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Glenn E. Smith proudly joined the Pennsylvania Air Guard’s 111th Security Forces Squadron at Willow Grove in September 1998. Three years later, to the very month, the nation came under attack.
It wasn’t long after the attacks of September 11, 2001 that Smith’s unit activated and deployed to Lajes Field in the Az...
Air Force veteran Amber Frymark watched as income from her veteran-owned business slowed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, business insurance, storage fees and administrative costs were still due. Scheduled demos of her award-winning product — a beverage enhancer that adds health, hydration and flavor to beverages — which were...
When Hurricane Michael barreled into the Florida Panhandle in October of 2018, Air Force veteran Edgar Lane, Jr. braced for its force inside a friend’s house in Panama City that was well equipped to withstand the most powerful storms.
“It sounded like a freight train for about 20 minutes, then for another 15 minutes,”...
“DAV has been right there every time I needed help.”
After suffering a heart attack and undergoing open-heart surgery, Vietnam veteran James Norman reached out to DAV to help him gain critical access to earned benefits.
At the time, Norman had a low service-connected disability rating, which...
Dawnelle Boles, a disabled veteran and single mother, suddenly lost her income during the COVID-19 pandemic. Fortunately, DAV’s COVID-19 Unemployment Relief Fund provided a critical grant to support her and her family during this unprecedented time.
“This will feed both of us and get the basic necessities that people take f...
They say to look for the helpers during difficult times. When you do, you’ll find people like Air Force veteran Marian Smith.
Despite the risk, Smith is steadfast in her commitment to be of service to others.
“This time is almost like being away in the military,” she said. “You miss birthdays, we...
Like many veterans of the Battle of the Bulge, Robert Power rarely talks about his service.
“I had no idea what my husband had been through,” said Janet Power. “He never talked about it. I knew in my spirit that my husband had suffered, even though he said he didn’t. I was married to him 25 years, and 15 y...
After sustaining life-altering wounds in Iraq, Nick Koulchar thought he’d lost his purpose. As it turns out, his wounds would give him a whole new mission.
In 2006, 24-year-old Koulchar entered the Army as a private. By 2008, he was deployed to Sadr City, Iraq with Alpha Company 40th Engineers, Task Force 1/6, conductin...
It was 1979, the summer after Glenn E. Smith’s junior year of high school when he decided to sign up for the Army’s Delayed Entry Program.
“I realized that I only had one year of school left and I still didn't know what I wanted to do afterward,” said Smith.
For a decade Smith served in...
Army veteran Alexander Murphy suffered numerous injuries during his service, but among the most painful were those inflicted on his legs in a truck collision.
“We were in a truck, and there was a convoy coming. There was another military truck that tried to pass in an area where he couldn’t make it,” recal...
Vietnam veteran turns to DAV for help with lasting effects of war
Dennis Reichert struggles daily with what he experienced in Vietnam. Memories of fierce combat haunt the Marine, as do images of the weapons, flak jackets and canteens stacked row-after-row, each representing an American injured or killed on the battlefi...
Like many veterans, Rhonda White’s service took her far from family and friends during the holidays.
White was 24 years old when she first spent the holidays away from her family and loved ones. It was November 1990, and the young soldier was deployed to Saudi Arabia where she worked for the Long-Range Planning Cell located...
Air Force veteran Jonathan Campos seemed to have all the criteria necessary to find employment after his service, but it still took him eight months to find work.
“I’m a 15-year active duty (Air Force) firefighter, now (Reserves),” says Campos. “It took me eight months to find employment, even after earnin...
After boot camp and training, Navy veteran Josh Vinson did four years in aviation electronics and re-enlisted at Seattle’s Space Needle. By this time, he was married and wasn't ready to finish his time in the service.
Vinson served three years as a Navy recruiter in Nebraska where he excelled, winning numerous recr...
For Army veteran Mike Hammons, his brave grandfather, who fought in World War II, was always his inspiration to serve his country.
“My grandfather was in the Marine Corps, and he was wounded in Iwo Jima,” said Hammons.
On Hammons’ 17th birthday, his mother signed for him to join the Army as soon as he...
