DV Journal

Many veterans have a heart for service that lasts long after they leave the military.

Locally, several candidates who ran for office or for reelection are veterans.

Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-Chester) served in the Air Force and the Air Force Reserves and attended Stanford, earning an engineering degree with an ROTC scholarship.  Houlahan was just reelected to her third term.

Voters reelected state Rep. Craig Williams (R-Chester/Delaware). Williams served three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps and flew 56 combat missions during the Gulf War. He was decorated for valor and retired as a colonel.

Republican Alfeia Goodwin ran for Congress in Delaware County. For the last 23 years, Goodwin has served in the Army Reserves and saw service overseas in Iraq. She decided to enlist on Sept. 11, 2001, the day the U.S. was attacked by terrorists who flew planes into the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon, killing some 3,000 people.

David Winkler, also a Republican, for Congress in Montgomery County this year. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps and fought in Iraq and Afghanistan. After leaving the Marines, he joined the Army.

Democrat Ashley Ehasz made her second run for Congress in Bucks County in 2024. Ehasz graduated from West Point, completed flight school, and was an Apache helicopter pilot.  She deployed to Kuwait and Iraq, and later to South Korea.

Veteran statewide candidates include Dave McCormick, a Republican who was just declared the winner of the U.S. Senate race. McCormick also attended West Point. He served in the 82nd Air Borne during the first Gulf War and was awarded the Bronze Star.

Stacy Garrity was just reelected to her second term as state treasurer. Garrity, a Republican, is a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel. She served in Iraq and while there, was called “Angel of the Desert” for her service at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq. She kept the camp secure, American troops safe, and no Iraqis complained of abuse.

Garrity was deployed three times to Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003 and Operation Enduring Freedom in 2008. She was awarded the Bronze Star and the Legion of Merit.

“Serving in the U.S. Army Reserve was and is the honor of my lifetime,” Garrity told DVJournal. “The discipline I learned in the military is something that I still use every day, and it has served me well as state treasurer. As Military Police, my job was to assist, protect and defend our great nation. Now as Pennsylvania’s treasurer, I’m here to a assist my fellow Pennsylvanians, to protect their hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and to defend our constitution.”

Navy veteran Dave Sunday was just elected state attorney general. Sunday, a Republican and the York County District Attorney, worked his way through college and law school at UPS. He ran on a platform that combined law and order but also compassion for those struggling with substance abuse.

A new report revealing more than $84 million in underpayments to qualified veterans is a sign the Department of Veterans Affairs needs to improve its training for employees. That’s the conclusion of a congressional committee looking into the massive error.

And, veterans’ advocates say, the error is also a reminder of the importance of nonprofit legal clinics specializing in the needs of veterans. Those cases can be complicated due to government regulations and legal technicalities.

The report, issued last month, found that “claims processors did not consistently follow policies and procedures when processing these claims, resulting in at least $100 million in improper payments (underpayments and overpayments) to veterans from May 1, 2022, to April 30, 2023.”

Of that $100 million, about $85 million should have been paid to veterans rated as 100 percent disabled.

During a recent hearing before the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs, Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) attributed part of the problem to the “success of the PACT Act,” a new federal law that expands VA health care and benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxic substances during their military service.

As a result, Pappas said, there has been a surge in claims to the Veterans Benefits Administration.

“And to respond to that demand, they’ve hired and onboarded thousands of claims processors seemingly overnight. Even the most robust operation would be strained, but all systems must be continuously reevaluated. VBA employees face tremendous challenges in processing complex disability claims. These challenges are only exacerbated by changing policies and processes that are disconnected from the workforce.”

Any American who has had an issue with the Social Security Administration or even their local DMV knows it’s not uncommon to get tripped up by bureaucracy. But for veterans, particularly disabled veterans, the consequences can be serious.

That’s one reason veterans advocates have opened free legal clinics for veterans, like the ones wrongfully denied these claims, to help them appeal these decisions and get the benefits they need. And while Pappas may be right that the PACT Act has exacerbated the problem, it’s not a new one says Judy Clausen, supervising attorney for the nonprofit Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic at the University of Florida.

“We’ve had clients who have gotten decisions from the VA that made no sense at all,” Clausen told InsideSources. “But if [the veteran] doesn’t have representation, they won’t know they’ve been given a ridiculous response to their claim.”

