Van Curaza (R) Operation Surf saved Bobby Lane’s life. Surfing saved Van Curaza’s life. Together, they are helping to rebuild and save other lives. Operation Surf is the subject of the award winning documentary “Resurface”. Bobby said he wanted to serve with the best, so he became a Marine. Serving in Iraq, his platoon suffered five roadside bomb attacks in the span of 11 days. Bobby was exposed to all of them but was so committed to the [...]
Bill Hutton, Sr. V.P. Purple Heart Foundation The Purple Heart is awarded to military members wounded or killed in any action against an enemy of the United States or as a result of an act of any such enemy or opposing armed forces. It is the oldest military award still presented to US Service members. This week we discuss the Purple Heart Foundation and Purple Heart Wines– a unique and delicious fundraising initiative of the C. Mondavi and [...]
On Independence Day weekend two guests remind our listeners that Freedom isn’t Free. Both are representatives of the Folds of Honor foundation and both have made sacrifices for the freedom we celebrate this weekend. One lost a leg and the other lost her husband. Major Ed Pulido Major Ed Pulido is the Folds of Honor Senior Vice President. He is a 19 year Army Veteran and on August 17th 2004 hit an IED in Iraq. Ed made a [...]
Deb Martinez-Garibay is an Army Reservist with a passion for helping Veterans. Deb shares additional information and background on just a few of the projects with which she is involved. She emphasized that no matter the program, they all need volunteers and support in the form or monetary or in-kind contributions. Team RWB Team RWB seeks to enrich the lives of America’s Veterans by connecting them to their community through physical and social activity. They have chapters in 87 communities [...]
Pima Air Museum Director Scott Marchand, Sean & Tiffanie Denlinger, Rick Felker. Pima Air and Space Museum is the world’s largest non-government funded air museum. This week our Nova Home Loans remote broadcast took us to the Pima Air and Space Museum to learn more about their programs and talk with one of their volunteers who flew some of the aircraft on display. Pima hosts over 300 historical aircraft on 80 acres and in several hangars. Some of [...]
The mission of Folds of Honor is to provide educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service members. To date they have awarded over 12,000 scholarships. Kevin Cummings serves at the President of the Phoenix Chapter of Folds of Honor. He never served in the military but has had a great number of mentors who are Veterans. He first learned about Folds of Honor through his sister and her husband who were involved with the Minnesota [...]
As a Tucson Police officer, Charles Foley noticed 32 poles without a flag in one small downtown area. Now he has made it his mission to assure that our national colors are available to every site that needs one. In 2015, Foley co-founded “Flags for the Flagless” along with fellow police officer and 20 year army Veteran Bradley Clark. So far, they have raised hundreds of donated flags at locations all across the USA. Credit: Arizona Daily Star Foley’s [...]
Just in time for the holidays we check back in with Vet Tix, one of our favorite national military & Veteran support organizations. Joining us for the broadcast is Marine and Vet Tix Chief Strategy Officer Steve Weintraub. Vet Tix is a non-profit that has given away over 2,560,015 event and attraction tickets in all 50 US States and Washington DC. They are ranked among the nation’s top non-profits with over 96% of their donated funds going directly to support [...]
Colonel David Sutherland is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Easter Seals Dixon Center for Military and Veterans services. He is an Army Veteran who has led men in combat, earning a Purple Heart, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Ranger Tab. His last post was as Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and he also served as Director of the Warrior and Family Support Office at the Pentagon. It was in this role [...]
A conversation with a National Guardsman in an ice cream parlor inspired Darden Smith and his friend Radney Foster to write the song “Angel Flight”. This haunting song soon became an internet sensation and led to the foundation of a very unique service organization that helps Veterans cope by expressing their feelings through song. On September 17, 2008 a Chinook helicopter from the Texas National Guard General Support Aviation Battalion – call sign Red River 44 – was one of [...]