February 2021 Veterans Chronicle

VETERANS CHRONICLE FEB. 19, 2021

SUPPORT FOR WOMEN VETERANS

Navy women's soccer goalkeeper Elizabeth Hoerner stands in formation before the start of the Army Navy NCAA college football game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Dec. 14, 2013.

JACQUELINE LARMA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Women represent a growing number of service members and the veteran community

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VETERANS CHRONICLE VETERANS CHRONICLE A supplement to The Spokesman-Review Feb. 19, 2021

VETERANS HELP NET Don Walker Bryan Bledsoe MANAGING EDITOR Theresa Tanner ART DIRECTOR Anne Potter DIRECTOR OF SALES Scott Baumbach Veterans Help Net partners with The Spokesman-Review to publish Veterans Chronicle on the third Friday of every month to increase awareness

about veteran issues and to help veterans find hope and help.

To share a veteran story or information about resources for veterans, please contact info@veteranshelpnet.com, call (509) 655-9266 or visit www.VeteransHelpNet.com.

For advertising information, please contact advertising@spokesman.com or (509) 459-5095.

No portion of this magazine may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent of the publisher.

Calling all women who served in the U.S. military To help veterans, specifically women, connect with their benefits, the VA has created the Women Veterans Call Center.

The WVCC staff is trained to provide women veterans, their families, and caregivers about VA services and resources.

The call is free, and you can call as often as you like until you have the answers to your questions.

The Call Center is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. EST, and on Saturdays from 8 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. EST. You can also connect by texting the same number to reach WVCC representatives who can answer general questions about benefits, eligibility, and services specifically for women veterans. By offering more ways to reach WVCC representatives, women

veterans can choose the most convenient way to get the information they need.

How does the WVCC work? You will be connected to a trained VA woman staff member. Call center staff will conduct a brief screening to assess your needs.

Women veterans will be provided personalized information regarding health care services, VA benefits and services, and a package of information will be sent to their home.

You can call for yourself or for a women veteran you know. The call is free and confidential. Contact information will be requested so staff may follow-up.

To reach the WVCC, call (855) 8296636. For more information, visit www. womenshealth.va.gov/womenshealth/

IN THIS ISSUE Women Veterans Call Center..........................................................................2 FAQ for new women veteran patients of VA health care......................3 Hey Veterans, Did You Know?........................................................................4 New location for Vets Garage........................................................................5 How Can I Get Help?.........................................................................................5 Resources for women veterans.....................................................................6 Facts about women veterans.........................................................................7 Military Sisterhood Initiative...........................................................................8 Support available at Vet Centers...................................................................9 A WWII love story...............................................................................................10 Women at the Wall.............................................................................................11

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR NEW WOMEN VETERAN PATIENTS OF VA HEALTH CARE What type of care does VA offer women veterans?

VA aims to provide women veterans with the best care ... anywhere. VA provides women with comprehensive care for all stages of adult life, including primary care, gender-specific care, and mental health care. For more information about women’s health care at the VA, visit www. womenshealth.va.gov

How do I begin the enrollment process for VA health care?

The enrollment process begins with the completion of Form 1010-EZ, which can be accessed at www.1010ez.med.va.gov/ sec/vha/1010ez/, requested by calling 1-800-827-1000, or picked up at your local VA facility. A copy of your DD214 and

a statement showing your previous year’s income accompanies the 1010-EZ.

What if I have questions about the paperwork?

Call 1-800-827-1000 and VA will help you complete the enrollment process.

Once I’m enrolled, who can guide me through the system?

At each VA medical center nationwide, a Women Veterans Program Manager, or WVPM, is in place to advise and advocate for women veterans. Once you are enrolled, your WVPM can give you valuable information on facilities and services available in your area, and on local primary care providers.

Are there other resources available to help me understand my VA benefits and stay healthy?

Yes. A web feature called ebenefits at www.ebenefits.va.gov provides veterans, Wounded Warriors, and service members – as well as their families and caregivers – with a range of benefits-related tools and information.

