News about the veteran community, for the veteran community.
“Thankfulness, gratitude, honor and remembrance” – Veterans Day Message from ODVA Director Kelly Fitzpatrick
This Veterans Day across the nation, for the first time since the holiday was conceived in November 1919, there will be no large ceremonies in big cities and small towns in observance to properly express our gratitude and appreciation of our country’s brave men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces.
In One’s Element: The Value of Being On the Water
By Robert Smith, Oregon State Parks I don’t know when it started, young I guess, like most things. My favorite memories always involved water. Vacation often started with a ride on the ferry to Whidbey Island. Then there was grandpa’s house overlooking Puget Sound. Maybe it was fishing trips with my dad to Lake Leland – eating tomato soup warmed on an old Coleman stove. Dad would make sure I was safe and warm and, based on the abundance of tomato soup, would continue to grow. There were smells and sights and sounds that I still remember and that I
What Dis-ability? The Healing Power of Boating
By Ashley A. Massey, Public Information Officer, Oregon State Marine Board A day in 1969 changed the trajectory of Craig Withee’s life. A car accident left him a paraplegic, but that has not slowed down this retired Civil Engineer from Bend. In 2018, Craig Withee was appointed to the Marine Board and brought with him not only his 38-years of experience in facility engineering, operations and management for the Department of Army and the Federal Aviation Administration, but a perspective from an avid mixed-use boater and angler who happens to live with physical limitations. Withee offers his perspectives around the