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Next Week Marks 82 Years Since Pearl Harbor Attack 

Remaining Pearl Harbor survivors, veterans, and visitors from throughout the world will gather in Hawaii this Thursday to honor and remember the 2,403 service members and civilians killed during a Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Another 1,178 were injured in the attack, which permanently sank two U.S. Navy battleships and destroyed 188 aircraft.  The attack initiated four years of ferocious battles in Europe and the Pacific that had far-reaching international consequences. […]

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BVA Thanks Loyal Supporters, Extends Giving Tuesday

Although today is Friday and we are three days removed from Giving Tuesday, there is still time to provide your support to the Blinded Veterans Association (BVA) as part of this nationally recognized opportunity to give. The day marks a special time of year in which people worldwide unite to support the causes closest to their hearts. BVA expresses heartfelt gratitude to the generous supporters who have already donated to Giving Tuesday. Without you, this […]

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Netflix Limited Series Now Available for Viewing

All the Light We Cannot See, an American drama limited series developed for Netflix, was released November 2. The four part-series, based on Anthony Doerr’s Pulitzer Prize winning, best-seller novel that carries the same name, follows the stories of two teenagers—a blind French girl named Marie-Laure and a German soldier named Werner—whose paths cross in enemy-occupied France during World War II.  The story behind All the Light We Cannot See has the blind Marie-Laure Leblanc […]

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VA’s MVP Achieves Milestone Goal

The Million Veteran Program (MVP) of VA is now one million veterans strong, marking a historic milestone in a journey that took several years. The achievement will have a profound impact on veteran health care in the future as VA conducts lifesaving, groundbreaking research based on data already collected from enrollees.  BVA National Headquarters thanks members of the BVA community who were open to learning more about MVP and eventually joining the program using one […]

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All World War II Veterans Now Eligible for VA Health Care

VA has announced that all veterans of World War II are now eligible for no-cost VA inpatient and outpatient health care, which includes all medical services. The expansion of the care will include those who served between December 7, 1941, and December 31, 1946, regardless of their length of service or financial status. An early release of the information on November 9 implied erroneously that World War II veterans were automatically eligible for nursing home […]

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Post-Thanksgiving VetTech Sessions to Scrutinize Revolutionary Smart Cane

Both BVA VetTech sessions next week, the Weekly Wednesday Webinar that would normally fall on November 22 and the subsequent Thursday VetTech Talk, will be suspended for the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead, look forward for a little longer to the virtual meeting on Wednesday, November 29, at 2:00pm Eastern Time to welcome the team from WeWalk, a revolutionary Smart cane that detects above-ground obstacles with ultrasound while still retaining standard white cane ground feedback.  WeWalk recently […]

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Doggie Treats to Highlight Tuesday Pre-Thanksgiving Dog Handler Session

All past, present, and future dog handlers among BVA’s blind and low vision veterans are encouraged to join this Tuesday’s (November 21) session via Zoom at 4:00pm Eastern Time. The session’s proposed agenda includes a unique twist—a Thanksgiving discussion on homemade dog treats! The meeting is open to all veterans with sight loss who are interested in topics and issues associated with guide dogs.  Attendance at previous meetings is not required to join and participate. […]

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Active GRG Atlanta BVA Chapter Stays Busy Serving and Giving

Members of the Atlanta Chapter of the BVA Georgia Regional Group proactively serve others rather than wait for others to help them, continually extending themselves the past few months to remain active in their urban community.  Back on June 24, the Chapter completed its spring sock drive for the Atlanta Center for Self Sufficiency (ACSS), which serves homeless veterans and those at risk for homelessness as one of its most important functions. Bravid Harris, the […]

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Blinded Veterans Celebrating All Veterans  

BVA National Headquarters represented blind and low vision veterans throughout the country with the presentation of an organizational wreath at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day. The effort complemented similar Veterans Day activities of blinded veterans and their families in their communities and regional groups.  With representatives of approximately 40 other VSOs looking on and all eventually presenting a similar wreath, the symbolic gesture paying tribute to all veterans capped […]

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Thanksgiving Greeting and Best Wishes from National Chaplain

By Chaplain Kennith Harvey Happy Thanksgiving to Blinded Veterans Association leaders, members, families, and the patriots who have supported and befriended this unique body of our nation’s veterans.  Ask and you shall receive the blessings of God. As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday and the accompanying festivities, we are reminded that this is a time of giving and that the “thanks” is accompanied and surrounded by giving. Our Father simply wants active military, veterans, and […]