FOCUS FOR THEIR SERVICE

Because today is Veterans Day, we take a look at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on its 100th anniversary, the USO on its 80th anniversary and at some stats of our more than 19.5 million U.S. vets

Benefits for veterans have roots back to 1636, when the Pilgrims passed a law that stated that disabled soldiers would be supported by the colony.

There were pensions and medical care given to enlistments during the Revolutionary War, Civil War and all military conflicts with a variety of agencies and charities supporting our service members. But it wasn't until the end of World War I, in 1921, that Congress established the Veterans Bureau (now known as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs), by consolidating the administration and functions of three separate agencies.

The three main agencies in the VA today are the Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery Administration. Some dates concerning the VA: 1921: Veterans Bureau established. 1924: World War I Veterans Act furnished hospitalization to veterans. 1931: Veterans Administration formed (changed to Veterans Affairs in 1989) combining Veterans Bureau, Pension Bureau and National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers. 1940s: Work with schools of social work in placing students at Veterans Affairs facilities for field work. 1943: Public Law 16 provided rehabilitation for disabled veterans. 1944: GI Bill signed into law 1946: Public Law 293 reorganized Veterans Affairs and established Special Medical Advisory Group. Social Work Advisory Council established. 1973: Veterans Affairs assumed responsibility of the National Cemetery System (except for Arlington National Cemetery). 1989: Veterans Administration renamed Veterans Affairs and given a seat in the president's cabinet.

80 years of the USO

In 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to unite several service associations into one organization to lift the morale of our military and nourish support on the home front. Those entities – the Salvation Army, Young Men's Christian Association, Young Women's Christian Association, National Catholic Community Services, National Travelers Aid Association and the National Jewish Welfare Board – became the United Service Organizations. The USO has remained busy during pandemic. It facilitated 96 USO MVP events in 2020 which are online events with celebrities to the nation's military communities. The 2020 events were viewed with more than 31,000 attendees. The USO has been delivering care packages since World War II and formally launched USO Care Package program in 2003. The 3 millionth care package was delivered last November to a service member in East Africa. What's in a care package? It's basically snack packs and toiletry packs with hygiene essentials. To help lift the spirits of our service members and their families you can donate to the USO at USO.org. Tax-deductible donations to the USO can be made by calling 800-876-7469. The USO is a nonprofit, charitable corporation chartered by Congress that relies on donations.

The Department of Veterans Affairs spends the fifth most of all federal agencies, accounting for 5% of federal spending. VA expenditures have almost tripled in the past 20 years, from $70 billion in fiscal year 2000.

Bob Hope, above, broadcast his first USO show on the radio for service members on May 6, 1941, at March Field in Riverside. From that first show, Hope would go on to entertain the troops for nearly 50 years. "Believe me when I say that laughter up at the front lines is a very precious thing — precious to those grand guys who are giving and taking the awful business that goes on there. There's a lump the size of Grant's Tomb in your throat when they come up to you and shake your hand and mumble 'Thanks.' Imagine those guys thanking me! Look what they're doin' for me. And for you." — Bob Hope