European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 25, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes . Sunday july 25,1993 revised War Date aids Vietnam vets by the new York times Albany . In new York state America longest War jus got longer. On thursday gov. Mario m. Cuomo signed legis lation that establishes dec. 22, 1961, As the beginning of . Involvement in the Vietnam War making a array of state veterans benefits available to As Many As 25,000 additional state residents. In new York state the benefits include preferential treatment on civil service exams added civil service Job protections College tuition Aid and reduced property taxes. Just How much this will Cost is undetermined the new Date is one year earlier than the Date previously recognized by the state and More than two years earlier than the one established by Congress in 1975. Out in revising history even so slightly Cuomo Andt Lic state legislature thrust themselves into a thorny debate that reflects the Complex attitudes americans hold regarding the undeclared War. Just when did America become a combatant puerto Picans consider shift to statehood a is my colleagues know August 5,1964, is a rather arbitrary Choice for the Start of the Vietnam War. Clearly . Servicemen were involved years earlier sen Alfonso m. D Amato the american legion Marks dec. 22, 1961, As the beginning of the War largely because president Kennedy issued medals for hostile action service to service members in Vietnam on or after that Day. But the Federal department of veterans affairs uses aug. 5,1964, for determining whether veterans Are Eli Gible for special wartime benefits. That is the Day con Gress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution giving the president almost unbridled authority to use military Atlantic by Felix Jimenez the associated press san Juan puerto Rico puerto Rico planned to observe the 41st anniversary of Commonwealth status today As people contemplated trading that in for statehood. Since becoming a . Commonwealth puerto Rico has grown from a poor agrarian based society to a modern industrialized Island with modern prob lems such As pollution and drugs. Gov. Pedro Rossello Riding a wave of support to make puerto Rico the 51st . State wants to Shelve the delicate Compromise Between Washington and its biggest and most populous overseas pos session. He has scheduled a plebiscite vote nov. 14, and polls say statehood for the first time is favored Over Commonwealth. The Campaign which Rossello began july 4, is galvanizing both statehood and Independence forces at the expense of Commonwealth said Manuel Rodriguez Orillana the Independence party s elec toral commissioner. " the vote will provoke a further col lapse of the Center said Rodriguez Orellana who refers to puerto Rico under Commonwealth status As a Colony by  even among Commonwealth partisans the desire to transform the Island s cur ref political formula is Strong. Planning to share the stage with Salsa bands and Baton twirlers at a rally set for today in the Central City of Caguas pro Commonwealth politicians were to publicize their latest platform one that will appear on the ballot of puerto Rico s first status plebiscite in 26 years. Commonwealth resoundingly won the Only previous plebiscite in 1967. The platform released wednesday states that Commonwealth status Guaran tees the  of . Citizenship common Market and common defense with the United states fiscal autonomy for the Island representation in International sports events and the full development of our puerto rican cultural  it adds under Commonwealth we Are puerto Picans  under the Commonwealth system the 3.8 million islanders Are . Citizens but cannot vote for president or members of Congress. Puerto Picans do not pay Federal taxes puerto Rico has maintained an unusual relationship with the United states since its capture in the 1898 Spanish american War. Cuba 100 Jamaica Caribbean sea the vote the 3.8 million residents in puerto Rico cannot vote in presidential elections a right allowed to eligible voters among the 2.6 million puerto Picans living in the . Mainland. However they participate in presidential primaries. Before the Island s capture by . Troops in 1898, puerto Rico had 20 fully voting members of the Spanish parliament. Now its people have one congressman with limited voting Powers in Washington. H admitted into the Union puerto Rico would have at least six fully voting House representatives and two senators. Taxes puerto Picans pay no Federal taxes although their Commonwealth tax rate is higher than Many states combined Federal state to bite. Citizenship puerto Picans have been american citizens since 1917. Language nearly All islanders speak Spanish. English and Spanish Are official languages. Sports and culture puerto Rico Fields its own olympic teams and Beauty pageant contestants. This year puerto rican Dayanara Torres is miss universe. Access to Federal government since an executive order by president Kennedy the top Federal official for puerto Rico has come from the White House staff. The top . Government official for the . Virgin islands and the Pacific territories is an assistant Interior department Secretary. Commonwealth under a 1952 agreement with Washington