Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Veterans

Colorado vets go through hundreds of unclaimed cremated remains to give comrades dignified memorial
Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado vets go through hundreds of unclaimed cremated remains to give comrades dignified memorial

By Kevin Simpson | The Colorado Sun A motorcycle escort rumbled slowly along the pavement that cuts through meandering rows of identical white headstones at Denver’s Fort Logan National Cemetery, making its way toward a pavilion where dozens of military veterans converged under a brilliant late April sky for a long-overdue rite. While bagpipes played, 13 men in crisp white dress shirts beneath black vests bearing patches signifying their military affiliations each accepted a wooden box unloaded from the back of a hearse. Solemnly cradling them in white gloves, some with trembling hands, they delivered sets of cremated remains to a table. Once the boxes had been laid in a row, a folded American flag next to each, uniformed onlookers snapped a salute. The bagpipes quieted and speake...
Bill declaring Women Veterans Appreciation Day on June 12 headed to Gov. Polis
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Bill declaring Women Veterans Appreciation Day on June 12 headed to Gov. Polis

By BRIAN PORTER | Rocky Mountain Voice A bill led by Eastern Colorado legislators will declare a Women Veterans Appreciation Day, if signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis. House Bill 1236 cleared the Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee without objection last week and Monday earned unanimous support of the Colorado Senate. "There's a lot of reasons why we need to celebrate women veterans," said Sen. Byron Pelton, a co-prime sponsor of the legislation in the Colorado Senate. "Being a veteran myself, I know the difference of treatment of myself and those I served with that happen to be female." The bill establishes June 12 as Women Veterans Appreciation Day in Colorado. The other prime sponsors of the bill were Rep. Richard Holtorf and Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer. Th...
Disabled American Veterans facing statewide shortage of vehicles, drivers to take veterans to VA appointments
Approved, Rocky Mountain Voice, State

Disabled American Veterans facing statewide shortage of vehicles, drivers to take veterans to VA appointments

By BRIAN PORTER | The Rocky Mountain Voice Veterans from the distant regions of the Western Slope to the Eastern Plains are met with a challenge in order to receive medical treatment. There are three Veterans Affairs medical centers serving the state, and only one actually in the state. Many veterans take appointments in Cheyenne, Wyo., and others in Albuquerque, N.M. That often means transportation is needed, even to get to an appointment at the Denver location. The solution is Colorado’s Disabled American Veterans’ transportation program, but there exists a shortage of vehicles and drivers. “We just purchased five more vehicles and at least three will need to go to Northeast Colorado,” said Benito Gonzales, adjutant and treasurer for the Colorado DAV. “These new vehicles repl...