Latest news with #VietnamWarVeteransDay
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Manitowoc Hometown Hero thanks community for support
MANITOWOC, Wis. (WFRV) – Navy and law enforcement veteran Tom Traurig and his wife Linda are thanking the community for all their support after he suffered a spinal cord injury in April of 2023. While veterans' benefits have secured his home care, the couple needed money to purchase a wheelchair-accessible van so he could get to specialists at the VA in Milwaukee more frequently than a ride service program could provide. Hometown Hero Alicia Grube of Appleton handled classified information in the DMZ The Patriot Riders of Wisconsin Chapter 2 committed all the money from their annual chili competition. The community responded in a way the non-profit group has never seen before. The Traurigs were able to purchase a van, which is currently being transformed to accommodate his wheelchair and allow him to ride alongside his wife instead of having to sit in the back. 'I'm either gonna be walking by the end of this year or the beginning of next year,' Traurig said in a recent interview with Local 5 News. 'So many wonderful people have come into our lives since this happened and I can't thank them enough.' Hometown Heroes: Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29, celebrating dedication and sacrifice According to the chapter's co-founder, Jenny Matte, the event raised $9,000. Thanks to an anonymous donor, the Patriot Riders were able to match that. Then, the VA, which initially said it could only pay for half of the van's conversion, said it would cover all the work to get it ready. But that's not all. 'Besides everyone coming in to try the chilis, we received many checks and phone calls after the event,' said Matte. 'Just this past week, more donations have come in.' Click here for more Hometown Heroes stories The group will be handing over an additional $1,098 to the Traurigs. 'It's just a breath of fresh air,' said wife Linda. 'After this tragedy that happened to him, it's giving us some light. He's going to walk again.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Manitowoc Veterans talk about visualizing walking again
MANITOWOC, Wis. (WFRV) – Navy and law enforcement veteran Tom Traurig suffered a spinal cord injury on April 17, 2023, when he had a seizure and fell at home. Since then, he's been hard at work and has slowly regained minimal control of his arms. Doctors said he could greatly benefit from the care of specialists at the VA in Milwaukee, and the community rallied around him to raise money so he could buy a wheelchair-accessible van, allowing his wife Linda to drive him to appointments. Hometown Hero Alicia Grube of Appleton handled classified information in the DMZ Tom shared with Local 5 News about an additional Reiki therapy, a Japanese technique used to relieve stress and promote healing. 'A lot of people think it's mumbo jumbo,' said Traurig. 'But it's all about manifesting what you want to happen to yourself.' He said he visualized himself as a tree and his feet were the roots. 'Picture a big ball of light coming up through my body, and as that's happening, I'm saying to myself, 'I am healed. I will walk again.' And you just keep repeating all good thoughts, and that ball of light comes up through the top and then back down again.' Not too long ago, he says, during one therapy session, he felt his legs again. 'I felt my legs moving. I had a premonition when that session was over that I'm either going to be walking by the end of this year or the beginning of next year. And that's my focus now.' Hometown Heroes: Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29, celebrating dedication and sacrifice Traurig and his wife Linda have shared their experience publicly because so many people in the community know him for the more than 20 years he served on the Manitowoc Police Department. Because his injury was not service-related, veterans' benefits would only go so far to cover the cost of care. Both say they are grateful for the special bed, shower, and other equipment the benefits provided for home care. But they needed a little extra help to cover the cost of a safe way to transport Traurig to the very best doctors more than an hour away. By having their own van, they had a flexibility that ride services could not provide. To be clear, Reiki is not his only treatment. He only wants to share with supporters all that he is doing to walk again. Please consult with your own personal medical professional before embarking on any treatment plan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Goodfellow AFB honors Vietnam War vets with special ceremony
SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) — The Goodfellow Air Force Base hosted a Vietnam War Veterans Day event on March 29 to honor Veterans, surviving spouses and family. Congressman August Pfluger was a guest speaker at the event organized by the Goodfellow Heritage Community. 'At the end of the Vietnam War, most of the Vietnam War veterans were not thanked for their service, they were treated rather poorly,' said Ronald Graham, Freedom Through Vigilance Association President. 'This is an example of you can hate the war but don't hate the veteran.' This year's ceremony included the 50-year anniversary of the fall of Saigon and the end of the Vietnam War. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Vietnam War Veterans Day reminds us of what it means to serve our country
