in Pitt Football 880 Words

Veterans Day 2019 PSA

My good friends. Mike was gracious to allow me some space to share some Veterans Day info with you – and hopefully you will share these bits with anyone you know who is a veteran themselves.

I was asked to be the keynote speaker for three separate Veterans Day ceremonies this last week – I put together a not-too-long speech for those gatherings and it is posted below – I’ve delivered it two times in the last three days and will once more tomorrow at a rather large gathering – its been pretty well received so far (fingers crossed for the last one).  Here is the speech and one of the flyers:

You can tell I got pretty choked up at the end there – this stuff hits home hard sometimes.

Vet 1

Vet 2.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are tons of opportunities for anyone who wants to get involved with volunteering with Veterans issues and  with today’s military. Currently I’m working with two different hospices to provide ‘End of Life Recognition” ceremonies. That entails going to hospices, hospitals or the veterans’ home, wherever they are spending their last days, and presenting him or her with a certificate of recognition for their military service. I try to find out as much as I can about what they did in-service then I take time to have a honest conversation, thank them formally, pin a special service medal on them then give them a last salute.  So far I’ve done 33 of those this year.  Our WWII vets are almost all gone now so we are scrambling around to find those who we can help.

I also work with local homeless shelters and we beat the woods to find veterans who may qualify for VA benefits they either don’t know about or are scared to pursue.  Sadly there are many out there – here in Howard County, MD alone I’ve worked as a liaison between the Disabled American Veterans ( DAV – a great place to start the process) and 12 homeless veterans to get them VA Disability benefits – two of those Vets had families living in tents with them. Now they all have at least enough money to get a place to live and feed themselves.  There are more out there in every part of the US – we just have to find them and get them what they deserve.

The reason I go into detail above about these efforts is to show that in just this small part of our country there are many, many vets who need help… and those are just two of many ways to do so.

I guess you can see why I’ve been really too busy to enjoy and talk about football much …but how about those Panthers, huh! We could see our first nine win season in some time and kudos to the staff and players. I’ll have to watch the NC game on Thursday. (I’d get Patti into the mix big time in Spring Drills though).

As always I strongly encourage all Veterans to go onto the Veterans Administration website and create an account so you can start accessing ALL of your benefits.  As always if anyone has any questions whatsoever please get in touch with me at rkohberger@gmail.com  and we’ll discuss your situation and I’ll work my ass off get you or whoever you know the help they need. Nothing is more important.

Please don’t think asking for help is in any way a sign of weakness or receiving some sort of charity – nothing is further than the truth.  These are benefits you both earned and paid your taxes into – if you qualify for it then it is yours to have. Again, if you have any doubts whatsoever and contact me. I myself have a severe case of PTSD from my years in Search and Rescue (it’s great when you find them and pure Hell when you don’t) and it is nothing at all to be ashamed of.

Here are a few links to get  you or someone you know started – first I suggest every person who served in the military for any length  of time to create account an on VA.Gov and get a hard copy of their DD-214 Discharge Papers. Once that is in hand we can move forward. Here are some VA links to help get you informed:

Thanks for everything you POVers. You’re a great group and have been supportive of these issues in the past and that is a very generous thing.

Reed

49 thoughts on “Veterans Day 2019 PSA”

  1. Commander Reed,

    Thank you for all you do to help veterans — your dedication is really awesome.

    Hope you are well.

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  5. Happy Veterans Day to all that served…including my Dad who was in Vietnam. Great work you do Reed

    And overall, a great weekend for Pitt and Pittsburgh sports teams

    Gidde up for the cold temps coming my friends

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  7. Reed – great article and more importantly, great service. Thank you for your service to our great country and great vets.

    Truly commendable!!!

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  8. The best to Reed and all POV Vets.

    Yesterday I visited my only living uncle who served in the Navy during WW2. I’m prouder that I visit him on a regular basis, not just on special occasions. (He’s 96) However, I am not so proud that while I have donated to organizations like DAV and Wounded Warriors, I do not give my time to veterans even though I have more time these days … or any other worthwhile cause.

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  9. Thanks for YOUR service Reed and for this blog.
    I feel fortunate to have met you in person when we ran into each other at BJ’s.
    TVax

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  11. Thanks once again Reed for not only your service in the USCG, but your continued service to our Vets. Its no small thing that you do, especially the hospice work.

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  13. Reed, Thanks for helping our vets. You are an example to all about how important volunteer efforts are to making our World better.

    I missed you at the tailgates this year. The group of Pitt guys and gals that you have put together keeps getting better as do Pitt sports and the conversation.

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  15. Sorry to interrupt the salutations to Reed but now this:

    https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2019/11/11/pitt-2020-commit-defensive-end-dayon-hayes-upgraded-to-4-stars/

    Another Pitt recruit upgraded bringing the total to 7 four star guys.

    It appears that Narduzzi et al really do know how to evaluate talent. The problem now will be holding the poachers at bay.

    It is difficult to get elite players to come to Pitt, but things are definitely looking better.

    Hopefully this trend continues upward.

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  16. Thanks Reed..

