New America Media/Los Angeles Daily News, News feature, Tony Castro, Posted: Jun 05, 2009
When he was discharged from the Marines in 2001, Christopher Duarte of Chatsworth felt lost and unsure of his future, especially in the wake of 9/11 and the United States gearing up for an invasion of Iraq.
“I didn’t know if I should re-enlist -- I was just looking for a mission where I could best serve,” he recalls.
Duarte soon found his mission: helping returning veterans like Ramon Contreras of Pacoima navigate through the seemingly endless red tape of a vast government bureaucracy to get the benefits they were promised for serving their country.
“We still have cases where a lot of guys come out of the military, and they really come out with no clue. There’s no real guidance from the military,” says Duarte, 31, a benefits counselor with the Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
“In the end, it’s going to take veterans looking out for other veterans,” he said. “What troubles us is to see so many not getting the help they need.”
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Helping Iraq War Vets
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