MyHealtheVet provides veterans, dependents, and caregivers with free, anywhere and anytime internet access to VA health care information and services. My HealtheVet encourages veterans to become informed partners in their health care, as does the implementation of secure messaging between VA patients and providers. You can access it by visiting www.myhealth.

va.gov.

Information on MyHealtheVet includes: • Downloadable personal health information • Prescription refills • Trusted health/medical information • Info on VA benefits and services • Local VA events and activities • Military Health History • Activity/Food Journals Find answers to more FAQs about VA health care and services for women veterans at www.womenshealth.va.gov/ WOMENSHEALTH/faqs.asp Find local resources in “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5 in this publication.

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Vets Garage has new location Nonprofit provides therapeutic activities, job skills

HOW CAN I GET HELP?

Every county and state has a Veteran Affairs office to answer questions about benefits and provide assistance. There are also other useful resources for veterans in the Inland Northwest.

By Chuck Elmore

DIRECTOR, VETS GARAGE

After occupying a shop on E. Francis Ave. since November 2018, the Vets Garage has moved to a more central location near downtown Spokane. The Vets Garage, a 501c3 non-profit organization providing therapeutic activities, job skills and camaraderie to all veterans felt a move was needed because our old location was three-fourths of a mile from the nearest STA Bus Stop. This made it difficult for some of our disabled veterans to get to the shop.

As a result, we’ve relocated to a new facility at 224 E. Pacific Ave. We now have bus stops within a few blocks of our facility.

Our programs are open to veterans as well as civilians who have a desire to learn how to operate woodworking equipment. Our primary mission is to provide therapeutic activities for veterans with post-traumatic stress. We accomplish this in many ways.

We have a considerable number of woodworking tools, such as wood lathes, table and band saws, planers, CNC routers and other equipment, enabling us to teach anyone to work with their hands in manufacturing whatever they might desire. We also provide instruction in jewelry making, knitting and crocheting, and we are in the infancy stages of work in manufacturing with composite materials.

Many people have woodworking equipment in their shops and garages, but what sets us apart is we have two CNC (computer numerical control) routers we use to make practically anything.

CNC is a computerized automation method used in manufacturing that allows precise tolerances and near perfect copies of almost anything. The computer control comes from Computer Aided Design (CAD) software that tells the machine tool what actions to take during the milling process. These machines can cost anywhere from $7,000 to $30,000 or more, making it almost impossible for most people to have their own machine.

Several veterans have come through our programs and learned job skills that enabled them to go back to work for local companies and in some cases, even start

GO ONLINE VA.gov

The Department of Veterans Affairs website has resources on every topic relevant to veterans.

VA.gov/welcome-kit

The VA Welcome Guide

covers all types of benefits and services available for veterans, new recruits, active service members and their families.

DAV9.com

COURTESY PHOTO

A Vets Garage member uses the tools and resources at the nonprofit’s new location at 224 E. Pacific Ave. near downtown Spokane.

IF YOU GO

Vets Garage

WHERE: 224 E Pacific Ave., Spokane PHONE: (509) 919-3176 EMAIL: vetsgarage2015@gmail.com HOURS: Open Monday-Friday, 1-7 p.m.,

and Saturday, 1-4 p.m.; Closed Sundays and federal holidays

their own business. We have classes in how to operate our woodworking equipment. We can also teach you to cast metal jewelry and other items in sand. We conduct knitting and crocheting classes, and we can probably teach almost any activity you may desire.

Best of all, you will enjoy the camaraderie of working with and around other veterans and civilians who have similar life experiences to yours. If this sounds like it might be for you, please stop by and see us or just give us a call and we can discuss whatever might be of interest to you!

Based in Post Falls, Disabled American Veterans Chapter 9 Fort Sherman shares links and information to both local and national help organizations for veterans.

Explore.VA.gov/benefitsnavigator Explore VA benefits and discover which ones you and your family may be eligible to receive.

