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John Nastav is a three-tour Vietnam Veteran as a Marine. He goes by the pen name, I. M. Waiting, and joined us to talk about his new book, “In Thy Mother’s Honor,” discussing his experiences in Vietnam and how it has affected his life, physically and emotionally, to this day. You can find out more about John’s book and purchase it on Amazon, from the publisher, and on Barnes an Noble. You can also order it directly from the publisher at: 800-788-7654. John also has a Facebook page with a lot of great information for veterans and non-veterans.
One of the tips John gave for veterans trying to receive benefits and treatment is to keep trying, even after the VA says no the first time or ten. You can also get help with applying for benefits by going through Disabled American Veterans, the VFW, and the American Legion.
Veteran, John Nastav
aka I.M. Waiting
“In Thy Mother’s Honor”
We were also joined by Marine Veteran and Administrator of the City of Austin’s Military Veteran’s Program, Allen Bergeron, who spoke about this program that the City of Austin has for veterans who are employees of the city, as well as helping to hire veterans for the city jobs. In addition, Austin has a very big program for finding housing for homeless veterans, as well as furnishing the homes. And Austin has just begun an initiative to try to decrease the rate of veteran’s suicide.
Find out more at: www.austintexas.gov/veterans or call 512-974-3306.
Veteran, Allen Bergeron
City of Austin Military Veteran’s Program
www.austintexas.gov/veterans
And, long-time friend of this show, Army Veteran First Sergeant Will Williams, winner of multiple awards for his service in the community, joined us, once again, to talk about many volunteer opportunities for veterans to be involved with and programs for veterans. On November 11 at 10am, there will be a special program for Vietnam veterans at Austin Pizza Park. In addition, there’s an upcoming volunteer activity at St. Williams Church, delivering 5,000 Thanksgiving meals. And there will be many more such opportunities, as the holidays approach. Find out about all of the many upcoming events at: www.ShareTheWill.org.
Will and Allen are both working together on the Honor Flights, flying veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the veteran memorials. There are 4 different flights this fall, including one for WWII veterans to visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial and an Honor Flight for African-American veterans of all wars. Find out about the Honor Flights at: www.HonorFlightAustin.org.
First Sgt. Will Williams.
sharethewill.org
ALSO, Army Veteran, social worker, wellness and fitness coach, and poet, K. R. Rudolph, joined us from Killeen, TX to share some of his original poetry! If you’re a poet and interested in sharing poetry with K.R. or if you’re in Killeen and interested in his fitness coaching, you can e-mail him at: [email protected].
Veteran K. R. Rudolph
ALSO, along the way, Dr. Mara talked about how there are no quick fixes, but “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Listen to the podcast HERE!
