Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
In a world where storytelling has been our link to the past since the days of cave drawings, there exists a timeless tradition. It's the art of passing down knowledge, and for Military Veterans, it's a crucial piece of their legacy. Join us on the Veterans Archives Podcast, where we dive deep into the heartwarming and awe-inspiring stories of those who served, no matter when or where.
Here, Veterans get the chance to be the authors of their own narratives. Through guided interviews in a relaxed and safe environment, they paint their experiences with their own words and unique voices. The result? A memory card in a presentation box, a precious gift they can share however they please.
But that's not all. These stories find a secure home in our archive, a treasure chest of experiences for future generations to explore. The best part? It's all a gift to the Veteran – our way of saying thank you for their service.
Tune in to the Veterans Archives Podcast, where history, heroism, and heartwarming tales come to life.
Veterans Archives is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Please visit our website for more information. www.veteransarchives.org
Veterans Archives: Preserving the Stories of our Nations Heroes
From Naval Service to Veteran Advocacy: Carmencita Pinckney's Journey
A powerful conversation with Carmencita Pinckney reveals the journey of a remarkable woman whose life has been defined by service—first in uniform, and now as a tireless advocate for fellow veterans.
Born on a Navy base to a Vietnam veteran father, Carmencita grew up immersed in military culture, moving between bases from Puerto Rico to California. This foundation led her to enlist in 1986, ultimately serving two years active duty in the Navy followed by 18 years in the reserves, including time with both Navy and Marine Corps Reserve units. As a Religious Program Specialist, she found her calling in a role centered around supporting others—a mission that continues to drive her today.
Carmencita's story weaves through formative experiences like boot camp in Orlando and her time stationed in Norfolk, where she first encountered a suicidal veteran while cleaning a chapel. That pivotal moment foreshadowed her future work at the Detroit VA as a peer support specialist, helping veterans navigate mental health challenges and connecting them with crucial resources.
What stands out in Carmencita's narrative is her unwavering commitment to veteran advocacy even after medically retiring due to debilitating migraines. She now volunteers helping veterans understand and apply for benefits they've earned but often don't realize they qualify for. "Many veterans don't think of themselves as veterans because they served for two years and never saw combat," she explains, highlighting common misconceptions that prevent former service members from accessing their entitled benefits.
Carmencita remains actively involved with programs like the Southeast Michigan Veterans Stand Down and promotes resources including the Honor Flight program and Women's Veterans Conference. Her message resonates with compassion born from personal experience: "We don't have to be alone in our homes. We don't have to be silent about what we're going through. Somebody else is going through it and somebody else might have a resource to connect them to benefits we all have earned."
Ready to connect with veteran resources? Reach out to your state's Veterans Affairs Agency or join Carmen at upcoming events designed to support those who've served.
Today is Monday, August 25th. We're talking with Carmen Sita. Pinkney who served in the United States Navy and the Marine Corps Reserve. So good morning.
Speaker 3:Good morning. Thanks for being here. Thank you for having me, Bill.
Speaker 1:Absolutely, so we'll get started right out of the chute. Here A very tough question when and where were you born?
Speaker 3:I was born in Lemoore, california Navy base. I am a second generation Navy veteran and I was born in December 26, 1966.
Speaker 1:All right, it's funny you mentioned L'Amour, because when I was in basic training there was a guy there and his father was a master chief at L'Amour and he did not want anyone to know who his dad was. But you know, they saw his name and immediately he was picked on the whole time.
Speaker 3:Wow.
Speaker 1:Yeah, good time for him.
Speaker 3:Good times.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so now being part of a military family, then did you grow up in Lemoore or did you move around a lot?
Speaker 3:Grew up in Lemoore but then, because of the what is it? The transition and the transferring, we grew up all over to include puerto rico, san diego a couple of times um where my san francisco a couple of times, and then we ended up being back in san diego, where we had relatives at okay and what was that like for you as a young person, moving all over the place?
Speaker 3:didn't really pay attention to it then, but I sure do appreciate it now because while we grew up on the base it was at five years old I was actually walking around by myself probably even younger than that and I remember one of the teenagers would just hang around with me as well. But I would actually leave the base housing, go to the commissary where my dad ran the commissary, and then I hung around my dad a lot. So it was really nice watching Mr Caruso drive around in his little, nice, little, nifty little car, smaller than a golf cart. But. And then my first time seeing somebody with an amputee was while I was at the commissary area and I went and got a short ice cream shortcake. I ended up throwing it away. It just upset my stomach.
Speaker 3:So now I'm a little bit more as an adult, I'm a little bit more tolerant and acceptable of it and it does not phase me the way it did before. But before I was like oh man. So I've never eaten another shortcake since then. But it's just nice knowing that I've seen family orientation on the base to where we used to even go to church on the base. Kind of funny and ironic. We went to church at the Catholic church on the base, but then I became a religious program specialist on the active duty side.
