RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) — Despite a 100-mile and three-hour trip to reach his destination, Stewart Boone didn't think twice about turning down the invitation.

The veteran is dressing up for an occasion at the Virginia War Memorial. It is an event nearly 80 years in the making.

At this gathering, Mr. Boone is something of a celebrity. Signatures and snapshots with the featured guest are a must.

WTVR

The 98-year-old is a member of a fraternity whose ranks are thinning. The Kansas native survived the Battle of the Bulge.

Boone’s unit of the 99th Division was overrun by Germans during the surprise attack in December of 1944.

“They just demolished our battalion,” said Boone.

Dozens of his fellow soldiers were captured. Many were killed.

“They kept firing as we took a few steps we’d hit the ground,” recalled Boone. “Finally we got. We got out of there.”

Provided to WTVR

Boone and 10 others ran through knee-high snow and bone-chilling temperatures.

“It was 12 inches of snow and 12 degrees above zero,” said Boone.

Their miraculous escape earned them the nickname "The Lucky 11." Boone is the sole survivor.

“Well, I think the Good Lord was taking care of me,” said Boone.

Members of the Battle of the Bulge Association hang on to every one of Boone’s words.

Alan Cunningham, whose father survived the bulge, said opportunities to meet veterans in person are growing more rare.

“We find that the numbers of the veterans are dropping very quickly,” said chairman of the board Alan Cunningham. “Oh, I really appreciate his being here. It really adds something when we have meetings and to be at the Virginia War Memorial of all places.”

WTVR

As Boone soaks up the attention, he reminds everyone to remember the soldiers who never returned.

“No one left behind. That is a good motto,” said Boone.

When she was two, Mary Ann Coates Smith’s father James was killed in the battle. She said meeting Boone is a living link to what she lost.

“Oh, it’s wonderful. It’s like here he is. We all got excited. It’s wonderful. It is a good feeling knowing that we can still communicate with him,” said Mary Ann.

As the day draws to a close, a gift of patriotic music plays for the aging veteran. It's a score to remember as the talented Mr. Boone leaves on a high note.

“It is good. It is good to be recognized," he said.

This story was originally reported by Greg McQuade on wtvr.com.

Four U.S. troops were wounded in a raid that left an ISIS leader dead, according to CENTCOM spokesperson Col. Joe Buccino.

Hamza al-Homsi was the target of the raid. Military officials said he oversaw the group's terrorist network in eastern Syria.

Buccino said the four troops and a working dog were wounded when al-Homsi triggered an explosion during the raid.

No other ISIS fighters were killed or captured in Thursday night's raid, Buccino said. However, he noted that a separate raid on the same night resulted in the death of an ISIS assassination cell leader.

No civilians were injured in the operation, according to Buccino.

The U.S. has about 900 troops in northeast Syria. They are operating in areas controlled by Syrian Kurdish forces.

SAVANNAH, Ga. —

Soldiers of the 9th Infantry Regiment made a desperate retreat as North Korean troops closed in around them. A wounded, 18-year-old Army Pfc. Luther Herschel Story feared his injuries would slow down his company, so he stayed behind to cover their withdrawal.

Video above: A brief history of Memorial Day

Story's actions in the Korean War on Sept. 1, 1950, would ensure he was remembered. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military honor, which is now displayed alongside his portrait at the National Infantry Museum, an hour's drive from his hometown of Americus, Georgia.

But Story was never seen alive again, and his resting place long remained a mystery.

"In my family, we always believed that he would never be found," said Judy Wade, Story's niece and closest surviving relative.

That changed in April when the U.S. military revealed lab tests had matched DNA from Wade and her late mother to bones of an unidentified American soldier recovered from Korea in October 1950. The remains belonged to Story, a case agent told Wade over the phone. After nearly 73 years, he was coming home.

A Memorial Day burial with military honors was scheduled for Monday at the Andersonville National Cemetery. A police escort with flashing lights escorted Story's casket through the streets of nearby Americus on Wednesday after it arrived in Georgia.

"I don't have to worry about him anymore," said Wade, who was born four years after her uncle went missing overseas. "I'm just glad he's home."

Among those celebrating Story's return was former President Jimmy Carter. When Story was a young boy, according to Wade, his family lived and worked in Plains on land owned by Carter's father, James Earl Carter Sr.

Jimmy Carter, 98, has been under hospice care at his home in Plains since February. Jill Stuckey, superintendent of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, said she shared the news about Story with Carter as soon as she heard it.

"Oh, there was a big smile on his face," Stuckey said. "He was very excited to know that a hero was coming home."

Story grew up about 150 miles (241 kilometers) south of Atlanta in Sumter County, where his father was a sharecropper. As a young boy, Story, who had a keen sense of humor and liked baseball, joined his parents and older siblings in the fields to help harvest cotton. The work was hard, and it didn't pay much.

"Momma talked about eating sweet potatoes three times a day," said Wade, whose mother, Gwendolyn Story Chambliss, was Luther Story's older sister. "She used to talk about how at night her fingers would be bleeding from picking cotton out of the bolls. Everybody in the family had to do it for them to exist."