puerto Rico has considerable autonomy in local government but has a relationship closer than other . Territories. Washington remains committed to economic development of the Island although the Clinton administration is now seeking to Cut a tax break to . Companies that set up puerto rican subsidiaries. More than $8 billion in Federal Transfer funds flow into puerto Rico each year. Souter a but their local taxes Are often much higher than Many states combined Federal and state tax bite. Rossello says the 1952 Commonwealth agreement hailed at the time merely legislated limbo. With statehood hear gues puerto Picans could maintain their unique identity but get equal treatment from Washington and shed the common wealth status and its institutionalized vague connection Between puerto Rico and Mainland America. However Commonwealth and Independence leaders believe that statehood even if it wins a majority in the plebiscite will not get serious consideration by the . Congress. If statehood wins its proponents plan a civil rights Battle to pressure . Law makers to admit puerto Rico into the Union. Congress last approved new states in 1959 Alaska and Hawaii. Sas Pater Jaeger no official . Pledge to Advance the results of the plebiscite has been secured but president Clinton said tuesday that whatever puerto Picans want i will sup  Clinton s nod to puerto Rico s self de termination has been met with optimism by islanders. Rossello quickly lauded the president for welcoming  under Commonwealth status puerto Rico still grapples with an unemployment rate of 17.1 percent and a reported per capita income about half that of missis Sippi s the poorest . State. It has the nation s highest murder rate and is second Only to Washington d.c., in the rate of aids cases. Dependency on Federal social pro Grams such As food Stamps has grown. And the Clinton administration is hoping to Cut an economic underpinning of the Commonwealth position a tax break to Mainland companies that set up subsidiaries in puerto Rico. Force in Vietnam. The american legion and its supporters argue that hundreds of thousands of Vietnam veterans nationwide have been denied benefits and recognition because they served just before aug. 5,1964, even though they were often in As much danger As those who served later. As my colleagues know August 5,1964, is a rather arbitrary Choice for the Start of the Vietnam War said sen. Alfonso m. D Amato r-., when he introduced legislation earlier this year to set dec. 22,1961, As the Start of the War. Clearly . Servicemen were involved years  but just How much earlier is a question few historians agree on. It was Clear however that americans were dying i Vietnam Long before aug. 5, 1964. Between 1961 and 1964,110 americans were killed in action according to the department of defense. By the end of 1963, there were 16,300 . Military personnel stationed in Viet Nam up from 3,200 at the end of 1961. Book fees tales of Crooks who never got away Washington a John Dillinger Ai Capone Bonnie and Clyde when it comes to crime their exploits Are legendary. But what about Gary Leonard who left a completed loan application on the counter of a Bank he just robbed or Gregory Rosa suspected of robbing vending machines who paid his bail in quarters Leonard and Rosa Are just two of Doz ens of would be outlaws celebrated in America s least competent criminals a new Book about bungles in crime. Take Lee Hardyman who twice got so carried away playing Nintendo in Homes he had broken into that he was still engrossed when the owners came Home. Or Kharl Fulton who appeared on National television As a contestant on the Price is right while he was hiding out from police m a drug Case. And How about Bruce Damon who told the Teller he was holding up at a Massachusetts Bank that he wanted a Check not Cash he was arrested when he went to Cash the Check at a nearby Bank. Some of the craziest schemes Are repeated All Over the country such As the burglars who Fry to squeeze their Way into buildings through chimneys or vents and end up getting stuck often hanging upside Down. Or the getaway car Drivers who decide to have the cars washed while they Are waiting. The Book s author Chuck Shepherd has made a career of collecting strange stories such As these from newspapers All Over the country. His weekly column of strange titbits news of the weird runs in 220 newspapers. He said Many of the True crime stories in the Book come from newspaper clip pings sent in by fans of his columns. Andin the Book s introduction he includes his address and promises to Send a thank you note to anyone who sends in a Good tale. I be always thought True stories Are much More interesting than made up ones Shepherd said. The truth really can be stranger than  included in the Book s 139 pages Are some hard to believe True stories fro the 82-year-old Man who robbed a Bank and then tried to get away on a bicycle tothe two criminals who hopped a barbed wire Fence to get away from police an found themselves in the san Quentin prison Yard near san Francisco. The Book in t a lofty Tome Shepherd said it s perfect bathroom Reading. It s also Good for those who Sony too much about the dangerous world they live in. If these criminals were smarter we d have a lot More to fear he said