According to CNN, 22 veterans commit suicide every day. This may be because they have difficulty adjusting to life after service or because they cannot find the resources they need to help them with their transition. Whatever the case may be, the number is staggering, but a group of community college students from Greenville, North Carolina, banded together to raise awareness to this statistic.
Students from Pitt Community College walked 2.2 miles across their campus on Sept. 22. The date and the distance were meant to represent those 22 veterans who take their lives.
"We have a major issue here," Chris Hall, PCC student and veteran, told WNCT-9 News. "It's like an epidemic of suicide and many people just assume when veterans come home that they're just serious and they don't need help because they've been strong their entire careers. People just don't pay attention to the signs and there's not enough awareness that veterans actually do feel."
The school's counselors were available during the walk for veterans or civilians who felt the need to talk. WNCT-9 News reported that PCC's walk was part of a national campaign to raise awareness on veteran suicide.
AFBA has written about Honor Flight many times before. However, the program that flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to receive praise and experience all the nation's capital has to offer, has done something different. Honor Flight recently did its first all-female veteran run.
Military Times reported that on Sept. 22, the program got 140 female former servicemembers to sign up for the event. Cheryl Popp, Honor Flight Tri-State director, told WCPO-9 News that no previous flight had ever included more than five women.
Dorothy Kist, a 91-year-old former Navy radio operator, was among the 140 ladies. She said she was very excited for the experience, and she was especially ready to see the Women in Combat Memorial at Arlington.
"I've wanted to see the women's memorial ever since it was built," Kist told WCPO-9 News. "And I was tickled to death when they said this was all women, because you have someone to talk to, and it will be so much nicer."
Kist and the other female veterans will also visit the WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If the Sept. 22 flight is a success, Honor Flight says it will arrange for more all-female trips.
The Holland Club is a group based in Augusta, Maine. It was formed by submarine veterans to commemorate their service and preserve the memory of the servicemembers who gave their lives in the line of duty. According to the Portland Press Herald, it is part of the USS Maine Base chapter of the U.S. Submarine Veterans, Inc., which is an organization for current and former Navy servicemembers. Recently, The Holland Club welcomed two new members to its ranks.
It has been almost 50 years since former Navy members John E. Morris and Paul Talbot set foot on a submarine, but both men remember their service with pride.
"I'm so proud to have served our nation," Morris, former Navy captain and Maine Public Safety Commissioner, told CentralMaine.com. "I really enjoyed my Navy career. It was a wonderful life made possible by my wife and family."
The induction ceremony was held on Sept. 20 at The Holland Club. Morris and Talbot were given the signature yellow ball caps of all Holland Club members while their families, friends and fellow former servicemembers applauded. The governor and members of the American Legion Post 205 were also in attendance.
According to TimeandDate.com, there are nearly 2,000 veterans from the Vietnam War alone still listed as missing or unaccounted for. The U.S. Defense Department created POW/MIA Recognition Day on July 18, 1979, as a way to honor these missing heroes and servicemembers unaccounted for from other wars. Sept. 18 marked the 36th annual POW/MIA Recognition Day, and cities across the nation acknowledged the event in their own ways.
The Knoxville Chapter of the Vietnam Veterans of America in Knoxville, Tennessee, held a prayer service. They also invited veterans and the families of servicemembers to a meal. Local8Now.com reported that the meal was served at a round table with one empty seat with an upside down glass in its place setting. This glass was meant to symbolize the inability of POWs and MIA servicemembers to toast with their families.
"They haven't come home yet. Those are the [families] that don't have closure yet. They're still wondering, 'Are they alive? Are they held captive some place? Where are they,'" William Koprince, an event coordinator, told Local8Now.com.
However, the Knoxville gathering gave POW/MIA families a chance to support one another and receive words of kindness from other servicemembers.
Veterans issues are hot topics in the 2016 presidential race. Both Republicans and Democrats are arguing over the treatment of former servicemembers when they return from combat and how to improve their quality of life. A group of students from the University of Delaware got tired of hearing the arguments and seeing no action, so they decided to do something about it themselves. They took the politicians' words and put them into action.
On July 26, six students, all of whom met in the university's Reserve Officer Training Corps program, began a 16-day run to raise money for veterans groups. The students began in Newark, Delaware, and ended in Houston, Texas. USA Today reported that the journey took them over 1,700 miles, which meant that they were running an average of 15 miles per day. Along the way, the group raised over $13,000.
The students donated the money to Got Your 6 and Team Red White and Blue, but their philanthropy did not stop there. When they completed the run, the students joined forces to start a nonprofit called Reviresco, which is dedicated to improving the relationships between civilians and military members.
All of the founders of Reviresco are aspiring military officers, but they founded their organization with selfless intent. For them, it was more about creating a legacy to respect and a culture of mutual understanding.
"We're not doing it for ourselves but we're doing it for the generations of veterans now and the generation of veterans that come after us," Micah Petersen, the president of the nonprofit, told USA Today.
