The NVRA Blog

Three years after he graduated from Castle High School, Wallace Soeda joined the Air Force to fight in the Vietnam War. “He served his country and he was very proud of it,” his wife, Bianca, said. Soeda was a staff sergeant in charge of supplies. “He was at two bases in Thailand that were known and acknowledged to have had … Read More

Monday, November 11 is Veterans Day. It’s a national holiday. Parades and celebrations are held in every town, large and small, across our land to honor those who have served, and those who have fallen in service to our country. But for many Americans, Veterans Day has come to mean a long weekend, big sales, no mail delivery or banking, … Read More

Over 1.5 million American troops were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan between 2001 and 2011. Many returned with visible scars of war – but for some, their injury is hidden. At some of the military bases throughout those regions, waste materials were disposed of in so-called “burn pits.” Breathing fumes from the burn pit fires appears to have damaged the … Read More

Federal officials pulled veterans from a Van Nuys assisted living home after finding that the facility had reported a social worker visiting a veteran who had been dead for four days, according to a report released Thursday.

It wasn’t until I worked with a senior advisor that I learned my mother was eligible to receive veterans benefits that would help offset the costs of her senior care. My mother had remarried a man who was a World War II veteran. I had no idea that as the widow of a veteran there was this kind of financial … Read More

Bryan Knight was 5 years old when he said goodbye to his father at an airport in Dallas, Texas, just before he was sent off to the Vietnam War. That was the last time he saw his father. A few months later, US Air Force Maj. Roy A. Knight Jr., 36, went missing in action on May 19, 1967. The … Read More

Veterans rejected for disability benefits will have a new slate of appeals options starting next month, when federal officials will put in place an overhaul the review process with hopes of dramatically cutting down on wait times for the complicated cases. Last week, Department of Veterans Affairs officials announced they will implement new appeals modernization rules starting Feb. 19. Work … Read More

In coming months, when veterans are trying to decide whether to go to a Veterans Affairs hospital or a private doctor for their check-up, they may opt for a trip to Walmart instead. Department officials on Thursday announced a series of new telehealth partnerships designed to dramatically expand their current remote care offerings, to include online exam rooms in Walmarts, … Read More

U.S. veterans are forgoing treatment at Veterans’ Affairs clinics due to the high cost of lodging in some areas, but one group has a solution. Billy Bryels, a retired Vietnam Veteran and double Purple Heart awardee, told Fox News he slept in his car several times because of the high hotel costs, much like several of his fellow veterans. But … Read More

Among U.S. veterans ages 18-34, suicides jumped to 45 per 100,000 population in 2016 from 40.4 in 2015.