Rally Point 95 Annamarie Remmler

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fall in America. Welcome back to the Rally Point Radio
Show with your host James le Sorrge Having Away and
Paul Palishi.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Also behind the microphones and now the high techs up
is zaying the brains. Hello, zay okay America. We have
a special guest here today from the DAV Chapter eighty
two and Port Charlotte, Florida. Please introduce yourself to America.

Speaker 3 (00:24):
Good morning. My name is Anna Marie Remmel, and I
am a senior Vice Commander and service officer with Disabled
American Veterans Chapter eighty two here in Port Charlotte, Florida.

Speaker 1 (00:36):
Outstanding and folks. One of the things that we have
harped upon at the Rally Point Radio Show is that
the need for our veterans to get their benefits. And
just before the show we were talking about this and
there's a false narrative that we veterans have, and there's
a few of them actually. But before we get into
all that, once you tell America about about your background.

Speaker 3 (01:01):
I am originally from Pennsylvania. I was born in New
Jersey and I moved to Pennsylvania when I was about
five years old. My father was a WW two VET
I come from a whole line of veterans Korea, Vietnam
or not Afghanistan. I'm sorry, Desert Storm. That's when I

(01:21):
served in Desert Storm. I went in the United States
Navy when I was about twenty one years old. My
first couple of years in the Navy were a little
hard to get used to, but I ended up doing
eight and a half years. My plan was to do
my full twenty. I blew out my knee running drills
and that was the end of my Navy career. But

(01:45):
now I am put on this earth to serve my
fellow veterans, and that's what I'm.

Speaker 1 (01:50):
Going to do. Outstanding Outstanding in four somewhere veteran and
non veteran listeners can explain to them a little bit
more about the full function of the DAV.

Speaker 3 (02:00):
Function of the DAV is to in general, get the
veterans the benefits that they deserve from the VA. We
also have other resources. We also help the family's espouses
when the veteran passes away. We help them with the
death benefits and getting them set up with you know,
the national cemeteries wherever they want to be buried or cremated.

(02:24):
We can give them some tips on what to do
and what not to do with that. And we also
have financial services that we deal with, and we also
have a bunch of other organizations that are veteran owned
and we use them in case we have emergencies, hurricane storms,
any type of storm damage, or you know, just looking.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
For housing, Oh outstanding. Do you prefer Anna and a marine?
Which you prefer?

Speaker 3 (02:51):
Anna Marie is my legal name. The only one that
used to call me Anna Marie was my mother, God
rest her soul.

Speaker 2 (02:59):
Usually when she was coming after you.

Speaker 3 (03:02):
Yes, normally when she was mad. I mean, you're absolutely correct,
But I started putting my legal name down on paper
and dav it kind of stuck with da V. So
I prefer Anna, but my real name is Anna Marie.

Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, we'll go with the Anna. And I'm thankful I'm
not the only person in the room that got the
whole full name. When you knew you were in trouble, Oh,
you knew you were a cook when you heard the
whole name come out of absolutely. Oh. As I'm as say,
your dad's coming, I said, oh boy, here comes the belt.
But that's another that's another world. But again, getting back
to the daving yourself. What are some of the true

(03:38):
attributes that you feel that the DAV provides veterans and
folks just get some get some myths out of the way.
The DAV can be applied to all ages, not just
the seniors, and kind of get into that because I
think that needs to be kind of that method as
we put to bed.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
Yes, and you're absolutely correct. A lot of people feel
that it's, you know, with the older veterans, and that
is not the case. We are here for all veterans.
We do not look at age. Everybody served, and the
veterans need to get what they deserve. It doesn't matter
if you're just coming out, if you went in at

(04:15):
eighteen and you came out at twenty one, it doesn't matter.
If you need benefits, we're here for you. If you
need help, we're here for you.

Speaker 1 (04:23):
No, definitely. What do you think are some of the
major roadblocks do you feel that what people coming through
to the DAV. What roadblocks do they come with the
kind of I guess self defeating mindset that you have
to deal with.

Speaker 3 (04:35):
The biggest mindset is to think that they don't deserve it. Okay,
And it's like I was speaking to you earlier. My
motto is you served and signed the same blank check
putting your life on the line for this country that
I did. Everybody deserves it. It doesn't matter where you served,

(04:57):
if you went overseas, if you stayed here in States,
if you never left an office. Everybody deserves it. Everybody
deserves benefits. We made a promise to serve and protect
this country, and the United States government made a promise
to protect us when we got out, and that's what
we're for outstanding.

Speaker 1 (05:18):
And I will say that from my personal experiences and observations,
you're absolutely correct. And unfortunately I've had well unfortunately, I've
had the opportunity to intercept some of our fellow veterans
dating back. See mister Scott is ninety one. He did

(05:38):
not deploy. He was a doc worker for the Navy,
and he swore that he didn't deserve the benefits. It
took I guess fifty years for me to convince his
daughters to help him apply. And I'll say this, ladies
and gentlemen, it does not matter what you served and

(05:58):
what you've done. You signed the same same check as
Ann had said, as I did, as Paul did, which May,
which established a contract that we did our job to
the best of our ability until that time was over,
whether it be a year and a half for some folks,
six weeks, two weeks in Vietnam, or thirty five forty years.