Speaker 1:Okay. So, All right, any brothers and sisters.
Speaker 3:I have two brothers and two sisters. I am the second to the youngest, and then I have three older ones. So far, we're all alive, thank God. Unfortunately, we lost our parents. Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, speaking of your parents, tell me a little bit about your dad.
Speaker 3:My dad was a ship's hand. He used to be a ship's hand. Now it's what they call a storekeeper.
Speaker 3:My dad was a ship's hand Used to be a ship's hand, now it's what they call a storekeeper. But I actually learned how to do my military creases on my own uniforms by my dad. But he went in from James Island, south Carolina, along with a couple of his other brothers. They went Army, one of them went Navy. They are seven kids Now. Three of them are left. My dad was a Vietnam vet, so he had shore duty, ship duty and, of course, in Vietnam. So I'm a byproduct of that. But talk about the man being squared away. He was always squared away, even till his death. He actually wore the military shoes and always kept them shiny.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's funny the things that we retain from our time in the service. My stepfather served in Korea in the Marine Corps and from a very young age all of us kids learned how to do like hospital corners on our beds and you know how not to take too hot of a shower and all that kind of stuff.
Speaker 3:So I remember all that, I still make my bed that way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and you know what I get it. We get up every morning, we make the bed. That's the first thing we do.
Speaker 3:I don't do that anymore, but I said I need to get back into it because all those old structures and norms that we had was actually a great foundation to grow up in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, and the one thing you make your bed first thing in the morning. You've already accomplished one thing, right.
Speaker 3:I love that prayer, Admiral.
Speaker 1:Yes, I could listen to that a hundred times. So tell me a little bit about your mom.
Speaker 3:My mom was Puerto Rican, from Ceiba, Puerto Rican, and she met my dad in a bar when she went with her sisters and told her sisters that that man is mine and, needless to say, they got married. They had six children. My mom lost one of them growing up, so the oldest, unfortunately, is lost from birth and pretty much she unfortunately passed away when I was 27.
Speaker 1:Oh, so very young.
Speaker 3:Very young. So my dad died at 52. Oh, so very young, very young. So my dad died at 52.
Speaker 3:I sat there literally between me and another cousin who's also a veteran Army veteran, kaida Sterling. We're actually trying to see who can outlive their parents and so far we have, thank God, but it's a closeness that we kind of lost. But my parents are always in my heart, with me and as I run into fellow veterans which I just ran into one on Friday and she had just lost her mom recently and just kind of got discombobulated, but I told her you know what? Your mom is right in your heart. So it's just really it's sensitive, it's a loss, but when you think about the old values that you were taught and that is how I actually raised my daughters it actually works out pretty good. I actually had a great upbringing, um, even though my parents got divorced when I was seven, but up until actually it was probably, yeah, seven. So, needless to say, I grew up on a base. I missed that lifestyle because it was not only just, uh, fellow soldiers or fellow sailors, it was also like a family Right Beyond the family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, that's true, um, and you, you miss it. Like you get to miss it twice, right Cause you once you were an adult and kind of left for a little while and then, once you finally got out, I remember like the last day of being on base was just very strange for me. But I want to ask a question, and this is going to sound kind of strange, but, um, first of all you, would you like me to get you a tissue?
Speaker 1:I'm good, okay, I just want to make sure I'll go get one. Um, you know, my, uh, my wife lost her, her mom, when she was quite young and I remember when my wife, like, reached the age that her mother was, when her mother passed away and it was a very strange feeling for her because she never got to see her mom be her age Right, and so there's a lot of things she didn't get to see and learn. Do you kind of feel that way?
Speaker 3:I do Sometimes. My mom was Puerto Rican and an excellent cook, so I can still remember the flavors. In fact, when we, when my dad, was stationed in Roosevelt Roads, puerto Rico, I remember walking across the little rocks to get to the grandma, to grandma's house, and then you had to go up the big old stairs and it wasn't really big stairs, but as a child it was huge right with the big old canisters of uh crackers and then you also the saltine crackers and then it was the uh, walking across the river just to get to the store and then don't get them.
Speaker 3:Don't go on the mango tree. If you did, you actually she made you go get a switch and she will pop you for the mangoes. But it was a beautiful um place. I'm actually going to try to get there next year to visit and then visit family.
Speaker 1:That's there you know the funny thing about puerto rico. So I was. You know, when I was in the navy, the the um shooting range for the ships was vieques island, right and um, I hadn't thought about it in years, but my son got married a few years ago and they went, they did, their honeymoon was at vieques. I'm like what and it's all cleaned up and it's a safe place to be and it's beautiful. Now, um, but yeah, I was kind of like you're gonna go spend your honeymoon on a bombing range. I didn't realize that they had taken care of all that. I loved Roosevelt Road's, one of my favorite places to go yeah, so I get to San Diego regularly.
