Vet Community Is About to Change

With Historic Number of Women in Uniform, the Vet Community Is About to Change

Military.com
By Mary Dever
11 Mar 2019

In 2018, the DAV released a comprehensive new report, Women Veterans: The Journey Ahead, based on the quality of programs and services currently available to female veterans, as well as recommendations for shaping the VA culture and system to better serve this population.

Army Pfc. Keylin Perez stands in front of the formation bearing the unit guidon during a field training exercise at Fort Meade, Md., Jan. 13, 2019. Perez is assigned to the 200th Military Police Command’s Headquarters Company. (U.S. Army/Army Master Sgt. Michel Sauret)

When former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta lifted the ban on women in combat roles in 2013, he gave the military two years to complete integration.

In 2015, two women successfully completed Army Ranger School, leading to a Pentagon decision calling for combat specialties to be opened to women. The following year, one of those women -- Army Capt. Kristen Griest -- became the first female infantry officer in American history.

With this change, and as the role of women in the military continues to expand, Women's History Month is the perfect time to recognize the thousands of women who fight to protect our country and how this new modern-day warrior is forcing changes in the services, programs and culture facing our veterans.

In fact, the number of women in the armed services -- and subsequent veteran population -- is rapidly increasing. According to the Defense Department, women now make up 20 percent of the Air Force, 19 percent of the Navy, 15 percent of the Army and almost 9 percent of the Marine Corps.

Women now make up approximately 10 percent of the current veteran population, the fastest-growing demographic. The number of female veterans treated at the VA almost tripled between 2000 and 2015. As a result of this rapid growth, the VA experienced difficulty meeting the clinical needs of female veterans at all sites of care.
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Reminder: My husband and I are lifetime members of the DAV...because we believe in their mission to care for all generations AND GENDERS

UCF Veterans Resource Fair

The Mustard Seed of Central Florida is helping people get back on their feet, including veterans! They helped a veteran and his family find a place of their own after becoming homeless. That homelessness happened after Marine was discharged for medical reasons after serving 4 years!

I have spent most of my life knowing what the DAV does. After all, my Dad was 100% disabled Korean War veteran and they helped him with his claim. Then they helped my husband. 

If you have questions or need some answers...or someone to fight for you for a change, contact them! DAV Chapter 16 in Orlando~

Orlando Vet Center has everything you need to let the healing begin!

Address: 5575 S Semoran Blvd # 30, Orlando, FL 32822

Phone: (407) 447-0078

The Vet Centers have been able to get veterans understand that they are not taking another veteran's place, but help them understand that they matter just as much. Heck, they helped me back in the 90's in Massachusetts when I was trying to get my husband understand that he paid for his care the day he signed the blank check to Uncle Sam.

VITAS Healthcare

"You fought a war for us. 

Is your health still a battle?"

No one washes their hands of veterans who choose hospice services from VITAS. It does not matter if you need to be in a facility or, choose to stay home, they will help you when you need it, but also help your caregivers when they need it. They know what you are dealing with and everything that came from your service. It does not matter which war, illness or even if it is from being on a contaminated military base, like Camp Lejeune. If you want to find out more about all the fabulous services they offer, call 407-921-2695

The UCF Veterans History Project is also near and dear to my heart! Since I grew up surrounded by two generations of combat veterans, I am ashamed to admit, I stopped listening to their stories...then I stopped remembering them. This is about documenting the services of veterans so that we never forget those who paid the price for the freedoms we have.

Orlando Veterans Court has a mission to help veterans heal instead of seeing them locked up! It is not a get out of jail free pass, but they set veterans up with the resources they need to begin to heal their lives!

UCF Cares About You
Phone 407-823-5607
Email ucfcares@ucf.edu
Location Ferrell Commons, Room 142

UCF Cares is an umbrella of care-related programs and resources dedicated to fostering a caring community of Knights. However, it takes all of us from students to staff, from faculty to friends, to show that we care about one another. The goal of the UCF CARES initiative is to build a culture of care one KNIGHT at a time. We are all UCF and need to do our part in connecting any fellow knights in distress to appropriate resources.

 UCF Restores
Among other awesome things UCF Restores is doing, they are conducting research on smelling~ Yep! You know how when you smell something, it can bring back memories of growing up. I sure do, because it is chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and right away I remember my Aunt's cookies. I get all warm and filled with great memories. 

Those smells can also be a trigger for something bad that happened to you. When you survived "it" every part of "you" was involved. That is why sounds and smells can bring things back you do not want to relive. They are trying to understand the association and how it can be treated.

