“We’re honored every day by the courage, service, and sacrifice of our military men and women,” said Rick Malir, CEO and founder of City Barbeque. “It’s so important to us here at City Barbeque to show our appreciation—we’re excited to share a meal and our thanks on November 11, and to spend some quality time with those who serve.”

City Barbeque fundraises throughout the year for veterans’ causes. The company has raised $37,500 to date for the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, who works to support the estimated 20–25% of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with traumatic brain injury. City Barbeque has also made significant donations to Mission 22, a campaign dedicated to awareness and treatment of the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries that lead 22 veterans here at home to take their lives every day. To learn about the Resurrecting Lives Foundation, visit resurrectinglives.org; for more about Mission 22, visit mission22.com.

“When I heard about Wounded Warrior Project’s male mental health workshops, I was in a really bad place,” Thomas said. “I hadn’t reached out to anyone for help and found myself at struggling at 248 pounds.”

Through the generous support of donors, Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) offers veterans specialized mental health programs and services – tailored to each warrior’s specific needs and free of charge. One such program is its multi-day mental health workshops that are offered as all-male, all-female, or all-couples. These workshops provide safe, private environments for warriors to express themselves and share their experiences.

“The activities really pushed my boundaries,” Thomas said. “But after I did them I realized – if can do this, I can go back to therapy. I can do other things that I don’t like too much.”

At the workshops, warriors like Thomas challenge themselves through outdoor team-building activities such as an intense high ropes course. They are connected to one another for support, actively honoring oaths to respect one another’s recovery as well as their own. By the end, warriors share lessons learned from the activities that impacted their personal struggles most and set achievable goals for their recoveries.

Two months have passed since Thomas attended the workshop. He now stands at a strong 212 pounds and is still exercising to meet his goals mentally and physically. He credits WWP for helping save his life.

“I’m still coping with some issues, but I am not sitting still. I’m staying active in my recovery all because I went to this mental health workshop,” Thomas said. “If one guy hears my story and it helps them, every bit of this – injuries and all – was worth it.”

To learn and see more about how WWP’s mental health workshops connect, serve, and empower wounded warriors, visit http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/, and click on multimedia.

About Wounded Warrior Project
Wounded Warrior Project^® (WWP) connects, serves, and empowers wounded warriors. Read more at http://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/about-us.

SOURCE Wounded Warrior Project

We encourage everyone to think of America’s Active Duty Military that are stationed at military bases throughout the world. Foremost, we must ALL keep the thought of those deployed in warzones and in imminent danger within our hearts on a continual basis. “Home for the Holidays” is not an option for them or their loved ones. (www.phhusa.org).

Purple Heart Homes is a Nationally Organized 501c3 public charity that is dedicated to providing housing solutions for service connected disabled Veterans that are substantial in function and design. Focusing on safety and accessibility, they’ve helped Veterans with multiple types of injuries, demographics and ages. John Gallina, Purple Heart Homes Co-founder and Executive Director said, “We help Veterans of all ages with housing issues. It’s top of mind, that to our Veteran families, ‘home’ means everything. It’s a place to heal, it is a special sanctuary that provides stability and needed neighborly support.”

To our Veterans ‘home’ means everything. 

Here are two examples of Veterans we’ve helped and why during this giving season your donation to Purple Heart Homes matters so much. There are thousands of Veterans just like them who need our help.

Meet 90-year Veteran Alex Sawchyn: 

Alex lives in a quiet peaceful town in Redding, CT. A knock on his door brought an insurance representative providing him with a list of things he needed to do or his homeowners insurance would be cancelled. The estimates (totaling $42,000) for cutting down some trees, painting the house and putting a new roof weren’t feasible. Even after participating in the Berlin Airlift, Alex and his wife were left with few options except moving into an assisted living facility.

Purple Heart Homes along with some very generous volunteers and businesses from the State of Connecticut stepped in to help paint the house, cut down the trees and put on a new roof enabling the Sawchyn’s to remain safely in their home. Aging Veterans and caregivers deserve every chance to stay in their homes, they sometimes just need a little help.

