sample letters help?

An aside first: Due to tightened security after the anthrax scare, snail-mail to Congress takes lot longer to get there than you probably realize. I recommend using email instead of, or in addition to, sending a traditional dead-tree letter.

Russ Vaughn was kind enough to provide me with a copy of the letter he sent to one of his Senators:
Dear Senator Hutchison,

It is my understanding that Senators Lieberman and Sessions will introduce legislation January 24th intended to correct the grievous financial injustice that families of fallen American warriors have endured for decades. This legislation, Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act, is long overdue. If the United States government can see fit to award millions of dollars in death benefits to the families of 9/11 victims, then the parsimonious payments made to our military survivor families become ludicrous by comparison. This injustice must end.

Texas veterans and our extensive Texas active duty, reserve, and National Guard forces expect nothing less than your full support for the quick passage of this measure. Your role in its passage will be foremost in our minds when you embark on your next electoral effort.

Sincerely,

Russ Vaughn
Lakehills, TX
I hadn't gotten around to writing my Senators yet, but but after I saw Russ's letter I decided I'd put it off long enough. Neither of my Senators provides the public with an email address, but both provide forms on their web sites for "mailing" them messages. As you can see, I borrowed a few words from Russ and added some of my own. My message to Senator Barack Obama:

Senator Obama,

I am writing to encourage you to lend your support to passing the Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act, which is being sponsored in the Senate by Senators Lieberman and Sessions. This act is needed to correct the grievous financial injustice that families of fallen American military personnel have endured for decades.

To be perfectly open and honest, sir, I should tell you I voted against you in the last election. On the other hand, if the way you handled yourself in the recent confirmation hearings is a good predictor of your future behavior, I may very well vote for you at the next opportunity (assuming of course your aren’t running against Dr. Rice 4 years from now.) I’ve also noticed in the news, and appreciated the fact, that you are making an effort to see that the VA starts taking better care of Illinois veterans. This is a perfect opportunity to prove to the people of Illinois that you care about our current military personnel and their families as well. We’ll be paying attention.

Regards,
Bill Faith
USAF 1970-1974
I sent a much shorter version of the same letter to Senator Richard Durbin, then forgot to save a copy of it. My message to Congressman Timothy Johnson:
Congressman Johnson,

I am writing to encourage you to lend your support to passing the Honoring Every Requirement of Exemplary Service (HEROES) Act, which is being sponsored in the House by Congressman Terry Everett of Alabama and in the Senate by Senators Lieberman and Sessions. This act is needed to correct the grievous financial injustice that families of fallen American military personnel have endured for decades. This is a perfect opportunity to prove that you care about our military personnel and their families, including the National Guard unit from Lawrenceville that is currently preparing for deployment to Iraq. We’ll be paying attention.

Regards,
Bill Faith
USAF 1970-1974
It's really not that hard. Now get busy!

Posted by Bill Faith on January 21, 2005 at 11:48 PM in Brianna | Permalink

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Note: I hate to have to do it but I'm turning on comment and trackback moderation. If you post a legitimate trackback or comment I'll do my best not to be too slow about approving it. If the only reason you're here is to advertise your porn, music, or penis enhancement site you can kiss my sweet ass.

I really like Barack Obama. Saw him on Oprah, read a few chapters of his book, and saw his speech at the DNC. But that's about it. I'm not all that well informed about him yet, but I like what I have seen so far. I'd be curious to know why you voted against him if you think we can discuss it civilly. :)
Posted by: Heather | Jan 22, 2005 11:32:56 AM
THANK YOU! I have been meaning to write for a week, and your sample letters are a good starting point. BTW, District VFW meeting this weekend. This WILL be brought up.
Posted by: Marty Fay | Jan 24, 2005 9:31:07 AM
I thought my wife's friends son's letter was just awesome. I sent the request out to all im my address book and she forwarded this back to me......

Karl and Rachel ~
I thought you would be interested in Brent's response to one of your e-mails. Thanks for all you do you have affected a young American and I just happen to be lucky enough to be his Mom!

Anne K.
---------------------- Forwarded Message: ---------------------
From: bak...
Subject: Email I sent to Specter and Santorum about HEROES Act
Date: Mon, 24 Jan 2005 20:33:24 +0000

>>===== Original Message From bak...=====
Dear Sirs,
My name is Brent K. and I am a 19-year old voting Republican from your home state of Pennsylvania. I am also attending Syracuse University and am an active member of our Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps here on campus. I am writing to you gentlemen today to implore you to support the HEROES Act, so that the young men and women with whom I train daily for futures in service of our great nation can rest assured; knowing that should the worst happen, their families will be provided for and compensated. When a soldier dies in combat, the customary letter sent to his or her family includes the clause "thanks of a grateful nation," and I am asking you gentlemen to show our nation's gratitude to the brave men and women who are making the ultimate sacrifice in preservation of the freedoms that we all enjoy and that so many of our fathers have died to protect. I realize that one E-mail from a college student will probably not have a very profound effect on your positions about this legislation. But I am doing all that I can at this point in time to support my friends and future brothers and sisters-in-arms by asking you to please support this Act. Thank you in advance for reading and considering what I have to say, and please when you go to vote on this Act, think of me and the thousands of other young men and women like me who will be putting their lives on the line to protect you and your families in the coming months. If you consider those soldiers and the sacrifices that they and their families will have to make for your freedom and can still find it possible to vote the other way, then I am greatly saddened for our state and our nation. Thank you again for your time and may God bless America.

Sincerely,
Brent K.
Cadet, Syracuse University Army ROTC

[BF note: I've edited this comment to remove this young man's last name and email address to protect his privacy. I'm also going to turn this comment into a new blog post after bit, as I consider the letter an excellent example that I hope others will learn from.]
Posted by: Karl | Jan 28, 2005 2:43:00 PM

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