Eddie Vincek is a survivor. He’s made it to 95. Still stands tall, with remarkably few ailments. Seventy-five years ago, Vincek beat the odds — surviving the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the last and bloodiest struggles of World War II in the Pacific.

Heath Robinson, who once was a fit and driven soldier — he was twice named Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year by the Ohio Army National Guard for his physical prowess — has been devastated by stage 4 lung cancer.

The Purple Heart is one of the most solemn awards given to a military member, and yet not all have remained in possession of the recipient. Lost medals have been found at garage sales and Goodwill stores, inside storage bins and pawn shops, buried in ditches and between couch cushions.

The two clinics in Billings were named after Benjamin Steele and Joseph Medicine Crow during a Tuesday ceremony.

Retired Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Charles “Chuck” Pitman Sr., who risked his life and military career to help New Orleans police halt the Howard Johnson’s hotel sniper attack that claimed seven lives in 1973, died Feb. 13 following a lengthy battle with cancer.

For 77 years, Fort Ord near Monterey was a sprawling Army base thick with artillery pieces, wooden barracks and infantrymen taking target practice with rifles and machine guns. More than 2 million men and women served there between 1917 and 1994.

House lawmakers unanimously approved a bill that would lay the groundwork for the Department of Veterans Affairs to start funding service dog programs and connect veterans with canines that could be critical for their mental health care.

The Pentagon has reneged on its agreement to reopen a vast records database that helps service members who are appealing other-than-honorable discharges, a veterans group said Tuesday.

Both chambers of Congress are proposing ambitious bipartisan changes to the GI Bill aimed to bridge the pay and benefits gap between active-duty troops and National Guard members.

As a intelligence officer for his Marine battalion on Iwo Jima, Warren Musch traveled from command post to command post, making him a moving target.

An experienced skydiver was killed Monday morning after he attempted to avoid another jumper during a landing in Florida, police said.

On Sunday, Ken Potts and shipmate Lou Conter somberly talked by phone about the latest USS Arizona crewman to pass away. With the death of Don Stratton on Saturday, the 98-year-olds became the only two remaining survivors of the ship that was lost in the December, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Seven of the country’s largest veterans organizations have asked the President to add bladder cancer, hypothyroidism, hypertension and Parkinson’s-like symptoms to the list of conditions presumed to be caused by chemical herbicides used in the Vietnam War.

Chuck Yeager was the first pilot in history confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight. On Thursday, the history-making Air Force veteran turned 97.

Stars and Stripes has been a critical, and often the only, means for troops on the front lines to keep up with the news back home. Even in the digital age, thousands of troops fighting in war zones rely on Stars and Stripes for news when internet access is either prohibited or nonexistent.

The president proposed $109.5 billion in discretionary funding for the VA, including $90 billion for medical care. Additionally, the VA has about $134 billion in mandatory funding to be spent on veterans’ benefits.

Six weeks after Army veteran Corey Michael Hadley took his own life, his mother, still grieving his loss, says she believes the traumatic brain injury he suffered after multiple deployments as a sharpshooter was the factor that finally cost him his life.

Nearly 80 years after he was killed aboard the USS Oklahoma, the remains of Detroit native and Navy Seaman 1st Class Edward Wasielewski, have been identified.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, urged a top Department of Veterans Affairs health official Wednesday to fast-track benefits for Vietnam War veterans suffering from multiple diseases thought to be caused by the chemical herbicide Agent Orange.

More than 100 Democrats in Congress accused President Donald Trump this week of stonewalling benefits for thousands of Vietnam War veterans. They urged Trump to add four conditions to a list of diseases presumed to be caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

Army Staff Sgt. Leroy Everett, who was with the 101st Airborne Division in South Vietnam's Binh Duong Province, was on a training run On Dec. 19, 1967, when he and nine other men were killed when their helicopter's engine failed.

As the city of Hanau, Germany, prepares to honor the memory of Staff Sgt. Joseph Eugene Prokop and two other Army Air Forces members, details have emerged that are rewriting his story, adding a new layer of tragedy.