(06:22):
We promised to do our job, and they promised to
keep us whole, and we're going to make sure that
you take it well. Excuse me now, I say we
vicariously through the dav get those things, and I won't
be we won't be the lighthouse to show you where
they're at so you can go visit them to get
those benefits. But and I apologize, Annam, thank you for

(06:44):
your sacrifice and your service to our country as a
woman veteran. I and Paul hear me on this broken
record so many times. It's disgusting that I think that
you are a beacon for other women veterans, because I
feel that they may be disproportantly not reporting themselves as

(07:05):
a veteran. And I think it's kind of, you know,
resolute that we get them out there. What are your
thoughts about that.

Speaker 3 (07:11):
Well, being a woman veteran, and you're absolutely correct, the
women veteran really don't receive the recognition that they should.
They went through the same boot camps, they took the
same oath, They went through the same jobs, some jobs
a little harder than others, combat readiness, you know, they

(07:35):
they did the same thing any man can do, so
even as a female. And a lot of it too
is you know, there was a lot of sexual trauma there. Yes,
And you know, any female that served this country you
have the same benefits and the same rights as any
male that served us country. You were not put on

(07:59):
this earth to sign that same check and not get
what you deserve.

Speaker 1 (08:05):
Also, indeed, indeed, and in relation to that, as a
senior chapter a chapter senior service officer, was that entail,
while as a tongue twister.

Speaker 3 (08:18):
That entail speaking to veterans, and I speak to veterans anywhere.
When I wear my DAV shirt, I get stopped in
many marks. I get stopped in the grocery store, I
get stopped in the mall anything. And you know, people
have questions because they don't exactly know what disabled American
veterans is. And I'm there to answer those questions, you know,

(08:43):
and normally the first question out of my mouth, and
it sounds a little routine, but are you one hundred percent.
You know that is the first question out of my mouth.
Are you getting the benefits that you deserve? And if
they say no, I give them my business card and
I say you need to bring me your d D
two fourteen and you need to come and see me.

Speaker 1 (09:01):
One hundred percent. Aside from the d D two thirteen,
one of the key items you think would be helpful
for the veteran to bring.

Speaker 3 (09:08):
To you any medical evidence that they have if they
have their medical records. A lot of veterans have a
tendency to lose their records. I did, uh, but a
lot of veterans have a tendency to lose their records.
So if they have any medical evidence that they can
bring with us, if they see an outside doctor for
an injury that they had when they served, please bring

(09:32):
that with you because then we can take a look
through it and we know exactly what we need to
do to make your life a little bit easier.

Speaker 1 (09:39):
One hundred percent. And with my vague and very short
experience with one of the Veteran Organization Service officers or
chapter officers, excuse me, I was told that if you
lost your medical records, actually you had the place of
request of the d VA and they can actually get that.
What is that called?

Speaker 3 (10:00):
That is on the VA website if you go to
VA dot gov and you can look down the if
you're looking at the computer, if you look down on
the left hand side, there will be a little box
down there that says, request your medical records or request
your service records. You can get them. You can do
it online or you can come into us and we'll
do it for you. That those service records will include

(10:22):
your d D two fourteen in case you do not
have it. Is it fast? No? So I you know,
we apologize for that, but it's the VA. There is
nothing fast about the VA. And everybody knows when they
hurt in boot camp, everybody is hurry up and wait. Yes, so,
but we you will get it and we can get
that for you if you if you don't have a computer,

(10:44):
or if you're like me and computer eliterate, you know,
but we can get it for you.

Speaker 1 (10:50):
All right, And Paul, if you want to jump in,
I have a question before that, Sorry about that, Paul.
What would be the process for me? Say I'm listening,
I'm interested. What would what would be like day zero
to me coming through the door saying and can you
help me out.

Speaker 3 (11:07):
The first process that you're going to run into when
you come into our office is you will meet our
front desk. Okay, we are all veterans. Everybody there is
a volunteer. We don't get paid. We are there because
we feel that we need to help our fellow veterans
when we were in the military. Everything is you know,

(11:29):
you have my back, I have yours, you know, and
we do have yours. But that would be the first process.
They will sign you in. They will give you to
a service officer. And the first thing we're going to
do is we are going to file an intent to file.
The intent to file gives you a set date. You
will have one year from that date to file acclaim. Okay.

(11:51):
We will also do a power of attorney. A power
of attorney is giving us permission to represent you. You
will get a statement of representation telling you exactly what
we can and cannot do for you. But those are
That is your first visit with us.

Speaker 1 (12:07):
And that's free.

Speaker 3 (12:08):
That is free. Everything we do is free. We charge nothing.
We get paid in zeros.

Speaker 1 (12:14):
Oh wow, and folks. And the reason why I'm emphasizing
that is because on TV. We've seen a gajillion times
camp resume attorneys, this one in the universe I live in.
I refer to them as claim sharks, and folks, there's
a time and a place, and please jump over the
time and place for them to get into the picture,

(12:35):
but not out the gate. From my understanding, and Paul,
you can correct me if I'm wrong, I think the
individual service veteran service member should try it themselves with
the assistance of the DAV before jumping straight to the attorney, because,
believe it or not, folks, you're gonna get denied. Just
call it the right of passage. We all get denied.

