Joint letter calls for action on earned benefits, missing service members, military honors, Gulf War illness, and toxic exposure research.
SILVER SPRING, MD, UNITED STATES, November 4, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Six national veterans organizations have joined together in calling on President Donald Trump to take executive and legislative action on five longstanding issues affecting veterans and their families.
In a joint letter delivered to the White House ahead of Veterans Day, the organizations urged the President to use the authority of his office to resolve issues that have left veterans and military families waiting years, and in some cases decades, for benefits, recognition, treatment, and answers.
The letter was signed by leaders of AMVETS, the Korean War Veterans Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, The Chosin Few, Veterans Justice Alliance, and Vietnam Veterans of America. David M. Star, brother of Major Richard Star, also signed the letter.
The organizations identified five priorities requiring presidential leadership:
1. Protect earned military retirement benefits. Make passage of the Major Richard Star Act an administration priority, ending the retirement pay offset affecting qualifying combat-disabled veterans whose military careers were cut short by their injuries.
2. Bring America’s missing service members home. Establish annual funding of $250 million for the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), expanding recovery missions, investigations, and identification efforts for the more than 80,000 Americans still unaccounted for from World War II and later conflicts.
3. Protect the integrity of military honors. Strengthen protections against misuse of military decorations, improve fairness in awarding medals for valor, and establish more effective reviews of delayed, denied, or disputed military awards. The organizations also called for presidential support of H.R. 9595, the Sergeant First Class Jorge Otero Barreto Medal of Honor Act, seeking a posthumous Medal of Honor for the highly decorated Vietnam War veteran known as “Sgt. Rock,” including any necessary congressional authorization and expedited review.
4. Address Gulf War illness. Direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure veterans suffering from Gulf War illness receive appropriate medical treatment and fair consideration of disability claims, consistent with protections already established by Congress.
5. Investigate the effects of toxic exposure on veterans’ descendants. Require VA to account for its implementation of existing research requirements and advance studies into the possible health consequences of military toxic exposures for veterans’ children and grandchildren.
“These aren’t new problems, and the veterans and families affected by them have already waited far too long,” said Thomas Burke, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America. “We have an opportunity to make real progress, but it will take leadership, accountability, and a willingness to get things done. That’s what we’re asking of the President.”
The organizations requested a meeting with White House officials and responsible federal departments to establish a plan for addressing these priorities. They also requested a written response within 60 days identifying actions the administration can take immediately and those requiring congressional cooperation.
The letter connects these requests to the nation’s 250th anniversary and the approaching Veterans Day observance.
“As America marks 250 years of independence, Veterans Day provides an opportunity to reaffirm that the nation’s obligations do not end when military service does,” the organizations wrote.
The six organizations emphasized that honoring veterans requires more than recognition and ceremonies. It requires meaningful action on commitments the nation has already made to those who served.
About the Joint Letter
The November 4, 2026, letter was signed by representatives of six veterans organizations: AMVETS, Korean War Veterans Association, Military Order of the Purple Heart, The Chosin Few, Veterans Justice Alliance, and Vietnam Veterans of America, along with David M. Star, brother of Major Richard Star.
See full letter here.
James McCormick
Vietnam Veterans of America
+1 301-585-4000 ext. 111
jmccormick@vva.org
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