Author Archives: Jeff Jardine
PATRICIA JACKSON KELLEY: MAKING HISTORY EVERY DAY FOR DECADES
At a recent veterans event in Los Angeles, a woman approached Patricia Jackson Kelley and offered words of appreciation. “I don’t know if you are aware of the difference you made in my life,” the woman told her, referring to a moment that occurred roughly two decades ago, when Kelley worked as a program coordinator […]
CALVET SAVES VETERAN’S HOME DEAL BY APPROVING LOAN IN RECORD 48 HOURS
Veteran Julian Saenz waited for his commercial lender to fund his loan so that escrow could close and he could move his family into their new home in Riverside County. The seller, meanwhile, had scheduled movers to transport her possessions to her new home in another state. With their closing date of February 3 looming, […]
THE GAME OF HIS LIFE PRODUCED MAJOR RESULTS
Larry Rankin faced a big decision after graduating from high school in Michigan more than two decades ago. Go to college? “I wasn’t ready for college,” he said. OK, then, follow in his Navy dad’s footsteps by joining a branch of the military? “Not for me,” Rankin said. “Never.” Then, a funny thing happened on […]
FOOD FOR THOUGHT: GRATITUDE FROM VENTURA HOME’S NEWEST VETERAN RESIDENT
Ed Gafford gave rave reviews to his lunch earlier this week at the Veterans Homes of California-Ventura. “The vegetable soup was as good as I’ve ever had,” the 89-year-old U.S. Army veteran said. “A hoagie sandwich, and I had that with a kale salad. A wonderful meal.” Ah, life’s simple pleasures, with his appreciation enhanced […]
FOR WHOM THE TOLLS DON’T APPLY: ELIGIBLE VETS WON’T PAY FOR BRIDGE CROSSINGS AMONG NEW LAWS IN 2023
When the clock struck midnight and rang in 2023, it brought several new laws that will honor and benefit many of California’s 1.6 million military veterans. All were signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in 2022. Perhaps the most notable of them? We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it – literally, figuratively, and seriously. […]
GLIDING INTO 2023, 70 YEARS TO THE DAY MILITARY GLIDERS SAILED OFF INTO RETIREMENT
As we glide into 2023, we pay tribute to the military glider – one of America’s silent weapons of World War II – that was removed from the U.S. Army’s air fleet on this day 70 years ago. Gliders were lightweight, engineless airplanes towed by cables into the skies by much bigger, motored aircraft, then […]
WHEN THEY CELEBRATED HANUKKAH, OTHER JEWISH HOLIDAYS IN SADDAM’S OLD DIGS
Shortly after U.S. troops captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in December 2003, a Jewish-American woman serving in the U.S. military received a care package from home. It included a menorah, candles, and a “Happy Hanukkah” card. That she received it isn’t unusual. Military personnel frequently receive packages from family members or friends in time for […]
WEBINARS OF INTRIGUE: HOW CALTAP WENT VIRTUAL DURING THE PANDEMIC TO KEEP VETERANS CONNECTED
When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in early 2020 and shut many things down, CalVet stepped up. When other offices stopped answering their phones or were unable to reply, CalVet picked up. When military bases, college campuses, and other community-based points of connection closed, CalVet booted up and took vital information right into the veterans’ homes […]
PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY: IMAGES LEFT TO TELL THE STORY ONCE THE FINAL VOICES GO SILENT
On Veterans Day last month, USS Arizona Navy veteran Lou Conter told a gathering in Grass Valley about the fateful events of December 7, 1941—the day the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service attacked Pearl Harbor. Of the 2,403 Americans killed, 1,177 were his Arizona shipmates. The attack also damaged or destroyed 19 ships including eight […]
NEW ROUND OF BOND SALES WILL HELP MORE VETERANS AND THEIR FAMILIES TO ENJOY HOMEOWNERSHIP
Since its creation in 1921, CalVet’s Home Loans program has helped more than 440,000 veterans and their families achieve the American dream of homeownership, loaning more than $8.4 billion–and counting–through its first 101 years. That “counting” will continue for years to come after a recent bond sale provided an additional $255.5 million to help more […]
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