Awesome right? For older veterans it is the smell of diesel. You know what that does.

Anyway, they are looking for males from 18 and up who are OEF OIF veterans. They want you to call 407-823-3910. 


If you are still wondering how to #TakeBackYourLife, then contact all those great groups and START DOING IT!

Hit and Run driver destroyed DAV Van

Hit and run driver wipes out hospital transportation for area disabled veterans
ABC 8 News
By: Kristin Smith
Posted: Aug 15, 2018

SPOTSYLVANIA, Va. (WRIC) -- A hit and run driver wiped out transportation for sick and disabled veterans near Fredericksburg.

The driver plowed into the only van those local veterans use to go back and forth to Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center.

"I was devastated," says veteran Roy Murphy.

After he learned the van was destroyed, Murphy realized getting to Richmond would be a struggle. The disabled marine is legally blind.

"Basically I'll have to rely on friends or somebody to get me to the VA so that you know I can actually go through my appointments," added Murphy.

The Fredericksburg Disabled American Veterans van transported about 90 veterans a month. It takes them on the hour-long trek to and from McGuire.

DAV transportation coordinator Kristi Corbett explained to 8News, "This is their way to get there. This is their only way to get there."

But now the van is ruined and there's no backup vehicle to replace it. So many veterans won't get the medical care they need.

"I have patients who go 40 days straight due to radiation," said Corbett "And they must go every day or they have to start their whole thing over again, so it's a hardship on them a lot."
read more here

Disabled Iraq Veteran Continues to Serve Others...why aren't you?

Veteran seriously injured in Iraq continues to serve at home
St. Louis Post Dispatch
Lori Rose
March 4, 2018

“I got involved with the Disabled American Veterans - they were the ones that helped me with my disability claim and helped me get my head out of the funk,” Alexander says. “We do whatever we can do to help veterans. Pretty much whatever a veteran needs, we try to get it for him or her.”

Tim Alexander (U.S. Army)

He doesn’t know why he didn’t strap in as regulations dictated, but that one decision may have saved his life.

Army Staff Sgt. Tim Alexander was a sniper atop a Humvee traveling outside Basra in southern Iraq on Oct. 29, 2005, when an IED hidden in the sand detonated, destroying the vehicle, killing the four soldiers inside and blasting Alexander some 45 feet through the hot, dusty air.

“All I remember is hearing the explosion and seeing the flash and seeing the sky,” the Glen Carbon man says. “The next thing I know I woke up in Germany.”

Alexander, now 46, doesn’t remember the fighting that ensued, in which two more American soldiers were injured, or the helicopter flight to Baghdad, where doctors put him in a medically induced coma and transferred him to a military hospital in Germany. He had broken his back in six places.

“We had vehicles in front of us clearing (improvised explosive devices) but you knew every day when you went outside the wire there was a chance they could miss something,” he said. “I still don’t know why I didn’t strap myself in that day. I’ve racked my brain. I can’t say why.”
read more here

My husband is a life member of the DAV, he was Commander of Chapter 16 for a few years and I'm a life member of the DAV Auxiliary.
 
If you're a disabled veteran, why aren't you a member?

Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne

Actor Gary Sinise honors military in Melbourne -- with music 
Florida Today 
Jennifer Sangalang 
October 1, 2017

"Lieutenant Dan, certainly, when I played that I got more involved with our wounded through the Disabled American Veterans Organization and started supporting them," he told FLORIDA TODAY. The group contacted Sinise three weeks after the movie opened in 1994, inviting him to a convention.

Actor Gary Sinise, left, met some fans before his Gary Sinise and the Lt. Dan Band performance, in conjunction with the USO, at the King Center in Melbourne. Sinise is best known for his role as Lieutenant Dan in "Forrest Gump" and Detective Mac Taylor in "CSI: NY." (Photo: PHOTO COURTESY OF ALEX PREISSER)

"I was so fortunate to be able to go and attend this event," she added.

"It was awesome, beyond any expectations I had," John Carrigan of Melbourne said of the show. "The band was great, they covered lots of different music genres, but made it their own."

He was especially moved "when Gary talked to the audience and shared his family story and how he came to appreciate veterans. It was moving when he gave a shout-out to Vietnam vets and asked them to stand up."