Clausen is quick to point out the VA works hard to serve veterans, but given there are 16 million veterans in the U.S. — more than 5 million with service-connected disabilities — there are always going to be issues. (Pennsylvania is home to about 800,000 veterans, the fourth-largest population in the country.)

“And veteran’s benefits is a very technical area of the law. It’s often compared to tax law. It’s a niche area, and it often interweaves complex medical issues,” Clausen said. “I know attorneys who deal with Social Security benefits who won’t take it on without additional training.”

University of Florida law students get that training at the Veterans and Servicemembers Legal Clinic, where they learn how to represent veterans in appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for veterans claims and discharge upgrades. And because they receive funding from sponsors like Phillip Morris International, their services come at no cost to the veterans.

“We use grants to hire doctors, for example, to get the details veterans need for complex medical claims, so it’s free.”

In Pappas’ home state, a group called 603 Legal Aid has started the “Hope for Heroes” initiative and is currently training its staff to be able to provide services to veterans.

“Navigating the complexities of the VA’s rules and regulations can be overwhelming, especially for those who have served our country and now find themselves facing legal challenges like eviction, foreclosure, or a wrongful denial of benefits,” said 603 Legal Aid Executive Director Ariel Clemmer.

Meanwhile, the $100 million problem remains.

Ronald Burke Jr., the deputy undersecretary for policy and oversight at VBA, told the subcommittee his agency has “taken corrective action on 95 percent of the cases identified in that report,” and promised to address the remainder.

Another issue, according to subcommittee chair Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-Texas), is forcing veterans to take unnecessary disability compensation exams. “A March 2023 report found 44 percent of disability compensation exams were unnecessary,” he told Burke. “What’s the VA doing to reduce these for veterans?”

Burke again said the VBA was aware of the problem and was already implementing solutions, but he couldn’t guarantee it would be solved entirely.

Examples like that, Clausen argues, is the reason clinics like hers are necessary. When there’s a conflict between the bureaucratic demands and the realities facing disabled veterans, it can often take an attorney to resolve them.

“We have a client right now who is dying of Parkinson’s Disease as a result of his exposure to Agent Orange. He missed the presumptive period by just four months. In other words, if his service had begun just four months earlier, he would have been automatically included [in the benefits coverage].

“It’s been so infuriating. Our doctor says he got it from the soil. Their doctor says he got it from the soil. But a VA official raised questions, and now we’re being forced to fight for survivor benefits for his family.”

And, she added, it’s unlikely a for-profit law firm would take the case.

“Without the patience and persistence, this wouldn’t get resolved. At clinics like ours, we don’t have a for-profit model Our students are enthusiastic and motivated. Private lawyers are fine. They do good work. But we can stay in as long as it takes to get these veterans what they deserve,” Clausen said.

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Senate candidate Dave McCormick called for a ban on access to social media for kids under 16.

“A study from the Centers for Disease Control last year found that 20 percent, one-fifth of 12 17-year-old kids have at least one major depressive episode,” McCormick said.  “Researchers such as Jonathan Haidt have documented how addictive using social media is. It’s a major driver of mental health crises.”

McCormick spoke at an America’s Future Tour event in Springfield hosted by Delaware County GOP Chair Frank Agovino. Fox News journalist Mary Katharine Ham, interviewed McCormick.

McCormick supports a federal school choice bill, the Educational Choice for Children Act. This would create a federal tax credit for businesses and citizens that provide money for scholarships for children in failing schools to move to better schools.

“Sen. Casey won’t support this legislation. He’s against giving kids in failing schools the ability to move to the school of their choice. And that’s because Sen. Casey is beholden to the same teachers’ unions that kept our kids out of the classroom for years during COVID,” said McCormick.

Dave McCormick

“Here’s what really made me angry. Sen. Casey went to parochial school. Yet he opposes giving his constituents in failing public schools the same opportunity. Pennsylvania deserves a senator who supports school choice because choosing where your child goes to school should not be a privilege that’s only reserved for the wealthy and well-connected parents.”

“We need to shake things up in a big way,” he said.  The tax money should go with the child. “The beauty of that is it will increase competition…It’s going to be disruptive as hell, and it needs to be.”

In a wide-ranging policy talk, McCormick spoke about helping families at all stages of people’s lives, from subsidies for faith-based childcare, better access to healthcare for mothers and senior citizens, and more mental health care for veterans.

“Only 33 percent of Black children and 55 percent of Hispanic children grow up in two-parent families,” he said. “Kids in a single-parent home are five times more likely to live in poverty, more likely to have behavior issues, more likely to drop out of school.”

