Every year, thousands of veterans return to the United States from active duty deployments all over the world. They are typically met with a hero’s welcome: newspaper coverage, signs and banners, joy and revelry. Veterans deserve that kind of welcome; but what happens when the fanfare dies down? What happens when the vet must attempt to return to some degree of normalcy? Often, the support disappears and the solider is left feeling alienated and alone. Fortunately, there are a plethora of groups dedicated to helping veterans, many of them staffed by fellow vets. There is a bond between veterans that is built in battle, a bond that remains strong even as the decades pass.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2012 there were 21.2 million veterans living in the United States. 5.4 million of these were from the Vietnam-era, 5.4 million from the Gulf Wars (1990 to present), 1.6 million from WWII, 2.3 million from the Korean War, and 5.3 million who served during peacetime. The needs of these veterans can range from learning how to access their benefits and securing medical care to dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and planning a loved one’s funeral services. The process of navigating benefits can be intimidating. Often people just don’t know where to turn; they don’t know help is available. Fortunately, it is.
Vietnam Veterans of America:
Founded in 1978, the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) is the only national Vietnam Veteran organization congressionally chartered and exclusively dedicated to Vietnam-era vets and their families. The group is founded on the principle: “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another.” The VVA currently has over 70,000 members in 650 local chapters. One of those groups is local chapter 941, also known as the “Northern Warriors.” The organization is dedicated to helping veterans, regardless of the need. Consider the case of Jim.
Jim was a local veteran who had fallen upon hard times. He was staying at the Gladys Ray Homeless Shelter when VVA member Jan Jorgensen heard of his plight. Knowing her organization would be willing to help, Jan called on fellow-member Duke Johnson. “Anytime the call goes out, we are all ready and willing to help,” Duke said. Word of Jim’s situation spread via word-of-mouth and social media. “Within a month we were able to furnish an entire apartment for him,” Jan explained. “The support has been overwhelming.”
Talk to Duke about helping Jim, however, and it is obvious that he doesn’t consider the situation very significant. To him, and others like him, taking care of each other is instinctual. “We are brothers taking care of brothers,” Duke explained. “We don’t even think twice about it.” Indeed, when a veteran needs help or deserves recognition, Duke and his group are there. They have been working on raising money for a bronze memorial to honor five Moorhead High School alumni that were killed in Vietnam. Duke hopes to have the memorial ready to be displayed on the school’s Wall of Honor on Memorial Day. Once again, Duke doesn’t think his actions are any big deal. “It’s just the right thing to do,” Duke explained.
Clay County Veterans Services:
Talk to Tom Figliuzzi and Jennifer Williams for just a few minutes and the passion they have for helping veterans is palpable. Figliuzzi, Veterans Services Officer for the county, proudly shows visitors around the office, pointing out display boxes and other items that have been built by local veterans. “Our vets are so talented,” he said. It is the volunteer aspect of Clay County’s program that makes it so special. In addition to many other duties, volunteers man the front desk every afternoon. Like the VVA, those volunteers do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do. “There is no other volunteer program like us,” Figliuzzi said.
The offices at the Clay County Family Center are warm and nurturing, deliberately designed to create a safe and secure environment for vets. “We satisfy immediate needs first,” explained Williams, Veterans Benefits Program Coordinator at the office. “The first thing we want to do is establish trust.” Meeting those immediate needs may include providing clothing and/or food. The office keeps a collection of donated clothing readily available for those in need. Other activities include using a computer to fill out forms or access benefits, meeting with staff to discover what benefits are available, or planning funeral and burial services. Clay County is the only veteran’s office with a special Ultimate Honors Room where VA markers and other Ultimate Honors benefits are on display. “We want to make it a dignified process,” Williams said.
One of the biggest issues Clay County faces is simply getting the word out that a wide range of benefits are available. “If you (veterans) have not had your one-on-one visit with your local Veteran Services Officer, make the call,” Figliuzzi recommended. “We are here to help.”
Veterans of Foreign Wars:
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is another local organization committed to helping veterans. According to Joy Mikyska, Department Service Office, the VFW provides assistance to veterans who need help in filing a disability claim for VA benefits or requesting enrollment in the Fargo VA healthcare system. “We also work with our county service officers from North Dakota and Minnesota who assist veterans and appoint the VFW as the veteran’s power of attorney,” Mikyska explained, adding that the organization helps about two hundred veterans per month.
According to Mikyska, there are currently 633 veterans who have an open claim through the VFW. “The biggest need for area veterans is health care,” she explained. Indeed, as WWII and Vietnam-era vets age, health care becomes a top priority. That doesn’t mean, however, that younger veterans are without needs. That is what makes service organizations dedicated to helping vets from all wars and of all ages so important. Many of these organizations are staffed by vets who want to make a difference; “brothers helping brothers,” as Duke said. Others are staffed by people who simply want to help vets and repay the gifts so many have given to our country. It is easy to roll out the fanfare when service men and women come home. It is harder, however, to keep that fanfare going. As a society, we owe vets that fanfare.
“…Let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan…” – Abraham Lincoln during his 2nd Inaugural Address.
For more information about the services in this feature, visit www.vva941.org, www.co.clay.mn.us/Depts/Veteran/Veteran.htm, and www.vfw.org.
