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U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley and Tom Harkin bridged the great political divide today to issue similar statements praising and honoring America’s veterans.

Approximately 1,000 soldiers and airmen from the Iowa National Guard will assist federal, state and local agencies with support missions for the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican who recently lost her bid to become Iowa’s first female member of Congress, is a veteran, as is her husband. But as she spoke at a veterans event in Cedar Rapids, the political undertones were unmistakable.

The Department of Defense announced Monday that Staff Sgt. Nathan M. Cox, 32, was killed Sept. 20 in the Korengal Valley, Afghanistan, when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device. Cox, a native of Walcott, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas, which [...]

If there was one common thread among the volunteers gathered at the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Cedar Rapids on Friday it was simply that our nation’s veterans “deserve better than this.”

Roughly 50 veterans — some homeless and others nearly homeless — were offered free services ranging from dental and health exams to haircuts to survival kits. In addition to the veterans, the annual event also serviced about 35 non-veterans who were in need.

Because of this summer’s flood damage in Cedar Rapids, the annual “Stand Down” for homeless and nearly-homeless veterans has been stripped down from three days to only one: Friday, Sept. 19, at the Armed Forces Reserve Center, 1599 Wenig Road NE.
“We lost our place and we lost every piece of donation and every [Veterans [...]

Perhaps it is my personal experience of growing up in a family of veterans that grieved for the loss of a son in Vietnam that pushes me to believe that every war-time generation has secrets it does not wish to pass on to the next generation. I know first hand how graphic descriptions can take up residence in your mind, nearly forgotten until they are triggered back to the forefront to blaze a new trail of horror and sorrow.

By that same token, I also believe that when veterans or the families of veterans choose to speak of their experiences, the nation should stop and listen with grave intent.

Three years ago Ben Hayden of Coralville participated in the initial siege of Fallujah, Iraq, with his Marine unit — the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion. This week Hayden returns to Fallujah as a civilian, representing the organization Vets for Freedom, for which he serves as the Iowa Captain.

“When I moved back to Iowa after leaving the Marines, I felt like everything I was hearing on the news was so one-sided,” said Ben Hayden, Iowa state captain of Vets for Freedom.

For many Iowa veterans, the war-front follows them home, where they have to battle for benefits already promised to them by the government through the Iowa Veterans Trust Fund (VTF). The annual battle came to an end last week when the Iowa Lottery introduced the first of four games, Stars & Stripes, that will directly benefit the fund.