Category MyCalVet
CalVet’s Veterans Homes now among nation’s best skilled nursing facilities
Before he accepted the appointment from Governor Brown to head the California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) in 2015, Vito Imbasciani MD made his rounds to some of the Veterans Homes of California. “I wanted to see what I was getting myself into,” he quipped. With decades of experience as a physician, including 27 as […]
Yountville Home vet recalls World War II POW days, now exercises his freedoms daily
YOUNTVILLE – Most mornings, Albert Freitas climbs aboard his “buggy” and motors down to the bus stop in front of the Veterans Home of California-Yountville. The 98-year-old World War II veteran loads the electric chariot onto a bus and heads to a busy shopping center a few miles away in Napa. There, he sips a […]
United States Air Force celebrates 72 years of flying solo as a military branch
The U.S. Air Force celebrates its 72nd birthday today. But this birthday hardly represents the birth of aviation in the U.S. military. That actually began during the Civil War, when both sides used hot air balloons for aerial reconnaissance. It instead recognizes the day the Air Force became its own branch, free of control of […]
Though created by state legislature in 1946, CalVet’s DNA can be traced back 135 years
(NOTE: This is the first in a series of stories that will detail the history, functions, and mission of the California Department of Veterans Affairs.) The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) has served California’s veteran population in a variety of ways since its creation by the California State Legislature in 1946. CalVet provides varying […]
Veteran at CalVet’s Redding Home puts heart, paint brushes to work for Carr fire victims
REDDING – As the Carr fire raged through Northern California in July 2018, residents of the Veterans Home of California-Redding began painting signs for the men and women fighting the conflagration. Vietnam-era veteran and artist Michael VanCleemput, was among those who was asked to contribute. “I agreed, but I needed an inspiration for an appropriate […]
Veterans faring well in California’s longest job growth streak in decades
Labor Day – the day America celebrates its workers – offers an opportunity to see how our military veterans are doing in the California labor market. The answer? Quite well, it seems. The number of unemployed veterans in California declined from 65,200 to 20,800 between October 2015 and October 2018. The labor force, whether for […]
California Veterans Board adds three new appointees to advocate for veterans
With the appointments of Zoe Dunning, Ed Campbell, and Robin Umberg, the California Veterans Board has added three new members in 2019. Dunning and Campbell were appointed by Governor Gavin Newsom. Governor Jerry Brown appointed Umberg in December 2018. She was sworn in on January 2. The seven-member board hears appeals by veterans who were […]
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,” […]
Burned out by Camp fire, Redding veterans’ home resident gives back to community
By Gary Moore, CalVet REDDING – Nic Casella got help when he needed it most. He will repay the favor today. Soon after the 97-year-old Navy veteran returned from Chico to his home in Paradise on November 8, 2018, he saw an ominous cloud. Rain was not in the forecast. “I went to the sliding […]
Today is National Purple Heart Day, honoring those wounded or killed in wars, conflicts
August 7 is National Purple Heart Day, honoring the recipients of America’s oldest award for military merit. Created by General George Washington as the Badge of Merit in 1782, it was awarded for “any singularly meritorious action” in battle. That changed in 1931, when, at the behest of General Douglas MacArthur, the U.S. War Department […]
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