(12:55):
But it's a matter of staying in the game and
being communicated with your DA DAV Service officer, and you
guys can do it yourselves. For the big fat zero.
Am I in the ballpark with that?

Speaker 3 (13:05):
Yes, you're absolutely in the ballpark with that. A lot
of people they will get denied, you know, because the
VA does not want to put out the money. And
that's okay, that's okay, but you will never pay for us.
There is no veteran on this earth that should ever
have to pay somebody to get the benefits that they

(13:27):
deserve absolutely not. You should not have to pay a lawyer.
I can tell you I do not give up. I
do not back down. And I can't say that I
haven't been there, because I have been there. You know,
I got tonight as for the first time, it was
ten percent. I blew out my knee in the military.

(13:52):
You know, it's issues from nineteen ninety seven on still
to this day. And I gave up for a while
because you know, I'm thinking, Okay, this is all I'm
going to get, and it doesn't work that way. You know,
Thank God that I met dav when I moved to Florida,
because you know, I've learned that no, don't ever give up,

(14:14):
you know. And I'm a fighter. I was raised as
a fighter. I have a tendency to bury, be very
persistent and be a little pushy and very outspoken. I
was a boiler technician in the Navy, so I worked
with a lot of men.

Speaker 1 (14:34):
There you go.

Speaker 3 (14:36):
But you know, don't don't give up. Just bring us
to paperwork. If we ask you for paperwork, bring it
to us. We will tell you the letters that you
will get. If you get letters in the mail, bring
them to us. Let us read them. We know what
they're looking for, we know what we need to do
once we read those letters. But don't ever give up
and don't ever back down. You deserve it. We all

(14:59):
deserve it.

Speaker 2 (15:00):
Let me jump in on that. That's how I got
involved with the DAV I had been rejected several times
and at a I don't know if you remember, back
years ago they gave it the presidential medallions. At that meeting,
congressman was there and he said, if you're having any

(15:21):
problems getting your benefits, contact my office. Well he's a politician.
I went, oh, okay, I've heard that before. But I
had a friend say no, do it. He made a
public statement hold him, And I think that's another lesson
is we need to hold our politicians to what they say.
But anyway, I did call his office. I got a

(15:43):
hold of the young lady that he had put in
charge of handling the claims. She went through. When I
let me back up a little bit, when I got rejected,
it lit that fire unto me that I would not
going to get let them get away. And I say
let them get away with it. I don't know how

(16:04):
else to phrase it, but I was not going to
let them get away with it. And that was and
that was, that was my resource. I had done a
lot of homework and I had paperwork. That was one
of the advantages I have. When I went to the
da V. I had all of those. I mean, I've
got into cases that. I mean, I really dug into it.

(16:27):
I was that mad, but with it with a with
a reason. And when I went to the da V,
the congressman's h assistant had sent me there. When I
went there with all I laid out all these paper
all the paperwork on the desk, and they looked at
it and said, you need a lawyer. And I went,

(16:48):
oh boy, here we go, oh boy, And they said,
they gave me the lawyer's name. He'll contact you. He did.
I mean, everybody did what they said they were going
to do, which is amazing, uh in this. But the
lawyer looked at all the stuff I had and he said, well,
we don't need to meet anymore. We'll just go before
the judge. So we actually went before a judge. Everything

(17:10):
turned out exactly the way everybody wanted it, especially meat.
And there was never a mention of money. Nobody mentioned
that it was, you know, And I kept waiting for
that shoe because I had no experience with the DAV.
Nobody asked me for any money, Nobody did anything but

(17:30):
what they said they were going to do. So if
you're out there and you have been rejected, if you
were beside yourself, or even if you have a father,
a brother, a sister, or a spouse, anyone, and they're
rejected and they give up that it's your turn. You
get involved. The DAV will work with you also as

(17:52):
they did with me. So when you say it handles,
it does work with spouses and the family, they absolutely do.
There's nobody they say, well, I don't want to talk
to you. It's it's just amazing. I can't say enough
about it. So that's that's my take on what the
DAV can do. They need to be We need to

(18:16):
give them more exposure. I don't know how else we
can do it here at the radio station other than
to continually do that. But at any events that they
have coming up, we need to broadcast as too. To
get you there and you.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
Just walk in.

Speaker 3 (18:34):
It's that easy, yes, and you're exactly right. It is
that easy, especially for your spouses and your dependents. You
know a lot of a lot of spouses will well,
I lost my husband a couple of years ago. Okay,
did anybody tell you that you had benefits coming? Yes,
you know that is a process. I'm not gonna lie.

(18:55):
That is a process. But you know, at least let
us try. We will never ask for anything. You know,
everything that we do is by donations and the events
that we do. We raise money that way to keep
the lights on. But no matter what we do, and
it doesn't matter if it's a spouse, if it's a son,

(19:18):
a daughter, you know, grandmother, we're there for you.

Speaker 2 (19:24):
The other thing, too, is that non military individuals don't
speak the language, and that's what that's really why you
need the DAV to get on your side, especially if
you don't understand the language. If you have no military background,
that doesn't matter at all. They know the language, they

(19:45):
know the questions to ask. You need to get in
front of them. I don't know how else I could say.
It's painless, it really is. You're going through. I understand
in your head, you're you're you're trying to get something
that your spouse or that your dad or whoever. Earned.
Don't worry about the language. We'll take care of the language.

