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 , Our founding Father, President George Washington, was quoted as saying "The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional as to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their country." This has always resonated with me. I have many memories of the veterans in my family. And I want to share two stories with you. One of my uncle, a Marine, and another of a total stranger, an Air Force veteran. My uncle served in Vietnam and returned home in 1970. In those days Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was not discussed or even a topic of concern. I believe every veteran endures PTSD, including me, a veteran of 26 years and it is aggravated with low self-esteem. When my uncle reintegrated into society, in the city of Chicago, it was a difficult task for him. He was the only brother on my mother's side and the youngest of six. I always enjoyed being in the presence of my uncle, he was a very proud Marine. However, like most PTSD veterans, his pride served as a cover making it very difficult to recognize PTSD. It was within a year of his honorable discharge that he traveled to San Diego CA to visit with some of his fellow Marines. They all went to Tijuana, Mexico for a last reunion. During that reunion they all played Russian roulette. My mother was called to go to Mexico to identify his body. My uncle was only 19 years old. In October 2002, my youngest brother, a civilian, was returning home with his pregnant wife after visiting with my sister in my hometown of Chicago. As he drove home he noticed a homeless person trying to stay warm in the cold winds of Chicago. My brother pulled over to the curb and asked his wife for some change. As his wife searched for some change and looked up to give it to him, she witnessed him being shot to death with one bullet. The murderer drove off leaving my sister-in-law in a horrific state. Months later they found the culprit. The shooter was an Air Force veteran. He was only 22 years old. We all must wonder what drives our veterans to a point of no return. We may never find out, but we can agree to start being part of a solution to serve our veterans from cradle to grave and no longer be passive. As a veteran, I believe my self-esteem has dipped a time or two, but I have met so many supportive people who have influenced and inspired me to do what my passion calls for which is to reach out to communities with ideas and means for them to best serve our deployed forces and veterans. I am not only convinced my campaign "Where Communities Serve Veterans™" will be a success, but it is what our communities want! I ask you to join me in making the difference by reaching out with me to everyone we know, family, friends and those that we don't know, to subscribe to my email list so that we can share with them how we plan to change how our veterans are served and to embrace President George Washington's words from the founding days of our great nation. |
 I know we have all experienced thoughts "can we do more for our veterans" and pondered how we can serve those that have served us. I invite you to start with me by considering one or all three of my requests: -- Scroll below and verify your contact info by clicking the link to update your information and preference. -- Reach out to your community and family by clicking "Send to a Friend" and ask them to subscribe to my email list or to visit swvbrc.org/contact.html to subscribe. -- Believe that together we will not fail and together we can serve our veterans from Cradle to Grave. This is all I ask of you for now. I am working 24/7 developing programs that communities can be proud to participate in and to empower them to serve veterans as one of their own family members. As Churchill is quoted as saying "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire…give us the tools and we will finish the job." It is time that we share the tools we have with all of our nation's communities. 
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 I shared with you a story of two non-combat Fallen Heroes. We don't lose a Hero only on the battlefield, but back here at home. The Heroes we lose on the battlefield are embraced by many and missed eternally. Our flag is their memory and we salute them every time we honor our flag. Those lost here at home are sadly forgotten or not honored or served. We must create a change so powerful that it reaches out farther and wider in all the lands veterans live. We must lift their spirits and engage with them to ensure their self-esteem does not dwindle away and all their skills lost or wasted. I developed a 14 level reintegration program in which I want all living veterans to participate. To complete it, the veteran would agree to log 416 hours of self paced learning. For each level successfully completed stipends up to $2,080 will be presented to the veteran. The program is three parts and each part is a series of levels. I will announce the details of this program shortly. However, the success of this program is in your hands. The first step in your support is to consider my three requests. That is our starting point. The best way we can honor our Fallen Heroes is to serve all of our living veterans. We should do so in their honor so that their fellow brothers and sisters don't fall like my uncle, or my fellow Air Force veteran who shot down my brother. God Bless you and thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. Albert R. Renteria Chief Warrant Officer 4, USMC Retired CEO Service Never Ends for a Marine! |