Speaker 3:In fact, I'm unfortunately lost a family member who was an army veteran um this last week, so I'm going home to for his funeral but. I always stop at 32nd street, and then I used to work at the naval medical center, san diego, so it was really nice and it's still to this day. I'm always surrounded around veterans. I actually feel comfortable around the veterans.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know. The one thing that's changed about San Diego, though, is RTC is no longer there.
Speaker 3:Unfortunately.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I took my daughter there a few years ago and I was going to show her where I went to basic, but it wasn't there.
Speaker 3:We used to actually go fishing there and take our dogs, so where dad instead, if they had fleas? We wouldn't have fleas no more, Cause my dad would pick them up and throw them into the water, but just to go fishing. I didn't like fishing and I sure don't like touching worms, but it was just that bonding time which was really nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, so let's talk a little bit about you. So you kind of moved around a bit Um and uh. I'm assuming eventually you graduated school.
Speaker 3:I did. I graduated from Morris high school in San Diego Um 1989. Uh huh. And then I did do two years of college, um later on in years, but pretty much, uh, I got married to a veteran actually two veterans. And uh, I got married to a veteran actually two veterans and while I'm no longer married, they moved on. I moved on and I stayed in the reserve and thank God I did. I ended up getting 20 years active duty, two years active 18 reserve, and I still have a lot of friends that are from the service. So as we see each other run into each other, it's just like coming back home.
Speaker 1:Yeah, the conversation tends to pick up right where it left off, doesn't it? It does, yeah.
Speaker 3:To include going to Italy. We used to go to Sigonella every year so that was nice. So I did that for five years and even going there, some of the guys are still crazy and we still connect. One of them is my best friend, so if I need my TV hooked up or something going on, he knows about it. In fact he actually taught me a little money trick to where he's very money savvy and it was just say save your dollar bills, and because it has one through 12. So I would say one, two, three, seven for my grandson now and 10 for the other grandson and 12 for me. So at the end of the year I have about eight to $900. And every year I'm challenging myself to see how much more I can get. But I call it my blow money and so whatever I want to do with it is what I do with it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just put it away and then you've got it. So tell me, when did you join the Navy?
Speaker 3:I joined the Navy February 2nd of 1986. Okay, I had actually went to New York so I joined it. I came in from New York where I was dating somebody and I said I want to join the military. So I went back home and, needless to say, got home, told my dad I was what I was going to do. And then I joined, did two years. I went to Florida Lackland, not Lackland, I went to florida like lack of my black land.
Speaker 1:I went to ntc florida orlando, florida.
Speaker 3:So that was nice. Uh, while I was there I met somebody that was one of the ex-boyfriends friends and he told me to take up, uh, chaplain's assistance. I was like, oh okay, so religious program specialist it was, and come to find out even years later it is my personality. It is about servicing, providing service.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's a common thread with a lot of veterans. That I know is they joined for various reasons, but when they got done they continued to serve as well. Now Orlando. At the time, if I'm not mistaken, that was the only place that women went for basic training right, it was. For the Navy. Tell me a little bit about you. Grew up in a military family, but what was it like to get to basic training and to start on that road of your life there?
Speaker 3:Culture shock, truly a culture shock. A culture shock when I was, uh, I came up under a very stringent family. I won't even say stringent because we were actually pretty good, but it was a culture shock in terms of formation and structure and of that kind. We had it at home, but it wasn't to that extent of getting up moving. But other than that boot camp, which I didn't like the shorts and now I don't like them even more because they were too short yeah, but the meeting, some people, which one young lady I ran into her while I was on active duty years later, and that was nice lost touch since then but it was really really nice. Uh, food wasn't all that great, but you know what, at least your new breakfast was always on point.
Speaker 1:Right, right. And I'm just curious too. You know, having grown up on on bases, it's a different. It's a different, a whole different ball game when you're, you know, a dependent and you're just kind of free to walk around, do whatever you want to do. And now you're on a military base, but it's not quite that way. Was that a little strange for you?
Speaker 3:it was um it, it was just to the point. It's like dang, are we gonna finish, are we gonna finish, I'm gonna finish. And then it was. I had to get my hair cut because it fell below my collar at the time and I I was like dang, that was my first haircut like that. It was like Ooh.
Speaker 1:But not exactly a beauty salon, there Was it.
Speaker 3:No, it is not, and very different from what you see now. I want to go up to Selfridge and you seen the young ladies in the with ponytails that are long. I was like we didn't do that, we had to pin it up and I get, I get the change, because now the alopecia is a big issue. But it's like, nah, you guys need to go back to the old school at least. Maybe not tighten your ponytail so tight. But it's that structure that was really nice in the uniform and when you see somebody it was a proud moment. To just see somebody in the uniform Now is like we have the men and I was like, okay, but where's the women at? So just to see the women in the old uniforms and the way we were square, square, tight was really nice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, I think I think when you talk so I talked to a lot of veterans, as you know I feel like every generation of veterans looks at the next generation and there's something like oh, they don't do like this, so they don't do that. Or you know that that was way easier. It's so much easier now than it was then. But it's funny because every generation of veterans kind of has that, that outlook, and I think maybe a lot of us we don't like change that much Maybe.
