"  TO COMFORT THE SURVIVORS..."


In the picture above left ,

an Army infantryman comforts his buddy,

the only survivors of a North Korean assault

on their platoon's position at Haktong-ri, Korea,  

in August, 1950, while a corpsman

fills out a list of the dead.

Many of our Korean War Veterans alive today

have never received the benefits they were promised.

Many of them are aged, homeless, or live in poverty

and need,

in American communities surrounding them

with conspicuous displays of wealth.

Many needy American Veterans would settle simply

for a kind word of comfort

like that soldier provided his friend

over 50 years ago on a hill far, far away.

The United States Navy Veterans Association

tries to help.

You can help too. 

You've Tuned In, Patriot. Now Join In.
*************  "The time of war is a time of sacrifice, especially for our military families.  I urge every American to find some way to thank our military and to help out the military family down the street." - President George W. Bush USMC Camp Pendleton December 7, 2004       The United States Navy Veterans Association current Mission Statement, as it relates to our Veterans' Outreach Programs, says that the mission of the Association includes: "The provision of assistance to disabled and needy war veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces from all service branches     and to their dependents and to the widows, widowers and orphans of deceased veterans; The provision of entertainment, care and assistance to hospitalized veterans or members of the U.S. Armed Forces from all service branches;...[and] The provision of programs to perpetuate the memory of deceased veterans and members of the U.S. Armed Forces from all service branches, and to comfort their survivors...." *************   "What is a Veteran?" by Father Denis Edward O'Brien, USMC   Some veterans bear visible signs of their service: a missing limb, a jagged scar, a certain look in their eye.   Others may carry the evidence inside them: a pin holding a bone together, a piece of shrapnel in the leg - or perhaps another sort of inner steel: the soul's ally forged in the refinery of adversity.   Except in parades, however, the men and women who have kept America safe wear no badge or emblem.   You can't tell a vet just by looking. What is a vet?   He is the cop on the beat, and the firefighter who spent six months in Saudi Arabia sweating two gallons of water a day making sure the armored personnel carriers didn't run out of fuel.   He is the barroom loudmouth, whose overgrown frat boy behavior is outweighed a hundred times in Providence's scales by four hours of bravery saving his buddies in 1952 near the 38th Parallel.   She is the nurse who fought against futility and went to sleep sobbing every night for a year straight in Da Nang.   He is the POW who went away one person and came back another - or didn't come back at all.   He is the Quantico drill instructor who has never seen combat - but has saved countless lives by turning no-account rednecks and rap star wannabes into Marines, and teaching them to watch each other's backs.   He is the parade-riding Legionnaire who pins on his ribbons and medals with a prosthetic hand.   He is the career quartermaster who watches the ribbons and medals pass him by.   He is one of the three anonymous heroes in the Tomb of the Unknowns, whose presence at Arlington must forever preserve the memory of all the unknown heroes whose valor dies unrecognized with them on the battlefield or in the ocean's sunless deep. He fought at Lexington, at the Alamo, at Chapultepec, at Vicksburg, at Chateau Thierry, and on Normandy's beaches. He is the old guy bagging groceries at the supermarket - palsied now and aggravatingly slow - who helped liberate a Nazi death camp and who wishes all day long that his wife were still alive to hold him when the nightmares come.   He is an ordinary and yet an extraordinary human being - a person who offered his life's most vital years in the service of America, and who sacrificed his ambitions so others would not have to sacrifice theirs.   He is a soldier and a sailor and a sword against darkness, and he is nothing more than the finest, greatest testimony on behalf of the finest and greatest Nation ever known.             The President of the United States, no less, in his Radio Address to the Nation 3-22-03, lauded and endorsed charitable acts in support of our troops when he said: 'Our entire nation appreciates the sacrifices of our military and many citizens are showing their support for our military men and women in private, charitable ways.' "The Night Before Christmas" by Major Bruce Lovely, USAF   Twas the night before Christmas, he lived all alone, In a one-bedroom house made of plaster and stone. I had come down the chimney with presents to give, And to see who in this home did live.   I looked all about, a strange sight I did see, No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree. No stockings by mantle, just boots filled with sand, On the wall hung pictures of far distant lands. With medals and badges, awards of all kinds, A sober thought came through my mind. For this house was different, it was dark and dreary; I found the home of a soldier, once I could see clearly. The soldier lay sleeping, silent, alone, Curled up on the floor in the one-bedroom home. The face was so gentle, the room in such disorder, Not how I pictured a United States soldier. Was this the hero of whom I'd just read? Curled up on a poncho, the floor for a bed? I realized the families that I saw this night, Owed their lives to these soldiers who were willing to fight. Soon round the world, the children would play, and grown-ups would celebrate a bright Christmas day. They