The family eventually moved to Americus, the county's largest city, where Story's parents found better work. He enrolled in high school, but soon set his sights on joining the military in the years following World War II.

In 1948, his mother agreed to sign papers allowing Story to enlist in the Army. She listed his birthdate as July 20, 1931. But Wade said she later obtained a copy of her uncle's birth certificate that showed he was born in 1932 — which would have made him just 16 when he joined.

Story left school during his sophomore year. In the summer of 1950, he deployed with Company A of the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment to Korea around the time the war began.

On Sept. 1, 1950, near the village of Agok on the Naktong River, Story's unit came under attack by three divisions of North Korean troops that moved to surround the Americans and cut off their escape.

Story seized a machine gun and fired on enemy soldiers crossing the river, killing or wounding about 100, according to his Medal of Honor citation. As his company commander ordered a retreat, Story rushed into a road and threw grenades into an approaching truck carrying North Korean troops and ammunition. Despite being wounded, he continued fighting.

"Realizing that his wounds would hamper his comrades, he refused to retire to the next position but remained to cover the company's withdrawal," Story's award citation said. "When last seen he was firing every weapon available and fighting off another hostile assault."

Story was presumed dead. He would have been 18 years old, according to the birth certificate Wade obtained.

In 1951, his father received Story's Medal of Honor at a Pentagon ceremony. Story was also posthumously promoted to corporal.

About a month after Story went missing in Korea, the U.S. military recovered a body in the area where he was last seen fighting. The unidentified remains were buried with other unknown service members at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

According to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, more than 7,500 Americans who served in the Korean War remain missing or their remains have not been identified. That's roughly 20% of the nearly 37,000 U.S. service members who died in the war.

Remains of the unknown soldier recovered near Agok were disinterred in 2021 as part of a broader military effort to determine the identities of several hundred Americans who died in the war. Eventually, scientists compared DNA from the bones with samples submitted by Wade and her mother before she died in 2017. They made a successful match.

President Joe Biden announced the breakthrough on April 26 in Washington, joined by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.

"Today, we can return him to his family," Biden said of Story, "and to his rest."

HONOLULU (AP) —

Ken Potts, one of the last two remaining survivors of the USS Arizona battleship, which sank during the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, has died. He was 102.

Howard Kenton Potts died Friday at the home in Provo, Utah, that he shared with his wife of 66 years, according to Randy Stratton, whose late father, Donald Stratton, was Potts' Arizona shipmate and close friend.

Related video above: Americans remembered the Pearl Harbor attack on its 81st anniversary in December 2022

Stratton said Potts "had all his marbles" but lately was having a hard time getting out of bed. When Stratton spoke to Potts on his birthday, April 15, he was happy to have made it to 102.

"But he knew that his body was kind of shutting down on him, and he was just hoping that he could get better but (it) turned out not," Stratton said.

Potts was born and raised in Honey Bend, Illinois, and enlisted in the Navy in 1939.

He was working as a crane operator shuttling supplies to the Arizona the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, when the Pearl Harbor attack happened, according to a 2021 article by the Utah National Guard.

In a 2020 oral history interview with the American Veterans Center, Potts said a loudspeaker ordered sailors back to their ships so he got on a boat.

"When I got back to Pearl Harbor, the whole harbor was afire," He said in the interview. "The oil had leaked out and caught on fire and was burning."

Dozens of ships either sank, capsized or were damaged in the bombing of the Hawaii naval base, which catapulted the U.S. into World War II.

Sailors were tossed or forced to jump into the oily muck below, and Potts and his fellow sailors pulled some to safety in their boat.

The Arizona sank just nine minutes after being bombed, and its 1,177 dead account for nearly half the servicemen killed in the attack. Today the battleship still sits where it sank eight decades ago, with more than 900 dead entombed inside.

Potts recalled decades later that some people were still giving orders in the midst of the attack but there was also a lot of chaos. He carried his memories of the attack over the course of his long life.

"Even after I got out of the Navy, out in the open, and heard a siren, I'd shake," he said.

Stratton noted that the only remaining survivor from the Arizona is now Lou Conter, who is 101 and living in California.

"This is history. It's going away," Stratton said, adding: "And once (Conter is) gone, who tells all their stories?"

Several dozen Arizona survivors have had their ashes interred on the sunken battleship so they could join their shipmates, but Potts didn't want that, according to Stratton.

"He said he got off once, he's not going to go back on board again," he said.

Stratton said many Arizona survivors shared a similar dry sense of humor. That included his own father, who was severely burned in the attack and also did not want to return to the ship as ashes in an urn.

"'I've been cremated once. I'm not going to be cremated twice,'" Donald Stratton joked, according to the younger Stratton, before his death in 2020 at age 97.

"They had that all throughout their lives. They had the sense of humor, and they knew sooner or later they would pass," Randy Stratton said. "Our job now is to keep their memories alive."

Potts is survived by his wife, Doris. Information on other survivors was not immediately available.

Thousands of women from all ethnic backgrounds served in World War II, with their contributions and bravery often being overlooked.

But there's a new push to give recognition 75 years later.

The Women's Army Corps (WAC) all-Black 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion members are among those women who served.