Speaker 3:That is true. But uh, when you look at the women on the Navy side uniform, I would not want to wear those cracker jacks and thank God I didn't have to, but seeing my daughter in it, it's like girl.
Speaker 1:you look like a boy. Well, I think you know women are different than men in certain respects, and I think the uniforms, maybe should reflect that it should yeah absolutely so. Was your A school then in Orlando as well?
Speaker 3:My A school was in San Francisco, treasure Island, so eight weeks wasn't bad. There was an incident where somebody had wanted me to drug mule to New York and I was like I reported it and I was like ooh. So I started walking around with the big old, the white socks, tube socks with quarters in it, cause he actually told when I was passing him and another person, he actually told the person to hit me. I was like I wish you would. But then after that I became a little bit more hypervigilant. So, um, not too bad, but it was. It wasn't the greatest, but we had a good time. Um, too bad, but it wasn't the greatest, but we had a good time. Um, still have a couple of pictures of me behind the typewriter. Couldn't type back then, even going to active duty, I could. Only I wasn't even typing 25 words a minute, which was part of my protocol, right, but now I type over 70 words a minute.
Speaker 1:So like, oh, okay yeah, learn the basics and you're okay. I just want to clarify something for everyone. You said you had the white socks with change in it. That was a sock that had money in it that was knotted up so you could use it as a weapon, correct?
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you weren't walking around with change in your socks.
Speaker 3:Not changing my socks.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I just want to make sure people understood what we were talking about.
Speaker 3:No, my dad always taught me uh, even as a young kid uh, somebody hit you, grab whatever you can and knock the crap out of them. And that was part of defense.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no such thing as a fair fight, right, correct, yeah, use what you can, yeah. So I'm curiously, somebody's just approached you and said hey, did you mind taking drugs back and forth to new york for us?
Speaker 3:they actually did. They didn't say drugs, but they just said, uh, drop stuff off and back and forth to New York for us. They actually did. They didn't say drugs, but they just said drop stuff off and back and forth. So I was like, okay, no, I ain't going to do that. So I did report it because it didn't seem right. I didn't want to tell my dad because my dad would have been up there and come to find out. I'm like my dad. When my daughters got in trouble or somebody was trying to bully them, I would be the first one there and include knocking houses, even though I had a bad knee. My attitude is nah, you're not going to bully my kids or the kids that I around with the bus stop. So still have that momentum of protect, protect and serve.
Speaker 1:Right, so you get to. How long was your A school again?
Speaker 3:A school was eight weeks Okay.
Speaker 1:And you get through that. And then do you get your first assignment? No, I ended up being on the reserve side. It was eight weeks, okay, and you get through that and then do you get your first assignment.
Speaker 3:No, I ended up being on the reserve side. I came in on the reserve mariners program oh, so I went reserve first and then came home for about 30 days and I was like, nah, this ain't gonna happen. Then I went to new york with a guy I was dating. Uh, sat there two months and then I was like, okay, nah, it's time to go on active duty. So I went ahead and went to a recruiter and went active.
Speaker 1:Okay, and they used to have a lot of different programs too, like the Reserve Mariners they had. What was it? The TAR program. They did and all kinds of different things. So then you from New York, you went active duty then.
Speaker 3:I did, but I ended up going back home to be processed out and then went to Florida.
Speaker 1:Okay, alright, and then where did you end up? In Florida.
Speaker 3:In Florida. It was Orlando for boot camp. Once I left boot camp came home and then I went to Norfolk Virginia.
Speaker 1:Okay, alright, so I want to make sure I get the timeline right. So when you went into the reserves, you signed up in the reserve mariner program first. Right, okay, and where did you? So? Where did does that have a basic training then and all that?
Speaker 3:Basic training was Florida, orlando, florida, so you went to. Orlando for the reserve program. Nope, I went to Orlando for boot camp, came home, did about 30 days reserve, okay, and then I went to Norfolk, virginia.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, I just, I was confused.
Speaker 3:I apologize for that.
Speaker 1:No worries, I. It's Monday morning, so probably not your fault. All right, so you end up in Norfolk, virginia, uh, and are you? Uh? Are you on sea duty then, or shore duty? I was shore duty, okay.
Speaker 3:So in fact I ran into my first suicidal veteran back then when I was cleaning out the chapel, just went in there for some reason to do something in there and there was a young man who unfortunately lost his grandmother and he was contemplating suicide. So we talked for a good amount of time, didn't make him come in and I'm not sure what happened to him, but we didn't hear anything bad about anything that happened suicidal-wise. So that was good. So it's kind of funny that now I've been a peer support specialist at the Detroit VA, south Carolina, and I still practice it. So even though I'm not working, I still practice it.