This is “leaving the American Dream out of reach for more and more families,” he said.  “Children who are born to parents in the bottom fifth of family incomes have a 46 percent chance of remaining in the bottom fifth their whole lives and only a 3 percent chance of getting to the top fifth.”

“And Americans are even having fewer babies despite surveys showing that women wish they could have more. America cannot be strong if our families are weak.  And if our families are in decline, America will decline.  And we can’t let that happen.”

“For far too long, career politicians in Washington have made it harder, not easier, for working families in Pennsylvania,” he said. “Inflation is driving up grocery bills, the cost of housing, and other essentials. Childcare. It’s gotten so expensive it’s out of reach for many families.”

Mary Katharine Ham

“Under the watch of President Biden and Pennsylvania’s liberal Sen. Bob Casey, these problems are getting worse, not better. After 18 years in Washinton, Sen. Casey has not been a proactive leader. He’s been a rubber stamp liberal who votes with President Biden 98 percent of the time.”

McCormick wants to make it easier for couples to start families.

He said the average cost of having a child is $19,000, including $3,000 out of pocket.  The average middle-class family spends $13,000 in a child’s first year.

“We need to make contraceptives more accessible and affordable for women so they can have children when they’re ready,” said McCormick. “I’ll always support access to in vitro fertilization to enable parents across our country to welcome children.”

When he was the CEO of Bridgewater, the company helped pay for fertility services for employees.  “As your senator, I will oppose any effort to restrict IVF. Period,” said McCormick.

“Every family should get a $15,000 tax credit for fertility expenses, like IVF,” McCormick said.  He would also promote adoption services, making the adoption tax credit created by the Trump tax plan fully refundable.

“It’s unacceptable that the United States has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world among wealthy nations,” he said. “The U.S. birth rate is also at a historic low. 1.6 children per woman. Far below the 2.1 average needed to keep our population in the U.S. from declining.”

“In Pennsylvania, at least five counties have no hospitals,” said McCormick, so women there lack easy access to maternity care.

Far too many Americans with severe mental health crises are not able to get the care they need,” he said. “Fourteen million Americans, approximately, have serious mental illnesses. More than half of them have their needs unmet, veterans in particular, something near and dear to my heart, as a veteran,” said McCormick. Some “22 vets a day take their own lives…Half of the veterans who commit suicide had no mental health treatment. We must expand mental health care for those with serious mental illness by getting rid of Medicaid rules that constrain access to psychiatric (help).”

“We need to support our seniors in retirement,” he said. “Let me be perfectly clear: our government needs to keep its promises to protect Social Security and Medicare.”

“I’ll always put problem-solving over ideology,” he said.

Asked about the additional doctors needed to expand healthcare, McCormick told DVJournal that more doctors and nurses are necessary.

“The nurse shortage, in particular, is really problematic,” he said. “So, it’s part of a skilled worker program to allow people to access healthcare education and encourage them to do it.

“And it’s unbelievable when you look at how long it takes to become a doctor and how hard it is to make ends meet. And they have hundreds of thousands of dollars of loans. So, we’re going to have to support people if they want to become medical professionals and support their education,” said McCormick.

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This is a horror story.

It is a story of unmitigated suffering and death from despair. It is the story of our veterans, who are 57 percent more likely to take their own lives than those who haven’t served their country.

Every day in the United States, an average of 17 veterans commit suicide. Those who have served in special combat force units, like Navy SEALS, are a little more likely to die this way than regular forces.

These veterans are suffering and dying in plain sight. Veterans, whether they have seen action or not, are ending lives by their own hands — hands that willingly took up arms to serve.

There is a clear and present crisis in the deaths of those who have borne the battle, heard their country’s call, and who die, often alone in despair.

Around Veterans Day, we remember them, but what do we know of them?

More veterans have taken their own lives in the last 10 years than died in the Vietnam War. Frank Larkin, chairman of Warrior Call, an organization that asks anyone who knows a veteran to call them from time to time and ask, “How are you doing? What do you need? Can I get help for you?” But primarily to convey the comfort of knowing “you are not alone.”

However, the problems are beyond loneliness and the well-known precursors to suicide: drug abuse, alcoholism, joblessness and broken relationships.

New research shows that what ails these sad heroes isn’t just psychological and moral despair but physical brain damage — minute tears in the brain that CT scans don’t pick up.