IN PERSON

BY PHONE

1117 N. Evergreen Rd., Spokane Valley, WA (509) 477-3690 Apply for emergency services, or have any benefits or service questions answered by 5 Veteran Service Officers (VSO) and staff.

(509) 477-3690

Spokane County Regional Veteran Service

North Idaho Veteran Services and Benefits Office

120 E. Railroad Ave., Post Falls, ID (208) 446-1092 Meet with a VSO or staff for help with VA benefits enrollment, claims or other veteran needs.

Goodwill Support Services for Veteran Families (SSVF)

130 E. Third Ave., Spokane, WA (509) 828-2449 SSVF helps homeless veterans and their families find housing and connects veterans with other support organizations.

Spokane County Regional Veteran Service North Idaho Veteran Services and Benefits Office 120 E. Railroad Ave., Post Falls, ID (208) 446-1092

Veteran Crisis Line

1 (800) 273-8255, press 1

North Idaho Crisis Center (208) 625-4884

Washington or Idaho 2-1-1

Dial “2-1-1” for health and human resources referrals.

If you don’t know who to call, VA has a new “Single Access Point” phone number to all VA contact centers 1-800-MyVA411 (1-800-698-2411)

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HEY VETERANS, DID YOU KNOW … ?

… Many veterans are unaware of VA disability benefits?

VA disability compensation is a monthly, tax-free payment designed to compensate veterans for an injury or illness incurred or made worse from active military service, regardless of when they served. A disability can apply to physical conditions, such as a chronic knee condition, as well as mental health conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Service-disabled veterans may also be entitled to health care, employment counseling and other benefits at no cost. For example, if your disability limits your mobility, you may qualify for a payment to buy or modify a vehicle to get around easier.

One way for veterans to start the application process is to enlist a person or an organization to help them with their claim.

A Veterans Service Officer (VSO), claims agent or accredited attorney can help veterans determine which claim fits them best.

VA provides additional resources and information at https://www.va.gov/disability/ get-help-filing-claim/ See “How Can I get Help” on page 5 in this publication for local resources.

… The VA provides hearing aids?

Typically, veterans can qualify for this benefit if they have a documented service-connected hearing loss, receive a disability rating of 10% or more (for a condition other than hearing loss), or have special needs. With the exception of veterans with documented service-connection for hearing loss, an eligible veteran must be enrolled in and receiving healthcare from VA Medical Center or Outpatient Clinic.

Hearing aids can sometimes help tinnitus (ringing in the ears), which is the most common condition for which veterans receive monthly compensation. Usually, veterans receive a 10% rating for tinnitus which paid $144.10 per month as of December 2020.

… Agent Orange Survivor Benefits may be available?

Even if a veteran died without a claim or passed away from a disease that was added to the list of recognized Agent Orange related ailments after their death, surviving spouses and children may qualify for this benefit.

Survivors can receive monthly payments under a program called Dependency and Indemnity Compensation (DIC), which provides lifetime tax-free income to survivors of veterans who had service-related

disabilities or diseases.

It has been estimated that tens of thousands of survivors are unaware they are eligible for benefits because their spouses had diseases that the VA linked to Agent Orange only after their death. Survivor benefits can be higher depending on their situation, including whether they need a caregiver to assist them with everyday activities like bathing and dressing.

Does this sound like someone you know?

Show them this article and send them to a Regional Veterans Service Office (see “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5).

… A disability rating can affect your eligibility for benefits and services?

The VA gives you a disability rating to describe how much your service-connected disability impacts your daily life, particularly your ability to work. A “service-connected” disability is an injury, disease, or condition that resulted from or was made worse during military service. Disability ratings range from 0%–100%. A 0% rating means

your disability does not affect your everyday life. Any rating, including a 0%, makes you eligible for certain services. While you might feel your condition is not serious, you should still consider applying for a rating.

You must file a claim for disability. VA determines your rating based on the evidence you provide (which includes your medical records and DD214) and the severity of your condition. Once your claim is processed, you will receive a disability rating. To find out more about filing a claim, call 800-8271000 or visit www.va.gov/disability/howto-file-claim.

