BY DENNIS HOWLAND, CHAIR

It is with sadness that I report that Ann Sherman Wolcott, former national president of American Gold Star Mothers, died August 8 at age 94.

Many VVA members had the pleasure of meeting Ann Wolcott at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., during ceremonies and events over the years. A Navy veteran herself, she became a Gold Star Mother after losing her son in Vietnam and went on to devote decades to veterans, Gold Star families, and public service.

Wolcott served in several leadership roles with American Gold Star Mothers, including as national president. Through public appearances, advocacy, and community outreach, she worked to raise awareness of the sacrifices made by Gold Star families and to ensure that fallen service members were remembered. She also became a beloved member of the York, Pa., community and a strong veterans advocate.

I did not know Ann Wolcott as well as many of you did, but I had the honor of meeting her twice. She made a lasting impression on me, as she did on many VVA members and staff.

In Public Affairs Committee meetings and here in The VVA Veteran, you have heard me say many times that a strong Public Affairs program can have an impact on every part of our organization. That includes recruiting, fundraising, legislative work, community involvement, and telling VVA’s story to younger generations.

Maintaining a strong image in our communities helps VVA remain a trusted veterans organization, one that veterans and the public can count on for support and reliable information. We are often called on to speak about subjects ranging from history and veterans benefits to our own military service experiences.

That reputation is built when chapters and state councils take the lead in community events or provide volunteers to help make those events successful. If you help out at a few events, you will often find yourself invited to do more. That is a good thing.

Our involvement should not be limited to parades and ceremonial events. VVA also needs to be recognized as a serious and informed voice on veterans issues affecting our communities.

One recent example is the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Freedom Haulers initiative, launched in July to help veterans transition into trucking careers. Among other measures, the initiative expands opportunities for veterans with qualifying military heavy-vehicle experience to bypass redundant commercial driving skills tests and connects veterans with training and employment resources.

Programs such as this show why persistent veterans advocacy and public engagement matter. When veterans organizations keep important issues in front of policymakers, we can help produce practical opportunities for those who served.

Another long-running concern has been the growth of for-profit claims-assistance companies that charge veterans substantial fees for help with VA disability claims. VVA and other veterans organizations have repeatedly warned veterans about using unaccredited companies when free assistance is available through accredited Veterans Service Officers.

In July, Trajector Holdings and 21 affiliated entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Whatever ultimately caused the company’s financial difficulties, continued education about veterans claims services—and about the free assistance available through accredited VSOs—remains important Public Affairs work.

The lesson is simple: Good, consistent Public Affairs programs can produce results. Be proud of the work you do, and keep doing it.

BY DOMINICK YEZZO, CHAIR

PTSD and traumatic brain injury are significant health concerns affecting veterans and service members. The conditions can occur separately or together, and both can have lasting effects on cognition, mood, relationships, employment, and quality of life.

For veterans involved in the justice system, those challenges can be especially difficult. PTSD and TBI may affect emotional regulation, judgment, impulse control, substance use, and a veteran’s ability to function successfully in the community. Justice-involved veterans deserve access to careful evaluation, evidence-based treatment, and continued research into better therapies.

One area receiving increased scientific attention is regenerative medicine. Researchers are investigating whether stem-cell-based therapies might someday help repair some forms of brain injury associated with TBI.

That research is promising, but it remains experimental. No stem-cell treatment is currently approved by the Food and Drug Administration for PTSD or TBI. Stem-cell products intended to treat disease generally require FDA review, and experimental products should be administered only through appropriately authorized research protocols.

The VA is currently supporting research into stem-cell and regenerative approaches to traumatic brain injury, including studies examining whether stem cells can safely reduce inflammation, promote tissue repair, or improve recovery following brain injury. This work is still developing, and much more research will be needed before scientists can determine whether these approaches are safe and effective for veterans.

That distinction is important. Veterans and their families should be cautious about claims that stem-cell treatments have already been proven to cure or substantially improve PTSD or TBI. Experimental treatment should not be confused with established medical care.

The VINJUS Committee believes that this area deserves continued scientific study. We urge Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs to support rigorous, FDA-compliant research at qualified VA, academic, and medical research institutions to determine if stem-cell-based therapies can safely and effectively help veterans with traumatic brain injury.

While regenerative medicine remains in its early stages, responsible research may eventually provide new options for veterans who continue to struggle with the lasting effects of brain injury.

There is reason for hope, but that hope must be guided by sound science.

By GRANT COATES, CHAIR

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced August 5 that U.S. Air Force Col. Walter A. Renelt, 40, of Roberts County, South Dakota, who was lost during the Vietnam War, had been accounted for on June 23, 2025.

Renelt’s family recently received its full briefing on his identification, allowing additional details of his case to be released.

