Rockefeller Honors Veterans Through Historic “Take a Veteran to School Day”
Senator Rockefeller’s Homepage; PR Newswire; States News Service
November 10, 2008
Clarksburg, W.Va. – Senator Jay Rockefeller today joined with Randy Pleva, a
West Virginia veteran and national president of Paralyzed Veterans of America,
for an historic event – “Take a Veteran to School Day” – to mark Veterans Day
and honor the state’s 178,000 veterans.
“West Virginians have proudly and in great numbers served, and continue to
serve, in our nation’s Armed Forces,” Rockefeller said. “We’re so proud of these
men and women who represent the very best of our Mountain State. And that’s why
it’s so important to connect our veterans with West Virginia’s young people – so
they know the pivotal role veterans have played in the history and security of
our state, our country, and the world.”
Rockefeller and Pleva addressed a group of juniors and seniors at Robert C. Byrd
High School in Clarksburg and also took questions from the students. Journalism
students from West Virginia University were also in attendance and are filming
oral histories with West Virginia veterans, including Randy Pleva, for the
Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress – which includes first-hand
recollections from veterans.
“Take a Veteran to School Day” is a statewide educational awareness project and
is being sponsored by the History Channel and the West Virginia Cable Television
Association, led by local operator, Time Warner Cable. Rockefeller hopes this
project will encourage more young people to be inspired to speak with veterans
in their families and communities.
Rockefeller, the senior member of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, has
a long history of fighting to make sure veterans have the benefits, health care
and support they need and earned by their service. In fact, the Department of
Veterans Affairs invests nearly $1 billion in West Virginia each year in health
care services and benefits for veterans. The Senator also hosts regular
roundtables across West Virginia with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, and
speaks frequently with veterans from previous wars, to discuss the issues
they’re facing and how he can best serve them in Washington.
For more information on Take a Veteran to School Day, visit:
www.veteransinwv.com. Also, any West
Virginian can participate and submit an oral history of a veteran to the Library
of Congress for its history project. Instructions and recommendations are
available at the Library of Congress Web site:
http://www.loc.gov/vets
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