Petersen and the other members hope their organization will inspire change in the way society and politicians treat veterans. Reviresco's website allows other universities to host a fundraising run or obstacle course on their campuses.
The overpasses on Highway I-65 in Kentucky were a sight to see on Sept. 14. First responders from across the state hung the flags in the memory of State Trooper Joseph Cameron Ponder. The 31-year-old officer was fatally shot in the line of duty on Sept. 13. Fellow officers and other first responders lined the highway and saluted as Ponder's funeral procession drove past.
The first responders wanted to display unity and show respect for Ponder's sacrifice.
"We try to stick together and do what is right and take care of each other and the families," Shepardsville Fire Department's Assistant Fire Chief Craig Hampton told WLKY News. "You know, it is just one of those things where we try to stick together."
Ponder's family, including his fiancee, were grateful for the show of support. Firefighters and police officers from surrounding states also showed up to support the memorial effort and help hang the flags.
The Shepardsville first responders told WLKY News that it was always hard to lose a brother or sister in the line of duty, but the outpouring of support was enough to remind them why they go to work every day.
When soldiers leave combat for life after service, some of them experience difficulty with the transition to civilian life. Many of them leave service with a variety of skills that would benefit almost any nonmilitary workplace but are unsure how to put them on a civilian resume.
Early in September, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring Our Heroes division launched a new online tool to help veterans with their post-service job search.
Eric Eversole, the vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes, told WBTW News-13, "This tool helps [veterans] understand what they learned in the military, what skills or training they still need, and what paths to success in a growing industry look like."
The program is called Fast Track and allows former servicemembers to explore careers in industries like manufacturing, entertainment and financial services. It gives samples of salaries from various jobs and details how to get a job in different industries. The tool even has over 4 million job listings for careers in each industry all across the U.S.
Veterans can create a profile on the website, post a resume and search for career options.
Since World War I, the red poppy has been a symbol of veterans. According to Veterans Today, a Canadian officer named John McCrae drew inspiration from the flower's resilience and crafted the poem "In Flanders Fields." The poppy began to represent the bravery and strength of the fallen soldiers in the British and Canadian militaries. The tradition eventually made its way to America, where the flower is still a reminder of our servicemembers' sacrifices.
The Eastern Shore Art Center in Fairhope, Alabama, is using the poppy to unite students and veterans through art. The ESAC has spent months bringing art students and former servicemembers together to craft hundreds of ceramic poppies for an exhibit called "Symbols of Sacrifice: Poppies for Veterans." The display will include 3,000 handmade poppies, each one made by either a student or a veteran.
The "Symbols of Sacrifice: Poppies for Veterans" crafts will go on display Nov.10 and stay up until sunset on Nov. 11, or until all of the ceramic flowers have been purchased, GulfCoastNewsToday.com reported. Each piece will cost $20, or patrons can buy three for $50. The proceeds will benefit veterans events in the area.
Veterans United Arizona is a nonprofit group dedicated to providing assistance to servicemembers as they enter life after service. The group helps with veteran housing, employment and support groups. Its next fundraising event is a Texas Hold 'Em tournament in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. Veterans United Arizona said there is room for 225 players. Tickets must be purchased beforehand, as walk-in players will not be permitted. Interested players can buy tickets for $100.
Half of the proceeds will go toward the tournament's payout, while the other half will fund the Veterans United Arizona programs and services.
"It's going to help vets who need help with their utilities, and to make sure that homeless vets have sleeping bags or whatever they need from day to day," Frankie Lyons told HavasuNews.com.
The tournament is scheduled to begin at 8:30 on Sept. 19. Lyons told the news source that half of the tickets have been sold, so interested parties should act fast. To purchase tickets call (928)-302-9547 or visit the Lake Havasu City Balloon Store. Remaining tickets will be available for purchase until the day of the event.
The National World War II Museum reported that over half a million Mexican Americans served during WWII. Because of race relations in the country at the time, these individuals were not honored for their service. Recently, President Obama made an effort to thank the Mexican American veterans who had yet to be recognized.
"No nation is perfect, but here in America we confront our imperfections and face a sometimes painful past — including the truth that some of these soldiers fought, and died, for a country that did not always see them as equal," Obama said in an address outside the White House.
The Latino Cultural Center in Dallas, Texas, followed the president's address by opening an exhibit called "The Untold Story: A Tribute to Dallas' Mexican American Veterans and Families." The exhibit launched on Sept. 11 and marked the center's kickoff of National Hispanic Heritage Month. It features photographs, videos and memorabilia from Mexican American veterans.
Over 800 people attended the opening. Many of those people were family members of Hispanic veterans. One attendee, Manuel Flores, told The Dallas Morning News that it was fantastic to finally see Latino American veterans getting recognition for their service to the country. Flores' brother served in Vietnam, and his picture was one of 400 that hung in the exhibit.