Seaman
Otis C.
/ US Navy /
Purchased Gas & Grocery Cards
Petty Officer Otis served 3 years in Japan. He was in college but could not
go back this semester because he just could not afford it. He needed to find
a job so he contacted VetsNet. They immediately found him work but he
will not be paid for 2 weeks so OAG helped him out with gas and groceries
for that time period and more.
Milwaukee police officer Matthew Rittner
Officer Rittner was shot and killed on 2/6/19 while serving a warrant with
the Milwaukee Tactical Enforcement Unit. A U.S. Marine, he was deployed
twice to Iraq. Matthew was in vehicles hit three times by roadside bombs
and was in a 4 1/2 hour firefight in which a fellow Marine was killed. He
leaves behind his wife and young son. We were able to donate to his
gofundme account for his family.
AMVETS Post 37......
are a group of Veterans that donate their time
helping Veterans at the VA. One of the many things they do is take Veterans out
for pancake breakfasts, out to county area parks, movies, or maybe just a drive
down Lake Drive. So when OAG agreed to help out, we were asked what we would
like to do. Long story short, it was agreed that the Post would take a group of
Veterans from the VA out for a spaghetti dinner. It turns out that these
Veterans, mostly WWII and Korean War Veteran’s, like to play Bingo and love cash
prizes. So after the spaghetti dinner, there will be Bingo. These Veteran’s
range in age from 85 years old to 97 years old. They do not get out of the VA
often enough and we’re honored to be able to give them a night out. Gentlemen,
thank you for your service to our country. Win big!!
Private First Class Laman W. / US Marine
Corp / Assisted with rental security deposit
Private First Class Laman served 6 years in the Marine Corp. Recently he was
forced to move from his apartment due to a landlord that wasn't keeping up with
maintenance. The VA pays for some of his rent but not for the security deposit.
He couldn't move in until he raised the security deposit and that would have
taken another month. We were able to step in and pay his security deposit so he
could move in right away.
Private First Class Robert R. / US Army /
Energy and Grocery assistance
Private First Class Robert served 5 years in
the Army and was stationed in Beirut and Grenada. Having car trouble, he spent a
lot of money to have it fixed so he could get to work. Falling behind in
payments to We Energies, we assisted him to get him caught up with that and was
able to purchase groceries to hold him over for awhile.
58, 479. That’s the latest number of American soldiers that died in the Vietnam
War. 1,157 were from Wisconsin. When the One Act of Giving Foundation heard
that there was an exact replica of the Vietnam Memorial Wall being built in
Perryville, MO., we started talking about taking a group of Veterans there to
visit their Memorial. On May 4th & 5th, we took our
inaugural trip to Missouri’s National Veterans Memorial / America’s Vietnam
Wall. It is about a 7 hour trip from Milwaukee. It is located 1 ½ hours south
of St. Louis. Here is the link to their website.
https://www.mnvmfund.org/
Bob &
I were honored to take Command Sergeant Major Ralph B. / Petty
Officer Third Class Stanley L. / First Lieutenant
John F. / and Sergeant First Class and Purple Heart Recipient
Monte L. to their Memorial. It was a moving, and perhaps healing, experience
for these brave men. Not a dry eye in the bunch. They shared stories, some
funny, some sad. It was an eye opener for us.
If it
wasn’t for your participation, OAG couldn’t do what we do. These four men
“ordered” me to say thank you to everyone for your generosity. So, thanks to all
of you. Many times I heard them say, “We can’t believe you’d do this for us.”
Our answer was always the same, “You deserve it.”
Thank
you gentlemen for your service and we wish you all the best in the future.
Missouri's
National Veterans Memorial
Paying tribute to all of our service men and women
and their families and provide an environment for peaceful reflection,
with an exact replication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in D.C.
Names of 1,157 Wisconsin Veterans are on this wall.
As you are well aware of, we at OAG take care of the small
stuff, and perhaps the little different stuff, for our Veterans. But I can
assure you, our Veterans really appreciate our help. You can always check out
what we have done for our Veterans on our
Recipients Page.
Recently, we were asked to donate money to pay for a dozen WWII and Korean war
Veterans to travel to
Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center, in Manitowoc, WI. While visiting, our
Veterans will enjoy a farm tour, a hands on display (petting area) and there is
always the possibility of seeing a calf birth, along with other interesting
activities.
It gets the Veterans out of the VA Center and into a totally different
environment. These fine men range in age from 85 to 97 years old and will be
taken care of at every turn of this trip by volunteer chaperones.
We are honored to give these Veterans the opportunity to have a little fun for
the day, and as always, we thank these Veterans for their service to our
country. Enjoy the day gentlemen!
PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
is a real problem for some Veterans. Private 1st Class Terry is a 12 year Army
Veteran. Terry has had some problems coping with this disorder and has fallen on
hard times. VetsNet was able to find him housing and employment, but that all
takes place in 1 month. The VA and CVI helped out but fell a little short, so
OAG was asked to step in with housing assistance. We did that but also purchased
a gift card for him so he could purchase some much needed clothing. Terry is
getting treatment and thanks to VetsNet, the VA, CVI and OAG, Terry is on his
way to a healthier future. We wish him the best. Once again, we all performed
one act of giving. Thanks to all of you.
All too often,
a Veteran falls through the cracks.
