Construction of USS Arizona memorial on UA campus underway
Construction of a privately funded memorial honoring the U.S. service members who died aboard the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is underway on the University of Arizona campus in Tucson.
KGUN-TV reports that officials say the project should be completed in time for a Dec. 4 ceremony, three days before the anniversary of the Dec. 7, 1941 Pearl Harbor attack in which more than 2,400 sailors, Marines and soldiers were killed.
The memorial honors the 1,177 service members who died on the battleship. The memorial will include bronze medallions inscribed with their names and an outline of the warship’s deck.
The memorial will complement artifacts located at the Student Union, including a bell from the ship.
There’s already a USS Arizona memorial in Pearl Harbor. AP
Pence promises veterans Trump will reform VA health care
Vice President-elect Mike Pence promised military veterans that he and Donald Trump will reform the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs health system, telling them Nov. 11 that their medical care is part of the compensation for their service.
Speaking during an outdoor Veterans Day ceremony at the Indiana National Guard’s Camp Atterbury south of Indianapolis, the governor did not address his new role leading Trump’s transition team and his only mention of the president-elect was to reassure his audience he and Trump are committed to improving the VA’s delivery of health benefits. Pence did not take questions and reporters were kept at a distance.
“Help is on the way,” he told veterans, their families, active soldiers and others as brisk winds caused the flags behind to wave.
It was a message that retired hospital administrator and Navy veteran Joseph Durbin of Henry County, Ky., came to hear.
“When you see people with the arms and legs missing, the amount of suicides every day … we need to do something for our veterans,” said Durbin, 64.
Unofficial or secret lists have been used at VA facilities across the country to hide lengthy delays in care for veterans. It led Congress to fund the Veterans Choice program, which allows veterans to seek private care at the government’s expense if they have waited 30 days or longer.
Pence also spoke of the “non-physical” scars of many veterans. He said his father returned home from combat in Korea a changed man with medals that were not displayed but hidden away in a drawer. The governor, who is also the father of a Marine officer, praised the work of Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana in getting legislation passed to improve the mental health care of veterans and members of the military.
“We owe a debt we can never fully repay,” Pence told the veterans. AP