VA issues long awaited veteran ID card, but it comes with an ad on the back NCPR by Bobbie O'Brien (American Homefront) July 5, 2018
The VA is now mailing identification cards to veterans who want tangible proof that they served in the military. But after waiting almost three years for the new government-issued I.D., some veterans are not happy that the card contains an advertisement.
President Obama signed the law creating the card in July 2015, but it included no funding, so it languished for more than two years. Eventually, the VA struck a partnership deal with Office Depot, in which the retail chain is paying to print and mail the cards.
The company logo appears on the back, along with the taglines, "Saluting you today and every day. Thanks for taking care of business."
That disappoints Air Force veteran Carl Hunsinger, chairman of the Manatee County Veterans Council in Florida. For years, he had lobbied Congress to create the card, because many of the 40,000 vets the council represents have little or no proof of their service.
"A majority of the ones I know are looking for a sign of professionalism. 'Hey, I'm a veteran this is my I.D. card,'" Hunsinger said. read more here
Veteran forced to sell home over display of American flag By: NBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2018 SWEETWATER, FL (NBC News) – A Florida Air Force veteran says he was forced to sell his home over a dispute about a small American flag he placed in a flower pot.
"One day I was thinking about the country and I put a small American flag on my front porch in a flower pot," said Larry Murphree.
"It's a small flag," said Murphree. "It stands for a big thank you."
He says the HOA at the Tides Condominium didn’t agree.
"I got a violation letter that stated the American flag was an unauthorized object and for me to take it down," said Murphree. "They started fining me up to $1,000 because I wouldn't take the flag down." read more here
Veteran wins wedding giveaway Posted by Press Release on July 4th, 2018
Emily Beers and Tyler Thiel of Downingtown are the winners of the Veterans Day Wedding Giveaway sponsored by West Chester’s American Helicopter Museum and Education Center (AHMEC) and John Serock Catering. The free five-hour ceremony and reception for 100 guests on Sunday, November 11, 2018, also boasts contributions by Blue Dog Printing and Design, Schaffer Sound, Matlack Florist, Baiada Photography and Sagets Formal Wear.
Emily Beers and Tyler Thiel of Downingtown win wedding giveaway
“I was certainly surprised and instantly felt overwhelmed with joy and pride,” said Beers when notified that she and her fiancé won. “I am truly thankful for all the local businesses that are contributing to make this day possible for us.”
“Being a veteran means so much to me. I am proud that I served my country,” she continued. “I have PTSD and the thought of planning a wedding is a daunting task. This opportunity makes it possible for me to have an amazing wedding that we will appreciate forever while reducing my stress, which greatly helps with my existing PTSD.”
Beers is a United States Army veteran with eight years’ service, including a tour of duty in Iraq. read more here
Your Stories: Final honor for homeless former Marine CBS 8 News Video Report By Monique Griego Jul 03, 2018
SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — News 8 has an update on a story we first brought you last week about a homeless former Marine killed in a hit-and-run accident. Deryck Bacon's widow reached out for help because she wanted her husband buried with honor.
And several San Diego groups answered the call.
When News 8 shared the story of Bacon - a 59-year-old homeless veteran who'd been killed - the circumstances surrounding his death struck a chord within the community.
"This one was a particularly tragic story," said Michael McConnell, a homeless advocate in the San Diego area. "As it turns out, he's a veteran and [he was] just innocently sleeping on the sidewalk because he has no place to call home." read more here
Independence Day and time to celebrate what is possible. That is the way this country started. Isn't it? It began when some people saw suffering and did more than dream about what was possible. They risked their lives for it.
When I think of all the men and women who put their lives on the line, then returned home, I wonder what it was like for them. What did their families think when they were changed by everything they saw...and did?
What was it like not knowing what to do, or what to say, to take away the pain that was in their eyes?
It isn't that hard to imagine the experience because in the 80's, that was something I had to wonder about. That was when I met my husband.
We met over a decade after he came home from Vietnam. Back then, there was no way of knowing what came home with him. My Dad, a Korean War veteran, couldn't explain it, but it was clear he understood when he used the term "shell shock."
"During World War I, some people saw shell shock as cowardice or malingering, but Charles S. Myers convinced the British military to take it seriously and developed approaches that still guide treatment today."
We were just average people, trying to do the best we could to live the best life possible. We had no way of knowing what the experts had learned. What made it harder was that did not know how to make living easier that it was.
When I wanted to know what my Dad saw, I had to go to the library. Hours, weeks, months later I began to understand. What I learned, actually made me love veterans more. I understood what PTSD and what Vietnam did to him.
Back then, my husband was my best friend. Sure I knew about the nightmares and flashbacks, mood swings and memory problems, along with everything else. What I did not know was that it could get worse for him, and us. It did.
After years of feeling like I was living with a stranger, one day it happened and he came back home as the man I fell in love with. No matter what he had been through, he was still the same loving, caring best friend I decided to spend the rest of my life with.
We've been together since 1982!
He is the reason I do what I do and have done for over 3 decades. The thing is, for all the talk about what is wrong with veterans, few are letting them know what is right about them.
I know my husband's heart as much as I know the demons he still fights. I know that he has enormous strength within his emotional core to the point where he can see a sunset and scream with joy so that I can share the experience with him. I see the drive he has when he wants to do something as much as I see the laidback chill-out times when he is watching an old TV show.
If you have a veteran in your life, you can help your best friend come home too. Nothing is impossible as long as we are ready to fight this battle with them instead of wondering what came home with them.