Meet Operation Iraqi Freedom Army Veteran Lauren Hogan:

Lauren Hogan is a single mom with two young daughters.  She joined the Army in an effort to prepare her for life.  On November 21, 2004, Lauren was wounded in one of the single deadliest attacks on U.S. forces throughout the Iraq war. A suicide bomber, disguised as an Iraqi Soldier detonated an explosive vest in a crowded mess hall, killing 22 people and injuring 72 others. Lauren received the Purple Heart, for the shrapnel she still carries in her back and after receiving an honorable medical discharge from the Army she moved back in with her parents and often secluded herself from the outside world.

Since being discharged, Lauren has moved multiple times, all across the country while searching for a safe place to call home. As a final effort she purchased a fixer upper in Western NC near her parents. She started fixing it using her disability payments so she could provide a ‘home’ for herself and her two young daughters. While working diligently in her spare time to remodel the small home, Lauren realized her dream was going to take a lot longer than she wanted.

Purple Heart Homes along with community stepped in to completely renovate the 100-year-old mill house giving Lauren Hogan peace of mind and the stability she needed to be able to heal and give her daughters a place to begin to make memories together as a family.

There are now over 150 Purple Heart Homes stories similar to the two above. To our Veterans ‘home’ means everything. Be a part of the Purple Heart Homes story in providing needed housing assistance to deserving Veteran families. – Visit the Purple Heart Homes website to make your donation so we can continue to improve more Veterans’ lives one ‘home’ at a time https://www.purplehearthomesusa.org/main-donation-page

Credit unions have had a close relationship with all branches of the military and support veterans who sacrificed so much for the freedom we value today. So to help make life a little easier for older veterans and their caregivers, Purple Heart Homes has joined forces with the Cornerstone Credit Union League, serving approximately 500 credit unions in Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas; Georgia Credit Union Affiliates, serving 121 member credit unions; and the Southeastern Credit Union League, serving 298 credit unions in Florida and Alabama.

“It is fitting we officially launch this campaign on Purple Heart Day,” said John Gallina, cofounder and executive director of Purple Heart Homes, a combat-wounded Iraq war veteran who received a Purple Heart during his tour of duty. “We were taught to never leave a soldier behind on the battlefield, and we are committed to not leaving them behind at home.”

“It is going to take a movement to thank the 9 million military U.S. veterans age 65 and older, but we’ll do it, remembering their sacrifice by helping renovate veterans’ homes. This is why we are launching this campaign with participating credit unions and their state associations.”

Credit unions who participate in Operation Veteran Home Renovation will identify a veteran whose home needs a ramp, grab bars, railings, a yard cleaned up, or a fresh coat of paint. Credit unions will raise the funds for the projects, most of which can be completed by credit union staff and community volunteers in a day or two. The average cost of a project is $5,000.

Georgia Credit Union League Affiliates CEO Mike Mercer said, “In Georgia there are 304,270 veterans that served in Vietnam, Korea, and WWII. Older veterans are oftentimes overlooked and ignored. They live on fixed income and face increased taxes and a higher cost of living. Many times, because of age and disability, older veterans are not able to keep up with the maintenance on their homes, which is why we joined forces with Purple Heart Homes to do something special for them.”

Cornerstone President Dick Ensweiler said, “We are so committed to this campaign that our league and staff are going to help renovate a home for 99-year-old Santiago Diaz, a WWII veteran living in Fort Worth. We have reached out to all of our credit unions to urge them to either help renovate a home or donate directly to Purple Heart Homes/Credit Unions Care so they can help more veterans remain safely in their own homes.” (purplehearthomesusa.org/donate-1)

Tinker Federal Credit Union in Oklahoma City hosted a Wild West Casino Night fundraiser to help renovate four approved veterans’ homes. “We worked with the Veterans Corner to help us locate and identify veterans that met the criteria developed by the Purple Heart Homes team. Veterans that need help don’t self-identify and usually say ‘someone else needs more help than me,'” said Dave Willis, executive vice president and chief operations officer.

