Tag Archives: CalVet
Different Wars, Similar Stories of Service and Coming Home
After 17 years in the U.S. Army, Juan Griffin left with many stories to tell about his deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no one he enjoys swapping stories with more, than the veterans who live at the Veterans Home of California-Barstow. “When they tell me about their deployment experiences, they’re the same as […]
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 […]
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 […]
NAVY VETERAN FILES PACT ACT CLAIMS FOR HERSELF, HELPS OTHERS AS AUGUST 9 BENEFITS DEADLINE LOOMS
As a Chief Yeoman in the U.S. Navy, attached to a Seabees command battalion in Afghanistan, Temecula’s Angela Fritzoni incurred numerous injuries that eventually resulted in a 100 percent service-related disability rating from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “In Afghanistan, our mission was to help the Afghans build to fight (terrorism)” said Fritzoni, whose […]
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; […]
Picture This: Portraits of Korean War Era Veterans to Grace Chula Vista Home
CHULA VISTA – When Richard Mowrey sat during a portrait session at the Veterans Homes of California-Chula Vista one recent afternoon, he was “Richard.” Or “Mr. Mowrey.” That all changed the moment photographer Mickey Strand asked Mowrey his rank in the U.S. Navy. Mowrey replied, “CPO.” From that moment on, Mowrey—whose Navy career as a […]
Veterans Serving Veterans: Hand Caught in the Jelly Bean Jar
(This is the first in a series of CalVet Connect posts introducing you to CalVet employees who are veterans of the United States Armed Forces—thus Veterans Serving Veterans.) Long before Richard Blackford began protecting veterans at the Veterans Home of California-Redding, the Marine veteran was a lance corporal assigned to the security detail at the […]
Veterans — Fight Back Against Fraud
It’s a sad reality that veterans are a popular target of scammers and fraudsters. A 2021 AARP study found that: AARP also reported that scammers stole $414 million from veterans, servicemembers, and their spouses in 2022, $140 million more than 2021, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission. July is Military Consumer Protection Month […]
VENTURA HOME ADMINISTRATOR BOND MOVING ON AFTER FOUR IMPRESSIVE YEARS
Julian Bond made a big impact during his four years as the administrator of the Veterans Homes of California-Ventura. Appointed to the post by Governor Gavin Newsom in the summer of 2019, Bond is leaving CalVet to become inspector general of the California Military Department. “Julian truly embodies the qualities of a remarkable leader,” said CalVet […]
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