5 things to know in veterans news: Veteran hiring pushed, a star-spangled sports jersey and Gold Star families head to DC

WASHINGTON — More than 100 family members who’ve lost a loved one from military service or illnesses and injuries connected to service will be in Washington next week to meet with lawmakers.

The TAPS Gold Star Families Advocacy Week is Sept. 21 to 24.

The annual event enables Gold Star families to meet with lawmakers and staff and champion legislation that specifically benefits surviving military families.

Among priorities are the Love Lives On Act, which enables widowed survivors to remarry at any age without losing financial benefits.

“TAPS believes that surviving spouses of fallen service members should not have to choose between another chance at love, a stable home life for their children, and financial security,” the organization said.

Families also are seeking an increase in “dependency and indemnity compensation.”

The tax-free benefit is paid to surviving spouses and dependents of service members and veterans whose death was connected to military duty.

Veterans design ‘Star Spangled’ Washington Capitals jersey

The Washington Capitals have introduced an eye-catching jersey, in honor of America’s 250th birthday.

The dark-blue jersey, emblazoned with a large eagle, was designed by Air Force veteran Patrick J. Sargent and Navy veteran Fidel Gomez Torres.

The “Star-Spangled USA250” design was inspired by Revolutionary-era printmaking. The six stars on the crest and shoulder patches represent branches of the armed forces.

Strict uniform standards set by the National Hockey League will keep fans from seeing players wear the jerseys on the ice.

But these specialty jerseys will be autographed and auctioned online from Oct. 6 to Oct. 15, in a benefit for Our Military Kids, a nonprofit organization.

Go to this webpage to participate.

The Washington Capitals will be conducting an online auction to sell these vintage-style “Star Spangled” jerseys designed by two military veterans, in commemoration of America’s 250th birthday. (Washington Capitals)

The Washington Capitals will be conducting an online auction to sell these vintage-style “Star Spangled” jerseys designed by two military veterans, in commemoration of America’s 250th birthday. (Washington Capitals)

A Florida city ties tax rebates to hiring veterans

Businesses in Jacksonville, Fla., that get property tax rebates for job creation must make a good faith effort to hire veterans and military spouses, according to a new city law.

Jacksonville is home to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and Marine Corps Support Facility Blount Island.

The city has set a 10% hiring goal for companies that receive local economic development aid. Employment applies to qualified veterans, active-duty military spouses, National Guard members, and reservists.

There are no penalties for businesses that miss the target, but they must demonstrate that they are trying to meet it and self-report hiring data.

City Council President Nick Howland said that the goal is to ensure that city-backed job growth includes Jacksonville’s large military and veteran community.

Democrats press for status of women veterans’ committee

A group of Democratic lawmakers is seeking answers from the Department of Veterans Affairs about the future of a VA advisory committee on women veterans.

Reps. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, and Maggie Woodlander, D-N.H., sent a letter this week to VA Secretary Doug Collins outlining the concerns.

The federal committee is required to meet twice yearly, according to its charter. Yet the group has not convened since December 2024, the lawmakers said.

“Additionally, we understand that the most recent chair of the [committee], retired Col. Wanda A. Wright, resigned from that position in April 2026 in protest of VA having ‘effectively rendered the committee inactive,’ ” according to the letter.

The lawmakers asked Collins how he is collecting information from women veterans in regards to their VA health services, in the absence of regular committee meetings.

Other Democratic lawmakers who signed the letter are Reps. Terri Sewell, of Alabama; Ed Case, of Hawaii; Chrissy Houlahan, of Pennsylvania; George Latimer, of New York; Nikki Budzinski, of Illinois; Tim Kennedy, of New York; Madeleine Dean, of Pennsylvania; and Deborah Ross, of North Carolina.

Several Democratic lawmakers are seeking answers from VA Secretary Doug Collins about the status and future of a federally chartered VA advisory committee on women veterans. The committee has not met since December 2024. (Eric Kayne/Stars and Stripes)

Memorial for fallen Revolutionary War soldiers

The city of Wilmington, Del., will hold a ceremony on Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 10 a.m., to unveil a memorial honoring Revolutionary War soldiers discovered in a mass grave at Wilmington-Brandywine Cemetery.

The unusual burial site represents one of the one of the largest Revolutionary War mass graves discovered in the U.S., according to the city.

The grave contains the remains of at least 66 soldiers. Identified remains include 28 soldiers from the Rhode Island Regiment and 38 British soldiers, according to city leaders.

“Nearly 250 years later, as the nation marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, new historical research has identified 33 of [the soldiers] by name, an extremely rare level of identification for a mass grave from this period,” according to a statement from the city.

The ceremony, which will include a musket salute, will be attended by Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer, Wilmington Mayor John Carney, the Sons of the American Revolution, and a direct descendant of Rhode Island Regiment soldier Caesar Rose, an African American soldier who fought at Yorktown and died in Wilmington in 1781.

A musket salute will be part of a ceremony in Delaware to unveil a memorial honoring Revolutionary War soldiers and British troops discovered at a mass gravesite at the Wilmington-Brandywine Cemetery. A Charleville Flintlock Musket, Model 1777, is shown in this photo. (James Stanfield/U.S. Marine Corps)