Speaker 3 (20:07):
Yes, yes, absolutely. Just to give you a little bit
more background. When I was in Pennsylvania, you know, obviously
I was raised there. My dad, he was in his eighties,
found out that he could go to the VA, and
I didn't know. Nobody told me. You know, when you

(20:29):
get out of the military, which is supposed to be
changed now, but when you get out of the military,
nobody says anything to you about the VA, about benefits,
about disability. Nobody ever mentioned a word. I've been out
since nineteen ninety seven, and like I said, I had
a plan, you know, that was my plan to retire,

(20:51):
and when I couldn't stay in anymore, I ended up homeless.
And I was homeless for a while, you know. And
that's a big thing that we're dealing with now, Yes,
you know, is the homeless veterans. You know, it should
never be, should never be. There should not be one
veteran on this earth that does not have a bed

(21:12):
to sleep in. Never, And we will help you with that.
We got a lot of projects going on and we
are getting our name out there. But you know, don't
don't give up. Like I said, I've been out since
nineteen ninety seven and I gave up for a little while,
and I could tell you from nineteen ninety seven to
twenty twenty five, I just went one hundred percent a

(21:36):
week and a half ago. Wow, So it took me
that long. But when I met the men and women
at dav you know, they taught me not to give up.
And I had the best trainers there, you know, when
they trained me to be a service officer. We know
what questions to ask, you know, And one of the

(21:56):
first questions we're going to ask you is when did
you say and where did you serve? You know, how
long did you serve? Because there are stipulations for everything,
but we want to know the background, you know, especially
with our Vietnam veterans. You know, they no offense, but

(22:17):
you know they weren't. They were treated like crap when
they got home, you know, and that's not fair. You know,
that's not fair to them. You know, they didn't ask
to go over there, uh, you know, and some of
the w W two and you know veterans in Korea,
Afghanistan does a storm, Iraq everywhere over in the sandbox.

(22:39):
You know, we will, we will get you where you
need to be. You know, you just it's going to
take time. I'm not gonna lie. This is not a
fast process. But don't give up, and we'll get you there.
We'll get you.

Speaker 1 (22:53):
There, definitely. And I just to hit on the Vietnam angle,
and I agree on hun percent. I believe that the
foundation of both the bad and the goods started the
Vietnam veterans. Like you said, many were drafted, no choice, right,
some did go in and some are given an option

(23:13):
go to jail or go to war, right, But for
what they had to do for whatever time period set
the foundation of what we have here today. And that's why,
to a degree, there's the thinking for your service phrase
I get from everybody. I get it. We had an
epiphany about twenty years ago, like, oh, I think we

(23:33):
treat the Vietnam people very badly, no kidding, but I
think it's more of a for me. I think it's
more respectful as I think it for your sacrifice, because regardless,
especially for the Vietnam era, they what they sacrificed and
when they got home was this despicable. I'll use that

(23:55):
word in that context. And we're going to spend the
next twenty years to make up for that time period.
When they came home, and I think it traumatized a nation,
not just them, their families and the future generation of
veterans because it's hard for us to speak, to have
a person say I'm a veteran proudly and openly. A

(24:15):
lot of people now we're just now getting that that
self respectus. I'm a veteran, I'm proud of it.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
And it all started, in our opinion, with the Vietnam
and Paul here. I think he did two tours Paul
one tour of Vietnam.

Speaker 2 (24:31):
One year, nine months in fourteen days.

Speaker 1 (24:33):
Wow, and there you go. And and Paul being a
host of the program has interconnected us with so many
veterans from Texas. Uh and from that time parent and
I will say, I remember one of the second or
first interview that Paul was a part of us for

(24:53):
he had a gentleman from Texas and it was the
first time I think he actually told that story out loud.
We got emotional, They got emotional real fast.

Speaker 3 (25:01):
It's easy to get that way.

Speaker 1 (25:03):
And it was like it was like I call a
brush of fresh air, because there are a lot of
stories you don't share because correct you're worry about who
can who who's gonna have how it's gonna be received? Yes,
And it's like it was like coming home and when
we had that envy, I said, we're onto something here.
So I'm in one hundred percent with that. And my
second take is one of the things I don't understand

(25:25):
with our current UH situation is that we need to
push that the Vietnam veterans of any gender, they are
a resource. They are the everlasting mentors of the future
generations including them and having them come out and tell
their stories, not only is it therapeutic for them, but

(25:46):
it helps us preserve us who we are. Yes, And
I think in their stories we can get people to
come out.

Speaker 2 (25:52):
What do you think about that, Well, the stories that
come out are not nearly enough agreed. And that goes
for for all veterans. You know, there's there's stories out
there that what you did in the States that affected us,

(26:12):
and it's still that way today. They're not everybody goes overseas,
but everybody has a piece of it, no matter what
you did, what what where you were, and that type
of thing. Even in Europe, they have an effect. That's
where we took a lot of our wounded. We still do.
So that's when we talk about what you did to

(26:34):
earn your benefits. It's not just combat vets exactly. And
that's where that's the frustration that I'm sure that the
DAV has. I'm sure that's the frustration that we have
trying to help our fellow vets, is that it doesn't
matter where you were, what you did, there was a

(26:55):
price to pay. And even in the States, I mean,
we keep talking about Camp La June, that's the one
that's most popular. That's where our lawyers are trying to
make as much money possible, both far vets. But that's
another story. We need you to know that there are

(27:15):
resources out there, and the DAV is a functional starting point.
If you haven't started, you got to understand, I didn't
go for I wish I had kept track to the
first time that I tried to get a benefit, but
it was probably thirty five years after I came home.

