Veterans' Stories Archives - Gold Coast Veterans Foundation

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March 5, 2021

KCLU NPR: South Coast Veterans Group Announces Plans To Build Village Focused On Helping Homeless Veterans

KCLU’s Lance Orozco looks at a non-profit veterans group in Ventura County with ambitious plans to build a village focused on helping homeless veterans. The pandemic has been rough on lots of us. But, for Army veteran Todd Gessel, it’s been especially tough. He lost his job, and housing, so the streets of Ventura County […]

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March 1, 2021

Veterans Column: Supporting Veterans Causes Invokes Family, Friends Who Served

By Don Irelan, GCVF Volunteer and Son of a WWII Navy Veteran On Nov. 11, the National Museum of the United States Army celebrated its grand opening. The museum project was a joint effort between the U.S. Army and the Army Historical Foundation. The Army Corps of Engineers built the infrastructure, roads and utilities, and […]

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February 1, 2021

VC Star Veterans Column: Ventura County Veterans Lose Friend, But Legacy Still Burns

By Alexander G. Deraney, U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) and GCVF “Mobile Veteran Outreach” Team Member President Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, implored the American people to increase their devotion to the cause for which our fallen servicemen gave the last full measure of devotion. Whether a member of our armed forces served in […]

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January 29, 2021

Woodburn: Kindness by and for Two Military Vets

By Woody Woodburn, VC Star Columnist Having a column is a lot like owning a pickup truck — friends are constantly asking for help moving a couch or bulky dresser, or suggesting a topic they “just know” will be moving to readers. My aging back does not miss my Datsun pickup. As for pitched column […]

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January 4, 2021

VC Star Veterans Column: Chili Beans Brought Together These Army Veterans

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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December 7, 2020

Veterans Column: Remembering Pearl Harbor, USS Arizona Memorial

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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November 9, 2020

From Serving our Country to Serving Those in Need

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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November 2, 2020

Veterans Column: The Story Behind the Ms. Veteran America 2020

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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October 5, 2020

Here’s a Senior Meals Program Veterans May Not Know About

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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October 2, 2020

Despite Health Issues, Homeless Veteran Helps Others

Homeless Veteran Helps Other Homeless Veterans

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 […]