Category Events
August 14 celebrates Native Americans’ roles as “Code Talkers” during World War II
During World War II, Native Americans played a key role in the war against the Axis. They confounded the enemy by using the Navajo language to send secret information from the front lines. The enemy could hear the messages, which they couldn’t decipher because the Navajo language was unfamiliar to them. Consequently, these “code talkers,” […]
A WW II victory so historically important that it merits two commemorative days
How important was the Allied defeat of Japan that ended World War II in 1945? So important that V-J Day – V standing for Victory, J for Japan – is commemorated not once but twice in less than a month. The first – August 14 – is the day Japan admitted defeat by Allied forces, […]
28th Annual Sacramento Stand Down ready to give military veterans a boost
In times of war, the term “stand down” represents a break. A break from the fighting. A chance to eat a hot meal, to sleep on a cot instead of the ground, and maybe to get a shower. Some time to regroup, to decompress, and to rejuvenate before heading back into the fray. Some veterans […]
Veterans with CalVet home loans among those sorting out their futures in Paradise
Navy veteran Jim Davis saw an ominous sky as he headed out to the woodwork shop at his home in Paradise one morning in November 2018. “A really strange cloud,” he said. Davis sensed immediately that it soon would be raining fire, not water. He packed up what he could, then quickly left his property. […]
Indigestible field chows become culinary masterpieces at CalVet’s MRE Cooking Challenge
What did we learn about a Meal Ready-to-Eat? That it can’t stump the experts, or at least not during CalVet’s 7th MRE Cooking Challenge at the California State Fair on Thursday. They turned the virtually indestructible and — to some in the military – indigestible field sustenance known as the Meal-Ready-to-Eat into works of culinary […]
Military veterans, chefs mobilize for CalVet’s 7th Annual MRE Cooking Challenge
Can military sustenance become scrumptious? Can drab be transformed into delectable? See for yourself at CalVet’s 7th Annual MRE Cooking Challenge, Thursday July 18 at the California State Fair, an event that promises to be tastefully done. The Challenge pairs military veterans and noted local chefs as they look to impress a panel of culinary […]
The red, white, and blue blur of U.S. Flag Code etiquette
As we celebrate our nation’s 243rd birthday this Fourth of July, our patriotism will be evident with parades, picnics, patio barbecues, and pyrotechnics. So proudly we will hail, amid a sea of star-spangled banners. But in these heartfelt salutes to Old Glory, many might first want to familiarize themselves with the “dos” and “don’ts” of […]
Landmark riot launches LGBTQ movement. Fifty years of activism leads to LGBTQ Veterans Inclusion Forum.
June 28 marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York. For six days in 1969, LGBTQ individuals who frequented the Stonewall Inn, a gay and lesbian bar in Manhattan’s West Village, rebelled against the harassment by the New York police who kept raiding it. They resisted, long before “resist” became a political […]
CalVet assists veterans with a pathway to citizenship
Last March, CalVet’s Minority and Underrepresented Veterans Division launched the Pathway to Citizenship program. Since that time, CalVet, along with other state agencies and community support, has been able to assist more than 60 veterans and their families with citizenship and naturalization services they have earned through their military service. “California was the first state […]
CalVet celebrates Women’s Military History Week
This week, March 18 – 24, CalVet recognizes and celebrates women veterans and their contributions to our country as part of our state’s Women’s Military History Week. Each year, the third week of March is highlighted as a time to recognize the important accomplishments of women who have served in the armed forces of the […]