(27:38):
So and my excuse was, and it's an excuse, not
a reason, was I had good benefits where I worked,
but that only made it harder when those benefits ran
down and I had to use another resource. So that
that was what really forced me to do that, And

(27:58):
that's what the delay was. See my my, You know
you talk about what you ask first. I always ask
are you enrolled in the in the VA? And when
they say no, I know what it's going to take.
Now if you let those that many years go by. Now,

(28:19):
if you didn't keep the records, which who keeps records
for for thirty five years? Luckily I had I did
have some, but you don't have your history type of stuff.
It's off of memory, and I have trouble remembering why
I went to the store, let alone what I did.
Some of it's ingrained, some of it will never go away.

(28:39):
But that's why my missions is are you registered with
the VA. If you're not, there's a place in them
all over there that you need to go to get
it started, because you may not need it next week,
but you are going to need it. You're going to
need the VA, So let's get going now.

Speaker 3 (28:58):
Yes, absolutely right, And and you're you're correct, because when
somebody says they are they are not registered with the VA,
the first question we ask is why why are you not?
That is your health care that belongs to the veterans
that serve this country. That is your health care. You

(29:21):
need to register with the VA and to go back
to what you were talking about before with the And
I know that a lot of veteran organizations are not political,
and we are not either. We don't care what party
you belong to. You're a United States veteran. That's all
that matters to us. But in tune with that, when

(29:46):
I say, I will not back down, and I am
very person I can be very persistent. Okay, do not
give up the fight, because right now I am using
Senator Moody Congressman Stuby to fight for a veteran that
served in Afghanistan. This man is a twenty year Combat

(30:09):
Air Force veterans first boots on the ground in Afghanistan,
and he has been denied numerous times. Numerous times. The
man he suffers from dementia PTSD. He was in the
burn Pits combat and the VA keeps saying, no, Well,

(30:31):
you know what, let me take this to the next level.
And that's exactly what I'm going to do.

Speaker 2 (30:36):
Yeah, and that's what I had to do. It wasn't
as serious as that, but like I said, I had
got my Italian temper up from New Jersey, So I
guess there's some there's some commonalities there, but but yeah,

(30:58):
sometimes you do. We do have to go to that resource,
and and the Congress the congressman there, it's amazing, just
a threat of when their assistance. They're designated people to
handle those when they get involved. They don't necessarily invoke

(31:20):
the Congressman's actions right away, but just the threat that
they will, yes, moves mountains. So you know, as much
as we hate to get politics involved there, they are
also a resource for us. They are, and we're not
afraid to use them.

Speaker 3 (31:37):
Yes, exactly. And I'm not afraid to use it, you know.
And I tell you know, the other service officers that
are working this case, I tell them, I don't care.
I'll take it all the way to the White House.
But I'm going to get this man what he deserves.
And there are no ifans or buds about it. And
I have written letters, and trust me, they are not

(32:00):
necessarily nice letters because I have a mouth and I
can use it sometimes I have no filter between my
brain and my mouth. But you know, I don't I
don't care. This man will get what he deserves. And
if I have to go all the way to Washington,
d C. To do that, then absolutely I will definitely.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
And one of the things I feel about it, and
correct me if I'm wrong. I think one of the
major components of the DAV what you're helping us prevent
two things. Good thing, bad thing. First, we're improving the
quality of lives of former service members. And second, and
go on, folks, I'll tell you on a personal level,

(32:45):
this is a fact. If you can prove improve the
quality of life of anyone in general, there's less likely
that person having suicidal ideation. So you're doing two things
at once. I hope, we hope we can. We can
say that is that if you can provide a bad
quality of life for a former military service member, they

(33:08):
can get the services, the home and the resources they
need to survive. They have a better life. And from
there it's a ripple effect in the pond for every veteran.
Their family's impacted, hopefully positively, and the reverse is to
a negative standpoint. Do we all succeed? No, we don't.
I call it failing forward, And basically that means when

(33:28):
you fail, learn from it, don't repeat, make every step
a step closer to you and agenda. And you tell me,
I mean, do you feel that? And this sounds ridiculous.
By helping our veterans improve their quality of life, we
are helping them have a better life. So they you know,
aren't suicidal.

