Damion Hedington, 24, an operations specialist who said he was medically discharged, was on vacation in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., when he learned that a neighbor’s home was burning.

Virginia has joined forces with a national nonprofit to launch a marketing campaign that will promote farm products that are grown in Virginia by farmers who are also military veterans.

Six years ago, Janna Hoehn agreed to help gather photographs of Valley Isle soldiers who died in Vietnam — honoring them as part of a virtual “Wall of Faces” on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website.

The 93-year-old Stokes twins became renowned for their exploits while fighting across North Africa and Europe as members of a tank destroyer crew, and are set to be recognized as Chevaliers of the Legion of Honor next month.

Dawn Seymour, one of a select group of women pilots during World War II whose service earned her accolades including a place in the National Women's Hall of Fame, died peacefully Tuesday at her home in New York.

The family of a World War II veteran now has a big piece of his history back.Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., on Sunday reunited the family of Bernard McNamara with his Purple Heart medal.

When a stranger using a foreign language began trying to contact Libby Todd and her family last month, her father’s stint overseas in World War II didn’t come to mind.

The American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, two of the largest organizations that claim a legacy in American politics and civic life, have both lost members.

Looking back on his time in the 12th Armored Division, George Rich, 95 and not showing it a bit, said that since 1994 he has been devoted to yearly reunions of the World War II U.S. Army fighting force.

Because Joe George did not obey orders to leave the area, the Navy did not ever issue him a medal.

The Justice Department says Sarah Coffelt was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday to prison and three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $788,886.

During three years as a Japanese prisoner of war in Manchuria, Randall Edwards was certain he wouldn't survive World War II. The leaders of the camp had orders to execute all the prisoners if American troops ever invaded the main island of Japan.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Loh flew in a Boeing CH-47 Chinook to Grand Junction to make a special announcement to veterans on the Western Slope: An old Colorado National Guard Armory will soon become a central location for services veterans need.

Eight major veterans' organizations on Saturday urged Congress to provide emergency money to the Department of Veterans Affairs without cutting other VA programs as the House moved quickly to address a budget shortfall that threatened medical care for thousands of patients.

JT’s Camp Grom will serve wounded military veterans, families of fallen warriors and children and adults with physical and intellectual disabilities.

The remains of a Harrisburg soldier missing in action 66 years are coming home for burial.

A Rapid City woman who pleaded guilty to stealing money from military veterans has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to repay at least $45,000.

Former Navy intelligence officer Adrianna Moore realized Thursday it had been a long time since she had been on the water. That morning she had departed from Cape Sante Marina for a guided crabbing trip as part of a free three-day event called Operation Orca Dungie.

When your military mission is over, your life's mission is not. That was a message Friday from a mental health professional who works with active members of the military and is trying to reduce the suicide rate among the military and veterans.

Obituary

Surgeon. Vietnam War veteran. Husband. Those are three titles to start a remembrance of longtime Abilene orthopedic surgeon J. Price Brock Jr., who died Friday morning at age 76.

More than half of Wisconsin's state legislators demanded on Friday that President Donald Trump's administration restore funding to put homeless veterans in two state homes, warning that the funding cut would worsen veterans' suffering.

A measure allowing veterans easier access to medical marijuana garnered bipartisan support in Congress last year and nearly became law. A vote Monday could be the end of the line this year in another attempt to pass it.

One Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is seeking a second chance for veterans who were convicted of crimes and face the possibility of deportation.

Aldrin, a U.S. Air Force veteran of the Korean War, was chosen as the grand marshal for the 2017 parade by the United War Veterans Council on Wednesday.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs approved lease to build a new facility in Hawaii.

Darin Welker, who served in Iraq with the Army and was medically discharged from the Ohio National Guard, says his six ducks have been therapeutic. He was granted a variance to a local law that banned farm animals.

After 65 years, a Yorkville veteran has received the three Purple Heart medals he earned while fighting in the Korean War.

The project will entail creation of a new, 84,200 square-foot outpatient clinic. It will also include renovation of VA's main Building 1 to house various offices and spaces where veterans can meet with healthcare providers.

