Vietnam Vet Gets Citizen Medal from President

Vietnam Vet Gets Citizen Medal from President
October 20, 2011
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan

John Keaveney was a Scottish immigrant who enlisted in the Army, became a naturalized American citizen, and served two tours in Vietnam. But life after the war was tough; he came back from Southeast Asia to a world of drugs, jail, and homelessness.

In the early 1980s Keaveney was ordered by a court into a Department of Veterans Affairs program called "New Directions." The program turned his life around, along with the lives of other vets until budget cuts ended New Directions in 1988.

At that point Keaveney spearheaded a drive to resurrect New Directions as a non-profit. He also had a vision of expanding the program into something more, and that vision earned him a Presidential Citizens Medal that President Barack Obama pinned on him today.

In an interview prior to the White House ceremony Keaveney said he had no particular thoughts about the medal, and noted that he and others getting the honor are "all doing the same thing" -- helping out veterans and others.
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