On November 20, 1969, Renelt, an instructor pilot with the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron, was aboard an O-2A Skymaster on a visual reconnaissance mission over Laos when the aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. Bad weather and enemy activity around the crash site prevented ground rescue attempts. Subsequent searches for Renelt and the other crew member, 2nd Lt. John R. Baldridge Jr., were unsuccessful. The Air Force made a presumptive finding of death on July 12, 1973.

Between 1995 and 2022, Department of Defense and Lao government teams conducted numerous Joint Field Activities in an effort to locate Renelt and Baldridge. During a 2022 mission, investigators recovered rank insignia individualized to Renelt.

In May 2025, investigators recovered possible human remains, material evidence, and osseous material from the crash site. DPAA scientists identified Renelt using dental analysis and material evidence.

Walter Renelt was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on August 17. He also is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu and on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., at Panel 16W, Line 103. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate that he has been accounted for.

As of September 1, DPAA lists 1,565 Americans as still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War: Vietnam—1,232; Laos—278; Cambodia—48; and territorial waters of the People’s Republic of China—7. These figures may change as investigations refine the locations and circumstances of individual losses.

VVA’s Veterans Initiative Program continues the mission. Your help is needed.

Objects taken from the battlefields of Vietnam are more than souvenirs or war trophies. Maps, stories, after-action reports, photographs, and military items may contain information that can help American and Vietnamese researchers identify missing war dead or locate their remains.

Please contact the Veterans Initiative at:
Veterans Initiative Program
Vietnam Veterans of America
8719 Colesville Rd., Suite 100
Silver Spring, MD 20910
vi@vva.org

By GUMERSINDO GOMEZ, CHAIR

As Chair of the VVA Minority Affairs Committee, I feel it is my duty to explain my support for Mission 75 from the perspective of a minority veteran.

I retired from the military on July 31, 1986, and joined VVA three months later.

It took me time during those first few years to adjust to civilian life and to become comfortable as a member of a veterans organization. As I came to understand VVA, I also came to understand the importance of minority leadership within the organization and the need for greater representation. I made myself a promise that I was going to stay involved and make a difference.

Over the years, I have been fortunate to serve as President of Chapter 866, President of the Massachusetts State Council, an At-Large member of the VVA National Board for the past 10 years, and Chair of this committee.

In 1987, I helped establish what became the Bilingual Veterans Outreach Centers of Massachusetts. Since then, the centers and VVA have worked hand in hand to help veterans and their families obtain the benefits they have earned. Our VVA Benefits program, supervised by retired Marine Lt. Col. Steven Schultze, has become one of VVA’s strongest service programs, with 18 Veterans Service Officers working full time in outreach centers across Massachusetts.

What does this have to do with my support for Mission 75? For the last 39 years, our outreach centers have served veterans of every era and their families. Today, most of the veterans coming to us for help are not Vietnam War veterans. The majority served after 1975, including veterans of the Persian Gulf War, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and other periods of service.

Last year, our VSOs brought more than $58 million in VA benefits to Massachusetts veterans and their families. According to our program figures, 96 percent of those benefits went to post-1975 veterans, including many minority veterans and families.

That experience is one reason I support Mission 75. The proposal would open VVA membership to qualifying post-1975 veterans and allow us to continue our legacy of service to future generations. It would help keep our founding principle, “Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another,” a practical reality for years to come.

I ask that you consider supporting Mission 75 and let your VVA leaders know where you stand. Our legacy is in our service to others.

By DICK SOUTHERN, CHAIR

As of July 31, VVA had 93,908 members. By the time you read this column, VVA membership may have surpassed 94,000, an all-time high.

The Membership Affairs Committee is here to support members in their recruitment efforts for VVA. As a membership organization, we have a profound impact on the lives of veterans and their families by advocating for legislation that protects the benefits they have earned through military service. Our Veterans Service Officers are skilled at helping veterans file claims with the VA. Our members also make a difference in their communities through charitable work and volunteerism.

VVA is currently gaining about 200 new members a month while membership declines by about 100 a month through deaths and other attrition. The average number of members in a chapter is now 129, and we are always looking to start new chapters. We achieved our ambitious goal of 93,000 members in 2025 through the concerted efforts of VVA members and leaders at the local, state, and national levels.

VA’s VetPop2023 model estimated that approximately 5.2 million Vietnam War veterans were living as of September 30, 2024. While not all fall within VVA’s current membership eligibility dates, the figure underscores the importance of continued outreach to eligible veterans who may not yet know about VVA or the benefits of membership.

At $50, a VVA life membership is an exceptional value. Many prospective members may simply be waiting for your invitation to join Vietnam Veterans of America as life members.

If you have any questions or need help with membership matters, please email me at dick.southern@gmail.com.

By TOM HALL

For some Vietnam War veterans, the war did not end when they came home. Nearly five decades later, many still live with nightmares, anger, trouble sleeping, painful memories, anxiety, depression, and a persistent feeling of being on guard.

