In December 17, 2011, I published an article titled; āVeteran Court Conspiracy Exposedā and in January 2012 an article titled; āNevada Attorney Needs skinningā. In these articles I made statements that may not have been totally accurate:
āAmong these documents are several contingency agreements signed by Willick which grant him 50% of all moneys awarded to his client in alimony and child support. In other words, half of all moneys awarded to a spouse for alimony and child support go directly into Willickās pocket. VFVC members feel that such contingency agreements reek of ethics violations and are clearly a conflict of interestā.
The contingency agreements that I allude in these publications were provided by some members of the USFSPA Litigation Support Group (ULSG, LLC) who support changes in the division of military retirement benefits. As such, any opinions made by me in these two articles were based on a reliable source and I had no reason to question its authenticity.
As a freelance reporter, I report information of interest to the veteran community.
In retrospect, the information provided by the ULSG was not accurate. Most recently, after further and continuous consulting, an analyzed opinion on these contingency fee agreements was determined. Overall, the decision reached concluded that the information provided by the ULSG was improperly represented. These contingency fee agreements seem to have been post-divorced litigation, thus represented a revisit of military divorces that might have excluded former spouses of entitled retirement benefits.
Members of the ULSG persuaded me that these contingency fee agreements were designed to be used to resolve marital military pension in pre-divorce settlements. This information, along with legal opinion by ULSG attorney, Larry White, led me to believe the authenticity of this information had been provided in good faith. The Nevada BAR Association Code of Professional Standards confirmed my understanding on the rule for domestic fee contingency agreements that led me to believe that the ULSGās assertion was true.
I regret having relied on the ULSGās claim that the unethical appearance of these documents had been verified by them, since I have no legal training or knowledge, to form any legal opinion. My opinions in these publications were based on the ULSGās legal knowledge of these contingency fee agreements.
It is with deep regret that submits myself to criticism for not being thorough with information that I felt had come from a good reliable source. At no point, were my opinions expressed in these publications intended to be malicious in any way. I was totally unaware that these contingency fee agreements were post-domestic contracts and I may have made statements that did not reflect the truth, or I may have exaggerated what I understood to be true.
The inaccuracy of the information provided by the ULSG has had a rippling effect, not only on Mr. Willick, but has compromised my integrity as a freelance reporter. I would also extend my apology to Mr. Simes who is legally blind because he depended on me to guide him on the accuracy of my reporting.
It was only after a recent audit review of these contingency fee agreements that concluded an inaccuracy in these post-divorce contracts provided by the ULSG. The delay attributed to this discovery and findings were that these contingency agreements were never addressed or explained by Mr. Willick during the course of the civil complaint, thus led me to believe otherwise that these contracts were indeed pre-divorce contingency agreements.
I offer my sincere apology to Marshal S. Willick for having made assertions that were not totally accurate and extend my apology to anyone who have been affected by these unintentional comments. This is not an admission to any intentional wrong doing. Misinformation and inaccurate statements have plagued many well-known writers in history, and I am no different. When a writer finds themselves in this situation the best they can do is admit the mistake and apologize for the blunder.
I am submitting this retraction to any website that I personally may have submitted my publications for review.
Sincerely,
Jere Beery – Veterans Today Columnist
Although Jere Beery only served 4 years in the U.S. Navy, he has an impressive military history. Twenty seven months of that service was in the combat waters of Vietnam. His first duty station in 1965 was aboard the USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY, (LST-1167) as a Seaman. The WESTCHESTER COUNTY was involved in many operations within the combat waters of South Vietnam and received many awards and accolades for her service. The WESTCHESTER COUNTY was the recipient of 15 Battle Stars for her 19 years of service. LST-1167 was one of only 3 ships of her type to earn 15 Battle Stars (out of over 1200 LSTs built since before WWII).