"To understand the story of the 6888th, we have to understand what was going on in the country at the time," said Army Col. Ret. Edna Cummings. "In the United States, Jim Crow segregation was the law, so the military was segregated not only by race but also by gender."

The "Six Triple Eight" was the first and only all-Black WAC unit deployed overseas during WWII. Under the Command of Maj. Charity Adams, the 850-member group, was first sent to Birmingham, England, in 1945.

Their mission was to sort years of backlogged mail stacked in warehouses — millions of letters and packages sent to U.S. soldiers and other personnel.

"The chain of command said, 'If we don't clear this backlog, the troop morale is going to remain low because that vital communication was lost to and from the United States,'" Cummings said. "The letters weren't making it to the troops, and the troops could not send letters home — so nobody at the United States knew what was going on."

As Allied forces drove across Europe, ever-changing locations hampered mail delivery to service members.

The task was a logistical nightmare, with many letters addressed to familiar names like John Smith, or simply "Junior, U.S. Army" or "Buster, U.S. Army."

Alva Moore Stevenson's mother, Lydia Esther Thornton, was a member of the Six Triple Eight. An Afro-Mexican woman, Thornton, chose to join the Black unit over a white team when given the option.

"Just having to imagine, wherever you were serving in the European Theater, and you weren't hearing from your family," she said. "I can't imagine."

Implementing a highly-effective system, the women processed about 65,000 pieces of mail per shift, amounting to 195,000 pieces per day.

"Because of the racial segregation, they were self-sustaining. So they not only had to figure out how to direct the mail and to sort the mail and to route the mail, but they also had to be self-sustaining," Cummings said. "In Europe, the Six Triple Eight had to set up their city, a mini-installation. They had to feed themselves, take care of their vehicles, drive themselves. So there was little help."

Given a six-month deadline, they finished in three, all while fighting racial and gender discrimination.

Their pioneering service paved the way for women like Cummings, leading the campaign to recognize the unit with Congressional Gold Medal. She helped create a documentary on Six Triple Eight's story.

"Regardless of gender, race, color, creed, ethnicity, the 6888th performed above and beyond. They did something that no one else could do," Cummings said. "The 6888th broke records, mail-sorting records."

A staunch advocate of the campaign, Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, introduced the bill in the Senate, where it passed unanimously. He says their efforts ensured that people like his mother and father could communicate during the war.

Only six women from the 6888th are alive today.

"It's important to us because it honors our mom and what she stood for, which was the love of country, love of family," Stevenson said. "I wish she would've been here, but I know she would think it's a lot of, much to do about nothing. But I wish she would've been, been here for this."

In the House, 17 more co-sponsors are needed for legislation for a vote.

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii —

A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II.

Herb Elfring, 99, said he's glad to return to Pearl Harbor considering he almost didn't live through the aerial assault.

"It was just plain good to get back and be able to participate in the remembrance of the day," Elfring told reporters over the weekend.

Elfring was in the Army, assigned to the 251st Coast Artillery, part of the California National Guard on Dec. 7, 1941. He recalled Japanese zero planes flying overhead and bullets strafing his Army base at Camp Malakole, a few miles down the coast from Pearl Harbor.

Elfring, who lives in Jackson, Michigan, said he has returned to Hawaii about 10 times to attend the annual memorial ceremony hosted by the Navy and the National Park Service.

About 30 survivors and about 100 other veterans of the war were expected to join him this year.

They will observe a moment of silence at 7:55 a.m., the same minute the attack began decades ago. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro is expected to deliver the keynote speech.

The bombing killed more than 2,300 U.S. troops. Nearly half — or 1,177 — were Marines and sailors serving on the USS Arizona, a battleship moored in the harbor.

Several women who helped the war effort by working in factories have come to Hawaii to participate in the remembrance this year.

Mae Krier, who built B-17s and B-29s at a Boeing plant in Seattle, said it took the world a while to credit women for their work.

"And we fought together as far as I'm concerned. But it took so long to honor what us women did. And so of course, I've been fighting hard for that, to get our recognition," said Krier, who is now 95. "But it was so nice they finally started to honor us."

This year's ceremony takes place as a strong storm packing high winds and extremely heavy rains hits Hawaii, flooding roads and downing power lines. Navy spokesperson Brenda Way told The Associated Press in an email Monday that she has heard of no discussion of canceling the event because of the storms.

NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. — For U.S. Army veteran Laura Evans, the world of computers wasn’t one that she ever pictured herself in.

“I am Latina and my family is from Colombia. I'm a first-generation American,” she said. “No one in my family is a software engineer and no one in my family was in the military. So, I've always kind of felt like I’ve translated my life, throughout my life.”

After 15 years, having reached the rank of Staff Sergeant, Evans decided to try something new.

“I heard about Operation Level Up and it really piqued my interest,” she said.

Operation Level Up is run by Galvanize, a technology education company. They help train service members transitioning out of the military and into the world of high tech.

“One thing I try to do for my students is really highlight for them, like what their military experience has done for them and how to leverage that,” said Galvanize’s Caroline Virani.

Speaking with us at Galvanize’s New York City offices, Virani said the company is doing something else, too. They are specifically focusing on women veterans to get them into high-tech jobs.