    BTW Dayon Hayes just up-graded to a 4 Star..that makes 4 of them…WOW…things trending upward on the D side

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  17. Thanks for your past and continued service Reed. I started getting those retirement checks two years ago after almost 5 years in the USMC then being a glutton for punishment another 30 plus in the PA National Guard, US Army Reserve, and finally IRR. Not that all that was punishment it was the fact that I didn’t learn in the 30 plus years and stayed in the Infantry from beginning to end!

    Liked by 3 people

  18. Bless you warrenpanther…if I haven’t met you yet I hope to in the future.
    My memory is horrible anymore.

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    1. WarrenPanther, where have you been? Fran, you did meet WarrenPanther last year, I had just left the tailgate when he popped in. Mr WP and I met in the lobby of the Hyatt Hotel before the Fran pregame tailgate. Hope to get up with you Thursday

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      1. See my season ticket reply to Last row. We will be there for the BC game at the Hyatt Place so if you need things warmed up for the tailgate or a hot beverage if its an early game stop in!

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    2. Last Row, this is the first year I didn’t get season tickets for football. Schedule just didn’t work out for me to get them and only attend two games. We will be there for the BC game if you go, we stay at the Hyatt Place right there on the North Shore. If you are going my wife has some good rum to go with hot coffee for a morning drink!

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  22. Always great stuff in support of our vets. Thanks for your service Reed, and a big thank you to all our Veterans out there (including my own Dad).

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  23. Reed, once again you have stepped up big time for our vets, so congratulations to you! Dedicated veterans such as you provide an irreplaceable service to our vets and our country. So please know that your efforts are appreciated by the many aging veterans you serve.

    Liked by 1 person

  27. Thank you, Reed, for your service and your support to your fellow vets. And thank you to all the veterans on the POV. Happy Veterans Day!

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  28. Reed — your Veteran’s Day post on the POV certainly helps to keep the “drama” of Pitt Football in proper perspective.

    Thank you for that.

    Hail to Pitt.

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  29. Off-topic: I can’t muster any enthusiasm to follow Pitt soccer, but of course I hope they are successful.

    Do I understand correctly that men’s soccer won some type of playoff game??

    Director’s Cup folks must be fired up…😊

    Go Pitt.

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    1. Yes they won yesterday vs. NC State. I might have heard it was their first playoff win ever.

      In any case it was live on the ACC Network which is really positive for all of Pitt Sports.

      Hopefully Comcast gets its head out of its butt soon.

      This is really important for recruiting and marketing in all sports.

      Hopefully FIOS will place it between the other sports channels. It is now 829, hard to find unless you are looking.

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Thanks for all you do Reed.

    Happy Veterans Day to all who served and their families.

    Your sacrifice does not go un appreciated.

    God Bless!

    Dave

    Liked by 2 people

  35. Went to the women’s basketball game tonight. I know, kind of crazy. But it turned out to be a heck of a game.

    The Pitt women came out like the Pitt men. They played a terrible first half and Cent. Conn. shot 10 for 15 from 3. The result — Pitt was down by 17 at the half! Nicholls State all over again.

    But Pitt storms back to pick up 14 points in the 3rd quarter, then goes on to win it by eight or so. Whew!

    Lots of growing pains coming with all the new faces and all the youth, but the talent sure looks promising down the road…

    Go Pitt.

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  36. Spent the weekend honoring and sharing fellowship with the the brothers and mother of KIA special force nephew. Members of his special force team that were in the theater called in one huge conference call to share their memories, cut up with teammates they haven’t seen in several years, cried and each did a shot in his honor. One from his couch in Dallas. Priceless!

    Every Veteran has my utmost respect and gratitude. Thank you all for allowing us to remain as free as we are! Reed, keep up your kind works and remember to take care of you! To all the vets on here or reading from afar, THANK YOU!

    Liked by 1 person

  37. Reed, it’s good to hear from you. Thanks for all you have done for our country, and for all you continue to do for fellow veterans.

    Last weekend was a Pitt weekend for me- Friday night and Sunday afternoon Women’s Volleyball games, then I walked over to watch the men’s soccer match. I left 10 minutes into the second half and made it home in time to watch the end of the game. It went to sudden death OT and was a great win for the team- for the PROGRAM. Was so psyched I watched the Wake Forest- VT soccer game too. It went to a shoot out after two overtimes. It took 7 kicks by each team to finally decide the winner. Now THAT was exciting!

    Women’s VB gets a 3-peat ACC Championship, MSOC wins their first ACC playoff game, and hopefully, the football team will finally beat NC!! Let’s have a great finish to that 7 day stretch!!

    Liked by 2 people

  38. Reed – I hope you are able to take time from your busy schedule to read the posts to this article. You are truly appreciated for your works and this POV blog.

    Mrs. Erie wants to make the trip to Pittsburgh for the UNC game. I’m not sure she nor I are ready for the trip, but right now we plan to be at the game. My expectations are minimal in that I will need to be flexible because of her current health condition, but I do expect a Pitt win.

    We may need to watch the game on TV somewhere in the burg, but I will be ok with that. The attempt to make it to the stadium will be very challenging, but hopefully fun.

    Keep us in your thoughts and prayers for a safe and memorable experience.

    H2P!

    Liked by 3 people

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