Beery’s second duty station in 1967 was with the legendary PBRs of the Brown Water Navy. As a volunteer, Beery saw combat on a fairly routine basis with this elite group and their high speed patrol craft. On March 1, 1968, Beery’s patrol was ambushed by a sizeable force of NVA and Viet Cong. The boat Beery was aboard took two direct RPG hits to her starboard side badly wounding four members of the boat’s crew. Seaman Beery was the most severely wounded and not expected to live. The first RPG had exploded right where Beery was standing as he manned his 50 caliber machine gun. To this day, Beery contributes his survival to the live-saving actions of his patrol officer, LT. RICHARD GODBEHERE and his other crew members. Beery spent the next year and a half hospitalized and recovering from his wounds. THE GODBEHERE PATROL
On November 1, 1968, while Jere Beery was recuperating at NAS Hospital, Jacksonville, Florida, USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY was attacked on the My Tho river. At 03:22 in the morning two very large mines were detonated on the ship’s starboard side. 25 men were killed, 17 were ship’s crew. Several of the men killed that morning were friends and former shipmates of Beery’s. This incident has gone down in history as the greatest loss of life by the U.S. Navy in a single attack during the entire Vietnam War. USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY
In mid-1969, Jere Beery was medically retired from the Navy. His service record reflects 1 Bronze Star, 3 Purple Hearts, and 5 military campaigns in Vietnam. Beery was also rated totally and permanently disabled by the Veterans Administration.
Over the years since Vietnam, Jere Beery has attempted to do some things many thought impossible for someone with physical injuries such as his. During the early 80s, Jere Beery, as a member of the Screen Actors Guild pursued a brief career in the motion picture business as an actor. Beery landed a few small parts in a number of movies and television programs. On several occasions, to the amazement of many, Beery even executed his own stunts.
In the 1986, Jere Beery gave up his career in the movies to crusade for his fellow veterans. Since that time, veteran’s rights advocate Jere Beery has been a noted driving force in the Veteran’s Rights Movement and effort to improve services for our veterans. Beery’s efforts have been extremely well documents and many articles have been written about his quest. A few of these articles can be found on this page. You can also type the words “Jere Beery” into any search engine to find out more about Beery’s efforts. www.google.com
Jere Beery’s multifaceted story is truly an amazing one. From his survival in Vietnam, to risking additional injury executing stunts in the motion pictures, to fighting to protect the benefits earned by our troops, Jere Beery has forged his own trail and continues to amaze and baffle many.
– Place and Date of Birth: Orlando, Fl – 03/13/48
– Raised: St. Augustine, Fl
– Place & Date Enlistment: Jacksonville, Fl – 05/20/65
– Branch of service: U.S. Navy
– Highest Rate/Rank: E4/PO3/Signalman Third Class
– Duty Stations: USS WESTCHESTER COUNTY, LST-1167 and TF116, River Patrol Force, River Section – 511, (PBRs), Binh Thuy, RSVN
– Date of Discharge: 5/14/69
– Type of Discharge: Honorable, Medically Retired
– VA Rating: 100% Totally and Permanently Disabled
Military Awards and Medals:
– 1 Bronze Star – w/combat āVā Citation
– 3 Purple Hearts – (1/5/68, 2/14/68, 3/1/68)
– Vietnam Service Medal – w/1 Silver Star – (5 military campaigns in-country, RSVN)
– Republic Of Vietnam Campaign Medal – w/1960 device
– Combat Action Ribbon
– Meritorious Unit Commendation Ribbon
– Presidential Unit Commendation Ribbon
– National Defense Medal
– Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation – Gallantry Cross Medal Color, w/Palm
– Republic Of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation – Civil Actions Medal, First Class Color, w/Palm
Military Training:
– River Patrol Craft Training, (PBR), Mare Island, CA
– Special Weapons Training, Mare Island, CA
– J.E.S.T. (Jungle Environmental Survivor Training) ā Cubi Point, Philippines
– S.E.R.E. (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape Training) ā Whidbey Island, Washington State
– Vietnamese Language ā Mare Island, CA.
All content herein is owned by author exclusively.Ā Expressed opinions are NOT necessarily the views of VNR, authors, affiliates, advertisers, sponsors, partners, technicians, or VT Network.Ā Some content may be satirical in nature.Ā
All images within are full responsibility of the author and NOT VNR.
Read Full Policy Notice - Comment Policy
Comments are closed.