|
Gary Jones’s story is brought to you by the
California Veterans Benefit Fund.
For Gary Jones, the puzzle that is Agent Orange can be explained, or more to the point, not explained, by two words — “circumstantial” and “coincidence.” The words are at once the core and the conundrum of his Agent Orange experience.
“The problem with all this Agent Orange discussion is that everything is circumstantial,” Jones said. “We can’t prove anything. But after awhile, the word ‘coincidence’ just doesn’t work anymore. Something is causing all these different problems.”
He pulled two tours of duty in Vietnam, one blue, the other brown. The first for the young Naval officer came in the deep water off the Vietnam coastline; the second came inland, in the brown water of the Cam Lo River, near the DMZ, where he worked delivering supplies with Marines and an ARVN unit.
[ Read Gary Jones's Story Here ]
President Barack Obama signs an executive order on the Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government, in the Oval Office, Nov. 9, 2009.
Last night the President signed an Executive Order creating an interagency Council on Veterans Employment to advise the President and Administration on how to set the bar for hiring and employing veterans. The Council will be chaired by Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, with Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry serving as the Vice Chair and Chief Operating Officer of the Council.
[ Read article on The White House Blog ]
Five-year plan unveiled at homelessness summit
U.S. Dept. of VA Press release
Nov. 3, 2009
WASHINGTON – Today, at the “VA National Summit Ending Homelessness among Veterans,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki unveiled the department’s comprehensive plan to end homelessness among Veterans by marshalling the resources of government, business and the private sector.
“President Obama and I are personally committed to ending homelessness among Veterans within the next five years,” said Shinseki. “Those who have served this nation as Veterans should never find themselves on the streets, living without care and without hope.”
[ Read the complete release ]
|