Honoring Vets

Before physicians had science, they relied on the art of medicine, which, according to Hippocrates, consists of three things: the disease, the patient and the physician.

The NATIONAL MEMORIAL DAY CONCERT will air on Sunday, May 24, 2020, as a celebration to the heroes currently fighting COVID-19. This year marks its 31st year as a way to honor and remember our troops, Veterans, wounded warriors, all those who have given their lives for our nation and their families.

On May 8, VA marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe, a victory for the forces of freedom that shaped the world for all of us who followed after.

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which offers a chance to look back on Veterans honored through Congressional Gold Medals.

Each weekday VA shares a Veteran story and you are invited to listen in to the My Life My Story program.

Veteran Oscar Gadson served as a Tuskegee airman and a Buffalo soldier in World War II and took part in three battles in northern Italy late in the war.

Al Ungerleider, an Army lieutenant in World War II, took part in the assault to liberate the Dora-Mittlebau concentration camp in Germany on April 11, 1945.

World War I marked the fourth time Congress declared war, but became the first time America instituted a draft. The "Great War" also created a new series of benefits for Veterans--some that exist in different forms today.

National Vietnam War Veterans Day is March 29. Organizers canceled or postponed many events to slow the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing. Veterans are encouraged to stay connected and participate in virtual events.

On Feb. 23, 1945, five days after the initial assault on the island of Iwo Jima, Marines took control of the high ground and planted a flag atop Mt. Suribachi. Medal of Honor recipient Hershel “Woody” Williams and Navajo Code Talker Thomas H. Begay recall what it was like to see the Stars and Stripes fly high over the island.

The Friends of the National World War II Memorial honored Veterans from the Battle of Iwo Jima during a 75th anniversary commemoration Feb. 19.

This year, VA again joins more than 11,000 organizations across the country as a commemorative partner supporting the Department of Defense in this Vietnam War Commemoration.