In "Forrest Gump," Sinise wowed audiences with his portrayal of Lieutenant Dan Taylor. In the film, his character becomes a disabled veteran. Sinise's work led to an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor.
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DAV Veteran of the Year, Iraq Veteran-Doctor With PTSD

Brookfield doctor Kenneth Lee honored as Disabled Veteran of the Year
Brookfield Elm Grove Now
Geoff Bruce
August 8, 2017

CITY OF BROOKFIELD – Veteran, doctor, proud father of two and now the 2017 Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year.

The lifetime accomplishments of Dr. Kenneth K. Lee continue to accumulate. The longtime city of Brookfield resident was recognized in New Orleans by Disabled American Veterans with the award July 29.

(Photo: Submitted photo by Emily Kask/DAV)

“The Outstanding Disabled Veteran of the Year has been around for many years here at DAV and each year we select the most deserving veteran,” DAV National Voluntary Services Director John Kleindienst said. “What we’re looking for is individuals who have overcome a severe obstacle in their lives from military service.”

Lee, a native of South Korea, was deployed to Iraq as the commander of the Army’s Company B, 118th Area Support Medical Battalion, but was injured in 2004 by a suicide car bomber. Lee suffered an open head traumatic brain injury and severe shrapnel wounds to his legs. He was evacuated back to the U.S. and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Everyone kind of works towards a certain goal in their life to make a difference in what you do,” Lee said. “You don’t do it to get an award, but you do it to make things happen.”

Prior to his deployment, Lee worked as a rehabilitation specialist at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center. Despite that experience, his own recovery was much harder than he expected.

“Coming back from Iraq, it was more difficult than I imagined," Lee said. "As a physician, I thought I could handle a lot of stuff, but it turned out to be not. There were a lot of challenges at home both dealing with family and everything else.”

Lee, 52, credits his own patients, fellow veterans and especially his family with helping him to get through that difficult period.
read more here

Helping DAV Gives Veteran Reason to Get Up--All Summer Long

Vietnam Veteran spending summer raising $100,000 for disabled Nevada veterans
NBC 4 News
by Ryan Kern
July 4th 2017

"I have a reason to get up," says Greenwood. "I know, somewhere out there, there's a veteran who needs my assistance, that needs my help and I want to be there when the time comes."

RENO, Nev. (News 4 Fox 11) — A local Vietnam veteran spends his summers sitting outside in the hot sun, raising tens of thousands of dollars for disabled Nevada veterans and various veteran organizations across the region.

"Almost 20 years ago, somebody helped me out," says Veteran Frank Greenwood. "Ever since I have been paying it forward."

Frank Greenwood spends eight hours a day, seven days a week for three months out of the year selling raffle tickets in front of the Sportsman's Warehouse in Reno.

Several weapons and a Polaris UTV are available to the winning ticket holders come the end of August.

Greenwood, working with the Disabled American Veterans Reno Chapter #1, has a goal of selling $1,000 worth of raffle tickets a day, leading to a $100,000 total this summer.

read more here

President Trump Had Meeting with Veterans Groups

It looks like Politico doesn't read Military Times.....

Trump's 'major meeting' on veterans affairs doesn't happen

Trump meets with veteran leaders, promises VA reforms
Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
March 17, 2017

Along with Got Your 6, the meeting included Student Veterans of America, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the “big six” veterans groups — American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, PVA, Vietnam Veterans of America and AMVETS.

(Photo Credit: Evan Vucci/AP)

WASHINGTON — President Trump held his first face-to-face meeting with representatives from prominent veterans groups on Friday, a step that community advocates called a productive and critical step in advancing the White House’s promises to veterans.

The hour-long meeting with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin and senior White House staff covered issues including medical care access for veterans, accountability for VA employees, veterans caregiver programs and the president’s campaign pledges to make veterans services more efficient.

It included top officials from 10 veterans groups and was billed as a listening session for the president, with no policy or legislative proposals presented to the community leaders.

But individuals at the event said Trump was involved in the conversation throughout the meeting, questioning the groups on their priorities and ways the White House can help.
read more here

Trump Dumped Veterans Groups For Marvel Comics?

Does he understand that Captain America is not a disabled veteran?

Trump held his first VA listening session without veterans advocates
Military Times
By: Leo Shane III
February 7, 2017

White House officials held their first listening session on problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday, but without inviting prominent members of the veterans community to the event.

Officials from the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars said they were not invited to the morning event and did not know about it until it was announced late Monday night, as part of the White House’s routine schedule outline.

Other prominent veterans groups were surprised Tuesday morning by news of the event, and unsure who was invited to take part in the discussion.

White House officials initially did not release any other details of the event, other than the meeting followed a similar listening session with President Trump and county sheriffs discussing local law enforcement issues. A press pool event to take pictures of the meeting was cancelled shortly before the veterans meeting began.