Speaker 3:So now my thing is you know what? Suicide is not an option for us. It is about getting the help that we need, talking it out, because that suicidal thought is just one second or one minute, but by the time you contemplate it to get into doing it it's all over. So the good thing is talk to somebody. So that way sometimes it's talking to people and then we get our own answers. Sometimes it just might be a word or two that they give us that encouragement and to walk us hand, warm us to someone that can actually help us mentally.
Speaker 1:Right, right, which really started out when you were in Norfolk then.
Speaker 3:Correct.
Speaker 1:So how long were you active duty in Norfolk?
Speaker 3:Two years.
Speaker 1:Okay, and so where were you located? Active duty in norfolk, two years. Okay, and where, so where? Where was, where were you located in in norfolk?
Speaker 3:naval station norfolk. Okay, so we were, we had the naval station side and then we had so had the uh ships on the other side of the base okay and then we had naval station, naval air station side, so we had had three sides around us.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now, when I was there, I remember I went to Dam Neck, virginia, for training, which was right across from the Naval Air Station, and at lunch we'd get in our cars and go watch the fighter jets take off and land.
Speaker 3:Which is still amazing to see.
Speaker 1:Oh, yeah, that, and those great big giant. I can't remember what they called those planes, but the huge ones that every time they took off it looked like they were going to run right into the docks, right into the ships, because they were so big the Galaxy, I think, is what it was called and they would, the front end would open up and they would just load all kinds of stuff on them.
Speaker 3:I'm used to the backside yeah, back loaders but in fact actually actually flew on one of my friends. Um, his unit used to be going to tampa and, needless to say, we came back when one one evening and the flight, as soon as we landed, all you hear was a big old boom. And I was like, oh my god, I I've always kept my seatbelt on because I'm somewhat paranoid, especially after I got older, right? But uh, the young lady that was next to me was next to the door that actually fell and she was just walking up and down back and forth while the plane was flying. But as soon as it landed and it went, boom, it was like oof. So I'm still looking to afford to go to space a flight, so I'm looking for another one for those. It would be great. And then, um, other than that it was, it's just a great time being around fellow veterans right, right, so, um.
Speaker 1:So when you got done in norfolk, virginia, though um did is that did you get out then and go into the marine reserve, or how long did you stay on active duty?
Speaker 3:two years active duty total okay.
Speaker 3:Okay, boot camp was two months. Then I went. The rest of it was one month in the reserve and then the rest of it was active duty and then came out of active duty, flew back to San Diego. Then I was married and then husband was at San Diego A couple of ships and then the surface warfare. So went back to San Diego, had my first daughter there, left there, went to Texas, did the reserves in Texas. Um, met some great, amazing people there, left there, went back to San Diego, left San Diego, came to Michigan.
Speaker 1:Actually, so what brought you to Michigan?
Speaker 3:I was married, but my second husband and second daughter's father, um, so he was from here so that he could spend time with our daughter.
Speaker 1:I moved here so was he a military guy. He was okay, so two military guys military guys yeah both, both navy or both navy okay, all right, so you get back to Michigan and then, um so when, when would this have been?
Speaker 3:Uh, the second marriage was what? Uh, wow 2018.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right. And how old are your, your daughters?
Speaker 3:My daughters are 36, 30 and 26.
Speaker 1:Oh, my goodness, yeah. So a little bit of a.
Speaker 3:Spanned.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, they didn't like necessarily grow up together then.
Speaker 3:No, they actually. They actually did it for a certain point. Yeah. But after we got divorced and everybody's on their own little ways and some of them kept some of my mannerisms and some of them just went off. But for me they always know me, as when something happens and you ask, well, do you want me to come up there? Nah, you always go overboard and it's really nope. Let's get the job done the first time so that we don't have to keep going back.
Speaker 1:Right, right. So you said that you spent 18 years in the reserves total.
Speaker 3:I did Okay. And that was all Marine Corps Reserve, all Navy and two, two years on, maybe two to three years on marine side oh, okay, all right.
Speaker 1:And did you? You do the same job that you had been doing, or were you doing something different?
Speaker 3:same job but, uh, collateral duties when the chapel you can't have more than one person at the chapel plus the active duty, because then you get bored right. So I started doing a little bit of the medical. Uh, when I was in san diego I would do the medical and just go do vitals and then I went off to when I got here I was going into PCSD and doing the admin stuff.
Speaker 1:Okay, All right, so keep it busy.
Speaker 3:Keep busy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then when did you finally retire? Did you retire out of the reserves? Then I did.
Speaker 3:March 2nd of 2006.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, so you had a while to wait before you could actually collect that paycheck, right?
