Eugene (Gene) J. Baltes, BVA member and World War II Navy veteran, will turn 110 this Tuesday, October 29. This distinguished gentleman is the oldest living male on record residing in the United States and a member of the Blinded Veterans Association’s Illinois Regional Group. Gene’s family and friends numbering more than a hundred, including his regional group president, Anthony Woodson, celebrated this amazing milestone with him at a party in his honor on October […]

Jerry Killion, longtime BVA member and leader in the Greater Houston Regional Group, spent the evening of White Cane Safety Day presenting the history of the White Cane to his American Legion Post 512 in Dayton, Texas. The day this year just happened to fall on the third Tuesday of the month when the Post regularly meets.  In addition to several leadership positions that he has held with the BVA Greater Houston Regional Group, Jerry […]

BVA members who have recently demonstrated interest in adaptive and recreational rehabilitative sports will be pleased to learn of VA’s announcement last week to award $15.9 million in grants to fund such activities. An October 1 news release revealed the awarding of the funds, which will go toward adaptive sports, recreational activities, and equine therapy for veterans and service members living with disabilities. The grants will be awarded to 91 national, regional, and community-based programs […]

Three weeks ago, the Northern Hemisphere welcomed both Autumn and Fall. Both words refer, in general, to the more moderate season that follows the heat of the summer and preceeds the cold of winter. Although the terminology is used interchangeably now, such has not always been the case. There was a difference in their original meanings. “Fall” is about leaves descending from trees. The term originated in the 1600s as a shorter way to say […]

Observance of Columbus Day in the United States began in 1937 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed October 12 to be a holiday to commemorate the landing of Christopher Columbus on the American continent, recorded on that day in 1492. The holiday came about as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, an influential Catholic fraternal organization. Since 1971, the holiday has been observed on the second Monday in October Indigenous People’s […]

Happy 249th Birthday, United States Navy and a shoutout to Navy veterans of BVA! Although the more majestic milestone of 250 (Semi-Quin Centennial, half of 500) arrives one year from now, the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command is not about to let the 249th pass by unnoticed! With the theme “Warfighting Strength and Readiness, this year’s commemoration will highlight, with a celebratory and commemorative tone, the Navy’s focus through a warfighting lens to deliver […]

U.S. Navy World War II veteran Eugene “Gene” J. Baltes, a member of the Illinois Regional Group, was already the oldest known living male in the United States following the passing of 110-year-old Vincent Dransfield of New Jersey this past June. Later this month, Gene will celebrate with family, friends, and a few fellow veterans his own milestone of 110 years. A resident of River Forest, Illinois, Gene began his military career voluntarily in November […]