“It's definitely a huge, huge need that we see and is part of the work that we're doing,” she said.

In the technology sector, women make up only about 28% of the workforce. In the U.S. military, enlisted men far outnumber women, who only make up about 16% of the Armed Forces.

“Women are underrepresented in the tech industry anyways. Women also are less represented in the military,” Virani said. “So, we're kind of dealing with both of those things at once.”

Both are also things Laura Evans has experienced firsthand.

“To me, it was more building up that confidence as a woman in tech and as a female veteran,” Evans said. “You know, veterans are capable of so many things in so many different industries, in so many different facets, that we can't even imagine.”

She graduated from Operation Level Up and went on to work as a software engineer and is now a program manager.

“I kind of did a very, very sharp right turn into a completely different industry,” Evans said, “and I haven't looked back since and I've been so happy honestly.”

It’s something she hopes other women veterans can experience, too.

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. —

Away from the Veteran Day parades and celebrations on Thursday, there is renewed hope and housing for veterans who are living houseless in California.

The Santa Cruz County Veteran's Memorial Building Trustees closed escrow on Jaye's Timberlane Resort in California.

"I was ready for suicide. I was ready to check out," said Air Force veteran Darren Barthl fighting back tears.

Barthl found hope after suffering through personal disappointment and physical injuries.

He is now one of a handful of vets housed at Jaye's Timberland Resort.

"Me and my buddy David kind of made it. We were the two that kind of pushed it that said we could do this," Barthl said.

What they did was push for the first-ever Veterans Village. The village is a permanent affordable housing solution for veterans and their families.

"Getting the vets isn't even the problem. There's 58 vets with Section 8 housing vouchers in this county that aren't even using them. Why wouldn't we take that opportunity to house our vets even among the community?" said Marine Corp veteran, David Pedley.

Partners like Housing Matters have already screened individuals to make sure that they're eligible for Federal Administration housing vouchers," said Susan True, Community Foundation Santa Cruz County CEO.

The property has 10 cabins, a four-bedroom three-bath home and an office that will provide services for veterans.

It can immediately house up to 18 veterans with the possibility to expand.

"So, obviously there's a lot of hurdles to get to the point of opening. Ideally, we'd like to open with that 18, and continue to develop the property to house a few more veterans on top of that," said Chris Cottingham, executive director of the Santa Cruz County Veterans Memorial Building of Trustees.

The Community Foundation is one of several organizations involved in Veterans Village.

It's hoping to raise more money with a $75,000 donor matching program through November.

And as for Barthl, he's fitting nicely into his new community, after all, this is home now.

"Feel accepted and Housing Matters really made a difference. They made it so I had a plan to stay and I can grow and I am back," Barthl said.

Watch the video above for the full story.

Outside his home, Joshua Nola and his dog, Bud, love spending time together on their daily walks.

“No matter what, when I come home, he’s always happy," Nola said. "He’s always in a great mood. He always has a smile on his face."

It’s a bond he values deeply. Nola is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, who deployed to Afghanistan and when he returned home, felt something was off.

“I’ve dealt with depression with stuff, dealing with a little bit of survivor’s guilt,” he said. “I have friends that I knew in the Marine Corps, whether on their deployment or after coming home, who just aren’t here anymore. And it got to the point where I was tired of burying brothers.”

Those feelings are not unusual for veterans. The VA says more than 1.7 million veterans get treatment for mental health each year.

Enter the non-profit Pets For Patriots.

“Very simply, Pets For Patriots seeks to give veterans a new pet friend, while saving the most overlooked, undervalued shelter dogs and cats around the country,” said Beth Zimmerman, who founded the nonprofit.

Zimmerman said the organization works to help veterans heal emotionally while helping pets in need do the same.

“There were two different populations--veterans and shelter animals--that had different, but very complementary needs,” she said. “And if I could find a way to bring them together in a really intelligent way and an innovative way, that it would help both of them.”

In the 10 years since Pets For Patriots began, the program has paired together nearly 3,000 veterans with shelter pets around the country. They help not just with the adoption, but also with the pet’s lifelong care.

“We inspire veterans to adopt these animals by providing a range of benefits to make pet adoption affordable over the life of that pet,” Zimmerman said.

Yet, it amounts to more than that, said Nola.

“They’re constantly in contact. They’re asking how I’m doing, how [Bud’s] doing, " Nola said. 'If there’s anything they can do, help with anything, they’ve kind of become like a part of the family.”

Zimmerman said that’s part of the goal.

“Time and time again, you just see these stories where the veteran heals himself or herself by helping the pet overcome what he or she has been through,” she said. “And it's really pretty amazing.”

Back in New Jersey, Nola and Bud continue on their path to healing together.

“I wanted to save a dog, just as much as I kind of thought it would save me,” he said.

If you would like more information on Pets For Patriots, click here.

The 2008 recession proved devastating not only to the economy but American lives after suicide numbers spiked in its wake. And for veterans at a high risk of unemployment and mental illness, experts say greater efforts are needed to support the population.

A nonprofit in San Diego is using a unique form of therapy to help veterans and their caregivers during this time.

