Today (Monday), vets from all over the country are here for the Disabled American Veterans conference. Inside the vast convention space at the GSR, U.S. Army veteran Alger Johnson told us how back home he’s living the life he always wanted… after some tough years serving in Vietnam. He tries to make all these conventions, "Picking up some knowledge and just kind of seeing old faces and meeting new people."
The knowledge came from the big room, where topics included getting more outreach on social media, the need for more volunteers, employment and veterans claims…for those affected most by battle. Some of them talk about their wars, but most have a hard time doing that…for good reason. These veterans also band together to represent the causes that are important to them, and to express them to the rest of us, and to lawmakers. As regional DAV supervisor Donald Reed told us, "We insure that we get our message to them of what we want to do, and make sure that our benefits are always protected."
Outside the big conference room, Alger Johnson told me, "You know, all scars are not physical." His pet cause is the injuries you don't see. He knows too many buddies suffering from PTSD. Standing next to him, U.S. Marine Corps veteran Ray Starkey, affected by Agent Orange and injured in Vietnam, wants an end to backlogged benefit claims. As he put it, "Just getting their disabilities approved takes too long.”
But today, both are happy just to be with their brothers in arms...all 8,000 of them. Starkey laughed as he told us, “I was in the Marine Corps, and with the Navy here there's a harassment value there.” Alger Johnson agrees: “There’s a real camaraderie here. You can relax, because we've all been in the same thing. We've all been in the same boat."
Alger and Ray are doing fine back home, but they know too many left disabled in battle who are not. For those who aren't here, they're here in Reno for them...the others back home.