Tinker netted $26,780 from the Casino Night and will hold another fundraiser in the fall.

The 2016 Purple Heart Homes campaign, Operation Veteran Home Renovation, officially kicks off the week of Aug. 8. Participating leagues and credit unions will have until Nov. 12 to complete a project or make a donation directly to Purple Heart Homes (purplehearthomesusa.org/donate-1).

To learn more about the Purple Heart Homes campaign, Operation Veteran Home Renovation, and to join the movement to help renovate a home in your area for a deserving, approved veteran, contact the Purple Heart Homes office in Statesville, NC, at 704-838-4044 or go online at www.purplehearthomesusa.org  to request information.

ABOUT PURPLE HEART HOMES
Purple Heart Homes is a 501(c)3entity founded by Dale Beatty and John Gallina, two Iraq combat-wounded veteran, that remain on a mission to provide housing solutions to service-connected disabled veterans and their families. Driven by the belief that no veteran should be left behind, Purple Heart Homes, together with the community, is committed to ensuring quality-of-life solutions for disabled American veterans from all eras.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 1, 2016) – Hope For The Warriors will partner with Richard Childress Racing (RCR) drivers Ty Dillon and Brandon Jones for tonight’s NASCAR XFINITY Series (NXS) race at Daytona International Speedway to honor two active duty units of the United States Marine Corps. The effort will be part of the ongoing “NASCAR: An American Salute” campaign, which looks to show appreciation for the United States Armed Forces as NXS drivers have their names on their front windshields replaced by active duty military units and installations.

The relationship with RCR allows Hope For The Warriors to bring greater meaning to their “Serve 2 Serve” 10 Year Celebration, which is designed to recognize those individuals that first served their country and now continue to serve the local community. The units were selected due to their relationship to Hope For The Warriors’ Chief Operation Officer Chris Sharon and Senior Director of Sports and Recreation Travis Hanson, who both served in combat with each of the units. Today, both Sharon and Hanson continue to serve the military community and their local communities through their work with Hope For The Warriors.

“We’re happy to partner with Richard Childress Racing on this initiative,” said Hanson. “RCR understands that significance of representing these two units, and not just for the current members, but for those who have served with these units in the past. For those individuals, it gives them an opportunity to remember and reflect on those brothers that they lost, while also honoring those who serve today.”

Dillon will have the name of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines (1/2) across the windshield of his No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. Based at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C., the unit is nicknamed “Tyhpoon.” Several Marines who have served in combat with ½ will join Hope For The Warriors at the track on Friday night.

Jones will have the name of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines (3/2) across the windshield of the No. 33 Florida Lottery Chevrolet. The unit, which is nicknamed the “Betio Bastards,” is also based at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, N.C. In addition to an active duty service member, several retired Marines who served in combat with 3/2 will also be in attendance at the race.

“I’m looking forward to carrying the name of 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines on the windshield of my car this weekend,” said Jones. “I was fortunate to meet both Travis [Hanson] and Chris [Sharon] last year through my involvement with Hope For The Warriors, and when this opportunity came up, my first phone call was to them. I wanted to know which units they served in combat with, to be able to pick out a unit to recognize on our car. I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for what the men and women serving in our military do on a daily basis. To be able to recognize that effort and honor them, even with something as simple as listing their units name across our windshield, is really cool-especially around Independence Day.”

On a near weekly basis, Hope For The Warriors brings service members to the track through their Drive For Hope program, which focuses on engaging transitioning service members in a unique social setting while giving them an opportunity to learn about prospective careers, make networking connections and realize different ways their skills can transition as they reintegrate into the civilian sector.

To learn more about the program or find out how you can get involved, visit HopeForTheWarriors.org. Additionally, you can support Hope For The Warriors and its various programs by making a gift online, by phone at 877-246-7349, or by mail to 8003 Forbes Place, Ste. 201, Springfield, VA 22151. Text the word HOPE to 41518 to donate.