Starting later this year, all honorably discharged veterans, no matter their branch of service, will be eligible to shop tax-free online at the Army & Air Force Exchange Service with the same discounts they enjoyed on base while in the military.

One week after a sweeping expansion of veterans’ education benefits was introduced in the House and fast-tracked to a vote, an identical bill was introduced Thursday in the Senate.

Sen. John McCain, the Arizona Republican who has been diagnosed with a deadly form of brain cancer, told his best friend in the Senate: "I've been through worse."

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee decided Thursday to advance six of President Donald Trump’s Department of Veterans Affairs appointees to the Senate floor for a vote.

MILITARY UPDATE

The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees are moving with surprising speed and unanimity to correct inequities under the Post-9/11 GI Bill and boost or restore education benefits for thousands of veterans and select groups of dependents and survivors.

Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs officials say federal funding cuts will force them to scrap housing programs for homeless vets at the King and Union Grove veterans' homes by the end of the year.

68-year-old Vietnam veteran Stephen Rieckers should have graduated in 1969. Instead, he dropped out of high school at the end of his junior year and enlisted in the military.

Construction of an expanded medical clinic and new living center for French Camp military veterans is now not expected to begin until at least the winter of 2018-19.

Tuskegee Airman Chief Master Sgt. James A. Cotten straightened his tie Wednesday, taking in the scenery at Langley Air Force Base.

The House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs decided unanimously Wednesday to send a bill that expands GI Bill benefits to the House floor for a vote.

“It’s very important we get these done now so they can get to work,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, chairman of the Veterans' Affairs committee. “Every day they’re not working, our veterans are not being served, and that’s not good for our country.”

A judge awarded $172,312 in pay, damages and legal fees to a former Jamestown, N.Y. police officer and detective who accused the City of Jamestown and its Police Department of unfairly treating him over his service in the Army Reserves.

“If someone is formally charged with a violent crime, that person should at a minimum be placed on administrative leave until the legal matter is resolved,” Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said in an emailed statement.

The Manchester VA Medical Center, under investigation after reports of substandard treatment and conditions, is now dealing with flooding and severe water damage.

A murder charge has been dropped against a homeless Marine Corps veteran accused of fatally stabbing an 11-year-old Houston boy as the child walked home from school last year.

Jim Lair of Mendota hadn't been inside a TBM Avenger since December of 1945. "I never thought I'd ever be able to go up in one again," he said. But that opportunity arrived recently.

A combat veteran who wants to be Maine's next governor has become the top reported fundraiser so far as the 2018 gubernatorial field shapes up.

World War II veteran Charles J. Palmeri visited Dachau when the war in Europe ended in May 1945.

A 70-year-old Army veteran has been fired from a Houston-area Home Depot after trying to stop suspected shoplifters from taking thousands of dollars' worth of merchandise.

The director and chief of staff of the VA hospital in Manchester, N.H., have been removed from their posts following a news report of dirty conditions, long patient wait times and substandard care, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin announced Sunday.

Bob Fritzler, a Vietnam veteran, is working to restore a U.S. Marine Corps Sikorsky H-34 helicopter.

A Philadelphia man has finally received his high school diploma — at 97 years old.

A new fellowship program in the Pikes Peak region is helping veterans translate their military skills into jobs with local government.

Bob Wolff, the only sportscaster to call play-by-play of championships in all four major North American professional team sports, has died. He was 96.

On practice days, Tech Sgt. Chris Rust looks forward to riding his handcycle.

An Indiana woman didn't want her canceled $30,000 wedding to go to waste, so she threw a party for the homeless.

The heavily armed fighters peered out of a broken second-story window at their outpost in a crumbling house on the western edge of this shell-shocked city, where the Islamic State is fighting a furious battle to hold on to the capital of its self-declared caliphate.

Filmmaker Ken Burns views the Vietnam War as a virus that infected Americans with an array of chronic illnesses — alienation, a lack of civil discourse, mistrust of government and each other. And he hopes his new documentary can be part of a cure.