"All I have to do is relax. Being able to get out of my head and literally not have to do anything for an hour, it's amazing," said Candra Murphy, an Air Force veteran.

In a pool heated to match the human temperature, veterans are transported to a state of calm.

"It's often equated to if you were to go all the way back to being the womb, and that safety and serenity of being in the watery environment," said Elizabeth Berg, executive director of Wave Academy.

But like many veterans sent to the aquatic therapy program, Murphy had her reservations.

"The first session, I was tense pretty much all the way through," remembered Murphy.

Murphy served for six years and deployed once to Balad, Iraq. She says the base was a constant target for mortar attacks, and the most difficult part of the deployment was not knowing what was going to happen next.

When she reintegrated back into civilian life, everyday tasks like driving, were a challenge.

"It just depends on the day. More often than not, my symptoms tend to show up as anxiety, hyper-vigilance, general distrust of crowds. I tend to self-isolate a lot," said Murphy.

Through counseling, Murphy learned she had Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She began sessions at Wave Academy before COVID-19, but like many services, it was put on hold.

Murphy says she's been managing the pandemic well, but it was challenging not having access to the therapies which help with her PTSD.

"For the first time ever, we have a wait list of people who would like to have our therapy program," said Berg.

Wave Academy serves veterans, active duty service members, and caregivers. Through donors and granters, they're able to provide eight sessions at no cost for people with low to moderate-income.

"It's great for physical therapy as well, the warm water and the light massaging and maybe twist or stretches is absolutely helpful for the physical body. But I think the piece that makes it so effective when we're working with veterans who have post-traumatic stress, you know we're working with that trauma of the mind, is that this particular therapy transcends from body to mind," said Berg.

Clinical psychologist Mark Jesinoski works with combat veterans, many who were already dealing with heightened physical and emotional pain before the pandemic.

"I'm hearing from a lot of veterans that they're feeling more isolated, they're feeling less supported. Exactly what they need they're not getting right now," said Dr. Jesinoski.

He says he's alarmed by what he sees in his practice, for both civilians and veterans.

"When I look back at my veteran community that I get to work with every day and feel their pulse, what I notice is every single thing they experience as normal people is completely and totally magnified by what's happening in our society today," said Dr. Jesinoski.

A report from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute indicated that for every 5 percent increase in the national unemployment rate, as many as 550 veterans a year could be lost to suicide, and 20,000 more could suffer from substance abuse disorders.

But instead of focusing on predictions, Dr. Jesinoski says society should seek proactive solutions.

"I don't think it's a matter of putting more money into it, I think it's about being much smarter and much wiser in how we allocate that money in being a much more interconnected system of services," said Dr. Jesinoski.

Between the government and community nonprofits like Wave Academy.

"What I would say to a veteran if they are struggling is don't do that pride thing, don't do that isolation thing, don't do the 'I ain't got time to bleed thing'. Be willing to take a breath and to overcome that resistance to asking for help," said Jesinoski.

After being inspired by his journey of working and healing with veterans, Dr. Jesinosky started a podcast to help support the population.

If you or someone you know needs help, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline anytime at 1-800–273-8255.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Adam Gross of Grand Rapids, Michigan, took up magnet fishing as a hobby a few years ago. And last week, he caught something special off of a city bridge.

He pulled up dog tags from the bottom of the Grand River that belonged to a man named Clifford J. Voigt.

“They’re dated 1943, so who knows when they actually ended up in there,” Adam Gross said.

Voigt was a World War II veteran, originally from Grand Rapids.

Through some internet sleuthing, Gross was able to find Voigt's obituary. Voigt was laid to rest in Mesa, Arizona, at Mountain View Memorial Gardens.

“It would be awesome to go in person, you know? Hand it over, you know? But Arizona and Michigan, we’re quite a ways away,” Gross said.

Gross did the next best thing and reached out to the cemetery.

“Next step is just waiting on the cemetery. We’re going to see if I write a letter to the family, and they hand that over. Or if I hand my information over to the cemetery, and they contact me back,” Gross said.

Gross says he hopes Voigt's family reaches out. If not, he hopes this story reaches them.

“They’re not just dog tags. They’re someone’s history,” Gross said.

This story was originally published by Julie Dunmire at WXMI.

Firefighter Richard Jett happened to be working at a different fire station and ended up meeting two girls on a welfare check at a storage unit.Jett, a man of faith, knew God was trying to tell him something.At the time in October 2017, the girls were just 2 years and 4 days old.He ended up adopting them, joining his family of two other adopted children.His colleagues recently honored him in a surprise ceremony and given a surf trip by a charity in the area, S.W.E.L. (Surf Waves Enjoy Life), that takes veterans and first responders surfing.For more information on S.W.E.L, click here.

SHELBYVILLE, K.y. — For Emily Hernandez, transitioning from sergeant in the Army to civilian took a toll she did not expect.

"I was just ready for the next chapter, and then when I started working on the civilian side, I just went into work, work, work. 'Cause that's what I was used to. And I started to feel so alone," she said.

After seven years of active duty in the Army and a tour in Afghanistan, Emily went back to her hometown of Shelbyville, Kentucky with her son and husband. When she got back to friends and family, something was missing – she could no longer relate to the people around her.

