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Rich Liebson grew up on military bases in the U.S. and Germany as the son of an Air Force master sergeant. After serving four years in the U.S. Army he was hired as a part-time reporter in 1983 and promoted to full-time in 1985. He's had a number of beats over the years including education, municipal government and public safety. He's also been a columnist and city editor for central Westchester. Rich lives in White Plains.
E-mail Rich Liebson at rliebson@lohud.com
I'll be on vacation until Sept. 2, so loyal At Ease! readers will have to carry on without me until then.
Coincidentally, Sept. 2 is the anniversary of the formal surrender ceremony of Japanese forces, marking the official end of World War II.
Even more coincidentally, today is the anniversary of the actual Japanese surrender, known as [...]
Westchester County plans to offer free admision to county parks and swimming pools as well as free rides at Playland for the families of service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Families with a parent serving in either war zone can receive a one-year pass from date of issue entitling them to free admission to pools [...]
Veterans for Common Sense, a non-profit group of war veterans who speak out on issues affecting service members, claims that wounded soldiers in Veterans Administration hospitals and homeless vets living in VA shelters are being prevented from voting in this year's presidential election because the VA won't allow voter registration drives in its facilities.
"This needs [...]
Westchester Chapter 49 of the Vietnam Veterans of America has started an online petition demanding that the Veterans Administration adopt the "Veterans Village" concept for the VA property surrounding the veterans hospital at Montrose.
The move comes after a raucous public hearing last month on VA plans to offer a 75-year lease of the valuable Hudson [...]
Bronxville resident J. Robert Lunney, a Navy veteran of World War II who served in the Merchant Marines during the Korean War, is heading to South Korea next week to celebrate National Liberation Day and the 60th anniversary of the Republic of Korea, at the invitation of the government in Seoul.
Lunney served as executive officer [...]
WVOX radio will host a call-in from sailors aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln tomorrow during its "Veterans Radio Segment" at 8:35 a.m. Two local sailors will be on air to thank Girl Scouts for boxes of cookies received by each of the 5,000 crew members on the Abraham Lincoln, which is currently deployed in the [...]
I've interviewed World War II and Korean veterans who still have combat nightmares, and I know that my dad never slept through the night again after he came home from Vietnam.
I remember being on guard duty in Germany once when we were having bridge training, and our first sergeant, who'd been in Vietnam, woke up [...]
PT 728, a restored World War II PT boat, will dock at Peekskill Riverfront Green Park as part of the 12th annual Peekskill Celebration tomorrow.
PT boats were made famous because of John F. Kennedy's service aboard PT 109 during the war. PT 728's Peekskill stop is the first in its "Profiles in Courage Tour." The [...]
Six decades after shedding their blood under the American flag, Filipino veterans of World War II are hoping that the U.S. will finally recognize their sacrifices by awarding them veterans benefits, according to this story from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
"Tens of thousands gave their lives. Many underwent indescribable hardship and torture. Thousands fell in the [...]
If you're at all interested in the future of the Montrose VA hospital grounds, you want to try and get over there tomorrow (Tuesday) evening, when the VA is expected to announce that it will seek proposals for developing the pristine Hudson River property.
Apparently, the VA has decided not to embrace Westchester County's "Veterans Village" [...]
An increase in the number of veterans returning to college has prompted SUNY Rockland Community College to expand its services for former service members.
Veterans thinking about enrolling full or part time can meet with a Veterans Counselor who will tell them about federal and state education benefits they may qualify for and help them apply [...]
Westchester Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 49 will be holding a food drive Saturday to help stock the food pantry at the VA hospital in Montrose.
Volunteers will be setting up a table at the White Plains Super Stop & Shop, 154 Westchester Ave. from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to ask for and accept donations. [...]
It won't get you into the commissary or PX but if you need or may need VA medical benefits you'll also need a Veterans ID card. If you live in Westchester you can get one on Thursday (July 24) when the county's Veterans Service Agency holds its monthly "Veterans Registration Day."
Just bring your discharge papers [...]
Pentagon recruiting experts who just a few months ago said the new GI Bill with greatly enhanced education benefits would drive down retention rates are now predicting that the number and quality of young people will rise thanks to those benefits.
"It is a very attractive incentive package, there's no question about that. So individuals will [...]
I took a ride up to Camp Smith in Peekskill today to check out the New York Guard as they finish up their annual summer training.
The Guard is a pretty unique organization, made up of unpaid volunteers who augment the state's Army National Guard force. It's filled with veterans of all services and backgrounds. Most [...]
"At Ease!" is a place for Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine and Coast Guard veterans to share their experiences and voice their opinions. It doesn't matter if you served during war or peacetime, overseas or stateside, active duty or reserves, as a draftee or volunteer - if you served in uniform, this is the place for you.
We'll let you know about interesting military and veterans stories we find, issues that might affect you, and local veterans events you might want to attend.
If you're a member of a veterans organization in the Lower Hudson Valley, let us know about your events, charity efforts and other news. We may also ask for your help in finding sources to interview for veterans stories in The Journal News and LoHud.com.
Rich Liebson is a "military brat" who grew up on bases in the U.S. and Germany during his father's 23-year career as an Air Force enlisted man. Rich enlisted in the Army in 1976 and until his discharge in 1980 was assigned to the 78th Engineer Battalion in Ettlingen, Germany, as a public information specialist and translator. He's been a reporter at The Journal News and its forerunner, the Reporter Dispatch, for more than 20 years. During that time he's covered a variety of beats and has written frequently about veterans and veterans issues.
Hema Easley was born and raised in India, where she worked as a reporter for The Associated Press and United Press International. While in India she wrote about the insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir and covered the 1999 India-Pakistan conflict in the mountains of Kashmir. She joined The Journal News in 2002. She has covered municipal government in Westchester and now covers on social services in Rockland as well as military issues.
Copyright ©2007 The Journal News, a Gannett Co. Inc. newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York.