Need some local help or know someone that may need some help? See “How Can I Get Help?” on page 5 for local resources.

… There are many VA benefits you might not know about?

While 44% of all veterans use at least one VA benefit, several lesser-known benefits could help veterans live better, healthier lives.

It is not uncommon for a veteran to struggle with translating military experience

into civilian terms. VA offers employment resources for this, and every stage of the job search. Veterans who qualify for VA career and employment services can: • Search for jobs and find employers who want to hire veterans.

• Access apprenticeship or on-the-job training using the GI Bill.

• Get one-on-one career counseling if they have a service-connected disability through the Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (VR&E) program.

• Visit VA.gov to learn more about all VA benefits. You can find local resources to help with finding Employment Resources the following locations: WorkSource Spokane 130 S. Arthur St., Spokane (509)532-3120 www.worksourcespokane.com Idaho Department of Labor, Veteran Services Representatives 600 N. Thornton St., Post Falls (208) 457-8789 www.labor.idaho.gov/dnn/Job-Seekers/ Veterans-Services

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RESOURCES FOR WOMEN VETERANS

Women have served in the military from the American Revolution to the present. Unfortunately, women have been historically underrepresented in utilizing the benefits provided for them, and have often been more reticent in claiming their veteran status.

Women now make up 15% of active duty and 18% of Guard/Reserves service members.

Based on the upward trend of women in all branches of service, the number of women veterans and female VA users is expected to double again in the next decade.

To that end, the VA has created a number of outreach programs geared towards female veterans.

A Pfc. gives helpful hints to her teammate holding four excess gunpowder bags that weren’t needed for the threeincrement charge during live-fire training on the M119A3 howitzer, Fort Sill on March 1, 2016.

Women Veterans Hotline

While the number of women VA users continues to grow, women comprise only 6% of VA’s total patient population.

Women veterans underutilize VA care and benefits, largely due to a lack of knowledge about VA benefits and available services.

In response, the VA has established a Women Veterans hotline – 1-855-VA-WOMEN (829-6636) – to receive and respond to questions from women veterans, their families, and caregivers across the nation about available VA services and resources.

VA Benefits and Programs for Women Veterans

Women veterans are entitled to the same VA benefits as male veterans. Gender-specific services and benefits – including breast and pelvic examinations – and preventive care such as contraceptive services, menopause management, pap smears, reproductive counseling, and mammography are also available. VA health care professionals are trained to provide counseling and treatment to women suffering the effects of personal and sexual assault/harassment during military service. Care is available for any injury, illness

U.S. ARMY PHOTO

or psychological illness resulting from such trauma.

To ensure the privacy of women veterans, the VA medical centers have introduced a variety of structural changes. Women Veterans Coordinators are available at all VA facilities to assist women veterans in seeking treatment and benefits. VA also has a program known as the Center for Women Veterans.

Center for Women Veterans

VA's Center for Women Veterans monitors and coordinates VA's administration of benefit services and programs for women Veterans. The center advocates for a cultural transformation that recognizes the service and contributions of women veterans and women in the military, and also raises awareness of the responsibility to treat women veterans

with dignity and respect.

Learn more about the Center for Women Veterans at www. va.gov/womenvet/.

Women Veteran Coordinators

There are Women Veteran Coordinator (WVCs) located in every regional office who function as the primary contact for women veterans regarding their VA benefits. WVCs provide specific information and comprehensive assistance to women veterans, their dependents, and beneficiaries concerning VA benefits and related non-VA benefits. They may assist in claims intake, development, and processing of military sexual and personal trauma claims.

VA Health Care for Women Veterans

At each VA medical center

nationwide, a Women Veterans Program Manager (WVPM) is designated to advise and advocate for women veterans. The WVPM can help coordinate all the services you may need, from primary care to specialized care for chronic conditions or reproductive health. Woman veterans who are interested in receiving care at VA should contact the nearest VA Medical Center and ask for the WVPM. Learn more about the VA Health Care for Women Veterans at www.womenshealth.va.gov/.

