Stars and Stripes Veterans News

View in browser

September 29, 2021

 

VA sets sights on firearm safety to prevent veteran suicides Veterans continue to use firearms more than any other means of suicide. According to a VA report released earlier this month, firearms were used in 69.9% of veteran suicides in 2018 and 70.2% in 2019. That’s higher than the rest of the U.S. population, in which firearms were used in about 50% of suicides. READ MORE

Discharged LGBTQ veterans now eligible for benefits under new guidance issued by VA LGBTQ veterans who were kicked out of the military under the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy of the 1990s and 2000s will now be eligible for government benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday. READ MORE

Afghan evacuation took hidden toll on mental health of volunteers who tried to help Many volunteers were veterans or service members who teamed up to guide Afghan allies past Taliban checkpoints and dangerous crowds in hopes of getting them on planes at Kabul’s international airport. A sizeable number of these efforts failed, however, and thousands of Afghan allies remain in the country. READ MORE   Still waiting for dad to come home: Event honors prisoners of war, those who remain missing National POW/MIA Recognition Day is of towering importance to the thousands of other family members whose lives were forever changed by the unresolved loss of someone in uniform. READ MORE   Bill allowing Global War on Terrorism Memorial on National Mall could set bad precedent, senator argues The bill seeks to exempt the Global War on Terrorism Memorial from a 2003 law that prohibits any more development on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. READ MORE

Marine veteran, nonprofit team for 13-mile ride initiative to honor service members killed in Kabul Watching the U.S. pull out of Afghanistan from afar, and seeing the 13 service members killed, retired U.S. Marine Josh Stears felt angry and confused. Those deaths and Stears' coincidental 13-mile ride sparked his decision to partner with local nonprofit Platoon 22 to start the 13 For 13 Ride Challenge to pedal for patriots. READ MORE   Veterans could see big cost of living increase to their benefits this year; here’s why The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill Monday that would again tie the cost-of-living boost for veterans benefits to this year’s cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for Social Security recipients. The bill, which already passed in the U.S. Senate, will now head to President Joe Biden’s desk. READ MORE   New Jersey town celebrates Marine awarded the Medal of Honor Thousands lined the streets of Raritan on Sunday to honor John Basilone, the famed borough resident and World War II hero that the town has been honoring with a parade since 1981. READ MORE   Lost grave markers surface from a distant World War II battlefield Last month, the National Museum of the Marine Corps officially acquired crosses and other grave artifacts from a nonprofit archaeological firm that has been excavating on Tarawa for more than a decade. READ MORE   Vietnam veteran says free dental work is first honor for service in 50 years Vietnam veteran Larry Brown is being recognized for his time in the military. Through a program called Smiles for America, Brown will be celebrated for his service for the first time since returning home from Vietnam. READ MORE   Japanese Americans forced into internment camps during WWII talk about painful history On Sunday, Judge Johnny Gogo brought two antique 48-star American flags to the Buddhist Temple of San Diego and asked former camp internees and their family members to sign their names onto the fabric. Gogo hopes one of the flags one day will be accepted and put on display by the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles. READ MORE

 

© 2021 Stars and Stripes · 633 3rd St. NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20001-3050 VISIT STRIPES.COM