Treatments such as talk therapy and medications have helped many veterans. While these treatments have improved over the years, not everyone has found relief. Some veterans have lived with chronic PTSD for decades. It is important that we continue the research and not give up hope that better treatments may be found.

With that hope in mind, the VA and other federal agencies have recently taken a closer look at psychedelic and other emerging medicines.

In July, the VA and the Department of Health and Human Services announced a partnership to expand research, train health care professionals, and prepare for the possible future use of psychedelic therapies if they receive FDA approval.

In August, the VA launched a study of psilocybin for veterans with treatment-resistant major depression. Some participants may also have PTSD. The trial is taking place at VA facilities in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Portland, Oregon; Philadelphia; and Seattle.

The VA says the treatment will be administered in controlled clinical settings using pharmaceutical-grade drugs, stringent safety procedures, and psychological support.

The VA also is studying MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with both PTSD and alcohol use disorder. That study is based at the VA Providence Medical Center in Rhode Island, with veterans recruited through VA Providence and the VA Connecticut Healthcare System.

Ibogaine has also been attracting scientific and federal attention, although it is not part of the VA trials described above. A small observational study involving 30 Special Operations veterans with traumatic brain injury found substantial improvements in PTSD, depression, anxiety, and functioning after magnesium-assisted ibogaine treatment. The findings are promising, but controlled clinical trials are still needed. Ibogaine also can carry serious heart risks.

All of this research is encouraging. At the same time, we need to be careful about what these studies mean. They do not prove that psychedelic medicines cure PTSD. They show that researchers believe these treatments are worth studying seriously.

We also need to listen to veterans who have undergone these treatments. If a veteran says something helped—or did not help—after years of suffering, that experience matters.

Good research still has to ask an important question: What actually caused the improvement?

Was it the medicine itself? Was it the therapy that came with it? Was it finally being able to talk about something that had been buried for many years? Was it the support of other people, or the hope that this new treatment would work?

In some cases, improvement may result from more than one of these factors. That is why controlled research is so important. Veterans deserve to know what works, how well it works, how long the improvement lasts, and what risks may come with it.

Age also matters. Many Vietnam War veterans are now in their 70s and 80s and may be taking medications for heart conditions, blood pressure, pain, sleep problems, or other health concerns. Any new treatment has to be considered with those factors in mind.

If this is an issue you care about, let your members of Congress know. Tell them you support continued, careful research into psychedelic-assisted treatments for PTSD and other conditions affecting veterans. Veterans have waited a long time for better answers, and their voices should be part of deciding which research receives attention and support.

The important thing is not to give up hope.

Hope is important. Good science is just as important. Veterans deserve both.

By GARY ESTERMYER, CHAIR

The VB Committee last met in April, but we continue to take positive steps in accomplishing our goals of advocating for veterans and helping them receive the VA benefits they have earned and deserve. We continue our working relationship with Veterans’ Voice of America, which now includes veteran Powers of Attorney in twelve regional offices. In June, VVoA totaled just over 10,000 awards, which produced nearly $29 million in benefits. Total benefits YTD are more than $253 million.

On the National level, we currently serve 57,017 active Powers of Attorney and manage 4,330 active claims. Our team of 254 accredited VSOs has secured more than $1 billion in benefits for veterans and their family members. These benefits include compensation, pensions, education, employment assistance, stable housing, and DIC benefits for surviving spouses.

On the legislative front, the VVA Benefits Department continues to work with the Government Affairs Department on multiple current issues such as the Take Care of America’s Veterans Act and the Freund v. Collins class action settlement. While the former has been labeled as a give-and-take piece of legislation, it is hoped that a compromise can be reached and it will be enacted into law. The Freund v. Collins case seeks to correct improperly closed disability appeals.

Our partnership with the Bergmann & Moore law firm remains strong and we have engaged with their advanced-level VSO training program. This new program helps ensure that our VSOs continue to receive the VA and VVA training they need to provide top-tier representation to veterans and their families.

By CHUCK ODOM, CHAIR

I hope everyone who attended the Leadership & Education Conference enjoyed the seminars and presentations and learned new and useful ways to better serve their states and chapters. Hats off to the planners and staff for a first-class meeting.

We are halfway through our budget year and are still maintaining a balanced budget. The Cost Center Managers are doing a great job ensuring that they stay within the parameters of their budgets. We also need to remember that revenue must keep pace with expenses. If revenue declines while expenses increase, we must look closely at our expense lines and identify areas where costs can be reduced. That may include using virtual meetings when appropriate instead of incurring unnecessary travel expenses.

The Finance Committee is reviewing the external audit and will present the findings to the Board of Directors at the appropriate time. We also are reviewing VVA’s contracts to confirm which agreements remain active and to identify any automatic renewals that may be generating unnecessary expenses.