When a Chinese mortar round landed on the bunker next to his — a direct hit — and the two Marines inside began screaming for a corpsman, Marine Cpl. Salvatore Naimo didn't hesitate.

Death followed Willie Springer home from combat in Vietnam in 1969. That's the bad part of its impact on his life since then.

A New Mexico family is renewing an effort to seek a Purple Heart for a family member who was injured during a firefight on a battlefield in Morocco and spent 14 months as a prisoner.

Army Staff Sgt. Gerald “Jerry” Jacobsen is finally home in Minnesota, 73 years after he went missing during a World War II battle in France. On Friday, Jacobsen received the military funeral honors he long deserved and that his widow needed.

Marine to teacher to future doctor, Jason Homza seems to be a bit of an overachiever and that fact was recognized recently when he was named a Tillman Scholar.

Warren G. Sody, a World War II infantryman who parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day and later fought at the Battle of the Bulge at Bastonge, Belgium, died Tuesday from respiratory failure at Gilchrist Hospice in Towson.

They're mowing the grass, running the golf shack and picking up equipment and balls.

At the end of Capt. Joe Smith's last flight home, they will all be there to greet him. Hundreds of well-wishers, police, fire and emergency vehicles and an eight-mile stretch of road lined with American flags await the fallen pilot whose remains are due to arrive July 15 in Assumption, his hometown.

The sounds and rituals of military honors could be witnessed Friday in Meadville as family members of Joseph Barksdale gathered at the Jefferson Street home of Francis Dickson, Barksdale’s only surviving sibling.

Fourteen days after his 20th birthday, Pfc. George Bernard Murray was killed by a gunshot wound to the chest on a remote island in the Pacific. He was buried in a grave 1,000 other unidentified American servicemen.

Opinion

Thumbs up to the Waseca County Free Fair, which this week provided a platform for two surviving members of the fabled Tuskegee Airmen squadron to tell their remarkable stories.

Chong Kim, a South Korean immigrant and green card holder from Portland, Oregon, joined the National Guard in 2005 and served in Iraq in 2009 and 2010. After Kim was honorably discharged, he struggled with homelessness, addiction and post-traumatic stress, leading to convictions for burglary and other charges.

Veterans and their families who have spent years in court trying to prove that burn pits in Iraq and Afghanistan made U.S. troops sick are worried they’ll hit a legal dead end if a judge decides the company that ran the sites can’t be sued.

When Pembroke veterans' agent Robin Kernan heard that a local World War II veteran who died recently was going to be buried with no family attending his funeral, she knew she had to do something.

Members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee gained feedback this week about three draft proposals to reform how and when veterans seek private-sector health care, setting the stage for negotiations between Democrats and Republicans on what might be the biggest task for the committee this year.

A bombardier who became known for his accuracy as he flew 31 raids during World War II is one of three Rhode Island veterans who will receive France's highest distinction, the Legion of Honor.

A veterans court scheduled to open next year will offer service members an opportunity to address mental health conditions that may have contributed to their alleged criminal misconduct.

The idea for the memorial was spurred by the death of a young Marine from Stafford — Sgt. Donald Lamar — who was killed in combat in Afghanistan.

House lawmakers will introduce legislation Thursday to secure college aid for reservists and reimburse veterans whose schools unexpectedly close, as well as do away with a 15-year time limit for veterans to use education benefits – changes that together create the largest expansion of veterans’ education benefits since the Post-9/11 GI Bill was created nearly a decade ago.

For the first time ever, the gear Robert O’Neill wore the night he hunted down bin Laden – boots, helmet, bullet-proof vest, all in desert-camouflage – is on public display, until the end of July.

The measure is an attempt to connect veterans affected by chemical and biological testing in the 1960s and 1970s with Department of Veterans Affairs benefits and health care.

Former Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi, who led an incomplete effort in the early 2000s to close old, underused VA facilities, told House lawmakers Wednesday that without another attempt, “the VA will fail.”

