Tag Archives: California
Holiday Caroling in August? Barstow Home Veteran Brings Joy Through Song, Year Round
With a chill in the air and Thanksgiving 2024 in the books, there’s nothing like a little holiday music to ring in the rest of the season. And perhaps, with no one in earshot, you might even sing along, right? Even better: Try crooning carols in the summertime with dozens of others in a Southern […]
How CalVet Ensures that California Veterans are the Most Connected, Protected, and Respected Veterans in the Nation
Veterans Day is our annual national day of gratitude for those who have defended our country and our Constitution. But at CalVet, thanking veterans is a year-round, continuous honor, duty, and privilege. In fact, is it our vision that California’s veterans become the nation’s most connected, most protected, and most respected veterans, and this happens […]
Honoring Legacy: A CalVet Staff Member’s Commitment to Veterans Inspired by Family Military Service
Stories of service that resonate. Stories that inspire. Stories that move us. Many such stories are shared on America’s back porches, in living rooms and, on occasion, around campfires in the woods. Or they are not told at all, which speaks volumes about the impacts of war some veterans experienced. Keith Smothers said the stories […]
Of Medals and Mettle: Marine Veteran’s Hardware Back Home Nine Years After Theft
With Veterans Day approaching, a Southern California resident went above and beyond the call of duty to show his respect and gratitude to a Marine veteran. Here’s how: One mid-September day, Oceanside resident Greg Workman took his two Great Danes — eight-year-old Guinness and one-year-old Gus — for a walk.
The H Home Run: A Hero, His CalVet Home Loan, and Hispanic Heritage Month
H is for hero, and Army veteran Jose Chavez definitely qualifies. He earned a Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, and other medals the only way you can get them — the hard way — in Iraq in 2009. H is also for home, which Chavez and his wife, Melissa, moved into in Sacramento County recently […]
CalVet to Honor Women Veterans with 2024 Trailblazer Awards
The California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) will honor six amazing women veterans with Trailblazer Awards during a ceremony on October 8 in San Diego. It will mark the 11th ceremony since the inaugural event in 2013. This year’s class will bring the total number of honorees to 41, and four military branches — the […]
CalVet Deputy Secretary’s Native American Military Heritage Spans 138 Years
As California Native American Day (September 27) nears, CalVet salutes the more than 13,200 Native Americans among the state’s 1.5 million military veterans and their families. Add Coby Petersen, CalVet’s deputy secretary for the Veterans Homes Division for the past decade, to the list. Petersen is a retired U.S. Army colonel, is one-quarter Navajo, and […]
Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo Adds 2,000 Columbaria Niches
Five new columbaria have been constructed, each containing 400 niches, at CalVet’s Northern California Veterans Cemetery in Igo. This means that the 154 families who have been waiting specifically for the columbaria now have the opportunity to inter their loved ones.
Veterans at Your Service: National Hire a Veteran Day Highlights the Benefits They Bring
National Hire a Veteran Day — July 25 — is the day each year we tout the amazing skills, knowledge, and energies our military veterans bring with them into the civilian workplace. It’s not simply a one-day event, though. Employers can and should hire veterans anytime, all the time, and — there’s no time like […]
Prevention Pays Off: CAL FIRE and CalVet’s Proactive Measures Shield Northern California Veterans Cemetery from Blaze
IGO — Every day, CAL FIRE’s defensible space inspectors, foresters, and firefighters work to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires that can otherwise threaten communities and natural resources. Proving the power of prevention and planning, these teams can point to a proactive fuel reduction project around CalVet’s Northern California Veterans Cemetery last year as evidence […]
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