The city of Welch will be hosting its 105th Veterans Day parade. The small town of 3,590 people is home to the longest continually running Veterans Day parade in the Nation.
The city of Welch will be hosting its 105th Veterans Day parade. The small town of 3,590 people is home to the longest continually running Veterans Day parade in the nation on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Frank Cooley, event organizer and general chairman of the American Legion McDowell County Post 8, said this parade exemplifies the patriotism of his community.
“Our little small town is not nothing like it used to be. We don’t have wall-to-wall people,” Cooley said. “But I can assure you, the people that are there today are the most patriotic in this country. They come out every year, braving the weather, the coldness, whatever it might be, to celebrate the occasion that we honor our men and women who have served and are still serving this great nation.”
The parade begins at the Welch City Hall and Fire Department and will head down Wyoming Street and back up McDowell Street. There will be awards for best float, best band and best youth group. Cooley said it takes an intense, coordinated effort to put on this parade.
“The city of Welch bends over backwards to do whatever they can to help make the Veterans Day parade the greatest one of all,” he said.
Cooley advises attendees to arrive early to find parking and walk to the parade. Individuals with disabilities are advised to arrive extra early so they can find a spot. Cooley said there are some spots where attendees can watch the parade from their vehicle.
“There’s places that you can just pull your automobile up and sit in your seat and watch as it goes by,” Cooley said.
Attendees are encouraged to visit the Jack Caffrey Arts and Cultural Center where there will be a Veterans Honor display from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The chief of the Huntington, West Virginia, Fire Department has been named as the American Legion’s national firefighter of the year.
Chief Jan K. Rader received the award at the American Legion’s 101st National Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Wednesday night.
Rader is the state’s first female fire chief after having been a firefighter for nearly 25 years.
The American Legion says it gives the annual award to a firefighter who exceeds the requirements of their position and shows a pattern of community service. The group noted Rader’s work on opioid addiction in Huntington as reason why she won.
Historian Boyd Stutler was born in Gilmer County on July 10, 1889. At 18, he became the owner, editor, and publisher of the Grantsville News in neighboring Calhoun County. Three years later, Stutler was elected mayor of Grantsville.
During World War I, he rose to the rank of sergeant. Throughout his life, Stutler remained active in veterans’ affairs. He served as managing editor of the American Legion magazine for 18 years. And, as a war correspondent in the Pacific, he witnessed the official Japanese surrender ending World War II.
After returning from Europe after the First World War, Stutler became chief clerk to the West Virginia superintendent of public printing. He wrote several publications, was managing editor of the West Virginia Review magazine, and served as associate editor of the 1929 West Virginia Encyclopedia. Stutler cowrote a West Virginia history textbook and authored a book about West Virginia in the Civil War.
He also compiled one of the finest collections relating to abolitionist John Brown. His collection is now housed in the West Virginia State Archives.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has been rocked by scandal in recent months, with reports of long wait times and rigged wait lists. But the American Legion has stepped up to say the V.A. is a “system worth saving.” As part of that effort, the Legion has launched a series of town hall meetings and set up temporary command centers around the country to help answer questions veterans have about their benefits. The Legion set up shop this week in north central West Virginia.
It’s mid-morning and so far there’s not much of a crowd inside American Legion Post 31 in Shinnston. A paper sign taped next to the front door states that this is the “Veteran Crisis Command Center Entrance” and lets veterans know they’re in the right place to ask their questions and get some answers.
Credit Sarah Lowther Hensley
/
“It’s so hard to predict who’s going to come, when they’re going to come.”
That’s Zachary Hearn, Deputy Director for Claims for the American Legion National Headquarters. He says there was a healthy turnout for the town hall meeting on Monday and about 35 veterans took advantage of the first day of command center operations.
“I know our director Verna, she made it a point, she said if one veteran walks out of here with benefits that they never saw coming, it was all worth it in the end.”
By that standard, this week’s efforts have been a success. Hearn says $17,000 in benefits was awarded on the spot to two veterans who came the first day. They will receive retroactive payments in addition to their future benefits.
He says it’s a great feeling to help veterans learn about the benefits they’ve earned.
What it's really proven is how the American Legion and VA should be working together…once we get outside the Beltway and into middle America and really helping veterans on a one on one basis. – Zachary Hearn, Deputy Director for Claims – American Legion National HQ
Hearn says one veteran at an event in North Carolina had been trying for nearly 20 years to get his claim approved. At the command center, it was resolved in about 20 minutes.
But these temporary command centers are only around for a couple of days. These events in some ways have also turned out to be good “train the trainer” opportunities. Hearn says American Legion posts have trained local Service Officers in place to help veterans at other times.
“Well my name is Donna Peter and I am the Service Officer for both Post 67 at Sistersville, West Virginia and for the Fourth District which includes, if they were all active, 13 different posts.”
Donna Peter drove over to Shinnston from the Ohio Valley to learn more. She says she is new to her job of Service Officer and found the information and outreach very helpful.
Credit Sarah Lowther Hensley
/
Donna Peter, Service Officer for American Legion Post 67 and the 4th District receives information from Heather Zickefoose, LPN with the VA’s Mobile Health Unit.
“It’ll give me information where I can send people or like your suicide prevention and things I’ll know somebody to send them to for help,” says Peter.
Improved Communication is the Key
Both Peter and Hearn agree that communication between the V.A. and veterans needs to improve.
Peter says she’s heard from some vets that they got very little instruction about their benefits before being discharged. But she also says it is human nature to not soak everything in, even when told. She and her husband were connected with the Air Force for 20 years.
“When I got out we had told people what to do but you don’t know if they’re listening,” she says. “You have family meetings on base and you try and let people know what to do when they get in the civilian world but you go to those things and you’re bored to death and you don’t listen like you hope they would.”
Another breakdown involves the complicated nature of the benefits themselves. Hearn says the process can be complicated and tough to navigate. For example, he says veterans don’t always realize V.A. health care and V.A. disability benefits may intersect at times, but are two very different things.
So, the outreach efforts will continue with hopes of helping veterans and restoring confidence in the system.
“People have gotten lost in the process,” says Hearn. “People’s claims have been adjudicated improperly and the American Legion has been very dedicated to make sure that those veterans receive those – that compensation that they’ve earned.”
The American Legion is sending a team of experts to West Virginia this week to help veterans access their Veterans Administration health care benefits and services. The group is holding a town hall meeting in Shinnston Monday evening and setting up a “Veterans Crisis Command Center” there Tuesday and Wednesday.
The initiative is part of the American Legion’s System Worth Saving Task Force. A spokesman says the Legion believes in the quality of care at VA medical centers, and that, despite the scheduling scandals that have topped the news, it values and supports the VA medical system. The Legion wants to restore veterans’ confidence in the specialized care they have earned through their military service.
The Legion is rolling out these town hall meetings and command centers across the nation. So far this is the only one scheduled for West Virginia.
The town hall meeting is scheduled for 7:00 Monday evening at the American Legion Post 31 in Shinnston. It’s open to the public and they encourage local veterans – especially ones who have experienced any wait-time delays – to attend. Information will be presented, but there will also be opportunity for the public to comment.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Legion will operate a Veterans Crisis Command Center at Post 31. Legion and VA staff, along with local Legionnaires and volunteers from other organizations will be available to help veterans with VA scheduling, grief counseling, benefit claims and enrollment in the VA health care system.