As news spread of the meeting, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said White House officials told him the meeting was with health care executives, and that veterans groups would be invited for a similar session later.

In the afternoon, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer released a statement saying the meeting included Tiffany Smiley, the wife of a veteran who was blinded by a roadside bomb in Iraq, Isaac Perlmutter, chairman of Marvel Entertainment, and "health care experts" discussing "actions are necessary to improve health care access and quality for our heroic veterans."
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Vietnam Veteran Went From Hamburger Hill to Facing Homelessness

Veterans in need? They’ve got friends, indeed
East Bay Times
By SAM RICHARDS
PUBLISHED: January 1, 2017

Metsiou served in the Army’s 101st Airborne “for 366 days in 1968 and ’69,” he said. “I’m one of the lucky ones who made it back from Hamburger Hill,” referring to a battle against the North Vietnamese in May 1969 in which 400 Americans died and which drew criticism from some lawmakers for its questionable strategic value. His landlord consented to give him until New Year’s to find a new place to live.

Disabled American Veterans Chapter 154 vice commander Sean Poynter, of Pittsburg, unloads a child’s bicycle at the new home of Vietnam veteran Richard Metsiou, 68, in Antioch on Friday, Dec. 30. Richard Metsiou and his wife, Zitta, were facing eviction from their home in Pittsburg, but with the help of Shelter, Inc. and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter 154, the couple were able to move into a new home in Antioch. They are also raising three adopted grandchildren. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

ANTIOCH — Finding a place to live can be an expensive challenge in the Bay Area, and for Richard Metsiou, a Vietnam veteran battling cancer and a bad credit score, an almost impossible one.

So when his longtime landlord died and her family chose to sell the Pittsburg house where he and his family have been living, he had to act fast. Metsiou needed a little help from his friends, and he got it.

Some of them were friends he’d never met before.

“A friend of mine came to me and said Richard was in a bind,” said Sean Poynter, of Pittsburg, who knows Metsiou from the Mount Diablo Disabled American Veterans post in Pittsburg, where he is senior vice commander. “I put it out in an email, that a fellow (veteran) needed some help, and all these guys showed up.”

On Friday, eight members of veterans groups from East Contra Costa County, and from Shelter, Inc. of Contra Costa, a nonprofit whose main mission is fighting homelessness, were unloading trailers in front of a house on West 10th Street in Antioch, where Metsiou, his wife, Zitta, and their three adopted grandchildren will soon live.

But before that, Poynter called Shelter, Inc. for help, and it came though big time, he said. The agency helped find an affordable house with an owner who could deal with Metsiou’s credit issues.

“They’ve been absolutely great,” said 68-year-old Metsiou, who is physically weak and also battling post-traumatic stress disorder.
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DAV Chapter 1 Delivers Gift Cards to Disabled Veterans

Disabled American Veterans present gift cards to VA Medical Center
Cranston Herald
Posted Wednesday, November 23, 2016

DISABLED AMERICAN VETS SUPPORT VA: From left to right are Raymond Denisewich, John S. Hill Sr., Donna Russillo, Kenneth R. DiLeone, Alfred “Gus” Pagel, Charles R. “Chuck” Palumbo Sr., Debra Veasey, Pasco R. “Pat” Rinaldi and Joseph R. Gagner.

Continuing their long standing tradition of supporting Veterans and their families, members of the Giovanni Folcarelli Chapter #1 Disabled American Veterans visited the Providence Veterans Administration Medical Center (VAMC) to make their annual holiday season donation. Meeting with Donna Russillo, Chief of Voluntary Services for the Providence VAMC and Debra Veasey, Program Support Assistant, members of Chapter #1 made a presentation of $1,000.00 in Stop and Shop and $1,000.00 in Best Buy gift cards.

These cards will be given to Veterans and their families during the holiday season. According to Donna Russillo, many of the cards will find their way to the medical centers annual giving tree. While the Stop and Shop cards are generally focused on the food needs of Veteran families, the Best Buy cards are specifically directed to the holiday needs of the teenage children of Veterans who, according to Donna Russillo, are routinely forgotten during the holiday season. Members conducted fundraising events during this year to raise money for this annual donation and for other programs supporting the needs of Veterans. 