Speaker 3:Finally, I can apply for it in June of next year, so December 26th I should be able to collect it.
Speaker 1:Okay, I just started collecting mine this year.
Speaker 3:Lucky you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was a long, because I retired in 2010. Wow yeah, so yeah was a long. X, I retired in 2010. Wow, yeah, so yeah, a little, a little while to wait, but hey, it was worth the wait for sure.
Speaker 3:I'm looking forward to that. Funds Cause it uh, do something else different in my house.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, the nice thing too is with that retirement is um benefits. You know I still get my benefits from the VA, but there's, you know, I can go see a civilian doctor using my TRICARE benefits as well. So lots of great things happen.
Speaker 3:It is you turn 60. It truly is. I actually, when I'm helping veterans with their service connections, I just tell them you know what, especially those that are working at the VA? No, make sure you get your medical before you, before you retire, rather as medical, or you just retire of age and then you keep your blue cross, blue shield, which is what I did when I stopped working at the, when I had an unfortunate medically retired because my migraines, um, I kept my insurance, so I get to go both ways, right.
Speaker 3:But uh, I had a total knee replacement a couple of years ago and, needless to say, I went outside and thank God I went outside.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, there's certain things I think that the civilian doctors do a little bit better.
Speaker 3:Way better.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so when you got to Michigan, did you immediately start working for the VA then?
Speaker 3:I did not. I actually tried to transfer here from the Department of DOD, department of Defense, working at the Naval Medical Center, san Diego, and they never selected me. So unfortunately Allen Park had closed. Then they went over to Detroit and I finally did get in so worked as a peer support specialist and needless to say it's been my also my calling.
Speaker 1:So that's what you've been doing since then.
Speaker 3:Since then, when I had to medically retire, I ended up just before I went medically retired because I became suicidal with my migraines. They were so bad that I was running to ER or fast track over to five days a week, sometimes six days a week. So I stepped down from the peer support specialist and then I went over to the veterans benefit side. So I learned all about the compensations and whatnot and, um, when I had a medically retire, I just uh, try to take care of myself first, try to maintain the migraines and get on some kind of medication that was able to help me, and then from there I uh, from there I medically retire and then I just volunteer.
Speaker 1:Now, Okay, All right. And you um? Were migraines something that you had had, or did this just sort of happen? At some point you started getting them.
Speaker 3:I had them as a kid, and then I had them while I was on active duty but did not know. I forgot about the migraines because I was a kid then, right. But uh, they got more severe while I was on active duty, even and to include when we were doing our PRTs, yeah, and I would have some massive migraines, a massive head issues to where I was even, um, throwing up. So it did take a couple of years for my private doctor to finally say, oh, these are migraines. And then I did not take care of them until 2014, after a car hit me when I was going to the VA for work, and it became every day.
Speaker 3:I was like God, this is crazy. But Michael Wesner, who's a nurse practitioner thank God for him because he would not let me leave that VA until he did a CT of my head and after that I started coming to find out I had pseudotumor cerebrii which was causing me to go blind with papilledema, and I am having to medically retire from that part.
Speaker 1:Okay, all right, and then you just kind of picked up and started volunteering. Then Correct, yeah, and so what do you do in your volunteer role now?
Speaker 3:Rather, if somebody needs some help with their service connections, I just kind of guide them with what the process, correct the verbiage as well as no, that's not right. This is how you do it. And then if they need something, I give them the forms. If I need to tell them to do an intent to file, get their medical records from active duty, get their history of diagnosis from the VA or their medical private practice, and then go see a service officer for the rest of it to implement what they can file for.
Speaker 1:Okay Now do you volunteer for a group or a company, or how does that work?
Speaker 3:Nope, that part is just by itself.
Speaker 1:Okay, but.
Speaker 3:I do volunteer at the Stand Down Southeastern Michigan Veterans Stand Down, which helps veterans navigate stigmas of mental health as well as connect to resources that are available and the VA, as well as the benefit side.
Speaker 1:Okay, and this happens every year.
Speaker 3:Every year Okay.
Speaker 1:Now do they do it in other parts of the state too?
Speaker 3:They do. Actually, they do it around the country, so every place is different depending on who's in charge of it and how the board runs it, but it's pretty much the same purpose to help navigate, increment weather resources available to the veterans connected to the VA, dental as well as the benefit side.
Speaker 1:Because I think a lot of veterans don't realize the benefits that they have earned. I think the other thing, too is this is an interesting question that comes up a lot People don't realize that they're veterans.