This is an aerial view of the Thien Ngon Special Forces camp 71 miles northwest of Saigon in Vietnam. (Courtesy of Jim Jones) March 29 is Vietnam War Veterans Day, the day set aside to remember and honor those who served in that ill-fated war. A phone call earlier this month brought to mind a perfect example of what dedicated service-to-country looks like. My friend, James Peterson, called to say that he would be undergoing surgery for a dangerous cancer, likely the result of his substantial exposure to Agent Orange during two tours of service with the Special Forces in Vietnam. It hit me hard because here was a man who had dedicated his life to standing up for his country and now was faced with a hefty price. I met James in August 2006 at the 40th reunion of the Twin Falls High School's Class of 1966 (my wife, Kelly, is a member of the class). We were at the City Park, refurbishing the memorial dedicated on Memorial Day in 1967 to those from Twin Falls County who died in the war. Seventeen names, starting with Major James H. Allred in 1963 and ending with PFC Fred S. Smart in 1970, were eventually placed on the memorial plaque. James spent many hours over the years, helping to keep up the memorial. In that initial conversation, we established that we'd both been stationed in Tay Ninh Province in 1968 – he at the Thien Ngon Special Forces camp 71 miles northwest of Saigon and me with a heavy artillery unit near Tay Ninh City. The strangest thing happened when I mentioned that, as an aerial artillery spotter, I'd destroyed a river bridge south of Thien Ngon that enemy fighters used to transport weapons and supplies. James went to his car, opened the trunk, and brought back a picture of that very bridge. We bonded immediately. It was not until years later we pieced together the fact that we had likely met at the Thien Ngon Special Forces camp on Sept. 30, 1968. He was the communications specialist at the camp; the Special Forcecs commander for the Province was flying me around to introduce me to the artillery customers I would be serving. The Thien Ngon camp was in extremely hostile territory. Two days previously, it had been ferociously attacked by an estimated two battalions of North Vietnamese soldiers. The scars of the battle were still evident. As Stars and Stripes described the battle, the Communists fired about 1,000 rockets, mortar rounds and grenades into the relatively small camp, then suffered 130 dead in trying but failing to overrun it. The six companies of Vietnamese defenders suffered four dead. Thirteen were wounded, including four Special Forces advisers. James was not one of them. James described the event as just business as usual those many years later. James' service to the country did not stop there. Although I never asked him how he used his remarkable communication skills during the next several decades and he never explained, I have the abiding feeling he kept serving the country in a clandestine capacity. He commented in one reunion booklet that he'd had the 'opportunity to work in communications and other fields and live in so many different countries both friendly and unfriendly.' James lived in The Bahamas for 19 years on his catamaran 'Bifrost' until it was destroyed in a hurricane in 2019. James made frequent visits to the Boise VA Medical Center for a variety of conditions related to his service. Having been a gung-ho parachute jumper in his Army days (and perhaps in his later endeavors), his lower extremities needed frequent medical care. For a while, he parked a camp trailer on one of the two camper lots at the facility. He was and is a big fan of the VA Medical Center. We spoke after his recent surgery and he reported doing well. He has three daughters and one son, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He should have plenty of time and opportunity with them in this final chapter of his life to make up for his numerous years of dedicated service to his country. In everything James has done, he has shunned publicity and recognition by way of medals, decorations and the like. He would be rather unhappy to know that I'm paying this tribute to his life of service. However, I can't think of a better person to remember on Vietnam War Veterans Day than James Peterson, who came from tough beginnings to be a true patriot and fine example. Thanks, Brother. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Local Vietnam War veteran receives special honor
CLEVELAND (WJW) – On May 7, 1970, Private First Class Kenneth J. David of the 101st Airborne became a hero. However, David said he's not. That honor truly belongs to the friends who never came home. 'Honor the memory of my buddies who gave their all on May 7, 1970, with Delta Company 1st of the 506 Infantry,' David said. Those seven friends can be found on panel 11 west, lines 121 to 128 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC. Medina lacrosse team recounts moment charter bus caught fire: 'It could have been tragic' David always tells people that because, he said, they can never be forgotten for their sacrifice, and he lives every day to honor them. He said he was just lucky that day, but on May 7, David fought off waves of north Vietnamese soldiers and drew their fire to protect the wounded, even though he was wounded himself. He was originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but through the efforts of other veterans in Trumbull County, that medal was upgraded. 'He pursued it and 15 years through the Pentagon and two years sitting on President Joe's desk and before Joe got out, I was presented with it on Jan. 3 of this year,' he said. Almost 55 years after that fateful day, President Biden presented David with the Congressional Medal of Honor as one of his last official acts. David said the honors that have come his way since are a bit overwhelming, including the latest. His name was added to the Cleveland VA's Wall of Valor. Since his service, David has been active in veterans' groups and devoted his time to other veterans, directing them to services and just being there to talk. 'A lot of soldiers will call me to chit chat because they got problems. I don't' know their names, we just have coffee, I tell them my story, they tell me their story,' he said. 'They'll talk to a veteran before they talk to a doctor or someone else.' Free Guardians tickets offered after opening day stream disruption Vietnam War Veterans Day marks the day the last U.S. combat troops left Vietnam in 1973, but the memories of that war still serve as a reminder to David and all those who served to honor each other and honor those they left behind. 'The three of us who made it out get together at least once a year to remember our battle buddies and to think over what went on and thank ourselves that we're still alive to grow old and grey,' David said. He has been very active in Veterans Affairs for years in Trumbull County, working with disabled American veterans. He said he's also the guy you call when you are having a tough day and just need another veteran to talk to. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