In response to the ballooning costs of single-family homes and condos around the U.S., veterans no longer have a price cap on a zero-down home loan. The change, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020, is part of the federal Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 signed into law last June.

John Quinlan Jr. was just weeks shy of graduating from the automotive program at Weymouth Vocational Technical High School when he was offered a full-time position working for the Bethlehem Steel Corporation at the Fore River Shipyard.

The overpayments stemmed from a single employee at the VA’s Little Rock Regional Office in Arkansas improperly processing paperwork during the disability claims process, and the failure of managers to provide the proper oversight on 11 disability rating decisions, according to a report.

Military Veterans in Journalism aims to help former service members find work, but also increase the number of veterans working in the media.

Department of Veterans Affairs patients seeking private sector health care saw a nearly two-month delay for medical appointments in 2018 and the problem could worsen under the new Mission Act, the VA Office of Inspector General reported Thursday.

A simple request on social media to honor Maj. Bill White, a 104-year-old Purple Heart recipient and World War II veteran, with a Valentine's Day card turned into a global outpouring of love and support that came to be known as Operation Valentine.

For the last six weeks, a private Facebook group set up to help veterans who served at a toxic base in Uzbekistan has been flooded with new members, many with hauntingly familiar stories: I served at K2. I have cancer.

The “Antiques Roadshow” guest kept his cool as an appraiser said his watch, snagged decades ago in the Air Force, was no ordinary Rolex. Informed that it was a lot like a model once worn by Paul Newman that auctions for $200,000, the camouflage-bandanna-clad owner just nodded.

Eight months after the Department of Veterans Affairs launched a new program to connect veterans with private-sector doctors, the agency doesn’t know how many appointments have been completed or how much it’s costing taxpayers.

According to court records, Robert Stahlnecker made the calls between January and November 2019, and followed a similar pattern in which he complained about a U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs Hospital in Loma Linda, Calif.,and then "(launch) into profanity-laced, obscene, and offensive tirades."

The American Battle Monuments Commission at a ceremony Wednesday replaced Latin crosses with Star of David headstones over the graves of five Jewish soldiers buried at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.

“Today, I dismissed VA Deputy Secretary James Byrne due to loss of confidence in Mr. Byrne’s ability to carry out his duties,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie said in a statement. “This decision is effective immediately.”

Iraq War veteran Brian McGough said he gets headaches every week. “People should understand that the range of complications that come with traumatic brain injury are more than just headaches,” McGough said. “Even mild cases can cause ... memory and concentration issues, seizures, vision problems, anger issues … I’m not the same as I was.”

The new effort, kicking off in three VA regions, was spurred by the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, an advocacy group for the 5.5. million spouses, parents, family members and friends who take care of injured veterans at home.

Recent studies have found dogs can be a critical coping tool for veterans. A 2018 Purdue University study found veterans with service dogs produced significantly higher levels of cortisol, a hormone involved in processing stress.

Frank Losonsky served in the World War II unit that helped protect China from Japanese forces.

Army veteran Robert Simison squinted at the scene before him. His blindfolded fiancée was taking a few tentative steps forward as she stroked the mane of the horse walking beside her. The goal was to get the couple communicating across the obstacle course in a helpful, healthy way.

Jack Hallett, 99, downplays his days as an Army Air Corps fighter pilot during World War II, never mind that he was shot down twice by enemy fire. “I’m not a hero," the Leesburg resident said. Others see it differently.

The rollout was originally intended to debut March 28 at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Wash. However, due to a few technical and training delays, the department had to delay the launch. It's unclear when the system will be unveiled.

A high-profile case of a congressional staffer claiming she was sexually assaulted at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital could be reexamined after VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said he is unhappy with the results of the investigation.

In a statement released Friday, Coulson Aviation identified Ian McBeth, Paul Clyde Hudson and Rick DeMorgan Jr. as the victims of Thursday's C-130 Hercules air tanker crash in Australia.