Speaker 3 (33:46):
But absolutely you are. I mean, you're one hundred percent.
You know, I had a veteran just the other day.
You know that his mother called me. He lives, you know,
here in Port Charlotte, and you know she's worried. You know,
he suffers from PTSD. He is one hundred percent and

(34:07):
I made a visit to his home. I have sent
the police. And you know, God loves Charlotte County Sheriff's
office because they are absolutely wonderful people. But you have
to keep in mind that we have forty thousand plus
veterans here in Charlotte County alone. Florida has one point

(34:30):
four million. We are the third largest state with the
most veteran population. Wow, so you know, to do what
we do. You know, I'm hoping one day we reached
all those veterans. I really do, you know that would
be My goal is to never see another homeless veteran,

(34:51):
never ever have a veteran commit suicide. And I've been there,
I've been there, done that. You know, single mom, homeless
didn't have any idea because my plan was to retire
and I couldn't. You know. So I've been down to
suicide role, yes, you know, and I still struggle. I'm

(35:12):
not gonna lie. I still struggle with it. Today. Every
day is a new day, right and it breaks my
heart to see every time I read about a veteran
that committed suicide, why because nobody stepped up. Well, DAV,
disabled American veterans, We're going to step up and we're
going to help protect you. You know, we are here

(35:35):
for you. We're not going to charge anything. We are
here for you one hundred percent outstanding.

Speaker 1 (35:40):
And like I said, for us to make a difference,
it starts with us absolutely the individual. My next question
will be if anyone wants to come down and visit
the DAV, where can they come and find you? Guys?

Speaker 3 (35:53):
They can find us into Port Charlotte Mall. We are
in between J. C. Penny and Dillards can't even say
that word, and we are directly across from DSW shoes.
It is. You'll see everything in the windows. You'll see
the flags, the military flags, the signs saying DAV, we

(36:16):
don't need an appointment. You never need an appointment, you
can walk in. We're there Monday through Friday ten to three,
ten am to three. If you need to come later
because you're working, that's fine to call us. We'll stay.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
What was that phone number one six nine, two, eight
three three.

Speaker 3 (36:36):
And after Anna Marie, you can ask for Anni Marie.
You can ask for any one of them. You can
tell the front desk I need help. I am here
to see a service officer. Can you help me? And
the answer will absolutely one hundred percent yes, we can
help you.

Speaker 1 (36:52):
Outstanding. You have any events coming up for we do?

Speaker 3 (36:55):
We have well, actually we have a couple of things
coming up. We are doing a poker run December sixth,
that is jeeps, cars, motorcycles and that will be in
remembrance of Pearl Harbor. They're falling at Pearl Harbor. We
are also in the middle of a project right now

(37:18):
that was brought up on wink News with another realtor
that she's part of the military team. We are looking
for veterans that need help, that can't afford to fix
something in their house, They can't afford to paint their house.
They need help because they are disabled, they can't mow

(37:39):
their lawn they can't you know, clean and we have
the team behind us to do that. So we are
also looking for veterans to do that. And you know
it's it's not gonna happen overnight, you know, because we
have a couple already in process. But call us, give
us your name. There's there's a link on wink News.

(38:03):
You know, we're we're willing to help you. Ain't gonna
cost you nothing. You know, this this is our way
of getting our name out there. We do have a
few things that are in play for next year. For
like we're planning on doing another walkathon. We don't have
any deal details on that yet, but our last walkathon

(38:23):
August was very successful. But the poker run is what
what we have coming up next. We are doing a
Christmas party that the Filipino Restaurant is sponsoring for us.
So we're looking for veterans that could you know, use
a little boost at Christmas time and you know, we'll

(38:44):
we'll give them a gift as we need as a
name and a phone number and we'll take it from there.
So you know, we we do a lot. We have
a toys for top Box outside right outside our office,
so you can drop off any toys. That's what it's
there for. We have a mailbox where if you have
a retired flag you can bring that in. We will

(39:05):
dispose of it for you. So we have all kinds
of all kinds of things.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
What's the date of the poker run.

Speaker 3 (39:13):
The date of the poker run is December sixth, which
is the day before Pearl Harbor.

Speaker 2 (39:19):
And I have another question you have you mentioned the
poker run. Do you have any other events going on
or fundraisers in the near future.

Speaker 3 (39:29):
Yes, we do. The week of Veterans Day we will
be at the Golden Corral collecting donations and we are
also looking for other volunteers. But we will be at
the Golden Corral from eight am until eight pm. And
Ponta Gorda the week of Veterans Day we were. We
are there all week. We will be taking you know,

(39:52):
donations there. If you have questions, you know, if you
want to come and see one of the service officers,
come in there. We'll give you a business card. You know. Well,
we're there to help you, you know, so you can
get a meal, you can get a yes. So we're
looking forward to yes you.

Speaker 2 (40:11):
That brings up another question, is the DAV looking for
more help, more volunteers at h to supply some more
of these services.

Speaker 3 (40:22):
Absolutely, we are always looking for volunteers. If you're going
to volunteer as a service officer or front desk, we
asked that you are either a spouse of a veteran
that has been rated or a rated veteran. You're looking
at ten percent and if you're not rated, come and
see us because we're going to get you rated. But

(40:42):
we are always looking for volunteers. We also have the
Veterans Day Parade here in Port Charlotte that we are doing.
We have a float. Hopefully everything goes well with that.

Speaker 2 (40:54):
So you're looking for somebody to help you build a float.

Speaker 3 (40:57):
Now we have we have I personally, we have a
truck and a trailer. So then our next step is
to put the trailer together so we can get it
to the parade. I have a you know ideas that
my boyfriend is like, okay, you volunteered me for this too,
so but yeah, well we'll be in the Veterans Day Parade.

(41:20):
Come out and join us. Because also, you know, right
after the Veterans Day Parade, you have family fun Day.
You know, we have that too. That's for veterans, you know,
get your family out there, meet some people. Get the
one in Northport that is Nope, that.