A leading researcher into brain injury and concussion, Dr. Brian Edlow, professor at Harvard and associate director of the Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery at Massachusetts General Hospital, said these tears are only discovered in postmortems when the brain tissue is put under a powerful microscope.

The cause of these tears, Edlow told guest host Adam Clayton Powell III in a special Veterans Day episode of the television program “White House Chronicle,” are blasts that troops experience on the battlefield and in training — massive concussive blasts, over and over again. Those concerned emphasize that the victim doesn’t have to see combat to suffer damage, it happens in training as well.

Sometimes the tears are a result of a physical head injury like a soldier’s head hitting the inside a tank or a blast throwing a soldier against a wall. Still, mostly it is the shockwave, according to Edlow.

“Just to appreciate the scope of this problem, if you look at the post-9/11 generation, those who answered the call to serve after September 11, 2001, over 30,000 active-duty and veteran military personnel have died by suicide during that time period, which is four times more than the number of active-duty personnel who died in combat,” he said, adding that the “extent of the suicide problem is humbling.”

Larkin said that two-thirds of those who commit suicide have never been to a VA hospital or sought institutional help.

For Larkin, the story is personal. His son Ryan, a decorated Navy SEAL who served for 10 years with four active-duty deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, was a suicide.

Ryan returned from active duty a changed young man, 29 years old. He was moody, didn’t smile and showed classic signs of depression. His family couldn’t get him out of it, and his brain scans were negative. After a year, he took his own life.

Earlier, Ryan had asked that his body be used for medical research. Postmortem diagnosis at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center revealed substantial brain damage that wasn’t detectable during the year before his death, his father said.

“The system didn’t know what to do and it defaulted toward psychiatric diagnosis,” Larkin said.

Referring to scans and other techniques now in use to examine the brain, Edlow said, “We simply are not accurate enough to detect these sub-concussive blast-related injuries.”

Ryan’s tragedy is repeated 17 times a day — and that figure doesn’t account for those who die in deliberate accidents and are otherwise not reported as suicide, Larkin said.

While medical science and the military catch up, all we can do, as Larkin said, is to check on a veteran, any veteran. You could save a life, bring a man or woman back from the precipice.

(From a  press release)

State Sen. Tracy Pennycuick (R-Berks/Montgomery) recently hosted her first Veterans Appreciation Breakfast on Saturday, November 4 at Upper Perkiomen High School, as a way to say “thank you” to all our local heroes.

Several hundred were in attendance, which included veterans, veterans’ guests, exhibitors, and guest speakers. Veterans from every American conflict, from the Korean War to Operation Inherent Resolve, were in attendance. Dr. Jim Arcieri of Community Bible Fellowship Church, recited the blessing and benediction and the keynote speaker was state Rep. Timothy J. O’Neal (R-Washington Co.).

“We can never truly thank our veterans enough for their service to our country and community,” said Senator Pennycuick. “This event is a small token of gratitude that carries a big message: we wouldn’t be the nation we are without our veterans. I am pleased so many of our veterans were able to participate and be recognized for their heroic acts.”

Sen. Tracy Pennycuik talks with a veteran.

Veterans also enjoyed patriotic songs performed by the Upper Perkiomen High School Women’s Choir and the National Anthem performed by Upper Perkiomen High School student, Autumn Alderfer. Attendees were also able to obtain veteran identification cards from the Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds.

Various organizations were available to provide veterans with various information and services including: Montgomery County Recorder of Deeds, Montgomery County Veterans Affairs, Norristown Vet Center, PA Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, Tails of Valor, Paws of Honor Program, Inc., The Korean War Memorial America-Korea Alliance Peace Park, Valley Forge Military Academy & College, Veterans Brotherhood, Vets For Vets Healthcare, state Rep. Milou Mackenzie (R-Bethlehem), state Rep. David Maloney (R-Berks), and state Rep. Donna Scheuren (R-Gilbertsville).

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Delaware Valley politicians want to do their part for veterans, and they have stepped up their efforts in the legislature and on the street as Independence Day approaches.

A pro-veteran resolution supported by multiple senators, including Montgomery Sen. Tracy Pennycuick and Bucks Sen. Frank Farry, unanimously passed the Senate last Thursday, Farry told DVJournal.

If it is approved, the resolution would “direct the Joint State Government Commission to establish the Task Force on Women Veterans’ Health Care.”

Farry said he was moved to support the proposal after hearing from constituents about the shortfalls in healthcare for female veterans.