The most recognized fundraising symbol used was the little blue Forget-Me-Not flower, first introduced to the public by the Disabled American Veterans on February 24, 1926 as a symbol commemorating those who had fallen in war. This small flower means simply Please don't forget me. Members of the DAV believe that the blue Forget-Me-Not flower is an appropriate symbol of remembrance and a reminder of the service and sacrifice made by Veterans and their families that make our American way of life possible.
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Spartan Alliance and Disabled American Veterans Get Pledge From Veterans To Seek Help

Veterans pledge to seek help before suicide
Washington Post
By Susan Svrluga
May 8, 2016

On Sunday, Col. Matt Pawlikowski, a chaplain from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, led a Mothers’ Day service at the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial near the Mall honoring women whose children are serving or have died. The ceremony closed with the pledge.

At the Mall, veterans touch a sword and pledge to reach out to military buddies if they start to have thoughts of suicide. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

A couple of years after he left the U.S. Marine Corps, Lyndon Villone kept trying to reach a close friend who had served with him in Iraq. When he didn’t hear back,Villone thought maybe it was best to give him some space.

His friend shot himself in the head.

Within a year, Villone had lost two more Marine Corps brothers to suicide.

And he was beginning to think about it himself.

This weekend, a coalition of nonprofits led a “Spartan Weekend” for hundreds of sick and injured veterans centered on a promise: They would not take their own life without reaching out to someone for help. And they would take that oath with their hands on a sword hammer-forged of steel salvaged from the remains of the World Trade Center.

By one estimate, an average of 22 veterans take their own lives each day. Some people debate that number from the Department of Veterans Affairs, said Steve Danyluk, who worked with wounded service members after returning from a tour in Iraq with the Marines, “but I think anybody that served in a combat unit can run through a list of people that they know that committed suicide.”

And everyone says the same thing when they hear about a suicide, said Danny Prince, a retired New York City firefighter who often visited Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to thank service members: “’I can’t believe it — I would’ve done something.’ ”

That is why Danyluk helped organize the event for the Spartan Alliance and Disabled American Veterans. “You don’t have to be suicidal to take the pledge,” he said. “It’s finding a mission: Help your buddy. It’s reconnecting, reestablishing those relationships that seem to vanish once you leave the military.”
read more here
Linked from Stars and Stripes

This is the report you have to read if you really want to know what the claim of "22 a day" is all about and it is far more than 22. Here is the link to the VA Suicide Report. Read at least to page 15.

Vietnam War Veterans Remember April 30, 1975 And Each Other

Massachusetts Veterans Celebrate Loyalty Day and the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War
DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Timothy Koster
April 27, 2016

“The United States was in a mess over the Vietnam War and the image of the average Soldier coming back, whenever that person came back, at the American people saw them as baby killers, they were spit upon, and they were very disrespected,” said Keith Jackson, Massachusetts VFW state judge advocate and master of ceremonies for the event.

FORT DEVENS, Massachusetts – William Vicini, Senior Vice Commander of the Massachusetts Disabled American Veterans organization, receives a service pin from Fort Devens Garrison Commander, Lt. Col. Charlette K. Woodard, during the Loyalty Day program and 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, here, April 24, 2016. Loyalty Day is a special day for Americans to reaffirm their loyalty to the United States and to recognize the heritage of American freedom.

FORT DEVENS, Massachusetts – Vietnam veterans from several posts of the Massachusetts Veterans of Foreign War and the Disabled American Veterans organizations, along with members of the Fort Devens community and other veteran organizations, joined together for a combined celebration of Loyalty Day and the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War, here, April 24, 2016.

The Vietnam War concluded on April 30, 1975 and Loyalty day is a special day, typically observed annually on May 1 – signifying the day after the conclusion of the war – for Americans to reaffirm their loyalty to the United States and to recognize the heritage of American Freedom.

When younger Americans think about the Vietnam War, some see images from movies like Full Metal Jacket, Good Morning Vietnam, or Apocalypse Now, while others only see the black and white images printed in their text books from a time long, long ago.

Unlike other wars of the 20th century in which America has fought, such as World War II and the Korean War, which have a quickly dwindling veteran population, those who fought against the communist armies in the jungles of Vietnam are still quite numerous – and extremely proud of their service, despite the hardships they faced when they came home.
read more here

"Wounded Warrior Project must provide real answers"

Can't Get No Satisfaction With Wrong Questions
Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
March 11, 2016

"Wounded Warrior Project must provide real answers" from the Florida Times Union Editorial Board seems to have a lot out on the questions that do in fact need to be answered but doesn't seem as if they know what to ask.

Ok, so Nardizzi and Giordanon are out while the Board of Directors thought it was unnecessary to explain how they let all this happen. It isn't as if it was a one time thing that blindsided them. 

