I hardly know where to begin this newsletter note. Our team has had a whirlwind few weeks. While we continue to serve our aging veterans, we released our 2022 Impact Report, traveled to Richmond for meetings regarding state funding, attended fundraisers on our behalf, went on excursions, welcomed special guests to our office, celebrated our Ambassador at an awards dinner, and perhaps most notably, we attended Camp Legacy; a Welcome Home 50 years later to our Vietnam Veterans.
With Memorial Day around the corner, it is hard to separate these two events. During the Vietnam War, 2.7 million Americans served. Of this number over 58,000 U.S. military personnel suffered fatal casualties.
Since the end of the war, countless others have died from injuries suffered during the war, Agent Orange complications, or simply old age. For these veterans, we can not honor their lives any longer, only their memory.
Those who remain carry with them the memories of their friends and family lost along the way. It is a heavy load that they bear. And we carry it with us as well. Every story shared and name revealed of a serviceman lost brings their memory back and we carry it with us when we share a veteran’s tale.
This Memorial Day, I invite you to visit our website and read the stories we have collected over the years. Bring the memory of a lost veteran back and help carry the load for those we serve through our mission.
We thank our veterans for their service. For those lost, rest easy, we have the watch from here. Read the full newsletter.