“The impetus of it was, in working with some of my veterans at home, I came to realize—people can talk about the VA (Veterans Affairs) and the level of service they get, but in the case of women, it was so much more extreme in terms of lack of service,” he said.

“Even though that’s more of a federal responsibility, that doesn’t mean we as a state can’t take a look at the issue,” he continued. “It’s important that our veterans have the proper care. And if there are specific needs for women, we want to make sure those resources are available for our female veterans.”

Pennycuick told DVJournal women “continue to make up a growing percentage of our nation’s armed services and veteran community.”

The senator claimed “nearly 60,000 women veterans in Pennsylvania” and that “by 2045, it is estimated that women will make up approximately 18 percent of commonwealth veterans.”

“As a veteran myself, I know the struggles firsthand female veterans experience trying to obtain care to match their unique needs,” she said. “Establishing the Women Veterans’ Health Care Task Force will help to bridge these gaps and ensure that every veteran has access to the care they deserve.”

The resolution would direct the task force to include “a mental healthcare provider” with relevant experience working with veterans, along with both a “substance abuse and addiction treatment provider” and a “healthcare provider,” each possessing similar experience. Veterans have historically faced mental health, addiction, and healthcare problems at higher rates than the general population.

Farry said the task force “is a crucial step in ensuring female veterans have access to health care designed to support their specific needs.”

“I am proud to support this resolution and will continue to advocate for those that risk everything in service to our country,” he said.

At the local level, Republicans in Chester County will hold a clothing drive for veterans in what has become an annual tradition every Fourth of July.

The Republican Committee of Chester County will serve several dozen veterans at the third RCCC Veterans’ Clothing Drive. The program is a function of the RCCC Charis Community Outreach Program. (The word “charis” is derived from a Greek word meaning “kindness” or “life.”)

John DeSantis, an organizer with the RCCC, told DVJournal that the event began small three years ago.

“We started very locally with the West Goshen Township Republican Committee,” DeSantis said. “It was [RCCC Charis Community Outreach Director] Dave Sommers who came up with the idea to collect clothes for the veterans and tie it into July 4th.”

Sommers “took that idea to the county committee and said, ‘We’re doing a lot of good stuff with the West Goshen GOP; can we move some of this stuff up to the county level?’ And that was approved.”

“We ask for what the vets are looking for,” DeSantis said. “We get a list of T-shirts, shorts, underwear, and socks. This year there are some sunglasses requests.”

“They’ve also started a Food Pantry at the VA,” he said. “So we have some food donations to take over.”

Meanwhile, Sens. John Kane (D-Chester) and Maria Collett (D-Montgomery) are among those lining up behind another pro-veteran bill in the Senate; this one meant to support veteran-owned businesses in the state.

Senate Bill 438 would, if passed, “authorize the creation of special logos to promote veteran-owned businesses,” Senate Republicans said in a release.

Participating businesses must be 51 percent owned by “a veteran, reservist or member of the National Guard.” Half of the registration fees associated with the program would benefit the Veterans’ Trust Fund, which distributes grants to nonprofit groups assisting veterans throughout the state.

Montgomery Democratic Sen. Maria Collett told DVJournal she was “pleased to see [the bill] pass out of committee this week.”

“According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, veterans are 45 percent more likely to start their own business than non-veterans,” she said. “I’m honored to represent a district with such a strong military presence and legacy, and I’m proud to support legislative efforts like this to better support veterans across our Commonwealth.”

“It is not easy to transition from serving our great country to civilian life,” Sen. Camera Bartolotta (R-Beaver), the bill’s primary sponsor, said.

“The men and women who wish to run their own business while navigating life after military service are inspiring and deserve our support,” she said. “In addition to supporting our veterans, this program would also support the creation of new jobs and business opportunities.”

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For those who serve in the military, that is the ultimate bonding time: Camaraderie beyond imagining and sharing beyond compare. Laughing, fearing, hurting, hoping, and, sometimes, dying together. A time when the future is just a day ahead, a command away and if in combat, a time when death can arrive in an instant.

When men and women survive in the military, their greatest struggle lies ahead: Reentering civilian life.

Coming home, demobilized, set adrift in a sea of indifference, the veteran is separated from the ties that bind, in a world of alien values, mixed signals, and terrible, inescapable, nightmarish loneliness. This is compounded by the stresses of finding accommodation, work, and a purposeful life.