The Board of Directors, just like Congress, have been put into seats to insure things are done right.  Seems to be a lot of avoidance issues on that end and veterans suffered. Oh, did I forget to mention that members of Congress have heard complaints about this group too but managed to have them testify in Washington as if everything was always fine and dandy.

CBS report said WWP was the "largest veterans charity" but they should have said it was the largest money raiser since compared to other charities like the DAV 1.3 million, the VFW with 1.4 million and the American Legion with 2.4 million, they are pretty small.

"According to the board's statement, participation in Wounded Warrior Project programs for injured veterans, their caregivers and family members rose from 1,850 to 144,000 from 2010 to 2015."

The really crazy thing is since news broke from CBS last month, it seems their membership went way up. Wiki still has the numbers up.

As of June 1, 2015, WWP serves 71,866 registered Alumni and 11,494 registered members, defined as family or caregivers of a registered Alumnus.

DAV A Legacy of Service, Hope for the Future

DAV is a nonprofit charity that provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations and their families, helping more than 1 million veterans in positive, life-changing ways each year. The organization provides more than 700,000 rides for veterans attending medical appointments and assists veterans with more than 300,000 benefit claims annually. In 2015, DAV helped attain more than $4 billion in new and retroactive benefits to care for themselves and for veterans, their families and survivors.

DAV is also a leader in connecting veterans with meaningful employment, hosting job fairs and providing resources to ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the American Dream their sacrifices have made possible.

With almost 1,300 chapters and nearly 1.3 million members across the country, DAV empowers our nation’s heroes and their families by helping to provide the resources they need and ensuring our nation keep the promises made to them.

So, no they are not the largest in terms of taking care of veterans. Isn't that what we really care about?

Readers of Wounded Times know I am a lifetime member of the DAV Auxiliary and spend a lot of time with the VFW, as well as the simple fact they are all about all generations of veterans and unlike what's been going on in this country lately, they do in fact care about all our veterans. This all goes to show that all the corporations donating millions to WWP should have known what was going on but didn't bother to look. They also didn't bother to think about the other groups treating veterans as equally worthy of their donations.

Ok, so now we also have all the colleges and other charities donors have no clue about since they don't really read press releases.

Wounded Times does and here are just a few of them.

UCLA Operation Mend receives $15.7 million for mental health program for wounded warriors WWP and Warrior Care Network partners will commit a total $100 million over three years to fund the initiative, including $7.5 million each that the medical centers will contribute through their own fundraising efforts.

Rush University Medical Center's veterans program is set to receive $15 million from the Wounded Warrior Project, securing a spot as the Midwest's only hospital to receive such a grant.

OSU named Wounded Warrior Project grant subcontract recipient $250,000.

Dignity Receives $65,000 Grant from Wounded Warrior Project

And there are more but you get the idea.


The really crazy thing is, when news came out a few years ago, it didn't seem to bother any of the folks hot under the collar now.

According to the Beast's report, the Wounded Warrior Project said it was serving more than 56,000 veterans; however, less than two thirds of those registered have interacted at all with the organization so far this year.

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Should Disabled Veterans Be Eligible for Public Housing?

Simple answer HELL YA!

Reps push bill to make more disabled vets eligible for public housing
Wicked Local Weymouth
By Katie Lannan
State House News Service
Posted Jan. 27, 2016

"The entire purpose to set up public housing after World War II was to benefit our men and women who are returning home," said Rep. Alan Silvia, a Vietnam veteran and vice chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. "Somehow, we've lost our way and we suddenly forget our veterans."

Wicked Local file photo

WEYMOUTH Income thresholds for public housing applicants are set at a level that excludes some disabled veterans, lawmakers and veterans said Thursday as they discussed a bill seeking address that issue.

"The entire purpose to set up public housing after World War II was to benefit our men and women who are returning home," said Rep. Alan Silvia, a Vietnam veteran and vice chair of the Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. "Somehow, we've lost our way and we suddenly forget our veterans."

The committee heard testimony from representatives of several veterans groups -- the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, the Marine Corps League and the Massachusetts Veterans Service Officers' Association -- in support of a bill that would exclude a certain amount of a disabled veteran's income in determining eligibility for public housing.

Silvia described the legislation, filed by fellow committee member Rep. Jim Arciero, as "incredibly perfect."
read more here

DAV Volunteer Dedicated to Serving Others After Surviving Cancer

Vietnam veteran beats cancer, dedicates life to service 
DAV.org
BY BRYAN G. LETT
JANUARY 12, 2016

Vietnam veteran John Dillahunt used DAV’s Transportation Network to help him beat cancer. For nearly a decade, he’s been connecting his fellow veterans with transportation through the program.