VA Benefits for Victims of Military Sexual Trauma

VA has special services available to help women who experienced military sexual trauma (MST), including free, confidential counseling and treatment for mental and physical health con-

ditions related to MST. You do not need to have a service-connected disability or injury, and may be able to receive this benefit even if you are not eligible for other VA care.

You do not need to have reported the incidents when they happened or have other documentation that they occurred in order to receive MST services.

Every VA facility has a designated MST Coordinator who serves as a contact person for MST-related issues. This person is an advocate and can help find and access VA services and programs, state and federal benefits and community resources.

Learn more about MST and other violence and abuse from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov/ and www. mentalhealth.va.gov/msthome/.

Article courtesy of Military.com.

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FACTS ABOUT WOMEN VETERANS

Women have formally been a part of the United States Armed Forces since the inception of the Army Nurse Corps in 1901, but have informally served since the inception of our nation’s military.

In 1948, Congress made women a permanent part of the military service. The Women’s Armed Services Integration Act of 1948 limited the proportion of women in the military to 2% of the enlisted force and 10% of officers. This limit was repealed in 1967. The end of conscription and the transition to the All-Volunteer Force in 1973 marked a dramatic increase in the opportunities available for women to serve in the military.

In 2014, there were 200,692 women in the Active component of the U.S. Armed Forces and 156,180 women in the Reserve and National Guard, representing 16.5% of the total military force. While the proportion of women veterans is still relatively small, their numbers have been increasing over the past several decades and are projected to continue increasing into the future.

The number of women veterans is expected to increase while the overall number of veterans is expected to decrease. In 2015, women made up 9.4% of the veteran population, with an expected increase to 16.3% by the year 2042.

Approximately 2 million veterans in the United States and Puerto Rico were women.

Twenty-five percent of all living women veterans served only during peace times. Fifty-six percent of all women veterans have served during the Gulf War Era (August 1990 to the present).

The median age of women veterans in 2015 was 50, compared with 46 for non-veteran

ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. Army Capt. Kristen Griest, of Orange, Connecticut, left, smiles as she stands in formation during an Army Ranger School graduation ceremony on Aug. 21, 2015, at Fort Benning, Ga. Griest and First Lt. Shaye Haver became the first female soldiers to complete the Army’s rigorous school. women.

In 2015, 19% of women veterans were African-American, compared with 12 percent of non-Veteran women. African-American women are also overrepresented compared to African-American men in the military. In contrast, the percentage of women veterans who were Hispanic was almost half that of non-veterans (9% compared with 16%). The percentage of women veterans who were Asian is less

than half that of non-veterans (2% compared with 5.5%).

Generally, as the percentage of Hispanic people in the general population rises, their representation in the military rises as well, therefore the percentage of Hispanic women veterans is expected to increase in the future.

Women veterans were more likely to have been married than non-veteran women. In 2015, 84 percent of women veterans were currently mar-

ried, divorced, widowed, or separated compared with 72% of non-veteran women.

In 2015, 23.4% of all women veterans were currently divorced compared with 12.6 percent of nonveteran women.

In 2015, 28.6% of all women veterans under the age of 65 had children 17 years old or younger living at home, and 29.9 percent of non-veteran women had children 17 years old or younger living at home.

Information courtesy of “Women Veterans Report: The Past, Present, and Future of Women Veterans” from National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C., February 2017.

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Support for women veterans at Vet Centers Women have played key roles during military service since our nation’s inception, from helping with staff shortages at home to tending the battlefield wounded. For women veterans, coming home from war isn’t easy. Survival instincts develop fast during daily exposure to gunfire and explosions. It also happens with the chaos that happens wherever armed soldiers clash.

Learning to let go of that lifestyle can be difficult, especially after returning home. Vet Centers provide free and private services to help women veterans and active duty Servicemembers returning home and “get used to” to civilian life.

