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In the fall of 2011, Lorrene Eads was a young wife and mother who had just learned that she was pregnant again. She never had a chance to tell her husband Ronson the good news.  Days before Thanksgiving, Ronson Aaron Eads, 27, an combat veteran of Afghanistan, committed suicide. The young veteran had battled PTSD since his deploym...
Army veteran Mark Henderson was doing all the right things—sending out resumes, attending job fairs—but had yet to receive good feedback from a single employer. That changed when he participated in a DAV virtual job fair. Henderson learned about the online event while attending ACAP (Association for Community Affiliated Pla...
Air Force veteran Michael Breeden was putting in 100% effort to find new employment after he was laid off from his first job after leaving the military. “I had applied for more than 50 jobs that I was more than qualified for in aircraft maintenance – had all applicable training, experience and certifications,” says Br...
On June 25, the president signed H.R. 299, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019, into law. This is a huge victory for roughly 90,000 Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans that, effective January 1, 2020, puts the following provisions into place:  • Veterans will be presumed exposed to Agent Orange if they served in the...
Naomi Mathis was a 23-year-old single mother when she left her job as an administrative assistant and enlisted in the Air Force. She was looking for a career that would provide security for her kids and give her a sense of purpose, which is exactly what she found through service to her country.  But after three deployments—two to Kuwa...
Air Force veteran Brian Koetting is a fine example of the old adage ‘mother knows best.’ “I enlisted in 1963 as a result of my mother calling a recruiter after I had been “released” from high school numerous times,” says Koetting. “I had no idea what the military even was at that point.”
DAV Deputy National Legislative Director Adrian Atizado discusses the VA Mission Act that went into effect on June 6. The act seeks to bring healthcare closer to the community via mobile clinics as well as a new virtual "telehealth" process, which connects patients and doctors through a phone or computer. Watch the video to h...
“My father was in the U.S. Army Air Corps during WWII, and then helped document the Holocaust for Eisenhower’s HQ,” says Adam Taichi Kraft. “My maternal grandfather served in the Japanese Imperial Guard (Mounted Imperial Protection) during the same war.”  Though Kraft’s grandfathers served on op...
When John Kuplast enlisted in the Marine Corps, he was fulfilling a family tradition. His father, grandfather, uncle and two cousins served their country and, like them, Kuplast wanted to serve his country and defend the flag. “The Marine Corps provided me many opportunities and taught me teamwork, respect and honor, and courage,...
Xavier Cortez was unemployed, renovating his home and chasing a commercial drone job that wasn’t steady enough for full-time employment.  But none of that kept him from preparing for – and seizing – an opportunity for a job that he “couldn’t pass up.”  Cortez, a 43-year-old Navy v...
Raymond Bannister felt as though he’d exhausted every effort to find a new job. The Navy veteran had sent out hundreds of resumes, but four months after being laid off, he had yet to find work.  Bannister and his wife were on the verge of packing up their things, leaving their home, and moving into a friend’s...
In the Garrett household, military service was something of a legacy. “It was a family tradition for male members to join after high school, and I wanted to become independent and self-sufficient, and I knew the service would provide that,” said Air Force veteran William Garrett.
At a maximum speed of 170 mph, tornadoes ripped through Alabama earlier this month leaving a swath of damage that ran 26.73 miles long and 1600 yards wide. Far too many families saw the deepest of devastation as 23 people died in the twisters’ wake. When disaster struck, DAV was on the ground in Alabama providing critical assista...
Jim Byrnes is an engineer by trade and education; he is a supporter of veterans by action.  “I’ve had a very full career and retired in 2005,” says Jim. “I was with the VA, in the construction program, and designed and built VA hospitals. I’m not a veteran, but I would like to think that 33 years work...
Navy veteran Ken Hoffman felt like some of the workplaces he’d encountered simply did not give veterans a chance, but a visit to a DAV/RecruitMilitary All-Veterans Career Fair put him in front of employers who were looking for the very skills he had to offer. “I went to the Cincinnati job fair with a fellow...