John Dillahunt’s life changed the moment he was diagnosed with cancer. Although he had no idea what his next steps would be, he knew he would have to find a way to manage the 285-mile round trip to the nearest Veterans Affairs medical center in Durham, N.C. for treatment.

Dillahunt would be forced to undergo a surgery, hormone therapy and 32 radiation treatments. This in itself is no small task, but is considerably more taxing when considering those radiation treatments would require Dillahunt to travel four hours to and from the VA hospital every day for nearly six weeks.

Dillahunt served in the Army from 1967 to 1972 and served two combat tours in Vietnam. At the time of his diagnosis, he was not familiar with DAV and the services available to him.

“I was in Bridgeton [N.C.] one day when I happened to walk outside and see a DAV van,” said Dillahunt. “I never really thought about what they did but I decided to contact them and see if they could help me.”

Dillahunt said the decision to call DAV not only changed his life, but also put him on a path to positively impact the lives of other veterans for years to come.

“They took care of me – 32 times, five days a week,” said Dillahunt. “I wanted to give something back to those who gave to me. Helping the guys and gals that fought for this country – there’s nothing better than that.”
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Homeless Veteran "Riddled with Gunshot Wounds"

Police: Investigation into homeless vet's death continuing
Houma Today
By Maki Somosot Staff Writer
November 30, 2015

“He was truly a kind soul. It’s hard to read the path his life had taken him.” James Inman

Police are continuing to make headway in their investigation of the Nov. 13 shooting that killed a homeless veteran, Houma Police Chief Dana Coleman said.

The body of Edward Crowley, of Kirkglen Loop, was found riddled with gunshot wounds in a field near the 2600 block of Truman Street.

“We’re making progress, interviewing witnesses and analyzing our evidence, but we haven’t identified a suspect yet,” Coleman said.

Crowley's death marks the fourth shooting death in Terrebonne Parish over the past two months, preceded by Ernest Simms, 38, Corey Butler, 18, and Robert Swan, 24. Suspects have been arrested in connection with these three deaths.

Tri-Parish Veterans Shelter director and local Disabled Americans Veteran chapter president Roger Songe said that Crowley became homeless since filing for veterans benefits late last year. He did not notice any signs of drug or alcohol use on the Vietnam Era vet.
read more here

Brevard Veterans Memorial Center Expanding

Veterans Center finally expanding 
FLORIDA TODAY
R. Norman Moody
September 30, 2015

"It's really nice to see this happening," said Bill Vagianos, president of the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center. "My heart is with the center and always will be. The building will be doubled in size. It's going to be a two-story building. We'll move our offices and storage above."

Brevard Parks and Recreation director Jack Masson addresses the audience, among them from left Bill Vagianos, former county commissioner Chuck Nelson, County Commissioner Jim Barfield, State Sen. Thad Altman, State Rep. Steve Crisafulli (Photo: R. Norman Moody / FLORIDA TODAY)

MERRITT ISLAND — As veterans marked the start of expansion of the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center, the rumble and beep of heavy equipment could be heard across a thicket of brush and trees where construction is ongoing at Veterans Memorial Park.

The project is part of the 80-acre complex along Sykes Creek just south of Merritt Square Mall.

The 4,000-square-foot expansion of the center's building comes thanks to a $1.5 million grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity. The project will feature the addition of a two-story military museum, an improved military library, enhanced facilities for the Disabled American Veteran support program and an upgraded and expanded Memorial Plaza.
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Major Veterans Groups Come Out Against Killing VA

Carson’s ideas to reform VA concern local veterans
Midland Reporter Telegram
By Erin Stone
Sep 27, 2015

The DAV and other national organizations -- American Legion, AMVETS, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, Paralyzed Veterans of American, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Military Officers Association of America -- signed and sent an open letter to Carson in response to his ideas for reforming the VA.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has encountered much criticism given the sometimes fatal consequences of its long waiting lists. However, Republican presidential candidate Dr. Ben Carson’s recent comments about moving veterans’ health care partially into the privatized realm has veterans -- including those who are well aware of the flaws of the current VA -- up in arms.

In an op-ed published last week in USA Today, Carson described improving the VA with what he called “offer choice,” which would give veterans a health savings account (HSA) “to allow veterans to access the best possible medical care at a nearby DOD, VA or civilian medical facility.”

