By: Dan Meyer
The office hours for the Big Stone County Veterans Service Office are 7:30 am – 4:00 pm Monday through Friday. My office phone number is (320) 839-6398.
This winter has already provided us with extremely heavy snowfall(s) and very icy/slippery roads! Why do a mention this? Because I make “house calls.” If you are unable to visit my office for services, then I will come to you. This will allow me to put in a request to my beautiful wife, Mary, for a new four-wheel drive pickup. Please call me and let’s make an afternoon appointment.
A heart-felt thank you to all our veterans! With the number of veterans requesting services, we are well on our way in making Big Stone County the number one county in Minnesota with respect to the services provided to our veterans and their families.
In other news. Please allow me to assist the families of our deceased veterans in honoring their veteran’s military service to the Unites States of America, the greatest Nation on earth. Call my office and/or stop by, and order a Presidential Memorial Certificate (PMC).
What is a Presidential Memorial Certificate?
A PMC is an engraved paper certificate, signed by the current President, to honor the memory of honorably discharged deceased veterans.
This program was initiated in March 1962 by President John F. Kennedy and has been continued by all subsequent Presidents. Statutory authorization for the program is Section 112, Title 38, of the United States Code.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers the PMC program by preparing the certificates which bear the current President’s signature expressing the country’s grateful recognition of the veteran’s service in the United States Armed Forces.
Eligible recipients include the next of kin and loved ones of honorably discharged veterans. More than one certificate may be provided.
Eligible recipients, or someone acting on their behalf, may apply for a PMC at any VA regional office or by U.S. mail or toll-free fax. Requests cannot be sent via email. Please be sure to enclose a copy of the veteran’s discharge and death certificate to verify eligibility, as they cannot process any request without proof of the honorable military service. Please submit copies only, as they will not return original documents.
Along with the military discharge document and the death certificate, you will need to complete VA Form 40-2047 (Application for Presidential Memorial Certificate). If you would like to apply for a Presidential Memorial Certificate, please stop by my office and I will complete the application, and mail it for you.
It must be mentioned that I will order an extra original certificate for the Big Stone County Veteran’s “Book of Honor.” I’ll be finding a well traveled place in our County Courthouse to permanently display the “Book of Honor.”
Trivia Question Time. Last week’s question was, “What is the oldest American military uniform item in continuous use?” The answer is: The gold buttons on the Marine Corps Dress Blue Uniform.
This week’s question: “What was the name of Hitler’s top female test pilot?” The answer in next week’s article.
Until next week, take care and “Fair Winds and Following Seas!”
Mon Jan 04, 2010 9:31 am
She was also the first person to fly a helicopter --- INSIDE A BUILDING?!? That was in February of 1938. I had no idea helicopters were around in 1938. Or that the Germans were making them. 
Suppose they were still experimental. I had always associated helicopters with the Korean War. Fascinating woman, though a little extreme perhaps. At the end of the war she was in the process of training suicide bomber pilots for Germany (Operation Self Sacrifice). 
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