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By Donna Lockwood, GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Support Specialist and Daughter of a Korean War Combat Veteran Thinking about people who serve in the military, one would imagine highly disciplined, tough-as-nails soldiers, ready to walk into harm’s way. Finding romance and a lifelong soul mate doesn’t seem likely. But that’s just what happened for two […]
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By Andy Ostroth, 30-year Navy Veteran and GCVF Volunteer Nine months ago, I hoped this coronavirus would be over by now, but that was wishful thinking. Many of our events and traditional celebrations are scaled down, live-streamed or canceled to reduce the spread. For example, Monday marks the 79th anniversary of the attack on Pearl […]
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By Brooke Stanley | brooke@theacorn.com Rafael Stoneman has put 30,000 miles on his blue Toyota RAV4 in the past year. Yet, even with all that mileage, the 49-year-old Army veteran who travels with his 165-pound husky-malamute mix, Leo, is doing most of his driving in Ventura County. He spends much of his time looking for homeless […]
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By Vince Gangi, U.S. Air Force veteran and GCVF volunteer. “And the winner is…” Those are the words the 25 finalists in the Ms. Veteran America Competition had worked so hard over the past year to finally hear. Many of them wondered if all the efforts of fundraising, physical conditioning and speaking engagements had been […]
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By Don Irelan, GCVF Volunteer and Son of a WWII Navy Veteran The U.S. population includes more than 18 million veterans with almost half over the age of 65 and more than 90% are male. Seniors often are homebound and live alone. This roughly translates to about 2.5 million veterans who are living alone, most […]
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By Rafael Stoneman, GCVF Mobile Veteran Outreach Director I first met John Taylor, who most folks call JT, at a hotel in Ventura when I helped check him into Project Roomkey. As part of the statewide program, high-risk homeless people are placed in motel rooms so that they can shelter in place during the pandemic. JT had […]
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On Tuesday, Sept. 29, Eldon L. Knuth, 95, of Thousand Oaks will receive the Bronze Star Medal in recognition of his military service 75 years ago for his service in France during World War II. The medal will be presented by Major General Laura Yeager, the first woman to command a U.S. Army infantry division. […]
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By Donna Lockwood, GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Support Specialist and Daughter of a Korean War Combat Veteran Kathryn Steffen, mother of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Diego Pongo of Simi Valley, received this memorial necklace on Mother’s Day. This necklace contains a Gold Star, topped with a glass purple bead with Diego’s portrait etched inside. Sgt. Pongo […]
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By Alexander G. Deraney, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) and GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Team Member During this unprecedented time of unrest, defined by a deadly and growing pandemic, powerful and pervasive social unrest, an uncertain economy and sharp political divisions, Americans could be excused for being distracted from the Nation’s observation of Purple Heart […]
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By Donna Lockwood, GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Team Member and Daughter of a Korean War Combat Veteran What pops into your head when someone mentions the Fourth of July? To civilians, chances are it is barbecues, flags, parades, throwing back a few cold ones and watching the night sky light up. There is so much […]
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