After hurricane and street drugs, Veteran is a Volunteer of the Year

Marine Corps Veteran James Logwood is a Red Coat Ambassador at Overton Brooks VA and its Volunteer of the Year for 2023. 

Confidence and experience resonate across his face and in his eyes. He wears clean crisp clothes, a sharp hat and a bright red vest adorned with service pins. At a glance, you can tell that he’s a Veteran. 

In his youth, Logwood was headed down the path of either going to jail or getting killed on the streets. It was his aunt who asked him a simple question that put him back on track: “What are you going to do with yourself?”

In response, he joined the Marine Corps in March 1975.

“Boot camp was a challenge, it was rough. At first, I thought I couldn’t adjust. I wasn’t used to people hollering and screaming at me with all that kind of foolishness. They would get all in your face and even put their hands on you. I made it. Everyone needs that discipline,” he said.

Logwood was stationed on Kaneohe Bay in Hawaii at the Marine Corps’ Echo Company 23, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines. “I was infantry, but we called it being a grunt. You are a foot soldier and you will always be a foot soldier,” he said.  

“Marines taught me to be more responsible.” 

Corporal Logwood left the Marine Corps in March 1977. “I enjoyed my time in. I did what I had to do. I got my GED.  The Marines taught me to be more responsible. I did good from the time I got in till the time I got out. I don’t regret it at all,” he reminisced.

Logwood moved to New Orleans in 1979. He stayed in the Big Easy until hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Like many others, he evacuated north, back to his hometown of Monroe. In 2010, he started receiving his health care with VA at the Monroe Community Based Outpatient Clinic. When his wife passed, his life took a dark turn. He started self-medicating with drugs.

He found himself in the same position he was in before joining the Marines… going to jail or getting killed on the streets. 

In January 2015, he made the lifesaving decision of asking VA for help. 

He left Monroe in a DAV van to Overton Brooks VA in Shreveport. “When I got to Shreveport, everything was already set up for me. They checked me in, I was detoxed for a week and began the substance use disorder program,” he said.

Volunteer got his life back on track

As soon as he finished the program, VA helped him get off the streets by finding him residence with Volunteers of America. He was able to have a safe home, get healthy, build relationships and independence, and get the care and attention he needed to get his life back on track. 

Logwood then entered the incentive therapy program that provides Veterans help transitioning into the work force.  Each participant has an individual treatment plan and case manager. “If you want to get your life right, this is a true gift. It helped me with my therapy and motivated me. I was dealing with depression and all kinds of stuff. The program put me in a place that helped me grow and heal,” he said. “Overton Brooks showed me love. Once I finished the program, volunteering was a calling for me. Anything I can do to help Veterans when they come here, they get my undivided attention. I was given a gift, and I just want to give back and help.” 

James Logwood has now been volunteering for seven years. He helped bring volunteering back after the pandemic restrictions. He selflessly gives his time, compassion, experience and Veteran love to all. 

Word of advice from Overton Brook’s Volunteer of the Year: “The programs here work and help, but it is up to the Veteran to want to use them. I can give the message, but it is up to the Veteran [to use them].”