Leaders of veterans’ organizations worry that this will lead to the complete privatization of veterans’ health care and the eventual elimination of the department altogether, especially given Carson’s comments in an August radio interview stating the VA doesn’t need to exist, said Paul Reed, commander and Service Officer for the Permian Basin Chapter of Disabled American Veterans.

Reed believes the new Veterans Choice Program is a concrete example of this incremental movement toward fully privatizing the VA. Through the Choice Program, eligible veterans are sent a Choice Card with which they are allowed to seek covered care outside of the VA if their wait time is more than 30 days or the closest VA is more than 40 miles away from their home.
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Beware:This Group Is Not The Disabled American Veterans

First, this is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV.org)

A Legacy of Service, Hope for the Future
DAV (Disabled American Veterans) is the most long-lasting veterans advocacy and assistance group in this country. We’ve watched this country change and grow, and we’ve grown along with it. However, DAV has never wavered in its core mission to fulfill our country’s promises to the men and women who served. We invite everyone, veterans and civilian, men and women, young and old, to join us as we stand up for those veterans who risked it all when they stood up for us, our country, and our ideals.

The hard facts of history brought about DAV’s creation. But compassion and service have been the tools that made our organization what it is today.

A great deal has changed since DAV was founded, but this much has remained the same: those who return from war must have men and women waiting for them at home who will stand with them as they work to take back their lives. Through DAV, veterans and civilians alike can fully express their appreciation and concern for those who have risked so much for our country.

The historical account of DAV in Wars and Scars on the pages that follow tells the story of that journey, from the days after World War I to the men and women of today returning from Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond. It tells the story of the veterans, families and civilians who made the commitment that none of America’s heroes should ever go it alone.

In one way (child of a Disabled veteran) or another (wife of a Disabled veteran) I have been involved with the DAV all my life.

Sure, the DAV does fundraisers but they don't dress up in costumes with buckets on the street. There is a group with a name similar to the DAV and they have confused even our own members. We'll be out at a location certain times of the year and one of our own members says they just donated on some street to a "guy in uniform" believing they were donating to the DAV. Needless to say they were not happy when they found out.

Right here and now I want to remind folks when it comes to Wounded Times, I speak only for myself and no one else. Understand that when I bluntly say, this stuff really ticks me off! I got it in my email as an alert from a member of the DAV. Too many folks get all confused and time to remind folks again that the following group has nothing to do with the DAV!

If you want to donate to them, be my guest but first know who you are giving your money to. This is from Charity Navigator

On June 30, 2014, the Chronicle of Philanthropy reported that "the New York attorney general’s office announced... that it had won a $25-million settlement in its investigation into fundraising abuses by a veterans charity [ Disabled Veterans National Foundation] and its direct-mail vendors, Quadriga Art and Convergence Direct Marketing." It goes on to report that the charity "...must create a committee to reexamine its business model, refrain from using Quadriga or Convergence for three years, and discontinue misleading fundraising appeals. It must also terminate its relationship with Charity Services International, a group that it paid to obtain donated goods for veterans that in some cases, the attorney general’s office said, did 'not have any useful purpose.'" The article also noted "Joseph VanFonda, chief executive of the Disabled Veterans National Foundation since late 2013, said in a statement he welcomed the settlement, which will 'enable us to improve the services we deliver and increase transparency with our loyal donors.' He said the group had hired an experienced fundraiser for a new position of development director." To read the full article and review the settlement, please see the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

This is from CBS News

July 1, 2014, 2:05 PM Fundraisers made millions from donations to disabled vets

Fundraisers hired by a national charity to raise money for disabled U.S. veterans duped the organization, soliciting contributions with tall tales that enriched the firms but did little to help former service members, an investigation by New York state prosecutors has found.

The Washington-based Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF) became entangled with the fundraising firms Quadriga Art and Convergence Direct Marketing, according to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, whose office investigated the charity's tactics. The fundraising firms ultimately netted more than $100 million from donations to the charity, while the DVNF ended up close to $14 million in debt. More than 90 cents of every dollar donated by consumers went to the for-profit fundraisers, the probe revealed.

The tactics Quadriga and Convergence used to raise that money were shady. The direct mail campaigns that solicited money from consumers used a moving -- but fake -- story about a veteran who had purportedly been wounded and helped by the charity. The firms also made claims about services DVNF provided around the country that didn't exist.

In a nutshell, they end up making folks tie the two groups together so when the DAV does something good, folks think they did it and when they do something bad, folks think the DAV did it. Please beware of who is who doing what to who!