Speaker 1 (41:35):
Is here, the Moss on Loveland Boulevard, and.

Speaker 3 (41:39):
Yes, okay, Golden Kraal is the is the place.

Speaker 1 (41:43):
Can the DAV show up at the will be Would
the DV be present at Family Funday or can they
be present?

Speaker 3 (41:50):
I will be there. We probably can be present. It
depends on you know, who's got what going on because
obviously that same week we will also be at Golden Corral. Yes, so,
and then we have the parade on top of that.
So I don't know if we actually have a tent there.
I don't believe we do.

Speaker 1 (42:10):
You'll have a table, but.

Speaker 3 (42:11):
We will probably have a table. Yes, that's a busy week.
Yes it is, it is, it is, but you know what,
it is a very humbling week.

Speaker 2 (42:22):
Oh yeah.

Speaker 1 (42:23):
And for American I know in the state of Florida.
Governor de Santis actually changed Veteran Day to Veteran Month
in the state of Florida. So it's going to be
actually packed all November long and hopefully we'll come and
see you guys somewhere somewhere and somewhen.

Speaker 3 (42:37):
Yeah, I mean it would be great.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
Look for us. We'll be there somewhere.

Speaker 3 (42:41):
We will be there. I am around, look for me.
I'm all over the place exactly.

Speaker 1 (42:45):
And to our veterans out there at the end, at
the other end of the microphone, just remember we're thinking
about you. And there's a DAV somewhere in your neighborhood.
Go there, find it, utilize the those services, and do
yourselves if pass on the legacy of your service, knowing
for yourself, but to your families.

Speaker 3 (43:07):
And that will. We are in tune with on oor
Flight right now, so we are still trying to figure
out if we're going to leave from the Port Charlotte
Mall or if we're going to leave from Bird's Black Widow.
We will make that determination. We will post it online.
You can follow us on Facebook. It's chapter eighty DAAV

(43:27):
chapter eighty two, and you can follow us there. You
can see all of our events and everything that we do.
You know, we I speak. I've been speaking at a
lot of places here lately. You know, we have a
couple of things on the back burners that we're trying
to fix. One of them is community care because they

(43:48):
want to take the clinic out of Port Charlotte or yes,
the VA clinic. So we have a wonderful lady that's
in tune with that and she's trying to fix that.
Like I said that we had, we have over forty
thousand veterans in Charlotte County. We can't have that clinic moved.
We can't. They have no way of getting there. You know,

(44:12):
if you need to go to an appointment, you know,
call Charlotte County Transit. You know, granted they don't go
out of Charlotte County, but that's okay. If you have
an appointment, call me. If I don't have an appointment
that day and I ain't got nothing to do that day,
I'll take you myself. I don't have a problem with that.
You know. I am there and put on this earth

(44:34):
to help my veterans, you know, any of my brothers
and sisters. I don't care who you are, I don't
care where you live. If you need help, I'm there.
I'm going to help you. I'm going to do everything
in my power to help you, and I ain't going
to charge you a dime.

Speaker 1 (44:50):
There you go, and I'll say this on behalf of
Riley Point USA. I'd like to say that in your
quest to make that happen, I and I'm not going
to speak for Paul, and Paul can add on to
this a little bit later if he wants to, I
will say that I'd like to have you, guys part
of our permanent rotation, which rather have me yip yip

(45:12):
on the phone on the microphone, your message should be
put out more consistently, So on behalf of Rally Point USA.
You have an opportunity to have your own segment here
on the show, zaying the brain. He can walk you
through it. And three years ago in December, this young
buck here started a show and had no experience whatsoever.

(45:36):
But in order to combat the two things one, rather
than send twenty billion dollars or Argentina, and I'm not
getting political, imagine twenty billion dollars for every veteran in
our country. I'm pretty sure that would end humblestness as
we know it and suicide rich would plummet immediately. But
that's my take on reality and maybe a little deluded.

(45:57):
So to my point or, I would like to offer
you guys an opportunity to spend your message exclusively your way.
AB you have that opportunity. That would be.

Speaker 2 (46:08):
Oh, it's a given that we'll we'll have the DAV
here always. Yes, you know, we we really need to
get that information out. I would be curious to know
how many of those forty thousand I have walked by
to DAV in some location and said, I wonder what

(46:28):
they're about. Exactly, Well, that's our job we need. We
need to make sure that. And that's all over the country. Yes,
you know, it's not just here and where we live.
They're all over I used them in New York, so
they're everywhere. Their function is pretty much the same. They're
pretty consistent and that's what we like as veterans as

(46:51):
we like consistency, and they're there to make sure that
it happens. Do you have specialists within your organization? In
other words, counselors who they're really good at a particular function,
Are they or is it kind of we pick who
we need when we need.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Them, not necessarily not technically specialists. The volunteers that we
have at DAV, especially here in Port Charlotte, have been
doing this for years, so we know what doctors to
send you to. But if we have any questions, we

(47:33):
all help each other. Every one of us work as
a team. If I don't know something, I will be
more than happy to go to my two favorite people,
which is Buzz and Pete. They are absolutely the best
trainers I could ever ask for, both of them in
the United States Marines. We won't hold that against them,
but but they are. They are absolutely wonderful people, very experienced.