Our returning veterans are committing suicide at a greater rate than at any other time in our history. In recognition of Veterans Day, I talked with Frank Larkin, who works to connect Americans, especially those who have worn or are wearing the uniform, with veterans through a simple call and to help vets navigate their lives after service.

Larkin is a former Navy SEAL, a former U.S. Senate sergeant at arms, a former U.S. Secret Service agent, and he has worn the uniform of two police departments. But mostly, he is the grieving father of Ryan, a Navy SEAL who saw duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and who took his own life five years ago.

“I couldn’t save my own son,” he told me in an emotional moment during the interview I did with him on “White House Chronicle” on PBS.

Currently, Larkin is chief operating officer of the Troops First Foundation and chairman of the Warrior Call Initiative.

Larkin said “isolation” is the biggest pressure on former troops. They are cut off from the world they know – which he called “their tribe” — and plunged into one they don’t know, alone with their memories. These can amount to what Larkin calls “moral damage,” things that they have done and seen in the battle space which they can’t share with the civilian world. Things that have changed them.

Larkin said of his own son, “He came back changed. I could see it, but I couldn’t reach him, nor could my wife who is a medical professional.”

There are physical injuries as well. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is the best known, but there are others. For example, Larkin said, today’s weaponry may be damaging troops, especially in training. Blast waves and repeated recoil shaking may be causing Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), which is different from the brain injury suffered by football players. With TBI, there are minute tears in the brain which can’t be detected with normal brain scans.

These blast or shock waves from high-velocity weapons are a constant in training. Larkin noted that when a soldier fires a Carl Gustav shoulder-mounted rocket launcher, “It’s like getting your head blown off.”

After World War II, there were ticker tape parades. Every warrior was a hero. Everyone had served or knew someone who had served. The war had been a common shared experience. Most men and a lot of women had “done their bit” in the parlance of the Greatest Generation.

That began to change with Korea, and especially with Vietnam; returning troops weren’t celebrated and those wars weren’t a matter of national pride.

Then the draft ended, Larkin reminded me, and going to war ceased to be a shared experience. It became a discrete occupation, although U.S. troops have been at war or in harm’s way for two decades now. But without the draft, it is out of mind, out of sight, out of caring. Many of us don’t know a single veteran in these days of the volunteer army. We respect them in absentia, sometimes just on Veterans Day.

If all isn’t well with mental health out there in the battle space of civilian life, it isn’t well inside the military either. Suicide among serving men and women, is at record highs too.

More veterans have died from suicide than died in Vietnam combat, Larkin said. His initiative, Warrior Call, advocates that a simple phone call can save a life. “‘How are you doing? I’m thinking about you, buddy,’ is all you have to do,” Larkin said.

Veterans Day has become about sales and discounts, less and less about those who have borne and battle and now must bear the aftermath, often in terrible isolation.

With the final U.S. troops pulled out of Afghanistan over a year ago, some Americans ask why we still need the Fisher House, the “Home Away From Home” housing at military and VA medical centers around the world.

Ask Ben Breckheimer.

He had been an operating room specialist when, called up for his second tour to Afghanistan in 2009, he voluntarily reclassed to be a cavalry scout —  a role he describes as the eyes and ears of the battlefield. Two months in, Breckheimer’s vehicle ran over an IED during a routine patrol.

“My lower right leg was probably 95 percent hanging off, and it was saved by just a very minimal strip of skin,” Breckheimer said.

For two months, Breckheimer was treated at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, where he underwent a limb salvage program to save his leg. After the surgery was completed, he still needed extended rehabilitation and a place for his family to stay.

That is why the Fisher Houses exist, and why the Fisher House Foundation has set a goal of announcing its 100th house early next year.

Founded by Elizabeth and Zachary Fisher in 1990, its mission is to provide a place for wounded warriors and their families to stay nearby during extended medical care. A place that felt like a home — not a hotel.

The first Fisher House was built at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. There are 92 Fisher Houses across the United States and overseas. If the foundation can reach its goal of 100 houses, it will be able to provide private rooms and hot meals for 1,400 military and veteran families on any given night. Four houses are under construction, and six are in design. The four houses underway are in Lexington, Ky.; Columbia, S.C.; Columbia, Mo.; and a second house in Bay Pines, Fla.

Since 2001, more than 27,000 families have been guests. The Fisher House reports families have saved half a billion dollars in hotel bills and other costs.

“With 93 houses, Fisher House Foundation is excited to be on the road to 100 Fisher Houses, but we know this is just an incredible milestone,” said Ken Fisher, chairman and CEO of Fisher House Foundation. “The need only continues, especially for our veteran community. We have plans to build well past 100 to support those who have given so much to our great nation.”

