About the Veteran Next DOor

All my life I have been surrounded by Veterans of wars our country has fought.

From Sunday School in the late 1950’s, elementary school through high school, there were always veterans involved in my life. All my favorite movies were black and white WWII movies, my comic books were SGT. Rock, and SGT Fury. My favorite toys were plastic soldiers, and as I grew older I began to understand the sacrifices these veterans had endured to serve our country.

The Vietnam War was winding down when I graduated from college, and I moved on from my childhood fantasies about being a soldier. As time moved on, I was lucky enough to be a professor at a local business college. The GI Bill was kicking in, and Vietnam Veterans were going back to school.

I had the opportunity to teach and learn from these veterans.

As I said earlier, my Sunday School Teachers were WWII veterans, my friends and students were Vietnam veterans, my daughter’s grandfather was involved in the Battle of the Bulge.

I left my career as a teacher and entered the financial services industry and soon learned I could help these veterans with their estate plans, and could provide free services to help guide them through the mazes and road blocks associated with the Veterans Administration. The aging World War II veterans needed my help. The Vietnam Veterans experiencing PTSD needed my help.

As I worked with these veterans I learned their stories – their pain, their sacrifices, the outcomes of their service.