"I noticed it when I was working night shift and when I would come home, it was about a 20-minute drive. There's not a lot of cars on the road and you're just able to like, sit there with your thoughts. That's when I started to think, I was like, 'man, life is a lot different,'" she said.

In the U.S. – there are two million female veterans and although women make up only 9% of the military, it’s the fastest growing military and veteran population.

In a study published by Boston Medical Center this year, it was found that although female veterans were younger with less combat experience, they were more likely to have lifetime PTSD, depression, suicidal thoughts, and more likely to use lifetime mental health services, compared to male veterans.

Sherry Whitehouse says the root of the mental obstacles for many female veterans is finding the understanding and a sense of identity they had in service in their new role as a civilian. It’s something she struggled with until she found it in helping others like her – at Veterans Club.

"Our ladies definitely have been under served in the past and I'm grateful to the veterans club for allowing that space to be open, safe and supported," said Whitehouse.

The Kentucky-based organization helps more than 6,000 veterans by providing that missing link of understanding – providing healing through connection. Founder Jeremy Harrell said they started a women-only group because the need was great.

"It's a rare thing from what I understand and it shouldn't be, and we hope that this helps others go, 'We should probably do that too,' because there's some women out there who gave their all for the defense of this country. That are hurting because they don't feel like anybody cares," said Harrell.

Whitehouse is the leader of that program, helping women to open up and own every aspect of their self.

"That's one of the things that I've worked really hard to change just across the board with our ladies that it's okay to stand up, It's okay to say I served. It's okay to say that I need help," she said.

Though Hernandez has gone back into the service, she says the connections she's made at Veteran's Club with other women have helped her greatly.

"I didn't want to admit somethings in my own self-reflection. So when I would hear people in the veterans club explain their stories and it sounded a lot like mine. that's when I started feeling like, 'Oh, like I needed this.' And I think that equally they need me as well," she said.

She hopes other women take the step in finding a community that understands.

"Reach out and understand that you're not alone and once the military's over or even if it's not, you know, there's a big group of people that are here and we want to welcome you with open arms," said Hernandez.

Although Veterans Club is based in Kentucky, they are hoping to connect people across the country.

If you or someone you know believes they can benefit from their services, visit their website by clicking on this link.

SHELBYVILLE, Ken. — The nationwide eviction moratorium expired at the end of July and leaders at the Veterans Administration are concerned it will lead to a large increase in homeless veterans. One Kentucky program is working to house veterans before the moratorium ends.

Nearly 40,000 veterans experienced homelessness on any given night in 2020, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. Paul Elliott was one of them.

“Living out of your van, or whatever, you just get tired of it," Elliott said. “There is a saying when you go into service is they try to 'break the civilian out of you' and once that civilian is gone, you never go back.”

For Elliott, and many like him, homelessness wasn’t a choice, but it is a common outcome.

“Even when you sleep, you’re not sleeping. This is where PTSD comes in, where you’re always wired," Elliott said.

As Elliott experienced, nothing feels safe. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 11 to 20 out of every 100 veterans who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD in any given year.

Jeremy Harrell knows that feeling too. It’s why he started the Veterans Club in Shelbyville, Kentucky, to help people just like Elliott.

“It’s emotional for me because I’ve been in those same positions that everyone that we help have. I struggle with PTSD myself," Harrell said. “It’s not enough just to say, 'hey we want to get vets off the street.' But I remember how I felt when I felt like I had no one. And I don’t want that ever to be the case that we’re around.”

Through partnerships, the club recently started its Veterans Village, a community of tiny homes for veterans in need.

“The homes are foundational. What that does is it tears down any barriers you have about where am I going to sleep and what am I going to eat. So we get rid of that for you," Harrell said.

Elliott says his life has been a revolving door, until a few weeks ago

“I had a hard time readjusting to civilian world and at this time I still do. I find being here at the Veterans Club, I think being around other veterans and this community that’s going to be a brotherhood and a family, I think this is going to help me get established and have a home," Elliot said.

“Create that same bond that we had while we were in service and that’s not replicable in the civilian world really and so that’s a powerful tool that we have," Harrell said.

That’s just the beginning.

“Then we have case managers who kind of sit down with them, clinicians who sit down with them and kind talk about hey these are the challenges you have but what are your goals? We come up with a 3, 6, 9, 12-month plan.”

They pay extremely close attention to every detail.

“Then we start working on financial literacy, we start working on employment, we start working on supportive services, we start working on education, we do training, we just want to fill the toolbox," Harrell said.

For Elliott, it’s been years since he’s had a place to call his own. With those worries lifted, and a comfortable support system he’s working on his next step.

“I want to go back to work. I’ve injured myself. I’ve been dealing with injuries," Elliott said.

Harrell gets calls about veterans who could benefit from their services across the country. The reality is, there aren’t many programs like this out there.

“It’s hard work in a way that it could work for a year and then in a day it could all go south," Harrell said. “When you’re dealing with recovery of any kind whether it be mental health, whether it be substance abuse, you can put a lot of effort in and not produce any fruit.”

Delaware, Connecticut, and Virginia are the only states that have virtually eradicated veteran homelessness, according to the National Conference of State Legislators. But until that’s the case nationwide, Harrell and his team won’t stop helping veterans like Elliott.

