Having enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1968, Abraham Castro-Peña started his first assignment in the Republic of Vietnam. He extended his tours for three years as a helicopter pilot with the 1st Air Cavalry, where he obtained experience and gained long-lasting friendships that he admires. Further in his military career, Castro-Peña confronted medical conditions such as vision loss, which has been the most difficult to accept and adapt to. He is currently receiving treatment […]

The Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) today recognized the bipartisan effort to pass legislation that will facilitate access to and navigation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) online resources and forms by disabled veterans. The new law, approved by the full House of Representatives on November 16, will assist veterans in better understanding the benefits they have earned and how to complete the relevant online forms as they apply for them. The bill has already passed […]

On this very special day marking an extraordinary milestone for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, BVA National Headquarters extends its sincere thanks to the members of the organization who have sacrificed so much in defending our freedoms. We thank you as well for your membership, your leadership, and all other service rendered to BVA over the years. Interestingly, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial’s 38th anniversary today represents just slightly more than half the age of the Blinded […]

BVA Executive Director Donald D. Overton, Jr. was interviewed earlier this week by the American Council of the Blind’s Claire Stanley and Clark Rachfal in a podcast episode entitled Advocacy Update. Don addressed BVA’s peer support network and BVA’s advocacy initiatives. The second half of the program featured Tyson Ernst, Acting President of Visually Impaired Veterans of America, a veterans affiliate of ACB. To listen to the program via your favorite podcast player or online, […]

On this Veterans Day, we honor and remember the men and women who have worn the uniform of our great nation. Americans who stepped forward and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Veterans Day is an important day. It is a day to speak up for those who put their lives on the line for their fellow Americans – a day to remember and […]

Increasing awareness of the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) is the focus of a new campaign of the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) during the month of November. The campaign, entitled “Find a Veteran, Post a Tribute,” encourages visitors to the VLM website to locate a veteran on the site who has been buried in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) national cemetery and to post a tribute on a page that has been created for that […]

A USA Today Veterans Day special edition, published annually, has included a feature story in this year’s issue on blinded veterans and their current challenges and opportunities in adjusting to life with vision loss. The article, composed by freelance writer Matt Alderton, touches on issues such as recovery, rehabilitation and training, education and career planning, relationships, legislation, technology, and guide dogs. BVA Executive Director Donald Overton, former BVA National President David Szumowski (San Diego Regional […]

Although the coronavirus pandemic has affected the rules, offerings, and gatherings at national restaurant chains for Veterans Day 2020, a number of free food and discount opportunities are still available to blinded veterans and their families. Most of the free meals and other deals to celebrate veterans and their service are for dine-in patrons only, but a few chains are exercising even greater flexibility than usual. At one establishment, for example, free meal and beverage […]

U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt today announced at the Iowa Gold Star Museum that U.S. Military veterans and Gold Star families will be granted free access to national parks, wildlife refuges, and other federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior beginning on Veterans Day (November 11) this year and every day thereafter. Secretary Bernhardt’s announcement, made on behalf of the Trump Administration, came following the signing of a Presidential Executive […]

As a former Medical Service Corps Officer of the United States Navy beginning in 1989, Laurie Cutlip served as a staff Dietitian at the National Naval Medical Center (now Walter Reed) and was then advanced to the position of Head, Nutrition Education. She was asked to head the Clinical Nutrition Department simultaneously while retaining her position as head of Nutrition Education. She developed standards of nutrition care for all areas of inpatient dietetics. Other responsibilities […]