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The War Horse
VA Buried Their Brother as an ‘Unclaimed Veteran.’ Now They’re Working to Bring Him Home. The…
One Saturday in March, with a few minutes to spare before choir rehearsal, Patti Pugh engaged in what had become a habit over the last two years: “One of my Alvin searches.” In February 2022, her 60-year-old brother, Alvin Jerome…
My Dad Should Have Lived a Long and Joyful Life. His Love Was Meant to Fill This World.
My dad knew two things. He wanted to serve this country, and he wouldn’t live until his 40th birthday. In 2006, his last prophecy came true. He was 36.“On behalf of the president …” were the last words I remember hearing two uniformed…
Thousands of Afghan Allies Who Fled After US Withdrawal Trapped in Immigration Limbo Retired…
Three years have passed since President Joe Biden announced that the United States would pull all of its 2,500 troops out of Afghanistan, starting a chain reaction that ended in thousands of Afghans flooding Hamid Karzai International…
‘Come Hell or High Water’–Rangers Caught in Urgent Fight, Flight to Save One of Their Own It was…
I looked out the door of the Huey helicopter into the orange, yellow, and purple fan rays of the sunset over Southeast Asia. The air was cool up here—about 70 degrees compared to the 112-degree heat just 2,000 feet below us.It was June…
He Served His Country. In Return, His Country Sent Him Into Exile The military relies on noncitizens…
At 17, Rudi Richardson took a friend’s car for a joyride, crashed it into the side of a parked car, and landed himself in court. It was Southern California in the 1970s. Richardson’s probation officer told him he had a choice: The court…
I Stare at the Empty Chair Next to Me. He Isn’t Coming. We Still Wait for Him.
I sit staring at the empty chair next to me. We know whose chair it is. He isn’t coming.His name was Sam. He’d grown up in the country, the child of a military family, and he was obsessed with computers. We affectionately called him “our…
PACT Act Update: VA Signs Up 280,000 New Veterans, But Some Are Still Left Out
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has signed up more than 280,000 new veterans and completed roughly 900,000 new toxic exposure claims under the expansion of the PACT Act, a Biden administration move that sped up the implementation of…
After Years of Nomadic Military Life, Permanence Can Be Frightening
This time, I don’t wrap the picture frames, vases, and other delicate souvenirs in bubble wrap, or place them in Tetris-like defensive positions inside a large brown box.I don’t need to; the boxes aren’t going far.After years of going where…
‘Invisible’–More Women Veterans Are Dying of Suicide and VA Still Lacks Resources, Advocates Say
Active-duty service members and veterans thinking of harming themselves can get free crisis care. Contact the Military Crisis Line at 988, then press 1, or access online chat by texting 838255.When she joined the Navy in 2001, Jennifer…
‘Welcome Home’–For Years His Family Waited for His Return. Now, He Waits for His Daughter.
My wife and I sit in a large auditorium in El Paso, Texas, waiting in anticipation, along with other families, for our daughter’s return from deployment. Upbeat music fills the air and the feeling in the assembled crowd is of a group of…
Play Hard. Get Dirty. Use Good Saop.