Between the 9-foot-long kitchen island and the wide hallways — designed with wheelchairs and walkers in mind — Breckheimer said the Fisher House he stayed at felt like a mansion. But it was the volunteers and other guests who made him feel at home.

“They just went out of their way to make you feel comfortable,” Breckheimer said. “Not only did they cook and serve us our food, but they were also there to listen to us. To be around families that were going through the same tragedies that you and your family were going through was just comforting. You were relatable.”

Breckheimer said he found being around others like him kept him from feeling pessimistic — especially when he was in the presence of Joshua Sweeney, a Marine Corps veteran who later became a Paralympic ice hockey champion.

“Since then, he has been awarded the Pat Tillman award at the ESPYs,” Breckheimer said. “To see someone like that who had more traumatic injuries, but always seemed to be smiling more than I did, it was kind of nice to put things into perspective. I’m blessed to have my legs, and this guy lost both of his and he is living his best life. It’s good to look up to someone like that.”

During his recovery, Breckheimer set a goal to climb the highest peak on all seven continents. Now he holds the record for being the first Purple Heart recipient to do it.

And while veterans of the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq may be top of mind, the houses also serve those from previous battles as well.

Jeff Sampson of Joplin, Mo., performed his Navy service in the 1970s. In 2019, he needed double lung transplant surgery. He was told the procedure would keep him in Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis for more than two months.

Sampson says he was more concerned with where his wife would stay than his recovery. Coming from small-town Joplin, Sampson said his wife was out of her element in the big city.

“I’m sure all veterans out there can relate to being more concerned with how their families will be taken care of, and that’s what the Fisher House does,” Sampson said. “They take care of you, and of the people who care about you.”

Sampson’s surgery took place during the infamous 2019 polar vortex. While driving back to the Fisher House from a hospital visit, Sampson’s wife got caught up in a blizzard and found herself lost in an unfamiliar part of the city.

“Along with the crazy drivers in St. Louis, it was not pretty,” Sampson said. “She was lost and crying, and she didn’t know what to do. She’s just a country girl out of her element.”

However, the Fisher House manager drove out to find Sampson’s wife, and his wife followed her back to the Fisher House.

“It very well possibly saved her life,” Sampson said.

Like Breckheimer, Sampson said the Fisher House was like family.

“We still go back every year,” Sampson said. “I have to go back to St. Louis for treatment, and I always have a place to stay — is what they will tell me. It’s like a family. You wouldn’t turn your family away.”

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More than two dozen of the nation’s top military heroes are calling on all Americans to save veterans and service members from suicide by connecting with them next month in a nationwide push to reverse the tragedy befalling the men and women in uniform.

Twenty-seven recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration for valor, have joined forces asking that members of Congress — and every American — take part in National Warrior Call Day on Nov. 13.

“With its simple mission of imploring all Americans to connect with someone who has worn or is currently wearing the uniform and let them know they care — National Warrior Call Day can foster greater connectivity. And greater connection can save lives,” they wrote in a letter to Congress.

National Warrior Call Day is supported by leading veteran organizations, current and former military officials, seven former Veterans Affairs secretaries, and a host of public policy organizations.

Connectivity is key to reversing the tragic suicide trends among military members. Two-thirds of veterans who take their own lives have had no contact with the Department of Veterans Affairs, highlighting the urgent need for greater connection. The ask is that on Nov. 13, every adult American should contact a veteran or service member and ask how they are doing, let them know they are cherished and, if necessary, steer them toward assistance when they might otherwise slip through the cracks.

Suicide is metastasizing among people in the armed forces or who have served. Pentagon figures show the suicide rate for active-duty soldiers last year was the highest it has been in nearly a century. More U.S. veterans have died by suicide in the previous 10 years than service members who died from combat in Vietnam. And after adjusting for sex and age, the rate of veteran suicide is far higher than the rate among all U.S. adults.

Moreover, a large segment of those who are disconnected and die by suicide may have undiagnosed brain injuries from their service that may present as mental illness but require an entirely different approach.

While the latest figures from the Department of Veterans Affairs show a decline in the national suicide rate among veterans, the drop highlights a simmering issue pressed by suicide prevention advocates — the likely undercounting of the data.

