State lawmakers to host, attend Veterans Day events
Oklahoma veterans and the most recent Medal of Honor winner are planning to share their experiences with the public at events sponsored by federal lawmakers and the VA Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Veterans Day is Monday. U.S. Army Master Sgt. Matthew O. Williams, who received the Medal of Honor on Oct. 30 at the White House, is set to appear Friday morning at Putnam City West High School. Williams, of North Carolina, received the nation's highest combat honor for his heroism during fierce fighting in the Battle of Shok Valley in 2008 in Afghanistan.
U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is scheduled to appear with Williams at the high school. Gov. Kevin Stitt met with Williams, a Green Beret weapons specialist, on Wednesday.
“Master Sgt. Williams selflessly braved enemy fire in order to successfully save the lives of his fellow comrades,” Stitt said.
“His heroic actions, leadership and bravery are inspiring and we are so proud to thank him for continuing to faithfully serve our country.”
U.S. Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Oklahoma City, is hosting a town hall meeting at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Chase Auditorium at the VA Medical Center at 921 NE 13 Street.
Horn said the idea was to “allow those who served and those who cared for them to create a better understanding of what it means for veterans to serve and the experience of coming back.”
“We've got a number of veterans who are going to be in attendance and sharing their stories.”
Horn's district, which includes most of Oklahoma County and Pottawatomie and Seminole counties, has 50,560 veterans, which is about 8.3% of the population, a Horn spokesman said, citing U.S. Census Bureau figures.
Horn has hired three veterans for her staff, primarily to handle veterans issues, including problems encountered trying to navigate federal programs.
Already this year, Horn's office has helped with 125 cases involving the Veterans Administration. And the staff frequently fields calls from veterans about health care, including mental health.
The office has helped “veterans in crisis, where we have literally kept them on the phone and connected them to the services they need to help support them through a crisis,” Horn said.
According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, veterans who joined the military after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are “more likely than their predecessors to bear some of the physical and psychological scars of combat.”
“Roughly half ( 47%) of post- 9/ 11 veterans say they had emotionally traumatic or distressing experiences related to their military service, compared with one-quarter of pre9/11 veterans,” according to Pew's survey.
“About a third (35%) of post- 9/ 11 veterans say they sought professional help to deal with those experiences, and a similar share say that — regardless of whether they have sought help — they think they have suffered from post-traumatic stress.”
Dr. Dutch Doerman, psychologist with the Substance Treatment and Recovery Program at the Oklahoma City VA Health Care System, will be the guest speaker at 1:30 p.m. Friday in the Medical Center's Health Wing as part of a Veterans Day observance.
A reception and visits to the patient wards will follow immediately after the remarks, according to a spokeswoman for the center.
U. S. Sen James Lankford, R-Oklahoma City, is scheduled to give the opening prayer at a Veterans Day ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday at 1900 SE 4th Street in Moore. Later that day, again in Moore, he will speak at the dedication of a bridge named for U.S. Army 1st Lt. Damon Leehan, who was killed in 2011 in Afghanistan.
In remarks in the Senate on Wednesday, Lankford said, “On this Veterans Day, I'll pause at a bridge in Oklahoma with a family as the name of the bridge transitions to the Damon Leehan Bridge in remembrance of an Oklahoman, that, in 2011 died in Afghanistan protecting our freedom.
“Our veterans don't ask for our thanks, but we can't give them thanks enough for what they and their families have done to keep this great nation secure.”