“If it was up to me, I’d be in trouble again. I’d be on my own somewhere trying to deal with something on my own and you can’t do it on your own," Elliott said.

The hard work of helping yourself and others is what fuels the Veterans Club.

“Oftentimes, it’s looked at as a person may be lazy or they don’t want to work but oftentimes that’s not the case at all," Harrell said. “We can’t get so comfortable and so arrogant that we think for a minute that that can’t be us. And how would you want to be treated if it was you? And if we just start asking ourselves that throughout daily life in general I think our country would be in a lot better state than it is now.”

Veterans who wish to continue serving have a new mission in front of them. The war on COVID-19.

The "Veterans Coalition for Vaccination" is using technology to help in the fight.

After Hurricane Delta hit Louisiana in the fall of 2020, Team Rubicon was there to help and rebuild.

“Team Rubicon is a disaster nonprofit that mobilizes military veterans to use their skills, experience, and education to help communities prepare, respond and recover from natural disasters," explained Art delaCruz, President and Chief Operating Officer of Team Rubicon.

Just like it is in the military, there's teamwork, a mission, and a goal.

“Military veterans bring immense experience and comfort in ambiguous environments that can help people that have been impacted by natural disasters," delaCruz said.

Formed by a former Marine sniper, Team Rubicon began with a small team of 8. There are now 140,000 volunteers who come together for a cause.

“It's another opportunity to continue to serve," delaCruz said.

Now, they have a new job.

“Veterans from across the country are coming together to aid in converting vaccines into vaccinations. Vaccines don’t save lives, vaccinations do," delaCruz said.

To say that mobilizing takes a huge amount of coordination would be an understatement. These days, that coordination comes through technology.

Justin Spelhaug is the Vice President of Technology for social impact at Microsoft, and he's a veteran who helps organizations like Team Rubicon run their operations with "Cloud for Nonprofit."

“Brings the best of our trusted cloud capabilities to solve the most challenging processes and pain points that nonprofits have," explained Spelhaug.

Things like fundraising, how to deploy volunteers, when and where and how to run programs. All of that, in one place. When it comes to something like Team Rubicon's Veterans Coalition for Vaccination, technology can streamline a big job.

“Ultimately these are really, typically, chaotic events, and the volunteer system helps provide order to what can be a chaotic event and help those health care workers get to the shots in the arms,” Spelhaug said.

He added they're using that tech to help mobilize in the most underserved of America's communities.

For Team Rubicon, it's all about supporting the health care system.

“We understood that our veterans could have impact it's not necessarily in putting needles in arms, it’s making sure we can facilitate this process so when doctors and nurses show up, that we’re vaccinating as many people as possible in a short amount of time," delaCruz said.

They've already started working in a handful of communities across the country and they're standing by, ready to deploy, when called.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden isn't changing his mind. On Thursday, he promised to have all American troops out of Afghanistan by August 31.

Earlier this year, Biden said he wanted it done by September 11.

"We did not go to Afghanistan to nation-build," Biden said Thursday.

AMERICA'S SACRIFICE

Afghanistan is the longest war in American history, lasting nearly 20 years.

In that time, 2,448 Americans have died in Afghanistan, according to the president. Another 20,722 Americans have been wounded.

The United Nations estimates at least 35,000 Afghan civilians were killed from 2001 to 2019.

American taxpayers have paid at least $825 billion for operations and recent expenses have totaled around $3 billion/month.

VETERAN REACTION

As the United States finishes its operation, many veterans are reacting and have mixed feelings, mainly because the Taliban is continuing to regain regions of the country.

As a reminder, the U.S. entered Afghanistan because the Taliban was cooperating with Al Qaeda, the terrorist organization behind the September 11 attacks.

Toyia Tucker is an Air Force veteran who lives in Columbus, Georgia. Tucker worries about what will happen to women's rights in the country. The Taliban previously banned high-heel shoes and even reading.

"The Taliban right now is terrorizing those citizens. No, I don't think it will get better for women," said Tucker, an Air Force veteran whose mother and ex-husband served on the ground in Afghanistan.

Robert Couture is a veteran who retired as a Master Sergeant.

"It’s a concern, I remember being in Afghanistan and seeing little girls that were sick in the village and I wasn’t allowed to pick up and hug them, and that always stays with me," Couture said.

Both veterans, however, recognize why Biden has decided to bring the war to a conclusion.

"You have mixed feelings, 20 years is a long time," Tucker said.

"Afghanistan is a sovereign nation," Couture said.

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. —

Paul Guilbeault knew the writing was on the wall for the last Veterans of Foreign Wars post in this city south of Boston when businesses across Massachusetts were ordered to close as the coronavirus pandemic took hold last March.

Within six months, the 90-year-old Korean War vet was proven right. VFW Post 3260 in New Bedford, a chapter of the national fraternity of war vets established in 1935, had surrendered its charter and sold the hall to a church.

“The economic shutdown is what killed us,” said Guilbeault, who has overseen the post’s finances for years. “There’s no way in the world that we could make it. A lot of these posts are barely hanging on. Most don’t make a huge profit.”