The first large observance was held that year at Arlington National Cemetery, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

The ceremonies centered around the mourning-draped veranda of the Arlington mansion, once the home of Gen. Robert E. Lee. Various Washington officials, including Gen. and Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, presided over the ceremonies. After speeches, children from the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Orphan Home and members of the GAR made their way through the cemetery, strewing flowers on both Union and Confederate graves, reciting prayers and singing hymns.

Local Observances Claim To Be First Local springtime tributes to the Civil War dead already had been held in various places. One of the first occurred in Columbus, Miss., April 25, 1866, when a group of women visited a cemetery to decorate the graves of Confederate soldiers who had fallen in battle at Shiloh. Nearby were the graves of Union soldiers, neglected because they were the enemy. Disturbed at the sight of the bare graves, the women placed some of their flowers on those graves, as well.

Today, cities in the North and the South claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1866. Both Macon and Columbus, Ga., claim the title, as well as Richmond, Va. The village of Boalsburg, Pa., claims it began there two years earlier. A stone in a Carbondale, Ill., cemetery carries the statement that the first Decoration Day ceremony took place there on April 29, 1866. Carbondale was the wartime home of Gen. Logan. Approximately 25 places have been named in connection with the origin of Memorial Day, many of them in the South where most of the war dead were buried.

Official Birthplace Declared In 1966, Congress and President Lyndon Johnson declared Waterloo, N.Y., the “birthplace” of Memorial Day. There, a ceremony on May 5, 1866, honored local veterans who had fought in the Civil War. Businesses closed and residents flew flags at half-staff. Supporters of Waterloo’s claim say earlier observances in other places were either informal, not community-wide or one-time events.

By the end of the 19th century, Memorial Day ceremonies were being held on May 30 throughout the nation. State legislatures passed proclamations designating the day, and the Army and Navy adopted regulations for proper observance at their facilities.

It was not until after World War I, however, that the day was expanded to honor those who have died in all American wars. In 1971, Memorial Day was declared a national holiday by an act of Congress, though it is still often called Decoration Day. It was then also placed on the last Monday in May, as were some other federal holidays.

Some States Have Confederate Observances Many Southern states also have their own days for honoring the Confederate dead. Mississippi celebrates Confederate Memorial Day on the last Monday of April, Alabama on the fourth Monday of April, and Georgia on April 26. North and South Carolina observe it on May 10, Louisiana on June 3 and Tennessee calls that date Confederate Decoration Day. Texas celebrates Confederate Heroes Day January 19 and Virginia calls the last Monday in May Confederate Memorial Day.

Gen. Logan’s order for his posts to decorate graves in 1868 “with the choicest flowers of springtime” urged: “We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance. … Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.”

The crowd attending the first Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was approximately the same size as those that attend today’s observance, about 5,000 people. Then, as now, small American flags were placed on each grave — a tradition followed at many national cemeteries today. In recent years, the custom has grown in many families to decorate the graves of all departed loved ones.

The origins of special services to honor those who die in war can be found in antiquity. The Athenian leader Pericles offered a tribute to the fallen heroes of the Peloponnesian War over 24 centuries ago that could be applied today to the 1.1 million Americans who have died in the nation’s wars: “Not only are they commemorated by columns and inscriptions, but there dwells also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the hearts of men.”

To ensure the sacrifices of America ’s fallen heroes are never forgotten, in December 2000, the U.S. Congress passed and the president signed into law “The National Moment of Remembrance Act,” P.L. 106-579, creating the White House Commission on the National Moment of Remembrance. The commission’s charter is to “encourage the people of the United States to give something back to their country, which provides them so much freedom and opportunity” by encouraging and coordinating commemorations in the United States of Memorial Day and the National Moment of Remembrance.

The National Moment of Remembrance encourages all Americans to pause wherever they are at 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor those who have died in service to the nation. As Moment of Remembrance founder Carmella LaSpada states: “It’s a way we can all help put the memorial back in Memorial Day.”

Article by the US Department of Veteran Affairs

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) today announced that the U.S. Department of the Interior has added seven VA national cemeteries to the National Register of Historic Places. The recognition coincides with the national celebration of Historic Preservation Month each May and comes ahead of a weekend of Memorial Day observances at VA National Cemeteries nationwide.

