Michigan-Related Projects in National Defense Authorization Act

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100% Disabled Veterans and Unremarried Surviving Spouse: Michigan Property Tax Exemption

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Affidavit Required in December I n late 2013 the state legislature and the governor enacted Public Act 161 of 2013, the Disabled Veterans Exemption.  This act gives qualifying disabled veterans or their unremarried surviving spouses a property tax exemption for their primary residence in Michigan.  For some qualifying veterans, not having to pay their property taxes could mean the difference of staying in their current home or having to move. Summary of Benefits The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will be mailing out to all veterans who receive benefits their ‘summary of benefits’ letter in the month of November and December.  The veteran will need that summary along with Michigan Treasury Form 5107.   The surviving unremarried spouse will need to provide the last summary of benefits letter or other documentation showing the qualifying veterans status at time of death and Form 5107. To Be Done Annually Every city tax assessor may have a diffe...
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#Veterans Day Editorial: War, Sacrifice and America's Veterans

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War, Sacrifice and America's Veterans By Dale  Barnett While we can all rejoice this Veterans Day that the steady flow of U.S. casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan has slowed to a trickle, we must never forget the incredible sacrifice that America's defenders continue to make on our behalf. Such is the case of Master Sergeant Joshua Wheeler, who died leading a Delta Force rescue mission of ISIS hostages held in Iraq on Oct. 22.  A veteran of 14 combat deployments, his sacrifice is shared by four boys who are now fatherless and his wife, who became a widow far too early. But another important part of his legacy are the 70 hostages who were spared brutal executions by an enemy that is as ruthless as any that America has faced. The willingness to face pain and death so others can be spared isn't unique to just the fallen.  Consider the case of two American veterans and their longtime friend when they bravely stopped a terrorist attack aboard a train bound...
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#AmericanLegion prevails in legal defense of Bladensburg Memorial Cross

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE American Legion prevails in legal defense of Bladensburg Memorial Cross INDIANAPOLIS (December 3, 2015) -- American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett expressed support for a U.S. District judge's ruling this week that dismissed a lawsuit that sought to remove a cross that overlooks a war memorial monument in Bladensburg, Md.  A plaque at the memorial site explains that the "Memorial Cross [is] Dedicated to the heroes of Prince George's County Maryland who lost their lives in the Great War for the liberty of the world."   Judge Deborah K. Chasanow's 36-page opinion cites "the nature, context, and history" of the monument before concluding that "the location [of the cross] among the other monuments of Veterans Memorial Park underscores its secular and commemorative nature. In addition, the Monument has gone unchallenged for decades."   "I am delighted that the court recognizes what The American Le...
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