Deputy's name put on D.C. memorial
The name of an Arkansan has been added to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.
James Edward Robbins, a deputy sheriff in Crittenden County, was shot on June 9, 1944, while responding to a dispute over the sale of some peaches, according to news reports at the time.
The 49-year-old lawman died in a Memphis hospital three days later, leaving a wife, a son and five brothers, news reports stated.
Robbins' alleged assailant, John Brooks, fled into the woods but was eventually tracked down by a posse with the help of bloodhounds.
He died in a shootout with his pursuers, but not before gunning down one of their horses.
It was "one of the largest man-hunts in Arkansas in many years," the Arkansas Gazette reported.
Robbins was one of 371 law enforcement officials whose names were added this year to the memorial in downtown Washington, D.C. Of those, 158 died in the line of duty in 2018. Another 213 perished in previous years, but their names had been omitted until now.
Last week's event coincided with National Police Week.
Each of the 371 names was read aloud during a ceremony that was attended by thousands of people, including many in uniform.
The number of names on the wall is approaching 22,000; the oldest death honored is from 1786.
Bills aim to aid vets injured by herbicide
Members of the Arkansas congressional delegation have reintroduced legislation aiding veterans who were exposed to toxic herbicides while serving in Thailand.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, a Republican from Rogers, introduced the Senate version earlier this month. U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs, filed similar legislation in the House last month. U.S. Rep. French Hill, a Republican from Little Rock, is one of the House bill's co-sponsors.
Currently, veterans who worked along or near their bases' perimeter can present evidence that they are ill as a result of exposure to Agent Orange.
The powerful herbicide and defoliant was used at seven U.S. bases in Thailand during the Vietnam War era, the military acknowledges.
But service members who weren't stationed near the perimeters are prevented from making their cases.
That would change if Boozman's bill becomes law.
Once there is a "presumption of service connection," between a disease and exposure to deadly herbicides, the presumption would apply "without regard to where on the base the veteran was located or what military job specialty the veteran performed," it states.
Lawmakers introduced the legislation after hearing from Bill Rhodes, a Mena man who blames his long list of illnesses on exposure to Agent Orange in 1973 while serving in Thailand.
The bill has been endorsed by officials with the group Disabled American Veterans. Veterans of Foreign Wars officials have also favored widening the presumption.
Westerman filed separate legislation last month, aimed at helping sick Vietnam veterans who helped store and transport defoliating chemicals.
If approved, the "presumption of service connection" for these veterans would be expanded to include those suffering from urinary, bladder or prostate cancer, hypothyroidism, hypertension, Parkinson's disease or one of four other maladies.
Board at academy taps Womack again
Members of the U.S. Military Academy's board of visitors have elected U.S. Rep. Steve Womack as chairman for the third-straight year, keeping him in the post he has held since 2017.
The panel, under federal law, keeps track of West Point's "morale and discipline, curriculum, instruction, physical equipment, fiscal affairs, academic methods, and other matters."
Based along the Hudson River, 50 miles north of New York City, West Point is "the oldest continuously occupied military post in America," officials say.
It is also the nation's oldest service academy.
Womack, a Republican from Rogers, served 30 years in the Arkansas Army National Guard, retiring as a colonel in 2009. He is also former executive director of the University of Arkansas' Army ROTC program,
His brother, Jim, is a 1977 West Point graduate.
"I'm kind of awestruck by the opportunity to even be on the board, much less serve as its chair for a third consecutive year," Womack said. "That is the pre-eminent leadership development institute, really, on the planet."
On trips to campus, he's able to meet with Arkansans who are studying there. He's also able to enjoy the nation's premiere service academy football team, he said.
The past two years, the West Point Black Knights have won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, after beating Navy and Air Force.
Womack, who attended the trophy presentation at the White House earlier this month, said he's already looking forward to this year's season.
"[We] hope that we can go and have a three-peat," he added.
Planning to visit the nation's capital? Know something happening in Washington, D.C.? Please contact Frank Lockwood at (202) 662-7690 or flockwood@arkansasonline.com. Want the latest from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's Washington bureau? It's available on Twitter, @LockwoodFrank.
SundayMonday on 05/19/2019