An infirm U.S. Navy veteran from St. Louis County has lost more than $400,000 after his longtime investment adviser convinced him to lend his lifetime savings to a home builder now involved in a criminal investigation by federal authorities.

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The Kansas City project aims to offer free, temporary shelter and nearby services to homeless people with a military background, but was delayed due to a lack of sewer lines on the property.

Merced County Superior Court in California will begin offering hearings designed specifically for veterans who suffer from service-related stress or substance abuse problems, officials announced Tuesday.

On Tuesday, five military veterans stood at work stations at the University of South Florida, armed with whisks. Their former military uniforms had been replaced by white double-breasted chef’s jackets.

Marine Corps veteran Jim Stiehl has been teaching a group of injured veterans to climb as part of the Semper Fi Fund — a nonprofit that helps post-9/11 wounded military veterans.

Besides claims getting denied more often, veterans seeking benefits for Gulf War illness are having to wait four months longer on average to hear back from the VA, the GAO found.

The bill responds to VA Secretary David Shulkin’s announcement to lawmakers in June that the program was quickly and unexpectedly in need of funds. The program pays for veterans, in certain instances, to receive health care from private sector medical facilities.

Al Compoly found a slightly-worn WWII-era helmet at a flea market and it sat in his office for nearly a year until he spotted a name tag. Now he's preparing to return the helmet to the family of its original owner.

Chris Dever, 45, will get behind a car and a van together on Sept. 30 to see how far his muscles can move them to raise money for PADS during his third annual Mogadishu Mile Car Push.

The SANS Institute offers a three to four month accelerated training program at the SANS VetSuccess Immersion Academy to help transitioning veterans earn certification and get jobs in the cybersecurity industry.

Marine Corps veteran Scott Lahodik fought off a 10-foot alligator Friday after it latched onto his arm at a Florida golf course.

Rich Krankota, director of Crawford County Veterans Services, is searching for the missing photo of one veteran listed on the memorial wall outside the county courthouse on Diamond Park.

Despite his many injuries, Gay never received a Purple Heart, a military honor issued for being wounded or killed in enemy action.

As they return this week from a July Fourth break, lawmakers are set to discuss Department of Veterans Affairs health care, its 2018 budget, how veterans are affected by the opioid crisis and how the VA handles claims for Gulf War Illness – all while facing a short timeframe to do something about quickly diminishing funds in the VA Choice program.

As World War II tore nations and families apart, two best friends enlisted in the military, but not before making a promise to one another. William Gray Jr. and James Louvier agreed that if anything were to happen to one of them, the other would take care of his friend’s family. Louvier returned safely from the war. Gray did not.

Marine Pfc. Ronald Ridgeway, 18, was "killed" outside Khe Sanh in Vietnam on Feb. 25, 1968. On Sept. 10, he was buried in a national cemetery in St. Louis. But as his comrades and family mourned, he sat in harsh North Vietnamese prisons.

Active-duty personnel go through transition programs when their service is coming to a close, and reservists are promised a job back at their place of work when they return from deployments. The transition isn’t always easy, but the programs in place are meant to make it as seamless as possible.

Navy Fireman 1st Class Elmer T. Kerestes was killed Dec. 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Kerestes was among the group still unable to be identified and his remains were buried in a cemetery in Honolulu.

Veterans Affairs made public a list of employee terminations, demotions and suspensions that it will update weekly, which agency officials said is an attempt at transparency following action by Congress to give the VA secretary unprecedented disciplinary power.

Seventy-four years after Army Staff Sgt. Gerald Jacobsen went missing in combat in France during World War II, a general and a U.S. senator stood by his widow’s side Thursday and awarded him the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Vietnam War pilot Dayne Smith climbed into a Cobra attack helicopter for the first time in more than 45 years at Dixon's Veterans Memorial Park on Thursday.

On Tuesday, at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July Wawa Welcome America celebration, Operation Yellow Ribbon of South Jersey was announced as the winner of the Wawa Foundation Hero Award.