Speaker 3:you run into that I do, I do, uh, I've even ran into a gentleman who was a vietnam vet at costco's in livonia. Actually two of them, two of the guys there, one of them he. He actually told me his plan for suicide. Um, so I connected and he, I asked him about a service connection. He told he told me where he was at. I said, well, let's connect you to somebody. I asked him about a service connection. He told me where he was at. I said, well, let's connect you to somebody that can help you with that service connection. And sure enough, he did so. I saw him months later. I forgot what he looked like, but he came to me and said thank you for helping me. And then he told me. So to see him still flourish and navigating and getting connected to the VA and getting help was really amazing.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, va, and getting help was really amazing. Yeah yeah, so you um. So you refer people to the SOS and that sort of thing. You help them with what they're doing, but you also refer them out to uh, uh.
Speaker 3:I did.
Speaker 1:Service officers, that kind of thing. Okay, yeah, I don't mean to jump around, I'm just my brain's going all over the place here.
Speaker 3:But I only refer to people that I know I would trust, because bottom line is, when I'm referring you to somebody and they're not following through on their end or they're not that great that comes back to me. So I still have that pride and that military pride to help my fellow veterans. But make sure that they're not being forgotten or forsaken.
Speaker 1:Right and, as with any group, business or whatever you want to call it, there are people who do a really good job and there are people who don't, and it's important to find the people who do a really good job, and I think, by and large, our VSOs are really out there trying to do a really good job, but, like any other place, a cross section of society, so you really have to do your due diligence.
Speaker 3:Very true, very true I found that out myself.
Speaker 1:So I do want to go. I do want to go back to the veteran thing, though, right, because you know, I think, a lot of people who served in the military I and again we've interviewed almost 120 people now and many times people don't think of themselves as veterans because they served for two years and they never saw combat, or you know all of these other things, but the truth is you're still a veteran.
Speaker 3:Very true Right.
Speaker 1:You might not be able to join the VFW because they have very specific roles, but you're still a veteran and one question I always ask people is did you serve? And I get I get a lot of different answers rather than I just ask if they're a veteran.
Speaker 3:Just from the misconception of what is a veteran like the VA. You have to have two years after duty to go to the VA, right, but if you get a service connection then you could be seen at the VA for that service connection.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Right, I ran into. I just went to Savannah to visit my cousin who's a veteran because she had surgery. So I was her plus one for the surgery. And I ran into another. Her neighbor went to the Sam's Club with me and ran into one of his friends who's service connected, but he didn't put in a lot of stuff. It's like man, no, you qualify for this stuff, apply for it, right. So he allowed me to put his paperwork in through the DAV here and then he has to follow up. Once they do their paperwork he'll follow up in Savannah to get his stuff going.
Speaker 3:But my thing is no, you got to connect the stuff for them because they're not understanding the process and then people will tell them the wrong information. So it's important to know the right, accurate information and if you don't know it, guide them. There are uh different modules on youtube. Kmd89, um duane kimball is one of my favorites and he gives you the resources. Does uh, for he does free classes where you can learn the information and support. So there's veteran programs out here that are supportive.
Speaker 1:Well, and I think, too, that pride plays a role sometimes in people not wanting to apply for benefits, and I think it's important that these are earned benefits. These aren't handouts. You know, this isn't something that if I get my benefits, somebody else doesn't. You know, if you're a veteran and you qualify for these benefits and you've earned them, then you should get them.
Speaker 3:Very true. I had to tell a friend who passed away a couple years back Danny Lin, a Vietnam vet that no, you've earned these and we did get it. By the time just before he passed away we did get his benefits. So now his wife is able to use that benefit. Thank God there's even a nurse, a Korean War veteran nurse, and she wasn't even service-connected. We finally got her up to 90% and she's going to be taking the honor flight coming up in September.
Speaker 1:And so, yeah, those are really cool too. I talked to a lot of veterans who, uh, who, uh, take the honor flight to DC. That's quite an honor.
Speaker 3:Very and as, uh, if you have not been able to go, I actually went as a guardian for a Vietnam vet, um, gail Owens, beautiful person, and, needless to say, um, um, she asked me to go. It was like, hey, no problem, and we've been buddies ever since. We actually were buddies before that, but it was just an experience that was um, you can't even mention it to where the emotions behind it yeah to see the names on the wall.
Speaker 1:So very, very exciting yes, yeah, I've talked to a lot of World War II vets and a lot of Vietnam vets also who have participated in that. It's a really cool thing for veterans to do.
Speaker 3:When we went last year in June it was 150 of us and totally we exagerated. We expelled the hours by hundreds. What was it? 16,000 something hours of all active duty service oh, wow so we had cold war, vietnam, korean, a couple of koreans and then the new age. So really really nice, very nice experience.
Speaker 1:And if anybody wants to, uh, when they go, go up there and just do the goodbye and then receive them when they come back yeah, yeah wow, but the priority right now is their uh korean war veterans and the vietnam vets right, right, and there's a website I think you can go to to find out more about that right correct.
Speaker 3:Every state has it. Um, so you just go to the honor flight in your state and then they should be able to connect you to the resources that you need to get connected to it yeah, so speaking of upcoming resources, right, we were talking about the um southeast michigan, stand down and that's coming up yes, it's coming up september 24th and 25th at the uaw uh region one hall um.
