Vietnam Veteran Lost Everything, Until Community Cared to Help

Treasure Coast comes together to help veteran who lost his boat in a fire
WPTV 5 News
Meghan McRoberts
Jul 23, 2015

The Treasure Coast community is coming together to help a local Vietnam Veteran who watched his life's savings burn up in the Indian River Lagoon this week.

Tony Veasey says he bought a used 41 foot Hatteras just two months ago so he could spend time with his six grandchildren on the water.

The boat caught on fire , and is being considered a complete loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Veasey says he used all of his retirement savings to purchase the boat, but hadn't secured any insurance.

The Argus Companies, based in Stuart, has offered to spearhead fundraising efforts to help Veasey replace his boat. The company is in the process of becoming a 501(c)3 so that it can legally collect donations to give to Veasey.

CEO Jon Snyder says 100% donations will go to Veasey. They will also pay for an inspection for his next boat and help with insurance.
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Workers say charity gave little money to vets

From Veterans Support Organization website and the CEO message

We use the word “honor” in our mission statement in describing our services to disabled and indigent veterans. It’s no accident that we selected that word.

From Guide Star
Veterans Support Organization

Workers say charity gave little money to vets
By Kristin M. Hall
The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Dec 16, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A veterans charity already under scrutiny for how it raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in Tennessee handed out only a fraction of the money in the form of gift cards and threatened to fire workers if they didn’t meet fundraising quotas, former employees say.

The Stuart, Fla.-based Veterans Support Organization has been criticized by other groups for how it uses donations raised outside retail stores and supermarkets. It had been fined by Tennessee for making false claims about the benefits it offered, and Connecticut lawmakers called for a federal investigation before the group’s Tennessee branch closed last month.

However, former employees interviewed by The Associated Press shed new details on how the charity operated. For instance, it claimed to help veterans and non-veterans by providing them jobs, but disciplined people who didn’t meet fundraising quotas. It also claimed to provide housing and help for poor or homeless veterans, though the former workers say that amounted to little more than a rented home in Tennessee where the workers were charged $400 a month for bunk beds and plastic dressers.

It’s not the first such charity to be scrutinized as thousands of veterans leave the military after serving in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Ohio, for instance, a man has been charged with running a $100 million scam through a bogus charity collecting donations for Navy veterans. Other charities around the country have been scrutinized for spending large portions of the donations they receive on operating expenses.

According to the 2011 earnings report to the IRS, the charity took in contributions of nearly $8.5 million but distributed less than $300,000 in grants and contributions. More than $1.8 million went to salaries and compensation, including an annual salary of $286,000 for president and founder Richard Van Houten. Jones also said chapter managers could earn large bonuses if fundraising goals were met.
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With Allen West, less means zero

If comments left on this are an indication of how people really feel about Allen West, he won't have to go back to Washington.

Allen West: We used bayonets in Iraq and horses in Afghanistan
Washington Post
Posted by Ed O'Keefe
October 23, 2012

STUART, Fla. — Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) knows a thing or two about how the U.S. military uses bayonets, because he sent soldiers into battle with them in Iraq.

Speaking to about 100 senior citizens Tuesday afternoon in this golfing and retirement community, West joined legions of conservatives and Republicans criticizing President Obama’s performance during Monday night’s presidential debate on foreign policy and seized especially on the exchange between Obama and Republican Mitt Romney over the declining strength of the U.S. Navy.

“I can tell you that when I was a battalion commander, we did still issue bayonets to our troops when we deployed to Iraq in 2003. The second thing I will tell you is that in 2001, Special Forces soldiers were on horseback riding with the Northern Alliance to fight against the Taliban,” West said. “So obviously we have a president who does not understand the full capabilities and capacities and what we do in the United States military.”

During the debate, Obama responded to Romney’s concerns about U.S. naval power by noting that “we also have fewer horses and bayonets, because the nature of our military’s changed.”
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West does understand a thing or two, but not more than that. Does he actually not get that Obama is the Commander-in-Chief?