Veterans Voices- ‘Like a giant X-ray’ They had a front-row seat to secret nuclear weapons tests. Now they’re fighting for recognition and compensation
- An Army of One: Oregon widow dedicates everything to providing housing for homeless veterans
- The Lost Graves of Tarawa: Hastily buried following one of World War II’s most horrific battles, the remains of missing Marines are coming home
- Growing Veterans: A Marine Corps veteran teams up with a trauma counselor to prevent suicides, through farming, fellowship and an effort to end the stigma of getting help
- ‘Nothing wrong with you:’ Twenty-five years later, Gulf War Illness often treated as a mental condition
- Home at Last: Seventy-five years after the attack on Pearl Harbor, men who died on USS Oklahoma are finally being returned to their families
- Thoroughbred Therapy: How Saratoga WarHorse rekindles life for soldiers dealing with PTSD
- ALASKA’S VANISHING CARE: How VA’s “Choice” program sabotaged a hard-earned network of local health care across the state’s vast and inaccessible wilds
- Wrongful discharge? Board that corrects military records ‘stacked against servicemembers’ critics charge
- BOOTED AFTER BATTLE Thousands of combat veterans have been kicked out of the military for misconduct without regard to PTSD, TBI or their right to medical retirement
Author Archives: Veterans' Voices
Bogus Benefit: USAJOBS.gov frustrates military veterans as downsizing sends thousands into the civilian workforce
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2016, All Rights Reserved) Before John Spanogle left the Army in the fall of 2014, he enrolled in a weeklong transition course at Fort Knox, Ky., and hired a professional résumé service to translate two and … Continue reading
More than Names: Janie Schaut hopes her personal histories of veterans from her community will inspire similar work nationwide
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved) She is known for walking the county cemeteries – Emmett, Ola, Sweet-Montour and Bramwell – on even the coldest days, kneeling at headstones, taking careful notes and sometimes talking to the departed. … Continue reading
Vietnam’s Senior Class: Often forgotten, the Americans who served in country between 1950 and 1964 saw their share of death and danger
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2015, All Rights Reserved) Just before the Army sent Jable Dean to Vietnam in 1954, it outlined a simple emergency evacuation plan: “If we have to pull out, get to the Saigon River,” Dean recalls the … Continue reading
Mystery in Hot Springs: Veterans are baffled and furious as VA prepares to abandon a medical center that serves three states
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) John Renstrom used to get all his medical care at a VA hospital near his home in the southern Black Hills of South Dakota. Now he drives 120 miles round-trip for everything from PTSD … Continue reading
Betrayed: In West Los Angeles, VA is leasing property to private businesses as mentally disabled veterans languish in the streets
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) Of all of the egregious cases involving homeless veterans in Los Angeles, one stands out for attorney Mark Rosenbaum. VA police arrested a homeless Vietnam War veteran they caught taking food from … Continue reading
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Tagged ACLU, Bobby Shriver, Brentwood, By Ken Olsen, Gary Blasi, Homeless veterans, HUD-VASH, Inner City Law Canter, Laurence Tribe, Mark Rosenbaum, Melissa Tyner, Mike Alvidrez, Pacific Veterans Home, Ron Olson, Skid Row, Skid Row Housing Trust, The American Legion Magazine, UCLA baseball, Vietnam veteran, West LA VA, West Los Angeles VA, Westwood
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Last Rites : As demand at national veterans cemeteries soars, VA scrambles to add burial space – and one community takes matters into its own hands
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) Kristie Roberts’ family was disheartened to learn that she didn’t qualify for burial in the national veterans cemetery near their home in upstate New York. It was Roberts’ wish when she first … Continue reading
‘We are not giving up on him’ — A Colorado community and The American Legion rally around the family of an Army veteran lost in last year’s historic floods
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) Before Gerry Boland went missing, he made his way to Lyons Elementary School to make sure the lights were on for people taking refuge from the floods ravaging Colorado’s Front Range last September. … Continue reading
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Tagged By Ken Olsen, Gerry Boland, North St. Vrain River, The American Legion
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On The Edge: Doctors over prescribe opioid painkillers to young veterans, leading to addictions and accidental overdoses
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) By the time Justin Minyard discovered the video of himself stoned, drooling and unable to help his daughter unwrap her Christmas presents, he was taking enough OxyContin, oxycodone and Valium every day … Continue reading
Veterans and widows are bewildered by VA’s unpredictable — and seemingly unfair — approach to Agent Orange claims
By Ken Olsen (Copyright 2014, All Rights Reserved) When Mary Warner’s husband became too sick to care for himself, she took early retirement and a reduced pension to attend to his needs. It was a significant financial risk. The Warners … Continue reading
Veterans Voices 