The Vet Center program was started

by Congress in 1979. Congress found that a large number of Vietnam veterans were having readjustment problems. Over time, Congress included other war-era veterans. They also kept the idea of “combat” veterans.

Recent law now allows Vet Centers to provide readjustment counseling services to certain active-duty service members and their families.

Vet Centers are community-based and part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Vet Center program staff are the people in VA who welcome home war veterans and service members with honor. They provide quality readjustment counseling in a caring manner.

Vet Centers know and appreciate these individuals’ war experiences.

Staff assist veterans and their family

members toward a successful postwar adjustment in or near their community.

Vet Centers across the U.S. provide a broad range of services to women combat veterans, service members and their families.

Changes often occur after veterans return from combat. Services for a woman veteran or service member may include individual and group counseling in areas such as: • Symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), • Military Sexual Trauma (MST) • Alcohol and drug assessment • Suicide prevention referrals Vet Center services are free and without time limits for eligible women veterans, service members and their families. Go to www.vetcenter. va.gov/Eligibility.asp to learn more.

IF YOU GO

Spokane Vet Center 13109 East Mirabeau Parkway Spokane, WA 99216 (509) 444-8387

Currently open for limited services and hours. We're conducting all regularly scheduled appointments virtually currently due to COVID-19. Please call ahead.

If you need to speak with someone confidentially, call (877) 927-8387 anytime.

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Military Sisterhood Initiative connects women veterans

Free national peer support community for military women For women veterans who may be feeling isolated, online communities offer a great place to connect –especially now while we’re all social distancing.

The Military Sisterhood Initiative, or MSI, is one such community for women veterans and female active-duty service members.

Launched online in February 2020, the Military Sisterhood Initiative is a free national peer support network of and for women of the military. In effect, it’s a network built on the tried-and-true military concept of having your sister’s “six.”

A safe, private space for women

The Military Sisterhood Initiative provides a safe space for military women to connect and encourage one another as they explore new opportunities for personal growth, purpose and fulfillment. This is especially valuable in moments like these when

face-to-face meetings are not possible. Then, from this camaraderie and collective strength, comes the opportunity for women of the military to fight for improvements in the conditions that structure their lives and the lives of their military sisters.

As a private online community, the MSI serves as a place to congregate, share, learn, grow, give/receive and, once things go back to normal, find meet-up opportunities with military sisters near them.

By joining the Military Sisterhood Initiative, women can: • Create a profile and connect with other military sisters near them or across the country to build one-on-one relationships.

• Ask for help when they need it and offer support when their sisters are in need.

• Engage in discussions and activities around different monthly topics and weekly challenges.

• Post and find events, resources, and stories rel-

evant to women veteran growth and empowerment.

Developed and managed

by Challenge America, a national veteran 501(c)3 nonprofit, the Military Sisterhood Initiative was designed by and for military women.

Zaneta Adams, Army Veteran and Director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency, had the original vision for the Sisterhood and helped to put the pieces in place to make it a reality. Challenge America then partnered with Global consultancy firm, Acumen Solutions, to design the MSI platform.

Women veterans and female active-duty service members can join thousands of their sisters in the Military Sisterhood Initiative by visiting www.militarysisterhoodinitiative. org and clicking “Request to Join.”

Courtesy of VAntage Point, the official blog of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs.

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‘For Courage, Faith and Devotion’: A World War II love story

By Ruth Aresvik

VETERAN HELP NET CONTRIBUTOR

"When Irish eyes are happy, all the world seems bright and gay, and when Irish eyes are smiling, sure they steal your heart away."

- Chauncey Olcott and George Graff Jr.

And a heart he did steal – this young Irish lad, James Bernard Towey, born in December 1916. James' parents had immigrated from Ireland and settled in Cedar Rapids, Nebraska, in the early 1900s.

When James met Ann Louise Neubauer, a young girl from St. Paul, Minnesota, it could be said both hearts were stolen. So goes this story told by their son, Tom Towey, a Navy veteran and current Vice-Commander of American Legion Post #241 in the Spokane Valley.