For example, the deaths of veterans may not be tallied as suicides in certain instances in which self-harm plays a critical role. These include deaths due to addiction, drug overdoses, alcohol-induced incidents or accidents. While not strictly defined as suicide, they represent a statistical gray area. In addition, much variation permeates how each state accounts for deaths. An officially declared suicide in one state might not be in another.

The group America’s Warrior Partnership recently released an interim report from its multi-year study of suicide deaths across eight states and uncovered significant disparities between state and VA data and a large error rate in how the VA accounts for deaths of vets. The report found that the suicide rate was much greater, at 1.37 times the rate reported by the VA. And when researchers added in veterans whose deaths were from self-injury, including overdose deaths and other behavior closely aligned with self-harm or suicide, the rate of suicide was 2.4 times higher than the rate the VA reports.

“We understand firsthand the challenges that service members and veterans face and the need for their peers, friends and family to lift them up,” the 27 Medal of Honor recipients wrote to Congress.

With the assistance of all Americans — first on Nov. 13 and then throughout the year — National Warrior Call Day can make a difference. It can lift up those who need it and provide hope. It saves lives.

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Comedian-turned-progressive-activist Jon Stewart launched a profanity-laced tirade against Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey and other Republicans over a healthcare bill that would provide care for veterans exposed to toxic fumes from burn pits.

“The Senate’s where accountability goes to die,” Stewart said. “These people don’t care. They’re never losing their jobs. They’re never losing their healthcare. Pat Toomey didn’t lose his job. He’s walking away. God knows what kind of pot of gold he’s stepping into to lobby this government to s**t on more people.”

But is that the real story?

No, says Toomey, who has repeatedly said he wants to support the PACT Act, but objects to Democrats using the legislation to create a $400 billion expense that would continue past the needs of the veterans it is designed to address.

“The PACT Act as written includes a budget gimmick that would allow $400 billion of current law spending to be moved from the discretionary to the mandatory spending category. This provision is completely unnecessary to achieve the PACT Act’s stated goal of expanding health care and other benefits for veterans,” Toomey said in a statement.

On July 11, Toomey said on the Senate floor the existing law requires the Veterans Administration to spend about $400 billion over the next 10 years on healthcare for veterans exposed to toxins during their service. The bill includes $280 billion in new spending. The $400 billion is discretionary spending, which has a cap.

The new legislation would put the $280 billion into the mandatory spending column, where it could live long after the veterans are cared for.

“What’s really outrageous is they take the $400 billion out of discretionary spending to mandatory spending,” Toomey said. “Why would they do that?”

“That way you create a big gaping hole in the discretionary spending category,” he said. “Which can be filled with another $400 billion of totally unrelated spending. Who knows on what?”

“We’ve got inflation that hitting a 40-year high. We’ve got a government that’s been spending billions of dollars, printing the money to spend, and everybody sees it every day, at the pump, at the grocery store, everywhere. And what this gimmick does is, it makes it possible to spend yet another $400 billion.”

Stewart remained unappeased.

“Patriot Pat Toomey stood on the floor and said, ‘This is a slush fund,’” said Stewart. “‘They’re gonna use $400 billion to spend on whatever they want.’ That’s nonsense. I call bulls**t. This isn’t a slush fund.”

Now Pennsylvania’s other Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, is also getting into the fray.

“This bill is essential to meet our obligations to fulfill our promise to them. These veterans already fulfilled their promise. They served their country in a war zone,” Casey said. “They could have been killed by combat fire. But even If they weren’t killed by combat fire they’re exposed to burn pits. We’ve got to provide them healthcare. If we don’t do this, what kind of a country are we?

“Who do we claim to be if we’re not going to do this? There are 14 members of the Senate who are against this. They’re holding up the bill because they don’t want to spend this money. It’s as simple as that.

“All we’ve got to do in the Senate is put our hand up. And say ‘yes.’ That’s pretty damn easy. Put your damn hand up,” Casey added.

Toomey’s spokesperson noted to Delaware Valley Journal, “This wasn’t even in the House committee version. This gimmick would allow for an additional $400 billion in future discretionary spending completely unrelated to veterans over the next 10 years.

“Sen. Toomey’s technical fix does not reduce spending on veterans by even $1 or affect the expansion of care and benefits in the underlying bill. All Sen. Toomey has asked for is that the legislation to spend $280 billion on an expansion of veterans benefits, all classified as mandatory and un-offset, does not also include a transfer of current law (non-PACT Act) spending to mandatory that would enable $400 billion of spending on things completely unrelated to veterans.”

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