Category MyCalVet
NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH: GRAB YOUR SEAT AT THE TABLE
With National Hispanic Heritage Month winding down, Aimee Pila-Bravo has some advice for other Hispanics, Latinos and Latinas looking to make a difference: “Be a mentor,” said the 34-year-old U.S. Air Force veteran, currently a member of the Air Force Reserve and director of the Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative (LAVC). “Volunteer. Give back to the […]
U.S. AIR FORCE CELEBRATES 75 YEARS OF FLYING SOLO IN THE WILD BLUE YONDER
Happy 75th birthday to the United States Air Force! The Air Force became its own branch of the U.S. military after President Truman signed the National Security Act on September 18, 1947. Aviation had been part of the U.S. military since the Civil War, and Allies relied on aircraft throughout both World Wars. The Navy […]
THE ‘THANK-YOU’ NOTES THAT MEAN SO MUCH TO CALVET’S ANALYSTS HELPING INCARCERATED VETERANS
Steven Smith scrolled through his emails one day a few months ago, and came across one that simply moved him. Smith, a United States Navy Veteran, is among the seven veterans claims analysts working directly with incarcerated veterans in California’s 35 state prisons through CalVet’s Justice Involved Veterans Initiative. The analysts help veterans—many imprisoned for […]
CALVET PROGRAM DOES JUSTICE TO THE CONCEPT OF HELPING INCARCERATED VETERANS
Mary Donovan, a veterans claims analyst with CalVet, talked benefits with about 30 veterans in the Sierra foothills community of Ione one recent morning. This wasn’t just any veterans’ group, though. All are inmates at Mule Creek State Prison, and among the more than 5,000 military veterans incarcerated in California’s 34 adult state prisons. Despite […]
STATE’S PURPLE HEART TRAILS LEAD TO GRATITUDE, RESPECT FOR MEDAL RECIPIENTS ON DAILY BASIS
Perhaps, as you’ve motored down one of California’s major highways, you’ve noticed a sign that reads “Purple Heart Trail.” Today is National Purple Heart Day, the day each year when we honor members of our military – whether killed in action or living veterans carrying the physical scars of war – who were wounded while […]
CALVET HOME LOANS TEAM PROVIDES CALMING INFLUENCE, HAPPINESS FOR VETERAN STRESSED BY FINANCING SNAFU
CalVet Home Loans client and Army veteran Mark Dust will tell you that a bomb in the road in Iraq in 2005 and the bombshell news he encountered last month each wracked his nerves similarly. In 2005, infantryman Dust rode on the hood of a Humvee that suffered major damage, avoiding obliteration only because the […]
BY ANY INTERPRETATION, IRAQI AMERICAN CAN INSPIRE AFGHAN REFUGEES
Khaleel Yasir – a proud American citizen and Californian – watched the recent airlifts of refugees from Kabul, Afghanistan, with a greater understanding than perhaps the rest of us. He once had been in the same position himself—a refugee and an interpreter whose family would have remained in grave danger, and possibly faced death had […]
MARINE VETERAN TRANSITIONS FROM ‘COPTER UPKEEP TO BEEKEEPING
As a helicopter mechanic in the military, Jesus Toro’s primary duty involved keeping flying objects flying and performing optimally. Today, the 30-year-old husband, father of three children, and Marine Corps veteran still keeps things flying and performing optimally. He just handles more of them — as in thousands upon thousands more. Toro is a beekeeper […]
WIMMER NAMED TO HEAD CALVET’S WOMEN VETERANS AFFAIRS DIVISION
Virginia Wimmer spent 26 years in the United States Air Force, holding a wide variety of duties that “made me a better airman,” she said. Upon retiring from the military out of Travis Air Force Base in 2012, she began her career working with longtime Solano County Veterans Service Officer Ted Puntillo as a veteran […]
A RED-RIBBON (CUTTING) DAY FOR VETERAN, FAMILY IN NEW MERCED HOME
Veteran Glenn Friedlander wrapped several strands of ribbon around the column and across the walkway leading to a brand-new home in Merced one recent morning. Then, wife Charilyn tied on a big bow as their 10-year-old son Kiero played with baby daughter Zaniah Joy. Consider it a red-ribbon moment for the Friedlander family. Moments later, […]
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