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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VA's Dr. Rajiv Jain, Citizen Services Medal

Dr. Rajiv Jain, Citizen Services Medal. Jain is Chief of Staff and MRSA Program Director at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Pittsburgh Healthcare System in Pittsburgh. Jain developed and leads an initiative that is reducing a type of life-threatening, hospital-acquired infections at all 153 VA hospitals and other hospitals across America and parts of the world.

Eight Stand-Out Public Servants Receive Coveted Service to America Medals at Washington, D.C. Gala


Last update: 12:44 p.m. EDT Sept. 17, 2008
WASHINGTON, Sept 17, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Host Rob Riggle Honors Winners from Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Antonio and Pittsburgh
WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Partnership for Public Service presented eight Service to America Medals to outstanding public servants whose remarkable work is making the world safer, healthier and greener - at a Washington, D.C. gala held in their honor, September 16.
The Service to America Medals have earned a reputation as one of the most prestigious awards dedicated to celebrating America's civil servants.
The top medal - Federal Employee of the Year - went to USAID's Richard Greene, whose work has the ultimate impact: it saves lives. Greene leads the President's Malaria Initiative which has provided potentially life-saving services to more than 25 million vulnerable women and children in 15 African countries.
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