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Vietnam Veterans of America Endorses “Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day”
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – “When most veterans of the Vietnam War returned to what we called ‘The World,’ we were not welcomed into the bosom of a grateful nation,” said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA).
“For far too long, we were blamed for the failings of a war that was waged under four different administrations. We were all too often considered losers, baby-killers, and pariahs of a war that divided the nation and reverberates till this day,” Rowan said. “While many in our nation have come to embrace those who served in that war, and while there are memorials to those who served and those who paid the ultimate price, there has never been a nationally recognized day for a belated ‘Welcome Home’ to all those who served.
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A Letter from the President
VVA: 30 Years
in Service to America
In living up to VVA’s founding principle, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,”
we fought successfully to get greater and assured funding for the VA healthcare system. We also worked in
concert with other veterans and military service organizations to enact into law the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which
enables these veterans to receive much-increased and improved benefits for higher education, benefits akin
to those accorded our parents’ generation, rather than the skimpy educational benefits our generation received.
We have fought to ensure that there is recognition for the “invisible” wounds of war, and that these – PTSD
and the signature wound of the Global War on Terror, traumatic brain injury, TBI – receive the treatments that
are needed and warranted.
Having fought in America’s most controversial overseas war more than three decades ago, Vietnam veterans
today continue to suffer from an array of war-related issues, from wounds and injuries, to health conditions
that are associated with exposure to Agent Orange, to homelessness.
There is very little outreach to the men and women who served our nation honorably, and many private doctors
are not well-informed about the range of health conditions that may derive from military service. To address
these needs, Vietnam Veterans of America has initiated the Veterans Health Council, a partnership of dozens
of interested healthcare and advocacy organizations whose mission is to inform veterans and their families –
along with private clinicians – about these health conditions that may relate to their military service, particularly
in wartime.
Since veterans of the Vietnam era are now the largest cohort of living veterans, VVA knows its work is not done.
Our hearts and hands go out to the newer, returning veterans. This new generation of war veterans includes our
sons and daughters. Many have returned intact, but some did not make it home. We know that thousands who
have returned have come back with physical and mental disabilities that will be with them for the rest of their
days. We know there is still much work to be done to insure that those who served receive the care and benefits
they have earned. We remain committed to making this happen.
Sincerely,
John Rowan
President, Vietnam Veterans of America
[Read the VVA Annual Report]
The Holybee's
By Jim Belshaw
The Holybee’s story is brought to you by The Vietnam Veterans Peace Initiative.
Sonja Holybee says of her oldest child, Stephanie, 35: “She will not give in to it.”
She says the same thing of her other two children, Melisa, 33, and Dan, 30. But Stephanie is the oldest, the first to be diagnosed with illnesses never before found in either her immediate family or the extended families of her parents.
Her mother can find only a single connector: “I feel that the only way Stephanie could have gotten any of these things is from Agent Orange,” Sonja says. “There’s nothing in me or my family or in Ken’s family that shows this stuff showing up. The lone factor is Agent Orange.”
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Proceeds benefit the Vietnam Veterans of America
Our United States Veterans were there when we needed them the most. Now they need your support. Please donate your car to the Vietnam Veterans of America. You get a tax deduction and your car donation will be helping those who have given us so much, our veterans. Vietnam Veterans of America is chartered by Congress and has been supporting our dedicated Veterans and their families for over 30 years.
The donation process is simple, fast and secure, and your car donation will help us to provide critical support services for our defenders of freedom in their time of need. Call toll free today at 1-800-Help-Vets or use our easy online donation form to schedule your free towing and join the thousands of other satisfied car donors who have already helped our veterans.
"Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."
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