We also are reviewing recommendations from our investment advisers regarding the appropriate mix of investment vehicles to maximize returns.

Several chapters have asked whether their budgets can be increased during the current fiscal year, and the answer generally is no. The budget is set and finalized by a vote of the Board of Directors by March 1 of each fiscal year. In extenuating circumstances, a request may be submitted to the Finance Committee and then forwarded to the Officers for consideration. Such requests, however, would be rare.

Thanks to all the Finance Committee members who diligently review our financial reports. We also appreciate the sage advice and assistance that VVA Treasurer Dottie Barickman provides.

See you in October.

By STEVE WILLIAMS, CHAIR

What does “legacy” mean to us? Simply put: We are preserving the past for the future.

The VVA Historic Preservation Task Force, formerly known as the Legacy Task Force, is working to gather the materials that make up VVA’s history and make sure the organization’s work and the experiences of its members are preserved for future generations.

The Task Force includes VVA’s National Officers and the National office departments that have a direct impact on this effort, including legal, accounting, communications, fundraising, government affairs, and other staff support. I want to thank all of them in advance for helping with the daunting task before us.

A couple of months ago, I received a phone call from VVA President Tom Burke asking me if I would be willing to chair the Task Force. My first reaction was to ask myself: Am I qualified to do a great job as chairman?

I quickly said yes.

I said yes because Vietnam Veterans of America has given me a real purpose and a responsibility to be proud of. As a younger member, I want to stand with VVA, if God allows me, and help preserve the honor, integrity, sacrifices, suffering, and individual experiences so many of you have shared with me.

I try to speak with as many veterans as I can. I want to assure you that we will complete our mission, and we will do it right.

In a short period of time, I have been brought up to speed by current and former Task Force members, and we are making real progress.

In June, I traveled to Silver Spring for a meeting with several staff members. Dr. Phil Napoli joined us, along with Princeton University archivist Dr. Dan Linke. Also taking part were Marc Leepson, VVA Communications Director Mokie Porter, The VVA Veteran editor Sean Venables, and Finance Director Anthony Powell by telephone.

Dr. Linke walked us through some of the details involved in completing an archival effort of this size. We also learned from Anthony that we were in decent shape when it came to preserving accounting records, which made me incredibly pleased.

We toured the National office to get a realistic idea of the volume of work ahead of us. In the basement storage area, we found many records and other items that will have to be reviewed. We estimated that there are approximately sixty banker boxes of records, along with several other items for which we will need to find an appropriate home.

Our intention now is to determine more precisely how much material we have, conduct some test programs with chapters, and, most importantly, find an appropriate repository for the information and materials we collect.

We are not asking chapters or state councils to remove materials they already have placed with established archives. That issue came up in the case of the Michigan State Council, and we do not want to disrupt existing agreements.

We do, however, need to know about those arrangements. If your chapter or state council has donated materials to a local historical society, university, library, archive, or other repository, please let us know. That information is part of VVA’s history, too.

We also plan to establish a page on VVA’s website that can point researchers and members to the VVA archival collections we know about.

We are developing a test inventory form that will be sent to State Council Presidents for distribution. It will help state councils and chapters determine what types of materials should be identified and preserved.

For now, please do not send materials to the Task Force until we provide instructions. The magnitude of this project could quickly become overwhelming if materials begin arriving before we have a system in place to receive and process them.

Another important part of this effort will be preserving the VVA experiences of our members, past and present. We are creating an interview question sheet that chapters can use to conduct short oral-history interviews with their members. Questions will include such things as your name, when and where you served, why you joined VVA, what you have done in VVA, and other questions about your experiences with the organization.

We want to capture your emotions along with those experiences.

The purpose of these interviews, however, is not to collect stories about your military service. Those stories are important, and there are other places specifically designed to preserve them, including the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

For this project, after a brief summary of your military service, we want to concentrate on your VVA story: Why did you join? What did VVA mean to you? What did you do in your chapter, state council, or at the national level? What did you and your fellow members accomplish?

Completed interviews will be sent through the State Council Presidents and forwarded to the Task Force according to instructions we will provide. Together, these personal histories can become an invaluable resource for researchers and future generations.

I also will be traveling to The Vietnam Center and Sam Johnson Vietnam Archive at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, where VVA already has archival materials. I want to find out exactly what VVA materials are there, how they are being preserved, and whether it may be possible to add to that collection. The visit also will help us better understand the options available to the Task Force as we determine the best home for VVA’s historical records.

In closing, I want everyone to know that our Task Force takes the meaning of “legacy” to heart.

We want future generations to know, understand, and value what VVA and its members experienced, endured, and accomplished. We want them to learn from our past. Properly preserved, this history will be a gold mine for generations to come.

Personally, I thank you in advance for your cooperation and for helping us preserve our history.

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