all enjoyed freedom, each month of the year, Because of these soldiers, like the one lying here. I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone, On a cold Christmas eve, in a land far from home. The very thought brought a tear to my eye, I dropped to my knees and started to cry. The soldier awakened, and I heard a rough voice, Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice. I fight for freedom, I don't ask for more, My life is my God, my country, my corps. The soldier rolled over and drifted to sleep, I couldn't control it, I continued to weep. I kept watch for hours, silent and still, And we both shivered from the cold night's chill. I didn't want to leave on that dark, cold night, The guardian of honor, so willing to fight. Then the soldier rolled over, with a voice soft and pure, Whispered, Carry on, Santa, it's Christmas day, all is secure. One look at my watch and I knew he was right, Merry Christmas, my friend, and to all a good night.     "IN SIMPLE ENGLISH:" Q & A from the Public About the Needy in America, Veterans and Non-Veteran Alike   "If these people are so sick and homeless, why don't they apply to the government for SSI, SSA, VA benefits, or some other form of welfare? Is the reason they don't because they're all fugitives?" A very small percent of the homeless in America are probably fugitives, and that percentage is infinitesimally small in the case of the homeless veteran. A very large percentage, veteran and non-veteran alike, suffer from some form of, or some degree of, mental illness. While in most cases that illness is non-threatening, it also means they have no friends, and are often abandoned by even their closest relatives. That illness also means they will not wend themselves through the maze of paperwork, examinations and qualifications to receive the assistance referred to in the Question or, especially in the case of the veteran, that they are too proud to do so. That does not mean that American society should write them off. In the case of the veteran, the Association certainly will not. Most mentally ill people would rather die than admit they were mentally ill. ************ "What is the Average SSI or VA disabilty payment to a single male in this country for a 'partial' mental illness disability?" About $200 per month. If they're found out to be working full-time, they will lose that, and could be, and many are, prosecuted. This forces many of them in that class who are trying to better themselves to actively seek work "under the table." ************ "How many homeless people are there in America in 2005? Of these, how many are veterans?" Estimates among reputable groups doing surveys as to the total number of homeless on any one day vary. Certainly the minimum figure is not less than 1 million. The Association believes the high end figure is closer to the mark: 3 million. Conservative sources place the homeless veteran population at 250,000, with higher figures at 300,000 -400,000. The most recent non-scientific study showed at least 75% of those had honorable discharges, not medical, not "other," not dishonorable, but honorable discharges.   "How many veterans are without health care?" As of the fall of 2004, the VA estimates that 900,000 veterans are uninsured for health care. The VA has a difficult time , it claims, estimating the total number of veterans who have absolutely "no access" to VA facilities because the term is hard to define.              A respected private doctors' group, Physicians for a National Health Program, estimates, in the fall of 2004, that 1.7 million veterans nationwide have no health insurance whatsoever and do not have access to either a VA hospital or clinic. A great deal of the disparity between the two figures lies in the hypothetical example of a homeless, penniless veteran, who cannot afford public transportation, and sleeps in the street ten miles or so from a VA hospital. According to the veteran, he does not have access to the facility; according to the VA, he does.   "Tribute to an Aging Veteran" First published by USNVA Poet Laureate John Witherspoon, 1981   When the man who proudly wore America's uniform starts late for the day, laboring forward like a lame truckhorse frightened by the noise from the street, - this old fellow whose body we remember from years gone by     as sleek and slim and strong as a racehorse - We still rise and applaud weeping: On the green fields of home we observe the plight of even the bravest body, as Ulysses wept to see among the shades, the shadow  of brave Achilles.   The Corporal Works of Mercy   1. Feed the hungry 2. Give drink to the thirsty 3. Clothe the naked 4. Visit the imprisoned 5. Shelter the homeless 6. Visit the sick 7. Bury the dead     "Every year we leave a big bag of crap out on the street for our veterans." - Actor Jim Belushi,  speaking sarcastically as to those who donate junk and worthless clothing to our veterans and then brag about it, on ABC-TV's sitcom 'According to Jim,' 2003.   ************* There is an old cliche in this Country that Americans are good at taking things for granted. ...And so we are. If we take these Americans who gave their lives for us as veterans, for granted, if we forget them and what they did, then we also take ourselves, and this Country, for granted. It took the ancient Romans 500 years to grow so cynical, so forgetful, about what made their republic great, that they threw it away with a shrug. "Those who don't remember the past, are condemned to relive it," the great Spanish poet John Dos Passos said.   