Memories of the bloody battle for Iwo Jima fought nearly 75 years ago, and the 26,038 Americans who were killed and wounded, never leave Marine veteran Gene Christie, 96.

A decade of political transformation in his Pennsylvania district and partisan divide on the national level has occurred since the death of U.S. Rep. John “Jack” Murtha on Feb. 8, 2010.

Between October 2000 and May 2001, the U.S. Army conducted an asbestos remediation project at Camp Walker in South Korea. Now, two decades later, veterans who worked on the project believe they may have been exposed to toxic dust.

Veteran John McGlohon, who served as the photographer for a B-29 crew during WWII, couldn't prove he took the only known photo looking straight down on Hiroshima immediately following the detonation of the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945 until an amateur historian was able to corroborate his story in 2010.

Combat medic David Ott’s injury caused by a roadside explosion in Iraq in 2006 seemed minor, until months afterward he fell into a coma, his brain bleeding and swollen from the traumatic brain injury he’d suffered.

Witnesses testified at Christopher Crawford’s preliminary hearing on Monday that while he presented himself as a combat veteran who served in Iraq, military records show he deserted from the Army during boot camp and was discharged under other than honorable conditions.

The stories contained in Full Mag: Veteran Stories Illustrated, a series of graphic novels developed by August Uhl, come from American combat veterans of wars from World War II through the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I already had five suicide attempts," Iraq War veteran Jonathan Lubecky said. "I put a gun to my head twice and pulled the trigger. I figured I was going to die anyway, that I might as well try ecstasy. And then it worked.”

“Apparently, somewhere in the chain, there is a senior U.S. government official who is hesitating or stalling,” Debra Tice told reporters Monday. “There is no possible way for me to understand why anyone would defy the president’s will."

U.S. Army Master Sgt. Harold Drews, an Elgin man reported missing in action during the Korean War, has been identified as being among the 55 boxes of remains turned over to the United States by North Korea in 2018.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of wait times at metro Atlanta VA health care facilities showed they grew at many locations since the Mission Act overhaul began, with waits as long as 63 days.

About 300 homeless veterans will receive a host of free medical, employment, legal, benefits, housing and other services provided by federal, state, county, nonprofit, church and volunteer organizations.

Four centenarian World War II veterans were asked by the NFL to participate to honor both their military heritage and the 100th anniversary of the NFL as a professional football league.

Odon S. Cardenas, a 100-year-old Army veteran will be honored on the field during the pregame coin toss at Super Bowl 54 on Sunday evening in Miami Gardens.

A large majority of veterans who responded to the survey reported that cannabis provided relief for their major medical troubles. In fact, 77% reported actively trying to reduce the use of over-the-counter or prescription medications with medical cannabis.

Navajo Nation officials say a 105-year-old woman who served in World War II and was Arizona's longest-living veteran has died.

A hospital in the second largest network of Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers went without a gynecologist for nearly two years, the VA Office of Inspector General reported Thursday.

The Korean American Vietnam Allies Long Overdue for Relief Act, introduced last week by Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., would entitle roughly 3,000 Korean American veterans, who are naturalized citizens, access to health care through the VA.

Michael Walker, 64, was shot Friday afternoon when he stepped outside to call his wife after being treated at the urgent care at the Fayetteville, N.C. VA Medical Center, officials said.

A series of events will commemorate the anniversary of the awarding of Sgt. John J. McVeigh's posthumous Medal of Honor 75 years ago.

Maj. Gen. William C. Lee's helmet was one of several items a team from The Citadel captured with a 3-D scanner on Feb. 5. The scans reproduced the items from the Airborne & Special Operations Museum in intricate detail so they could be viewed on a computer screen from various angles.

One of the most beloved figures in San Diego Padres history spent only one season in the dugout — managing the 1980 team to a 73-89 record — and never played an inning for the team. Yet Jerry Coleman easily is the most heroic figure the franchise has ever known.