James and Ann married in 1939 and started a family. Tom was but an infant when his dad joined the Navy; dates and details are few and slim as "Dad was tight lipped and didn't like to talk about it; you had to pry it out of him."

At some point, James was stationed at Farragut Naval Training Station in Bayview, Idaho. He loved the area, the nature – that feeling of Ireland. And so, the family settled in Spokane.

In 1944, James was serving aboard an unknown ship, island hopping, and part of a convoy traveling on an attack mission to Japan. The convoy's mission was aborted when, on Aug. 6, 1945, an American B-29 bomber dropped the world's first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima.

While on board, James took up a craft.

He found a "nut" or “pit” of some sort, and created a pendant. Since all forms of paper and writing instruments had been confiscated so sailors could not write home and reveal their mission, James got inventive. He got his hands on some red paint, and using an unknown instrument, carefully dotted letters onto the "nut," writing "Ann" on one side, and "For courage, faith and devotion" on the other side. James mailed it home to Ann, who attached a chain and wore it as a necklace.

Tom says his mother was very proud of the pendant.

James died in 1988, followed by Ann in 1992, leaving their seven children to sort through a lifetime of keepsakes. Tom

inherited the pendant, but what to do with it? How many treasures end up in the back of a dusty drawer, dark and forgotten? Tom knew the story and gave it continued life by making a shadow box to display.

Some of this story may be incomplete, lost in the shadows. Tom does not know what kind of "nut" it is; does not know what the "ink" is, or how it was written on the nut. But it's not hard to understand the meaning of those words "for courage, faith and devotion." We routinely give thanks and worth to veterans over all generations for their service. But how many spouses, parents and children were left home to fight their own war? James un-

derstood the duty that his wife Ann had to deal with on the home front. He recognized the worth of her job. Tom said it's a "two-way emotion, a universal emotion of World War II veterans." And as long as names are spoken, treasures are displayed, emotions are shown – our loved ones will never die.

Of James and Ann’s seven children, six of them also served our country: Bill (Navy), Mary Ann (married career Air Force man), Jim (Marine), Tom (Navy), John (Navy) and Patti (married career Air Force man); Judy married her high school sweetheart, so she's forgiven!

Thanks to Tom and his siblings for sharing this story.

Front row: Parents James and Ann Towey.

Back row, from left: Siblings Tom, John, Patti, Judy, Mary Ann, Bill and Jim.

COURTESY PHOTOS

Framed pendant that James Towey made for his wife Ann while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

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Women at the Wall: Vietnam Women’s Memorial

By Wesley S. Anderson VFW POST 51 CHAPLAIN

A short distance from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial stand three women. Who are they? We may never know, but they are there tending their charge and overlooking The Wall.

Who were they? They were called “Mother,” “Daughter,” “Wife,” and “Girlfriend” when the wounded and dying called out.

“These women were the last people those guys saw or talked to before they died," said Tim Davis, a former Marine who lost his legs in Vietnam in 1968, at the statue’s dedication in 1993.

Theirs was a duty that that touched the lives of all who came in contact with them. Giving comfort to all and asking for

nothing in return.

What were their names?

We do not know their names; we never asked. They were the nurses, the female corpsmen and the medics who volunteered to be there. They do not look at The Wall; they are looking after their charge doing their best to ensure his name does not go on that mirror of black granite.

These women were the youngest group of medical personnel ever to serve in war time.

They did not have to come, but they did. They endured the same hazards we all endured.

Eight of them are forever enshrined on the Wall with more than 58,000 other names. But these three will forever stand in silent testament to all those that chose to be there, and for that we shall always be grateful.

Diane Carlson Evans, founder of the Vietnam Women’s Memorial Foundation, left, hugs fellow Vietnam veterans during the dedication ceremony for the Vietnam Women’s Memorial statue on Nov. 11, 1993, in Washington, D.C. ASSOCIATED PRESS

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