Chapter member Linda Moore passed away on October 16, 2026.  

The funeral service for Mrs. Linda Berry Moore is being held at:
•         Location: Hope Lutheran Church
•         Address: 5350 Providence Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23464
•         Date & Time: Monday, November 9, 2026, at 11:00 AM

Following the service, she will be inurned alongside her late husband, John, in the church's columbarium. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Cremation Society of Virginia (Virginia Beach Office).
 

Mr. Loren V. Heckelman, Captain, USN (Ret.)
President, Hampton Roads Chapter
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
www.hrcmoaa.org
(757) 646-6448 
Loren.Heckelman@cox.net
 

VADeed Alert is a free, fraud-alert service --- developed by the Office of the Executive Secretary (OES) and used statewide by circuit court clerks who elect to use this service --- to help stay one step ahead of potential fraud.

On a Saturday October 17th morning, where weather was less than optimum, representatives from the Hampton Roads Chapter Military Officers Association of America (HRCMOAA) and students from Old Dominion University's Army / Navy ROTC Units accompanied by Gloucester High School's JROTC program rendered honors to departing veterans headed to Washington DC for an all day expense paid trip visiting War Memorials made in honor of their service and sacrifices to our nation. 65 veterans accompanied by their Guardians and Old Dominion Honor Flight staff members departed from the American Legion Post #25 in Newport News at 0700.

Prior to being loaded aboard buses Veterans had the opportunity to have a sit down breakfast with students, listen to remarks from Veterans, political leaders and volunteers assigned the watch for Mission #11. 

Veterans were then escorted to buses through a Corridor of Honor where students holding flags paid their respects and were further honored with a Joint Color Guard made up of Old Dominion University Army/Navy ROTC students just prior to loading aboard their respective assigned bus.

Old Dominion Honor Flight is funded 100% by your donations, memorials and corporate gifts - this is how these trips by bus to Washington DC are funded. If you would like to volunteer and be a Guardian for a Veteran on one of these trips just fill out a guardian application on their website. Veterans can also apply for a trip on the Old Dominion Honor Flight website olddominionhonorflight.org.

Watching the connection between Veterans and participating students, where service above self is passed on, has made HRCMOAA proud and honored to be associated with Honor Flight for nearly 20 years. 

The next Old Dominion Honor Flight Mission #12 will take place Saturday April 17, 2027 at the American Legion Post #25, 7609 Marshall Ave., Newport News, VA 23605. Volunteers are asked to muster no later than 0500. Look for further details found on their website.
 

There is a new scam targeting Veterans. The latest tactic involves sending fraudulent postcards claiming you (or your spouse) are entitled to “extra VA benefits” or additional payments, including CHAMPVA, TRICARE, and dental coverage, regardless of a VA disability rating. Don’t fall for it.

These scammers claim to be affiliated with VA. They might instill a sense of urgency, pressuring you to contact them as soon as possible, or within five days. Their goal is to get you to call the number provided. Once you do, they will often use flattery and praise regarding your military service to gain trust. The scammer will attempt to obtain personal identifying information like your Social Security Number, bank account details or other sensitive information.

Never give this information over the phone or on the internet.

VA is monitoring the situation and urges you to remain vigilant against these fraudulent attempts to steal personal identifying information. You can help stop them:

• Refuse to engage.
• Do not call unverified numbers.
• Hang up immediately if you are contacted by unsolicited numbers.

Fellow HRCMOAA members:

At our luncheon on Friday, June 26, 2026, we had a brief presentation from retired Navy senior chief gunners mate, Virgil Hart, chairman of the City of Virginia Beach Mayor’s Committee for Veterans and Ms. Terri Campbell, a Gold Star Mother and the vice chair of the Gold Star Family Member Mentor Committee. Gold Star Family Member Mentors are family members of fallen service members who serve in a mentoring or support role for other Gold Star families, providing peer support, guidance, and outreach to Gold Star families and newly bereaved members.  The American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. is one of the nation's oldest veterans service organizations. It was founded in 1928 by Grace Darling Seibold after the death of her son, Lt. George Vaughn Seibold, in World War I. Its purpose is to bring together mothers who have lost a son or daughter in military service and to transform grief into service and support for others.

Mr. Hart and Ms. Campbell provided a brief presentation on the Gold Star Mothers organization and introduced their local initiative to build a Gold Star Mothers Memorial in Virginia Beach near the Tidewater Veterans Memorial at the waterfront.  They provided information in their presentation about how anyone interested can contribute a donation to the memorial project.

The presentation is available by clicking on the Gold Star above. 

Contributions should be made payable to the Woody Williams Foundation or WWF, and Virginia Beach should be in the "Memo" or "Notes" section.

Mail payments to the Foundation headquarters at: 
     Woody Williams Foundation
     12123 Shelbyville Rd Suite 100
     Louisville, KY 402433

*Please be sure to write VIRGINA BEACH on the check memo line to be sure your contribution goes toward the Virginia Beach Memorial project.

The Foundation will send proper tax receipts and acknowledgments to donors who provide their addresses if requested. 

The Foundation does not take credit card donations over the phone but there is a QR code in the presentation that can be used to do online donations.  Please note that the bank will charge a 3.2% fee for processing the donation in this manner.
 

Mr. Loren V. Heckelman, Captain, USN (Ret.)
President, Hampton Roads Chapter
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
www.hrcmoaa.org
(757) 646-6448 
Loren.Heckelman@cox.net
 

Join MOAA Leadership and your fellow MOAA members on hosted cruises and land tours
Click here to learn about MOAA Signature Group Travel...

Posted above is a flyer for MOAA Vacations, a travel benefit offered through MOAA’s partnership with Brennco Travel Services.  The flyer highlights the partnership’s Signature Groups, the most popular trips hosted by MOAA leadership and staff.  Each year, MOAA Vacations returns 1% of the commission earned from trips booked by our chapter members, families and friends to our chapter.  If your plans this year or next include a vacation to one of the locations offered, please consider using MOAA Vacations and designating your Hampton Roads Chapter as your local chapter to benefit from using their services. 

All separated service members have a form with details about their active duty, years of service, type of separation, awards, training and other details for after-service jobs, veteran's benefits and entitlements after death.  Do you know where your's is?

If you believe that any content posted on the Hampton Roads Chapter Military Officers Association of America (HRCMOAA) Website infringes copyright, you may send us a notification including all relevant information: Notification of copyright infringement

Copyright Notification Guidelines

HRCMOAA respects third party’s copyright, and it is our policy to respond to all notifications about copyright infringement as established by applicable regulations. Once the notification complying with these Guidelines is received, HRCMOAA may remove or disable access to the allegedly infringing material or adopt further action that we consider appropriate. 

Copyright infringement notifications must meet the following requirements:

• The handwritten or electronic signature of the person submitting the notification.
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works, a list of such works.
• Identification of the material claimed to be infringing and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, as well as sufficient information to allow HRCMOAA to locate that material.
• Information to allow HRCMOAA to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if possible, an email address.
• A statement that the complaining party has reason to believe that the use of the material is not authorized by the copyright owner or the law.
• A statement that the information in the notification is accurate and true

HRCMOAA will follow the procedure provided by applicable regulations to ensure compliance with copyright. When a proper notification complying with the conditions above is received, HRCMOAA will remove or disable access to infringing materials as soon as possible. HRCMOAA will not necessarily send a confirmation regarding the removal/disabling.

HRCMOAA Copyright Contact Information:
HRCMOAA@gmail.com