The state of Alaska has agreed to pay $550,000 to the family of a man who died in 2015 in Juneau’s Lemon Creek Correctional Center, settling negligence claims related to his death. The settlement was revealed in court documents filed Friday.

One person was in custody after a shooting at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Fayetteville, police said.

In 1951, Walter B. Dixon's family received the news that the 22-year-old had been killed in action in Korea. President Harry Truman sent a letter of condolence, and his wife eventually remarried. But there was just one catch: Dixon wasn't actually dead, he was a prisoner of war.

DNA taken from a cigarillo tip found where a 97-year-old Lake County, Fla., World War II veteran was beaten and robbed of $400 led to the arrest Wednesday of a suspect, according to authorities and court documents.

Dolores Reed was there Tuesday night when the auxiliary of Whitehall Township's Donald S. Reinert Egypt VFW Post 7293 presented a check to representatives from the Tails of Valor program to sponsor two service dogs, one of whom is named for her son, Jesse, who died in 2010.

A Richmond County Marshal's Office deputy found 114 markers at the former Dent's Undertaking Establishment in May. Some date back to the 1960s and are for military personnel who fought in World War I, World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The 1971 Sylmar earthquake killed 58 people. Forty-nine of them died at the Sylmar VA. Witnesses later told members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs that two hospital buildings collapsed "in a cloud of dust" while the ground was still shaking.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie personally sought damaging information about a congressional aide who said she was sexually assaulted in a VA hospital, according to an anonymous complaint to the House committee the woman works for. Wilkie denied inquiring into the aide’s past.

Mark Murdock, former associate director of the Dayton VA Medical Center, has been named director, effective Feb. 16.

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas H. Cooper, 22, was killed on Nov. 20, 1943, the first day of action as military forces landed on the island of Betio, where strong Japanese resistance inflicted heavy casualties.

Gene Reynolds was a former child star when he joined the U.S. Navy during the height of World War II. After his discharge, he resumed his Hollywood career behind the camera.

U.S. Navy Fireman First Class Rex E. Wise is expected to be buried near his home in April, nearly right decades after he died in the Japanese attack on his ship, the USS Oklahoma, at Pearl Harbor.

Miguel Perez Jr., a veteran who was deported then allowed back into the country and gained citizenship following a state pardon, will attend the State of the Union address Tuesday evening as a guest of U.S. Rep. Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

The opening exhibit of Chattanooga's Charles H. Coolidge National Medal of Honor Heritage Center will feature a large collection of medals and the stories of their recipients, according to organizers of the museum's launch, which is set for Feb. 22.

The exhibit, titled, "So Ready for Laughter: The Legacy of Bob Hope," was created in 2018 and displayed at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. Columbus is the start of a planned six-city tour.

Obituary

Retired Gen. Erneido Oliva, who was second in command during the Bay of Pigs invasion to overthrow Fidel Castro and fought alongside fellow brigade members, died Thursday in Maryland. Oliva passed away following an illness. He was 87.

The special court branch will allow Mississippi veterans charged with non-violent felonies to complete a four-phase program to have the charge wiped from their record.

Paul Farnes was one of the last surviving of "The Few" — British pilots who defended their country from Nazi aerial assault in the Battle of Britain during World War II. He was 101 when he died on Jan. 28 in West Sussex, England.

Starting out as an Air Force photographer at 17 years old, Stacy Pearsall went on to serve three combat tours and travel to 41 countries — and experience the harsh world of warfare. Injured in combat, Pearsall lived on to share not only her story, but the stories of the friendships she made and tragically lost, through her photography and lectures.

Michael Donaher has been charged with stealing more than $69,000 in federal funds by pretending to purchase items and rerouting the money into his personal accounts.

Katherine M. “Katie” Thyne, 24, a mother of a 2-year-old daughter, was a former Navy sailor who began with the department as a recruit in November 2018, graduated from the academy in June, and was recently assigned to the South Precinct as a patrol officer.

Obituary

Frank Wasniewski died at the age of 100 at Christ Hospital on Jan. 21 after an illness.