Category Featured

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, WITH AN EYE TO THE SKY FOR REALLY SPOOKY STUFF

With Halloween upon us, we look to the maybe not-as-friendly-as-we-thought skies for a good spooking. On October 30, 1938 – Halloween Eve – Orson Welles punk’d an entire nation with his “War of the Worlds” radio spoof. It remains to this day the most famous radio broadcast ever – even more famous than President Franklin […]

William McKinley was the 25th U.S. President

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: FUTURE PRESIDENT FED UNION TROOPS UNDER FIRE

On this day in 1862, Union commissary Sergeant William McKinley braved enemy fire to feed Union troops during the Battle of Antietam – the single bloodiest day on American soil – and earned the praise of Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes. McKinley, then just 19 years old and serving in the 23rd Ohio Volunteers, drove a […]

Presidents Day 2021

HOW SOME PAST PRESIDENTS SPENT THEIR PRESIDENTS DAY

Presidents keep on working on the national holiday that many U.S. citizens have off.

Vietnam War veteran Phillip Willis discusses racial discrimination during Black History Month.

A THIRST FOR EQUALITY: DYING NAVY VETERAN’S STORY RESONATES AS BLACK HISTORY MONTH LESSON

One summer afternoon in the late 1950s, eight-year-old Phillip Willis, Jr. took a break from mowing lawns at a home in Jackson, Mississippi. Having worked up a thirst, Willis asked his employer, a white woman, for a glass of water.   That simple and reasonable request required minimal physical effort on the woman’s part. Mainly, it required mere humanity and compassion for a young Black kid toiling in the stifling heat and humidity. She begrudgingly gave him the water, Willis said, along with a not-so-subtle reminder that he […]

Shoichi Yokoi survived on an island for 26 years after World War II ended.

WORLD WAR II ENDED 49 YEARS AGO TODAY FOR THE LAST JAPANESE STRAGGLER ON GUAM

To most everyone else on the planet, World War II formally ended on September 2, 1945, when representatives of the Japanese government boarded the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay and signed the papers of surrender. One Japanese soldier on Guam, however, did not get the memo – or apparently any of the leaflets, or heard […]

CalVet LINC

MEET THE LINCs: ‘LINC’-ING VETERANS TO SERVICES REQUIRES NEW APPROACHES FOR CALVET’S EIGHT REGIONAL OUTREACH PROFESSIONALS

California’s nearly 1.6 million veterans share another common link – eight of them, in fact. The California Department of Veterans Affairs’ Local Interagency Network Coordinators, or LINCs, support veterans by connecting them to their earned benefits and services.

General John Pershing pins the Distinguished Service Cross medal on 1LT George Abramson in 1922. Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

SEVEN ON CALVET’S MEDAL OF HONOR WALL ALSO EARNED DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS

Seven Californians received both the Medal of Honor and the Distinguished Service Cross. Their names grace the Medal of Honor Hall in California’s Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters in downtown Sacramento.

National Guard, America’s oldest fighting force, celebrates 383rd birthday December 13

The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps celebrated their respective 244th birthdays, 28 days apart, in October and November. The U.S. Army was born on June 14 of that same year, 1775. But no American fighting force can match the longevity of the National Guard, which turns 383 years old this week. “The National Guard […]

EDD’s Veterans Day campaign showcases how employment services help veterans find jobs

Unemployment among California veterans dropped to 3.2 percent over the past two years – down 2.6 percentage points since August 2019 – according to the state Employment Development Department. And among the 735,700 employed veterans across California, 1 in 10 held a job in management, earning $138,000 annually compared to the statewide average of $60,485. […]

‘You’re out of uniform!’ And that’s a good thing at Operation Dress Code, where women veterans can dress for success

SAN DIEGO – Five years after leaving the U.S. Coast Guard, Franchesca Avila emerged from Central Arkansas University with a degree in family and consumer science. Then came time to get a job as a civilian. The tight budget of a new graduate didn’t leave much extra cash for the attire she needed to interview […]