St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1946-08-09
Dear Joe
By JAMES L. HICKS

The National Association for the
Advancement Of Colored People
and the National Urban League
have announced repeatedly that
they are out to help the veteran.
But neither the NAACP nor the
Urban League has a national serv-
ice officer-and the Veterans Ad-
ministration says that the best way
non-governmental agency can
serve a veteran is through having
its own national service officer.
The American Legion, the Vet
Grams of Foreign Wars, the Dis
abled Veterans of America and the
Military Order Of the Purple Heart
all have long since realized that
in order to really help a veteran
they must have a national service
officer.
A national service officer is an
individual hired by a national or
ganization to look after the affairs
Of its veterans.
He is trained in all the rules and
regulations of the Veterans Ad-
ministratiOn and knows all its laws
affecting veterans. When properly
accredited he can walk in the office
Of any Veteran Administration IA
cility and demand to see the records
Of any veteran on file in the facility.
Although he is not an employee
Of the government he is authorized
to do these things by the Veterans
Administration, and the national
service officers of the several vet
Grams organizations are doing them
daily in the interest Of members
of their organizations.
In addition to being able to walk
in and examine the records for
themselves and thereby expedite
cases for veterans belonging to
their organizations, these national
service officers are paid $50 a
month by the Veterans Admins
tration under the on-the- job train
ing program plus the salary they
receive from their organizations.
But colored veterans are not able
to benefit by this service because
there is no colored organization in
the nation which has a national
service officer.
Jesse o. DedmOn, veterans
secretary for the NAACP, and
julius Thomas, who handles vet
Grams affairs for the National
Urban League, are both good
men, but neither of them dares
to walk into a Veterans Admin
istratiOn office and examine the
record of a veteran because they
are not accredited national serv-
ice officers.
The Importance Of being able to
examine the records need not be
raised here. But no one can keep
down the question: Why doesn't
the NAACP and the Urban League
have national service officers in
their branch offices2
That is a question which these
organizations themselves must
answer, but here is the answer as
to how they both can go about
getting such officers and have them
approved by the VA for on-the-j job
training:
At American University in Wash
ington, d. c., a blitz course is
taught especially for national serv-
ice officers. Enrollees in this course
are taught all there is to know
about helping vets with their prob
lens.
The VA said last Tuesday that
there is no reason why a school
like Atlanta University or some
similar school cannot set up the
same type of blitz course for ma
tional service officers. There is
nothing to stop colored veterans
from attending the course at Am
erican University.
The only need is a place for them
to use the knowledge they are
taught.
The NAACP and the National
Urban League could select veterans
to attend the American University
blitZ course and become trained ma
tiOnal service officers or they could
persuade some other school to Of
fer the same course.
Al any SNNANp al sA@ AAOANLa NAAAAG
they could place a number Of well
trained qualified veterans in their
branch offices over the nation who
would not only render a valuable
service to the colored veteran but
be a definite credit to the organi-
zations.
The muddled situation in which
the eOlOred veteran finds him
self clearly indicates that the
NAACP, the Urban League and
all other national eOlOred Organi-
nations are badly in need Of some
such trained personnel to assist
in handling eOlOred veterans af-
fairs.
1t appears that here is a way tC
get it.