Seventy-four years after Captain Lawrence E. Dickson was declared missing in action, the Tuskegee Airman was finally identified in November. This week, he was recognized by Brigadier General Twanda E. Young at a ceremony in which he was posthumously presented with seven esteemed honors.  

Our Leader Spotlights offer a glimpse into our diverse leadership: veterans who are continuing to serve their country and community in creative ways. Today, we profiled Teresa Kennedy, a 2016 distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a 2015 Harry S. Truman Scholar. She currently lives and works in Washington DC as a defense consultant.  

Tell me about your military service.  

Vets for American Ideals' Leader Spotlight series highlights our diverse and dynamic veteran leaders. Today, we hear from Sharon Robino-West of Omaha, Nebraska.

Tell me about your military service.

By Jules Staelgraeve

Another group of Central American asylum seekers reached the Texas-Mexico border on February 5. This caravan opted for the town of Piedras Negras, due to the oversaturation of asylum-seekers in Tijuana, the prominent border town in the American media. Thirty percent of the asylum seekers are hoping to enter the United States, but border patrol is maintaining a strict no entrance policy.  

The U.N. Refugee Agency has started a campaign in solidarity with refugees around the world. Its goal is to have supporters track the miles they walk, run, or bike worldwide with the goal of accumulating two billion kilometers. The UNHCR hopes to bring the plight of refugees to the forefront of people’s minds through their daily activity.

On a bleak and windy day, in the ranch lands of Texas, 30 veterans, refugees, and representatives of local businesses came together to lend a helping hand to a beleaguered Cambodian community in Rosharon, Texas. The area was hit hard by Hurricane Harvey and while many neighborhoods left ruined in the storm’s wake rebuilt, Rosharon was neglected. 

Located on a dry plain halfway between Houston and the Gulf, the Rosharon’s main source of income, spinach farming, was wiped out by the storm. So when members of The Mission Continues reached out to VFAI for a way to give back in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, this community immediately came to mind. John Vittera and Bre Gaudit, two Army vets, jumped in and began organizing an event to help the residents clean up the Buddhist Rassmey Monastery, the pride of Rosharon.

by Scott Cooper