[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 167 (Wednesday, December 5, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12449-S12450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KENNEDY (for himself and Mr. McCain):
  S. 1767. A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide 
that certain service in the American Field Service ambulance corps 
shall be considered active duty for the purposes of all laws 
administered by the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, it's a privilege to join Senator McCain 
in introducing the American Field Service Recognition Act to correct 
the long-standing injustice suffered by these courageous World War II 
veterans who saved the lives of so many American and Allied service 
members, but who have long been denied the veterans benefits that they 
need and deserve.
  The American Field Service was a corps of nearly 2200 Americans, who 
drove ambulances into combat zones where American and Allied troops 
fought between 1939 and 1945. Twenty-seven were killed, seventy-one 
were wounded, and at least twenty-three were captured during that time.
  The AFS members were volunteers who wanted to contribute to the war 
effort, but many were ineligible for service in the U.S. Armed Forces 
because of their age or their physical disability. The AFS received 
substantial support from the American government and its personnel were 
assigned in the theaters of North Africa, Western Europe, and India-
Burma. During the war, the AFS evacuated approximately 700,000 wounded 
on these fronts.
  Their application under a 1970's law for veterans' benefits was 
finally, but only partially, approved in 1990. The request for 
eligibility was that each AFS driver must have served under direct U.S. 
Army command during prescribed periods of time. The result was to 
exclude AFS drivers who served in France and North Africa before 
January 1943, half of the drivers who served in Italy, and all who 
served in the India-Burma Theater. Overall, because of this narrow 
interpretation of the law, fifty percent of the drivers who served 
under fire were denied benefits given to other drivers who served in 
other combat regions.
  Sadly, AFS drivers are passing away at an increasingly rapid rate. 
There are currently 631 living drivers from World War II on the AFS 
roster, and 198 of them are still ineligible for benefits, including 
six who have recently passed away without access to VA medical care. 
Clearly, these courageous veterans, such as Clifford Bissler of Stuart, 
FL, who lost a leg and received two Purple Hearts for his service in 
the India-Burma Theater, deserve the help and recognition that this 
legislation will bring.

[[Page S12450]]

  In 1943, President Roosevelt wrote to the leader of AFS and said of 
the drivers, ``In serving our allies, they serve America.'' It is long, 
long past time for Congress to finally recognize the contributions of 
all of these dedicated Americans who served during World War II, 
granting them the veteran's benefits and assistance that they very much 
need and deserve. If you would like to cosponsor this bill, please 
contact us or have your staff contact Duane Seward at 224-2008.
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