“Over four million Veterans, service members, reservists and family members—of every generation and from every war and conflict, from the Revolution to the Global War on Terror—have been laid to rest in VA national cemeteries. Inclusion in the National Register emphasizes the significance of these seven 1930s-era national cemeteries as hallowed grounds,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald. “This recognition is particularly timely. On Memorial Day, we pay homage to those who placed themselves on the Altar of Freedom for love of country; this is a day for remembrance, reflection and respect – for honoring those who gave all. That is the mission of those who serve in our National Cemetery Administration, a mission they consider a sacred trust with those who gave so much for their country.”

The national cemeteries added to the National Register of Historic Places are Baltimore, MD; Fort Bliss, TX; Fort Rosecrans, CA; Fort Sam Houston, TX; Fort Snelling, MN; Golden Gate. CA; and Long Island NY. The listing recognizes the cemeteries established between the World Wars and as the first expansion of the national cemetery system since the Civil War. They also represent the first modern landscape designs created to honor the sacrifice of thousands of Veterans.

The individual cemetery designs are tailored to each location, but together reflect a unity of purpose in their appearance and sentiment. The history of national cemeteries is one of evolving Veterans’ benefits, memorialization, politics and planning.

VA has 102 national cemeteries listed in the National Register. This distinction recognizes these national cemeteries as national shrines honoring the Veterans buried there, their historic association with U.S. military history and as an enduring symbol of their sacrifice. In addition,

VA operates 134 national cemeteries and 33 soldiers’ lots and monument sites in 40 states and Puerto Rico.

More than 4 million Americans, including Veterans of every war and conflict, are buried in VA’s national cemeteries. VA also provides funding to establish, expand, improve, and maintain 100 Veterans cemeteries in 47 states and territories including tribal trust lands, Guam and Saipan. For Veterans not buried in a VA national cemetery, VA provides headstones, markers or medallions to commemorate their service. In 2015, VA honored more than 353,000 Veterans and their loved ones with memorial benefits in national, state, tribal and private cemeteries.

Information on VA burial benefits is available from local VA national cemetery offices, at www.cem.va.gov or by calling VA regional offices toll-free at 800-827-1000.  For more information about the history of VA national cemeteries, visit www.cem.va.gov/history.

For a listing of Memorial Day events taking place at VA national cemeteries nationwide, visit http://www.cem.va.gov/features.asp.

RALEIGH, N.C., April 16, 2015 – Operation: Coming Home, a joint volunteer project by the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County (HBA), the U.S. Veterans Corps, and various area nonprofits and businesses, has announced that its tenth Hero Home is under construction in Raleigh’s Highland Creek Preserve neighborhood. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on Thursday, April 16 at 10 a.m. to celebrate the occasion. U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Timothy Payne will reside in the custom-built home provided by Centex Homes.

Staff Sgt. Payne, a native of North Tonawanda, New York, enlisted in 2002, training at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Buffalo. Upon completion of his training, he joined the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Staff Sgt. Payne was deployed three times, and was injured during a combat patrol in Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province, losing both legs and severely injuring his left hand. He was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and later retired from the Army. Staff Sgt. Payne currently resides in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

On hand for the celebration were Staff Sgt. Payne and family members; James West, chair of the Wake County Board of Commissioners; representatives from the Raleigh City Council; representatives from the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County (HBA); representatives from Centex Homes, the USO of North Carolina and members of the U.S. Veterans Corps.

“Staff Sgt. Payne selflessly served his country, asking for nothing in return, but we wanted to give him this house as a way to honor his sacrifice and to say ‘thank you’ on behalf of Operation: Coming Home and all our volunteers,” said Tim Minton, president of the Operation: Coming Home Foundation. “This custom-built home from Centex Homes will be a place where he and his wife can establish roots, build a family and become part of the community. We are excited to begin the process of constructing our tenth Hero Home and look forward to its completion in just a few short months.”