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AMVETS
National Headquarters
Official Website
CHAPLAIN'S
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The latest from Chaplain Allen:
Visiting a Veterans Home
Caring for the disabled and elderly, and the widows and orphans of men who died in the war became a concern even before the Civil War ended. The first national veterans' home in the United States was the United States Naval Home which opened 1834 in the Philadelphia Naval Yard. The Naval Home was moved to Gulfport, Mississippi in 1976.
The first Army National Old Soldiers' Home in the U.S. was established in Washington, D.C. in 1851. General Winfield Scott founded the Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. and another in Harrodsburg, Kentucky.
The Old Soldier's Home, now known as the Armed Forces Retirement Home, was the site of President Lincoln's Cottage, a 34-room Gothic Revival cottage, which served as Lincoln's summer home during the American Civil War. The Home has remained in continuous use since its establishment. It is located on a 250-acre (1.0 km2) wooded campus overlooking the U.S. Capitol in the heart of Washington, D.C., three miles from the White House, and continues to serve as a retirement home for U.S. enlisted men and women. Both the Washington, D.C. and Gulfport soldiers' and sailors' homes are funded through a small monthly contribution from the pay of members of the U.S. Armed Services.
AMVETS National Chaplain & USMC Veteran
MILTON ALLEN
AMVETS Commander, Roger Spencer and the members of AMVETS Cpl. Humberto Sanchez Post 82621 visited 31 veterans at Miller’s Merry Manor, McKinney Place, Woodbridge Health Campus and Chase Center last December, bringing them gift bags with blankets, crossword puzzle books, hygiene items and red shirts representing “RED Friday.”
Last September I visited the Milledgeville War Veterans Home in Georgia for the first time, and it was an experience that I will never forget. During my visit I met so many interesting people, many wanting to share their stories and some just glad to see a fellow Veteran come visit them. For some of the Veterans, no one comes to visit, which is very sad. These servicemen and women signed the same “Blank Check'' that each of us have done, to fight and defend our country, and now many of them sit alone in their beds and wait. Some are waiting for loved ones to come and take them back home, but that may not happen. Some of them are waiting for the next day that hopefully someone will come and share a kind word with them.
We took Baseball caps from the different branches of service with us. We gave a cap to a bedridden Marine Veteran, and as we left his room, he began to cry. He was so overwhelmed by her act, that he could not contain himself. We also sat and talked with an Air Force Veteran; she was receiving memory care treatment. She spoke about her sons and how she was looking forward to them coming to pick her up. One spoke of how he arrived the night before, but he had been there 5 years already.
They belong to us, they are our family, and I want to encourage each of you to visit, support or do whatever you can to let them know that they are not alone. Many thoughts ran through my head that day, but one of them more than others. The feeling of being alone - was what many of them felt, alone and afraid. There were some that were not happy to be where they were at this point in their lives, while others were appreciative of the place they had for their treatment and care. Regardless of their circumstances, you could see the feeling of lonesomeness, wanting to be included, or acceptance of their situation in their faces.
In reading this my hope is that you may find time to stop by your nearest Veterans Home to say hi, you are not alone.
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