The Tomb of the Unknown Patriot of the American Revolution sits on the grounds of Fort Laurens, in Ohio. Three stone markers, directly behind the tomb, were installed in May. The building shown is a museum dedicated to the history of Fort Laurens. (The Ohio History Connection)
The Department of Veterans Affairs partial claim program, designed as a foreclosure prevention tool for VA home loans, will officially open for submissions on June 15, according to the agency.
For qualifying homeowners, a partial claim will cover missed mortgage payments and bring a home loan up to date.
On July 30, 2025, President Donald Trump signed the act into law.
It applies to loans for primary residences in default or at imminent risk of default, according to language in the bill.
“This program will provide veterans experiencing financial hardship with an additional option to avoid foreclosure,” the VA said on a web page that provides information on the partial claim program and how to apply.
The amount becomes a subordinate lien on the property, with no required monthly payment, according to the bill.
“This option lets us work with your servicer to pay them the amount needed to bring your loan current on any missed mortgage payments. Then you pay the partial claim back when the loan is paid off or you sell your home,” the VA said.
Veterans must contact their loan servicer to begin the process.
The VA also offers counseling to veterans and their surviving spouses trying to avoid foreclosure, even if a home loan is not backed by the VA.
A special ceremony is set for June 27 at Ohio’s only Revolutionary War fort to commemorate the Tomb of the Unknown Patriot and 22 other colonial soldiers buried there.
The Tomb of the Unknown Patriot of the American Revolution, at Fort Laurens, will be rededicated at the event, which will include a wreath-laying ceremony, according to the Ohio History Connection, a nonprofit chartered in 1885.
Fort Laurens, which operated from 1778 to 1779, served as a frontier military outpost in northeast Ohio. The site is about 70 miles south of Cleveland.
The tomb commemorates an unknown soldier interred there, as well as 22 other soldiers buried on the grounds of Fort Laurens, according to the Ohio History Connection, which functions as the state’s historical society.
“Ohio did not become a state until 1803, so we have few preserved ties to the American Revolution and the founding of our country,” said Megan Wood, executive director and chief executive officer of the Ohio History Connection.
Fort Laurens was named after Henry Laurens, president of the Continental Congress in 1777–1778.
Members of the Ohio National Guard, the Sons of the American Revolution and the Daughters of the American Revolution, and local and state officials are expected to participate in the event.
The rededication ceremony, which is free and open to the public, will start at 1 p.m. at Fort Laurens, 11067 Fort Laurens Road NW, Bolivar. For more information, go online to fortlaurensmuseum.org.
The public also will get a chance to preview a major restoration project underway that is expected to be completed in 2028, according to the Ohio History Connection.
“Fort Laurens is the lone Revolutionary War fortification in the state and provides an important place in the early history of Ohio,” according to Ohio History Connection.
Restoration efforts at Fort Laurens include the installation of a new monument, a facsimile of the original wood stockade wall, and landscaping improvements.
The project also involves renovations to a museum at the site, and an archaeology dig open to the public on the grounds of the fort, organizers said.
None of the original structures remain above ground, but the outline has been delineated for visitors, according to the Ohio History Connection.
Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Iwuji, a NASCAR driver and Navy reservist, will be the headline speaker at “Flag Day Convening,” on June 10, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C. (U.S. Navy)
Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Iwuji, a NASCAR driver and Navy reservist, will be the marquee speaker at the annual “Flag Day Convening” on June 10 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, D.C.
The event, which is sponsored by the nonprofit We the Veterans and Military Families, is designed to bring together veterans and military families, as well as civic and community leaders, according to organizers.
Flag Day Convening is open to the public and will include a series of panel discussions from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., followed by an evening reception.
Participants in the panel discussions will include Veterans for All Voters, Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and other advocacy groups.
The tentative lineup includes panels titled “Civics Not Politics — Veterans Leading in the Nonpartisan Election Space” and “Everyone Can Be a Patriot — Between Two Flags.”
Iwuji will speak at the evening reception, which starts at 5 p.m. on the library’s rooftop.
Iwuji is the only naval officer racing at NASCAR’s national level and “a powerful voice for veterans and military families,” according to We the Veterans and Military Families.
For more information, visit the We the Veterans and Military Families website.
“Flag Day is more than a date on the calendar. It is an opportunity to honor the men and women who continue to serve their communities long after their military service ends,” We the Veterans and Military Families said.
“Hiring veterans means hiring people who have already performed and led under pressure,” said VA Secretary Doug Collins at a Disney Veterans Institute event in Washington, D.C., focused on veteran employment. (Disney Veterans Institute)
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins spoke Thursday at the Disney Veterans Institute at the Motion Picture Association in Washington, D.C., at an event focused on veteran employment.
The Disney Veterans Institute — hosted by the Walt Disney Company — is designed to promote and strengthen recruitment and hiring of veterans and military spouses.
The Disney Veterans Institute plans to host similar events in Los Angeles, New York City and Orlando, Fla. For more information, visit the institute’s website.
“Hiring veterans means hiring people who have already performed and led under pressure,” said Collins, a 26-year military chaplain who served in the Navy and the Air Force Reserve. “Veterans bring proven leadership, discipline and a mission-first mindset that any organization can benefit from.”
Participants at the D.C. event included leaders from The Walt Disney Company, Wounded Warrior Project, Blue Star Families, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Military Spouse Chamber of Commerce, among others.
In May, the veteran unemployment rate was 3.3% — down from 3.7% in the prior year, according to the Labor Department.
Unemployment rates among veterans often dip below the national average for the general population, according to the Labor Department.
The comparable non-veteran unemployment rate in May was 4.2%, up from 4.1% in the prior year, according to the Labor Department.
“The Goodflyers: Lords of the Emerald Coast,” is a newly released historic novel by John J. Domina, a former Navy pilot. The novel takes place at naval flight school in Pensacola, Fla. (Screenshot)
A former Navy pilot’s historical novel, titled “The Goodflyers: Lords of the Emerald Coast,” has been released on Amazon and in many bookstores.
John J. Domina, who served for eight years in the Navy, including as an instructor pilot, penned the novel, which is set at Navy flight school in Pensacola, Fla., according to the author’s website.
The novel follows T-34C instructor pilots Frank “Pizza” Nicolosi and Joe “Holiday” Christmas in a story of “ambition, loyalty, romance and moral consequence,” according to the book’s foreword.
The novel is Domina’s first book after a 41-year career flying planes for the military and Delta Airlines, according to the website.
“I want readers to feel as if they are in the cockpit of a Navy T-34C, experiencing every vibration, every turn and every low pass over the emerald waters and white sands of Pensacola,” Domina said.
“This book brings them inside the high-octane world of Navy flight instructors and their students — a life shaped by precision, pride, achievement and heartbreak, where fierce competition and forbidden love push good people toward decisions that affect everyone in the squadron.”
