VETERAN'S VOICE
“The Wall That Heals” is a replica of the iconic black granite Vietnam War Memorial in Washington D.C. and is part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation that initiated and maintains the Wall in our nation’s capital. The exhibit is accompanied by a mobile education center and will be at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport March 13-16, 2025.
The Wall will be open and attended 24 hours a day. More than likely other veterans-related activity will take place with the Wall display, so stay tuned. For more information go to https://bit.ly/4i5ihZ9.
Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA)
At the St. Cloud Veterans Salute Dinner this past Veterans Day weekend, I had a chance to speak with the Executive Director of FDVA, U.S. Marine Major General (retired) James “Hammer” Hartsell, who was one of the guest speakers at the dinner. He started his military career as an enlisted Marine, and when asked expressed that he felt this experience gave him a high level of credibility with enlisted veterans that make up probably 80% of the entire veteran population.
“Enlisted and officer veterans have different needs and different level of needs and it’s important that our agency is able to understand those nuances to better serve those veterans we are committed to serving,” said the general.
Referencing the State’s Veterans Home program, he relayed that the FDVA collaborates closely with the federal Veterans Affairs Administration to ensure that between the VA, FDVA, and commercial facilities, that there are adequate beds to accommodate the veterans who need this care at some point in their lifetime. The State of Florida took over the vacated VA nursing home at Lake Baldwin in Winter Park in 2022.
Asked about the future of funding for veterans needs now that the decades long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have come to an end, Gen. Hartsell said he felt that the American people will always respect the service and sacrifice of our veterans and as long as they are kept informed of the needs, then the people and their elected representatives will continue to meet funding commitments throughout the future.
Finally, he wanted to encourage veterans to be more prominent in their community to let people know that they had served and that they were veterans, and they should lead the way in celebrating our country, including respecting the flag.
“Also, we should take the time to focus on our Korean War veterans, who are now starting to enter into the latter phase of their life, and we’ll soon be gone from us as those precious World War Two veterans are quickly passing on now,” he said.
Sandwiched between World War II and the controversial Vietnam War, Korea is often called the “forgotten war,” with a corresponding effect on the veterans who served in that war.
