Secretary Shinseki on Veterans Day

 
On Veterans Day, VA Secretary Shinseki Recognizes, Thanks Veterans 
 
WASHINGTON (Nov. 11, 2010) - This Veterans Day, Secretary of Veterans
 Affairs Eric K. Shinseki calls on America to honor its 23 million
 Veterans by reaching out to them and their families with heartfelt
 thanks and encourage them to seek the benefits and services they have
 earned from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
 
"As we observe Veterans Day, I look to everyone - families, friends and
 acquaintances in communities, large and small--to turn out and thank all
 our Veterans, from earlier eras and those who are just returning home,"
 said VA Secretary Shinseki. 
 
Shinseki noted that America has made significant investments in Veterans
 benefits and services over the past 19 months: a 16 percent VA budget
 increase last year and a 10 percent increase in the 2011 budget request.
 He said this is making it possible to increase Veterans' access to
 benefits and health care services, help end the disability claims
 backlog, and eliminate Veterans' homelessness by 2015. The Post 9/11 GI
 Bill has already sent more than 400,000 Veterans to college, and care
 and benefits will be extended to more Veterans who have illnesses
 related to exposure to Agent Orange and service during the first Persian
 Gulf War.
 
Under Shinseki, VA is taking unprecedented steps to reach out to
 Veterans and their families with a television ad campaign, a new VA
 blog, and other social media initiatives, and outreach teams traveling
 throughout rural communities. The goal is to let Veterans and their
 families know what services they are eligible for and how to access
 them. The emphasis is on meeting emergent transitional needs such as
 treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which affects many
 Veterans, including those returning from the Middle East, as well as
 those who served in Vietnam four decades ago.
 
VA recently launched its first official blog, "VAntage Point," at 
http://www.blogs.va.gov to improve the way VA and Veterans engage
 online. The blog expands VA's social media presence, adding to its
 Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs), Twitter
 (http://twitter.com/DeptVetAffairs/), Flickr
 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/VeteransAffairs/), and YouTube
(http://www.youtube.com/user/DeptVetAffairs) postings. With more than
 70,000 subscribers, VA has the largest Facebook subscriber base among
 cabinet-level agencies. 
 
On Veterans Day, Shinseki will join White House and military officials,
 and leaders of major Veterans organizations, at the traditional Veterans
 Day wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington
 National Cemetery at 11 a.m. Following the ceremony, VA will host an
 observance program in Arlington's Memorial Amphitheater.
 
Across the country, from the rousing notes of the "Star Spangled Banner"
 to the poignant bugle solo of "Taps," Americans will celebrate U.S.
 Veterans with music, ceremonies and speeches. Nearly 100 VA-sponsored
 activities are scheduled, highlighted by Birmingham's 63rd annual
 Veterans Day parade and parades in Lexington and Denver; recognition
 ceremonies in Anchorage, Alaska, Chillicothe, Ohio, and Tomah, Wis.;
 concerts in Durham, N.C., Bath, N.Y., and Tucson, Ariz.; and the third
 annual Veterans Run/Walk in West Haven, Conn. The oath of citizenship
 will be administered to 25 Veterans at the Fort Sam Houston Cemetery in
 Texas as they become official citizens of the nation they served.
 
The Veterans Day National Committee has designated regional observance
 site status to Veterans Day programs at 54 sites in 29 states. Sites
 were selected on the basis of community involvement, regional impact and
 continuity. They are also eligible for support from the Department of
 Defense.
 
A guide to these sites and other information about Veterans Day is
 available on VA's Veterans Day Web page at
 http://www.va.gov/opa/vetsday/ under "Regional Observances." The page
 includes a variety of resources, including a teacher's guide, a poster
 gallery and links to information about the Arlington National Cemetery
 ceremony.