Category MyCalVet
The Trifecta: CalVet’s Rose Shows His Range in Helping California’s Veterans
How has U.S. Navy veteran Derek Rose served other veterans since coming to CalVet seven years ago? Let us count the ways. Rose served four years in the military which included a two-year assignment in Bahrain. He separated in 2011, and used his Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits to earn his undergraduate degree from Sacramento […]
Seeing ‘Old Glory’ Adorning A Captured Enemy Ship Buoys Redding Doctor to Care for Other Veterans
In the pitch-blackness of a September night in 1987, the commander of an American cruiser in the Persian Gulf sounded general quarters. “He told us we were in the middle of an Iranian minefield,” said James Vogus—now chief physician and surgeon at the Veterans Home of California-Redding—a crew member that evening. “I wrote a letter […]
Veteran Chula Vista Couple Sent “Star Trek” Back to the Future for Its Vital Third Season
In the spring of 1967, the most futuristic television show of its time appeared headed into a black hole of oblivion. Driving up Highway 99 through the Central Valley, in a Volkswagen Bug with two kids in the back seat and no air conditioning, John and Bjo Trimble vowed to go where no fans had […]
Fair Enough: CalVet Loan Agent Finally Gets to Meet Veteran Who Was Among His First Clients
Associate Property Agent Christopher Adriano displayed his business cards among the brochures and other materials while representing CalVet’s Home Loans Division at the California State Fair last month. A woman, donning a United States Forest Service shirt, stopped by the booth, read the card, and said, “Are you Chris? You did our home loan.” That […]
Barstow Chaplain Counts His Blessings as a Veteran Serving Veterans
As the Protestant chaplain at the Veterans Home of California—Barstow, U.S. Army veteran William T. Young sees serving veterans as his divine duty. “I joined the Army in 1983 to pay back my missionary ‘debt,’” Young said. He spent the next 32 years ministering to the spiritual needs of soldiers—from Fort Totten in New York; […]
GI FILM FESTIVAL’S ‘THE GIFT’ IS A STORY FOR THE AGES
A Marine – who gave his own life so others could live. A Marine – who not only saved lives in 2004 but continues to impact them today. A Marine – who became a gift to so many people and in so many ways. “The Gift” – among the most powerful of the 31 films […]
WOMAN VETERAN DECAL IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR CALIFORNIA ‘HONORING VETERANS’ LICENSE PLATE
When President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Services Integration Act into law on June 12, 1948, women could finally serve as permanent, regular members of the four major branches of the American military. Up until 1948, women serving in the auxiliary branches performed duties in four categories: baking, clerical, driving, and medical. During WWII, the […]
VOLUNTEER TEACHES VETERANS HOW TO BETTER TELL THEIR STORIES
Most veterans have a story to tell, from boot camp or base life, from deployments to discharge. Sometimes, they just need tips on how to tell it. Kristine Mietzner loves to help them. The former journalist, retired educator, and now a staff services manager in CalVet’s Veterans Homes division has spent more than a decade […]
RETIRED ARMY MAJOR WANTS WOMEN VETERANS TO REMEMBER THEIR MILITARY-ACQUIRED SKILLS
As a U.S. Army Reservist serving in a psyops (psychological operations) unit in Iraq in 2021, Tina Knutson and her team got into the minds of Iraqi citizens while deployed to Baghdad. As a police officer and hostage negotiator during her 21-year career in law enforcement in the Alameda County city of Newark, she once […]
YES, TEACHER, GRANDMA REALLY WAS A SOLDIER, SPY, GUERILLA, AND SILVER STAR RECIPIENT
As the story goes, when Corporal Magdalena “Maggie” Leones’ granddaughter wrote a report about her grandma for a school assignment, the teacher simply didn’t believe it. Believe what? Or, was the girl simply a grandchild with an overactive imagination? Prove it, the teacher told her. Prove it, Maggie’s granddaughter did. She brought the Silver Star […]
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