Lynn C. Woolsey: “back in my district this past weekend, I had an extraordinary meeting with a group of veterans, many of them from Alpha…”

“back in my district this past weekend, I had an extraordinary meeting with a group of veterans, many of them from Alpha Company 579th Engineering Battalion who have recently returned from a tour in Iraq. During their deployment, this National Guard unit of 88 mostly California soldiers lost 3 comrades; 23 were wounded in action. And they also received 26 Purple Hearts, eight Bronze Stars and one Meritorious Service Medal. Saturday's town meeting was not about my position on the war or anybody else's. We were there to provide information about the services and benefits available to returning soldiers. We had the VA regional director as well as a local vice chairman from a group called Employment Support for the Guard and Reserve. One of our speakers was the National Managing Director of Helmet to Hardhats, an organization that helps place veterans in construction jobs. The administrator from the largest veterans home in the country in Yountville, California, was there. And we heard from a man who started a nonprofit called Welcome Home Heroes devoted simply to treating an Iraq or Afghanistan veteran to a night out with his or her family at a nice restaurant. For so many soldiers, the return from the battlefield is just the beginning of their ordeal. There are those who have been wounded or mentally traumatized or both and must learn to cope with a life- altering condition.…”