Local bars and halls run by VFW and American Legion posts — those community staples where vets commiserate over beers and people celebrate weddings and other milestones — were already struggling when the pandemic hit. After years of declining membership, restrictions meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 became a death blow for many.

The closures have added to the misery from a pandemic that's hit military veterans hard. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently estimated the death toll in its facilities alone was approaching 11,000.

Related video: Some optimistic as CDC releases guidelines for those fully vaccinated

In many states, veterans posts were ordered to close like other bars and event halls last spring. Their supporters argued that the spaces serve a greater community purpose than their for-profit counterparts and should have been allowed to reopen sooner.

They say many posts quickly pivoted their community service efforts to respond to the pandemic. In Lakeview, Michigan, VFW Post 3701 made hundreds of masks for workers and operated blood drives with the Red Cross. In Queens, New York, American Legion Post 483 ran a food pantry that fed thousands. And posts from Connecticut to North Carolina have been hosting vaccine registration drives and clinics.

The closure of some halls and bars also means vets dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other wartime trauma have lost a critical safe space amid an isolating pandemic, leaders say.

“They can talk about things here that happened to them in the war that they’d never say to their psychiatrist or even their families,” said Harold Durr, commander of American Legion Post 1 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Like a number of posts nationwide, Durr says his facility qualified for federal and local pandemic relief, though most of it could only be used to cover employee salaries, not utilities and other expenses.

He says the shuttered post, which includes a bar and hall, has largely relied on donations to pay monthly costs.

“We’ve had a rough go,” says the 75-year-old Navy vet, who served in the Vietnam War. “But we’ve got to stay open. We’ve existed for 100 years. There’s no way we can let it close.”

How many vets halls and bars have permanently shuttered or risk closure because of the pandemic is hard to quantify.

The national VFW and American Legion organizations say the number of posts that dissolved completely last year was at or lower than prior years. But the organizations say they do not track bars and halls because they are locally controlled.

Many posts, they say, do not run halls or bars. Still, both organizations launched emergency grant programs last fall, doling out thousands of dollars to hundreds of posts to help cover facility costs and other expenses.

“A post could conceivably lose these things and still continue as a post,” said John Raughter, spokesman for the Indianapolis-based American Legion.

Some facilities have found workarounds to keep bringing in money, which goes to a wide range of community work, from hosting free lunches for disabled veterans to sponsoring high school ROTC programs and offering free gathering space for Scout troops and other groups.

Members of the VFW Post 2718 on Long Island, New York, have been dipping into reserves and organizing fundraisers until they can fully reopen their hall. Their next effort is a first-time Mother’s Day plant sale, said John McManamy, a former post commander.

In Massachusetts, the New Bedford post is the only one that’s dissolved for pandemic-related reasons so far, but the state risks losing some 20% of its VFW buildings if they are forced to remain closed into the crucial summer months, said Bill LeBeau, head of the VFW Massachusetts, which oversees local posts.

Closing VFW Post 3260 in the historic fishing port city some 60 miles south of Boston has been bittersweet for longtime members.

Dennis Pelletier, a 75-year-old Marine who served in Vietnam, had his wedding reception at the hall in 1967, the year it opened. He's been a dues-paying member pretty much ever since.

“It’s been a part of my whole adult life,” Pelletier said. “It’s been a second home at times.”

But like VFW posts nationwide, the New Bedford hall struggled to draw new members. In the '60s, it had more than 1,000 paying members; by last year, it had roughly 100, the majority in their 70s and 80s.

“The stigma of just being a bar is hard to overcome,” said Delfino Garcia, the post’s last commander. “Younger vets want something different. You’ve got to be more family-oriented. You’ve got to make it more hospitable. VFWs are struggling to adapt to that new reality.”

Guilbeault, who joined the post in 1956 after serving in the Air Force, has no regrets about winding things down.

With mortgage payments and other bills mounting, he had put in more than $5,000 of his own savings in those final days. He eventually recouped the money when the building's sale was finalized in September, and the remaining profits went to the state VFW.

“In a way, it’s been a blessing to let it go,” Guilbeault said. “If we’d kept going, we’d still be closed. There was no sense keeping it open. All we were doing was accumulating debt, debt, debt, debt.”

ANDERSON TOWNSHIP, Ohio — On Tuesday, Hillcrest Cemetery started to get a bit of a face lift on behalf of the GE Veterans Network.

Over a four-day period -- more than 100 volunteers from GE will clean up the grounds, removing debris, cleaning headstones and planting flags.

Brian DeGennaro, the co-lead of the network, said the goal is to beautify the spot while also honoring men and women who put their lives on the line for our country.

"Cleaning up the tombstone areas and a lot of the tombstones have fallen over -- we're looking at putting them back up making sure that they are aligned,” he said. “Cleaning up some of the trees and brush around the area, just to really make it that kind of place that a veteran who served their nation deserves."

There are about 1,400 U.S. military veterans buried at Hillcrest -- spanning from the Civil War to the Vietnam War -- and about 95% of those buried veterans are African American.

GE Veterans Network, the GE Women’s Network and the GE African American Forum will work together during the four-day cleanup.