As part of our State-by-State campaigns for the Veteran we call upon those solicited to action to Remember the Veteran. If you were solicited in one of those campaigns, and the campaign managers or representatives neglected to do so, or even if you were never solicited at all, we're going to make that call again right here:  America, do something right now, today: Say a prayer for the guy who died on Omaha Beach whom you've never thought of before; tie a yellow ribbon around a tree; fly an American flag 365 days a year; drive with your headlamps on on Memorial Day, Veterans' Day, Armed Forces Day, and Independence Day; tell your neighbor that indifference to what our troops did, and are doing today, is unacceptable; and know, always,  that when you remember These Men and Women, our Bravest and Finest, that you remember YOURSELF.     HOME ALONE IN TAMPA At 6 p.m. on the summer night of Saturday, August 2, 2003, it was raining hard in downtown Tampa. A real Florida rainstorm, with thunder and sky-wide lightning and where the rain comes down so thick you couldn't see two feet in front of your face. It was also a night for the upper classes of Tampa to attend two different high-priced stage productions at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. An unemployed, highly decorated Vietnam veteran, looking every bit the part with beard, ponytail and small duffel, honorably discharged, 60 years old, who lives on the street in Tampa's nearby mission district, was caught in the thunderstorm and took shelter temporarily under the arcade of the Center, where many richly clad patrons were entering and exiting. He didn't say a word. He bothered no one. He just stood alone, hoping the rain would soon end. A Tampa police officer, who had been lavishly greeting the plays' patrons, quickly approached him. "C'mon, bum," she said, "Let's go!," and pointed to the now deluged street. The old vet just shuffled off, without a word, into the thunderstorm, and the night. ...He told the Florida staff of the Association this story later, adding that he had never been to jail a day in his life, but had been in plenty of monsoons in the 'Nam. And he knew also, he told us, that in the roar of the rolling thunder, and in the midst of the glare of American lightning, he was, in fact, closer to his Savior, and to America's Providence than he was standing under an arcade next to a police officer. We know the old vet's story to be true. One of our members was an arts patron that evening. He witnessed the entire event. The vet asked our people if they had ever heard of a Tampa police officer, many of whom are veterans themselves,  approaching homeless vets in one of the Association's many distribution programs nearby, and thanking at least one of them for their service to their country. They said they hadn't. To be treated as a decent citizen is the most important thing to every veteran. The things you love most are the first things they take away from you.   "We have an old saying on earth. You don't kick a man when he's down."   - Commander Jonathan Archer U.S.S. Enterprise   "Old soldiers never die. they just fade away." - General of the Army Douglas MacArthur   This police officer's time could equally have been spent, in the opinion of the Association, had she the guts, in kicking in the doors of known crack dealers in Tampa, of which there are more than many, or arresting armed robbers on the spot at Tampa's banks and convenience stores.			USN@NavyVets.org         The members and supporters of the United States Navy Veterans Association have been helping needy veterans from all the service branches since 1927.   USNVA provides outreach services to needy USN, USNR, Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve members, veterans and their dependents as a priority, but members, veterans and dependents of all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, including the USCG, have been, and are being assisted by these service programs. Outreach services are provided without respect to veteran organization affiliation, and membership in USNVA is NOT required for service. As a private, non-profit, tax-exempt war veterans' organization the Association receives all its funds from its' dues, contributions and any advertising it may have in its publications. It receives no funding from any agency of any government, and all of its directors, officers and staff serve without compensation. Unsolicited contributions in support of the Mission of the Association are always welcome and may be mailed to us at: USNVA Attn: Internet  1783 Forest Dr. # 300  Annapolis MD 21401  There is no request or invitation, however, explicitly or by implication, made on this website for any contribution to the Association or to any other group. The site, instead, and in part, presents some details of our Veterans' Outreach Programs and other not-for-profit programs, provides information about Association expenditures and contact information, and leaves the act of giving entirely, and without solicitation or invitation, up to the individual reader. Contributions can be and are used only in accordance with the Mission Statement of the Association and may be earmarked by the donor for any purpose mentioned on the Association's Mission Statement Page. It is easy...very easy...to dedicate your contribution to a particular service branch or to a specific purpose in our Mission Statement - Just make a notation on the memo line of your tax deductible check and we will see to it that it goes exactly where you designated. All contributions to the Association are tax-deductible. No portion of any funds received by the Association are ever used for political purposes, in the support of or opposition to anyone seeking office. Outreach programs of the Association include the provision of wholesome food and foodstuffs;   clothing;   utilities;   medical and pharmacological supplies;   the referral to, or finding of, a job;