I am That Man

GTH relies on donations from those with respect and concern for our disabled Veterans. In Las Vegas, friends of Ed’s at The Leatherneck Club, a Veteran-owned establishment, hosted fundraiser nights. From April through July, Tenaya Creek Brewery donated a dollar per pint of its flagship Bonanza Brown Ale sold in its tasting room. And the Findlay Automotive Group made a donation for each Kia and Volvo it sold in June. The community and media came together to make sure the project was fully funded.

Navy Corpsman George “Doc” Dodge, a Pensacola-area resident, is a Vietnam-era disabled Veteran and a huge presence within Pensacola’s Cpl JR Speers Detachment of the Marine Corps League. Dodge has assisted countless Veterans through the VA’s red tape, and he’s known for providing Vets with transportation to appointments and even accompanying them when asked. But getting the major heart surgery that he’d long avoided meant he and his wife,”BeBe,” could no longer make repairs themselves to the badly deteriorated roof of their house.

In October, GTH and AHERO combined forces with Marine Veteran Jim Lawry’s Diamond Contractors roofing company and volunteers from the crew of the USS Tripoli to provide a new roof on the Dodge’s home. Alerted to the Dodge’s plight, the Speers Detachment joined GTH and the Merrill Land Construction company to cover a large part of the estimated costs.

This year, even more GTH projects are underway. Partnering with the nonprofit NOLAH, GTH is providing an ADA-compliant kitchen for wheelchair-bound Dennis in San Diego, a Vietnam-era Vet. In addition, needed renovations on Veteran Dave Riley’s house in Mobile, Ala., are planned. A quadruple amputee, Dave is familiar to AHERO’s volunteers and donors. The estimated combined cost of the two projects is $48,000. At GTH, fundraising for projects such as these is always ongoing.

GTH was founded in response to the exhaustive time delays and red tape Vets in need must go through to receive help from the VA. They deserve better, Smith believes. “The VA asks contractors to cover half or more of the cost of a job,” he said, “and it takes a year or more after the job’s completed for the VA to pay its agreed share!”

To help streamline the ADA and solve these VA issues, the GTH team met with Congressional staffers on crafting what we hope will become the VA–ADA Act. Our government has spent massively on military ventures over the years. Taking care of our Veterans–especially our disabled Vets–should be its first priority as part of the human cost of going to war.

Learn more about GTH at gunstohammers. com. Like us on Facebook, where you can follow our progress in assisting America’s disabled Veterans.