Regulations and restrictions often prevent them from qualifying for some
programs. This is what happened to Private 1st Class Glen M. Glen
served 3 years with the US Navy.
Anyone who served on
active duty in the military MAY be eligible for at least some VA benefits. But
the VA can't provide full benefits for all Veterans. So the VA has set up a
complicated priority system to determine Veterans' benefits and out of pocket
costs.
So thanks to VetsNet, who
gets help from organizations like us (OAG) and others, they can help Veterans
that the VA doesn't help.
Glen needed a job and
housing which VetsNet found for him. But he needed some work shirts, work pants,
socks and underwear so we supplied him with that with a Fleet Farm gift card. He
also needed food for a week so we purchased an Aldi gift card for him.
I was visiting VetsNet
one day when Glen just happened to walk in. I was introduced to him and Glen was
told what we did for him. You would have thought that we had just given him a
million dollars. He was so appreciative.
I told him it is a group
effort and that we all thank him for his service. Thank you OAG members. This
foundation would not exist without your continued support. We do the little
stuff that means so much to our Veterans. You're the best!
Private First Class Brendan L. / US Army /
needed some help with his school registration. Without our help, he would not
have been able to continue on with his studies. We certainly didn’t want that to
happen so we were happy to write a check to MATC on his behalf.
Corporal Danielle P. / US Army / requested help after
losing everything in a house fire. Danielle has 2 children and, as you can
imagine, were just devastated by this loss. Thank goodness she is employed, and
has received help through many sources, but she needed help with replacing
children’s clothing, backpacks, and school supplies. Thanks to OAG, she is now
good to go in this department.
Sergeant Lonnie R. / US Army /
served
2
tours in Afghanistan, Sergeant Lonnie spent a total of 6 years in the US Army.
He saw a lot and most of it was not good. Because of his time in battle, he
suffers from PTSD. He has trouble concentrating and is easily startled, just to
name a few symptoms he suffers with. He holds down a job but there are days when
he just can’t work. His employer understands but he doesn’t get paid if he
misses work. Over the last few months, he has been having more difficulty
regarding his PTSD, and so he has fallen behind in rent. He has been getting
medical attention and is doing much better now, but being behind in rent was
weighing heavy on him. So OAG stepped up and helped him get out of this jam.
Sergeant Lonnie is on the right track to recovery. He says with the medical help
he is getting, he will be able to stay at work, pay his bills, and be
productive. We certainly wish him all the best and we are so happy to be able to
help. Thank you for your service Sergeant Lonnie and thanks all OAG members for
making this happen.
Stars and Stripes Honor
Flight Wisconsin
Flying WWII, Korean, and
Vietnam
war Veterans to Washington, DC to visit their memorials. Flights are funded by
donations
from individuals, corporations, foundations, and other groups who wish to be an
important
part of honoring these hero's. OAG is very proud to donate to this worthy cause
for the 2nd year. Thank you Veterans for your service.
Christmas with the Vets is
hosted by Jeff (Doc) Dentice (Vietnam Army Medic & hero, although he will say
no) and his crew held at the VA Medical Center. OAG is honored to have donated
to this great event. This is their 32nd annual Christmas program for
our brave Veterans and we can’t thank them enough for doing this. We were able
donate enough money to help out with purchasing hooded sweatshirts, flannel
shirts, sweat socks, winter gloves, and other necessities like toothpaste,
shampoo, etc. We were also able to purchase gift cards from Target, Walmart,
McDonalds, and Burger King. It is the little stuff that OAG does that means so
much for these Veterans. It humbles us to be able to do what we do. Thanks to
all of our bowlers and sponsors who make this all possible.
Wishing all our brave Veterans a very Merry Christmas and may God bless you
today and always.
VetsNet (Wisconsin Veterans Network)
collaborates with more than 75 partners in Milwaukee, and OAG is proud to be one
of those partners. VetsNet is run by Veterans and they find housing or
employment or both, for any Veteran who wore the uniform in active duty,
reserves, National Guard, overseas, stateside, war or peacetime, front lines or
in the rear. VetsNet refers many of the Veterans they help to OAG for assistance
where they fall short on funds for. OAG aids these Veterans with
assistance in back rent, energy
assistance, medication, schooling, minor home repairs, food, clothing and more.
Any of these areas can be a crisis piling on others, so thank you OAG members.
We're doing good things for our Veterans. We are humbled to partner up with these brave Veterans helping other brave
Veterans.
Korean
war Veteran US Army Sergeant E5 Robert H. passed away
October 31st 2019. His family needed assistance bringing his body
home from Florida to Wisconsin
to be laid to rest with
his wife of 60 years
who passed away in 2011. OAG is proud to be able to monetarily help out where needed
in his journey home. Thank you for your service Robert. May you rest in peace.
Veteran Corporal Specialist Roosevelt J.
spent 3 years in the US Army dodging bullets and land mines, while
Veteran Airman First Class Jeremiah R. (a leader and role model for his
fellow airmen) spent 4 years in the US Air Force. Both Veterans, after serving,
through no fault of their own, fell on hard times.
Both families were homeless until they walked into VetsNet. Housing and jobs
were found for them and VetsNet put out the word that they would not have a
Christmas without our help. OAG purchased a sizable gift certificate for both
families that will cover food, clothing, presents and more. They are also
getting help from other people and organizations. We thank them for their
service and pray the future will hold much happiness for them.
We pray for all our Veterans.