Speaker 3:They're graciously hosting us, so we're going to try to do an excellent service this year. The president is Jeff Devereaux of no Veteran Left Behind and Evan Welch, which is a hand up Both non-profit organizations helping the stand down to run smoothly.
Speaker 1:UAW Region 1 really supports veterans. This is not the first thing I've heard of them doing. They do a lot they do.
Speaker 3:Um, we also. We last, like last year, we had a couple of even from chrysler coming down and bringing backpacks and stuff full of goodies for the veterans. So that was really nice, but uaw, one is awesome because they're actually putting us forward into their buildings and giving us the facility to be able to house our veterans for the day and even feed them, get them the resources that they need and go from there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so if you're a Southeast Michigan veteran, that is going to be September 24th and 25th, from nine to five each day, right, correct?
Speaker 3:And then registration, though, closes at 1 pm, so they got to get there before 1 to register for that day correct, but if there's a veteran that can't get there until a little bit after, if they see um the president, they'll probably let them through you're not going to kick anybody out we're not going to kick anyone out, but as it is a great experience, um, we have a dj playing music who's one of the actually he we come to find out, we actually serve together on the reserve side oh and now he's a police officer at the detroit va, so he's coming down volunteering his services for us.
Speaker 1:Um, just to make it a great time yeah, it sounds like a lot of fun always fun, always fun well, good, so you know, in talking with you, it sounds like so you have this generational service within your family which is, you know, your father served, and then you served, and then you got out and you continued to serve, and so it sounds like you'll be doing this for a while at least, until you just can't anymore.
Speaker 3:Until I can't anymore. And when I have a migraine I just kind of pull back, get the migraine out and then I just keep moving forward.
Speaker 1:Yeah, what do they say? Like, when you're on the plane, you put the mask on yourself first and then you help other people. So, yeah, when you're not feeling it, you got to take care of yourself.
Speaker 3:Very true, I actually call it. It gives me purpose. Yeah sitting in front of the four walls. You get kind of tired of that and that's where the depression sits in. So getting out volunteering, helping somebody else actually helps. I also go to Wayne State Veteran Upward Bound for computer classes. From when I stopped working to current the computer has changed drastically so it's nice just to go up there and it's free for veterans and then some of the students actually go on to college.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, there's all kinds of stuff out there for veterans too. I mean training and social interactions, all kinds of stuff. So we've covered a lot of things in the time that we've been talking. Is there anything we haven't covered that you wanted to talk about?
Speaker 3:We haven't covered. Mvaa, michigan Veterans veterans affairs agency. There's a women's conference coming up in october and those are nice. This this would be the fourth year.
Speaker 3:I went to two of them and they were excellent, nice, different uh things that they had. They had one point they had different uh models of therapy to include non-medication meditation sounding. So which is up here and actually in LA, not LA Lansing. Lansing has their office here where they actually just go and do a sounding to where you're doing little sound drums was really nice, but it gives. Still again, that's for females. And then there's different resources out here to include a women's standout coming up in December in Michigan. So if they go on Eventbrite they can find that information. If you go on to MVAA, you can find out their information and what's available. And if any veteran is not aware of the benefits and somebody else is listening to your podcast, then address them to their state Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and that can guide them to the different resources. There is no reason why we are sitting out here suffering because we don't have to.
Speaker 1:Right, and I know that the Women's Conference has always been something that's really a lot of the female veterans that I used to work with before I retired they would go to that and it was just amazing the stuff that they would bring back from there.
Speaker 3:Very true.
Speaker 1:Yeah. So lots of stuff coming up, lots of stuff going on, and it sounds like you'll be a face amongst all those people serving those people serving. You know, as we kind of wind down our conversation today, I always ask one question before we go, and that question is you know, years from now, if someone's listening to this, listening to kind of your life, your story, the things that you're doing, what would?
Speaker 3:you like them to take away from that. Whether you're a veteran or not, it's about service. Continue to serve someone else that's in need. You don't always have to give them money. Sometimes it's just listening to them. Maybe it might be a resource or connecting them to a resource. So if you hear or see somebody, even a homeless person, kind of guide them to 211, which is a research, it's a resource for information for the. There's also even a site for suicide and it's just getting that veteran connected so that veteran unfortunately does not commit suicide, and get them to the benefits that they need.
Speaker 1:Absolutely All right. Well, thanks for coming out and talking with me today. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 3:No, thank you. I love my fellow veterans and it's a way to just promote what's available for them and hopefully steer someone else into getting out the house and just for a few minutes, just to navigate and socialize with someone else. We don't have to be alone in our homes. We don't have to be silent of what we're going through. Somebody else is going through it and somebody else might have a resource to connect them to the benefits that we can all have earned.
Speaker 1:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
