RANGER – Big things are coming for Big Country Veterans.
“I don't think there is much that's coming down that's going to be more profound than what the PACT Act is going to be doing,” James Douglas said. “It's very comprehensive.”
Douglas is the associate director for the Veterans Administration’s West Texas Health Care System. On Saturday, he was the keynote speaker for the 15th anniversary of the Ranger Vietnam Memorial and used the opportunity to educate his audience about the benefits coming their way.
The Sergeant First Class (SFC) Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act, or PACT Act as it is known by shorthand, is expected to be signed this week by President Joe Biden. According to the VA, more than 3.5 million Veterans could've been exposed to toxic materials while serving overseas.
A PACT with Veterans
During military action in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was common to dispose of debris by digging a large hole, piling the refuse within and setting it on fire. Some of these burn pits were reported to be the size of Olympic swimming pools.
Without a landfill, just about anything would go into these pits. Plastics, rubber, human waste, carcasses, you name it. Often those pits burned for days.
Outside of that, there are still Vietnam Veterans living with a range of health problems caused by the defoliant Agent Orange. Add on the myriad other chances for exposure to toxic substances while serving and you can see how military life can be hazardous even for those not in a combat zone.
Michael Crouse, the executive director of the Waco Veterans Affairs Regional Office, described how the PACT Act will change the game for those Veterans affected by toxins.
“The biggest crux of this is it will open more gateways for those folks that were potentially exposed to toxins, where future or current healthcare conditions can be recognized and treated by VA,” he said.
Remembering the fallen and those who served
The Ranger memorial was dedicated August 4, 2007, with the inscribed names of nearly 200 Veterans who served during the Vietnam era, either in-country or stationed elsewhere.
Set aside on its own is the name of the only Ranger native killed in action during Vietnam, Marine Larry Joe Rogers, who died March 17, 1968 and received the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his actions.
“That’s my uncle,” Amanda Ponce de Leon said. “He manned a machine gun for his platoon for 10 minutes. Everyone in his platoon was able to get out except for him.
“From what I was told, he was the only one from Ranger to not come back alive.”
She held a photograph of an elderly woman - her grandmother Virgie Horton - in a chair flanked by two Marines in dress uniforms 15 years earlier when the memorial was dedicated. Sept. 4 will mark a year since her death.
"She was a Gold Star mom, she lost her son," Ponce de Leon said. "But she was proud of her son, even though he didn't come home, and loved anything to do with the Marines.
"And that meant a lot to me, you know?"
Remembering their buddies
Larry Monroe and his friend Joel Jimenez both grew up in Ranger, shipping off to Vietnam as young men.
Years later, with a plot of land along East Loop 254 sitting mostly idle, they were able to convince the city to create the memorial to honor the city’s Vietnam Veterans.
Monroe is also a member of the Disabled Veterans of America. His group, along with the Abilene Vet Center, also wanted to use the event to get the word out to Veterans about the benefits that are not only coming their way in the near future, but also the ones available to them right now.
“A lot of a lot of information they don't get in these rural areas, it was brought here today,” he said. “They came to a rural community to help us.”
A common problem for many Veterans is their own reluctance to participate in the VA system. According to Monroe, many think that when they file a claim, or look for some other kind of help, that they’re trying to get a hand-out.
“They’re not. If you're a Veteran, you earned that. Get your picture taken, get an ID card and get in the system,” he said. “The more people that file for what they really earned and deserved, the more money (VA) gets to help us.”
He added that any Veteran who hasn’t registered with VA needs to make sure their DD-214, the document stating they were discharged from the military, is copied and preferably registered in that Veteran’s county courthouse. You can’t do anything with VA without having proof of that document, and that includes military funerals.
VA to grow with Abilene
Abilene is set to experience notable growth in the coming years and according to Douglas, the VA is preparing to meet that moment.
As a Veteran using the VA Clinic next door to Target on Ridgemont Dr., I can tell you that while the care has been excellent, the space has lately begun to feel a little cramped.
“It is tight, you're absolutely right,” Douglas admitted. “So that building, it's a little over 11,000 square feet. We've got six Primary Aligned Care teams crammed in there.”
Currently there is a bid out for VA to build a new 28,000 square-foot facility at a site yet to be determined in Abilene. The clinic will then utilize both buildings as they prepare for their next move.
“We're going to get back to the table and talk about what our true need is in the Abilene market, because I think it's going to be something much bigger than the 28,000 and 11,000 combined,” Douglas said.
'Volume, volume, volume'
When the architecture and infrastructure review committee was stood up to assess the VA, Douglas said they noted VA was already occupying their three fastest-growing markets; San Angelo, Odessa-Midland and Abilene. Of those, the Key City is projected to grow the quickest.
To that end, Douglas preached “Volume, volume, volume” during his remarks.
“If you qualify for VA health care, I think we have a responsibility to get in and keep growing those numbers,” he said.
“A lot of Veterans don't know what is actually available for them out there, our doors are open. We want to actually serve Veterans, their family members and survivors out there.,” Crouse said.
Ronald Erdrich is the photojournalist and a columnist for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
“Yeah, there's been so much change going on within VA for the better over the last 10-15 years,” Douglas added. “People who have sworn off going to VA, Veterans; I wish they'd come back in and give us another try.”
{jcomments on}