(47:58):
We have a lot of experience in that office. And
if we can't answer a question, we will find you
the answer.

Speaker 2 (48:06):
So you're the only specialist. You're the You're you're the Uh,
I'm gonna latch onto it and not let go of person.

Speaker 3 (48:14):
Yes, and and yeah, actually you're probably right. Yes, I
will latch on and I don't let go. I don't.
I just it's just not in my nature. My dad.
You know, I was a daddy's girl. I took care
of my mom and dad, both of them before they passed.
But I was raised you know, you take care of yourself,

(48:39):
you know, I was raised by my dad. We're raised
around cars. I was raised around racing, so yes, I
can use a wrench. I was an engineer, boiler technician
in a navy so you know, it's it's in my heart.
It's in my heart to take care of people, and
I think that's what I was put on this earth for.
And my fellow vetters are veterans, are taking care.

Speaker 2 (49:03):
Of veterans, helping veterans. We understand the language.

Speaker 1 (49:06):
And a beautiful thing that you do. And I will
give you one of my acts to grind versus with
a positive and what you do, you save lives and
it's free.

Speaker 3 (49:18):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (49:19):
And as we all know in this room, there are
individuals and organizations that fundraise improving the lives of veterans.
And you have to ask the question, all right, you're
raising your fundraising, what do you do? I mean, where's
that money gone? And I'll say this outll the gate,
zero dollars to help yourself and to improve and have

(49:42):
a game changing, life changing event by getting your benefits
that you deserve because you serve your country the few
and the proud.

Speaker 3 (49:49):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
And I'll say that's why I'm so passionate about what
you do and will to support any way I can,
because it's not it's the only thing that costs their
time and effort of how badly they want it, and
you're not going to You may succeed first time. Go
but the VA is going to be the VA. It's
usually your denial denial two dozen times over, but it's

(50:13):
that thirteenth time or the one hundred and thirteenth time
that you get that you're you're granted. Yes, And the
key is not to quit. Don't give up, because that's
the game. And folks, one more, one more little tidment.
When you go to court with the VA, have the
d A V or some organization with you, because if

(50:34):
you use the VA's attorney, the analogy that was given
to me is like having your ex spouse's attorney represent
you at the same time. Yes, do they have their
best interest for you? I don't know.

Speaker 3 (50:47):
You don't know that. Yeah, you don't know that. You're
absolutely right, you know. And it's like you were saying before,
are you and Paul? You know when you're speaking to
these veterans and they say, well, I'm going to hire
a lawyer, Okay, Well what does that lawyer specialize in?

Speaker 1 (51:05):
Exactly?

Speaker 3 (51:06):
And if he gets you any money, he's going to
take a lot of that money. Well, you know, why
why do you have to pay somebody to get what
you rightfully earned? You know? And I tell people all
the time and it's funny because I'm Ashley and Pete
and Buzz you know, always laugh at me when I
say it, But you know what, I am here to

(51:27):
change the world, one veteran at a time.

Speaker 1 (51:30):
Well, and I mean, God, bless you, God bless the
dav And like you said, you now have a slot
the rally point at USA because the message that you
guys are spreading never get told. Absolutely and literally, we
and you have been saving lives since you've been doing this.

Speaker 3 (51:46):
I am truly grateful for having you here and helping
us get the word out about who we are and
where we're at and what we do.

Speaker 1 (51:53):
We're just We're just like gas. You're the car where
to gas? Get done with that. Thank you for being
on our show and welcome my pleasure.

Speaker 3 (52:00):
Thank you so much. It is a great honor. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (52:03):
Hope to see you again.

Speaker 3 (52:04):
Oh yes, I am all over the place.

Speaker 2 (52:09):
You know, we're talking about all our veterans, but what
about our reservis they've been deployed and they do give
us another function or another resource.

Speaker 3 (52:19):
They do because they are also part of the military.
They're still veterans. But it is one of the most
difficult things is to get reservists rated because they feel
that Okay, well, unless you went active, you know, you
shouldn't get a rating. Well why not because I'm doing

(52:41):
the same job on the weekend once a month, or
I'm doing the same job two weeks out of the year.
You know what if I get hurt, you know, I'm
still doing the firing range, i still have loud noises
in my ears, I'm still lifting things, you know. And
then you don't know from one day to the next
if you're going to get called active.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
And most reservists do it for multiple years. They just
don't come in for a week or two. They are
multiple years. They're involved in the reserves. Yes, and that's
all branches of the of the military.

Speaker 3 (53:13):
Of the military. You're absolutely one hundred percent correct. You know,
they deserve ratings just as much as everybody else does.
You know, is it a fight, Yes, it is a fight.
But you know, I can't say that we haven't gotten reservists,
you know, rated, because we have, you know, especially with
you know, hearing loss in tonitas and a bad back.

(53:37):
You know, uh, there's a rating out there. You know,
you just got You're going to have to fight a
little bit harder as a reservist, but you know, don't
give up, take that fight, take it.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
Absolutely, it's all part of the military.

Speaker 3 (53:51):
Absolutely.

Speaker 2 (53:52):
Well, that's This has been a long session. We've covered
a lot of areas, so at this point I want
to say rally pointers. This smissed