Marking 75 years of service and building for the next generations of veterans

A Message from Director Kelly Fitzpatrick

Those of us who once wore a military uniform swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States and the principles upon which our nation was founded: that all people are created equal, and that everyone has the basic human right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That promise is a part of every veteran’s identity, the ideal they served their nation under, and is the foundation of ODVA’s founding 75 years ago.

ODVA marks this 75th anniversary as the world is confronted with a global pandemic, the resulting economic downturn and the people of our nation calling for bold systemic change to deeply rooted racial bias. It is a critical cross roads for our state and nation and how we respond will have long-lasting effects for generations to come.

In 1945, America was in the throes of another monumental and pivotal time in our nation’s history, with more than 16 million service members having been deployed on two fronts across Europe and the South Pacific. On the home front, every able body was working feverishly and sacrificing resources for the war effort. It is remembered as a time of nearly unprecedented unity, with seemingly every citizen equally invested in the outcomes of the Second World War.

While many experts had predicted a deep depression would follow the war’s end, the hard work of young Americans — including many veterans — instead helped usher in one of the most sustained periods of economic growth and cultural stability the country has ever seen.

Since then, ODVA has seen many generations of honored service members return from service and has evolved to meet each generation’s unique needs. From our humble beginnings as the administrator of a single loan program, a myriad of diverse and vital services have come into existence — all in response to the changing needs of veterans and the agency’s founding value to “care for those who have borne arms for us in whatever form and to whatever extent their valid individual need appear.”

Each war has had unique social circumstances that influenced their experience and individual outcomes after service. Today, not only do we have a robust federal and state veteran benefit system, we also recognize the importance of special advocacy to assist veterans who have traditionally been underserved as the nation progressed through bias and restrictions to freedoms and rights. In recent years, ODVA has been one of the nation’s leaders in providing dedicated resources and culturally sensitive services to women, LGBTQ, aging and tribal veterans in Oregon.

One thing that has not changed is our commitment to serve and honor every veteran in our state who has fought to defend our great nation and its freedoms. To help veterans and their families recover in the wake of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19 and to inform them of any changes to their earned benefits, our team has developed a new online Veteran Resource Navigator designed to assist veterans from all walks of life in finding the federal, state and local resources that are most needed for their unique circumstances in 2020.

Much of that information is also available in this issue of Oregon Veterans News Magazine, in the Covid-19 Resource Guide on pages 18- 25. But for the most up-to-date and comprehensive information, please find the online navigator on our website, www.oregon.gov/odva, or call an ODVA Veteran Resource Navigator at 1-800-692-9666.

Like the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs itself, this magazine recognizes its 75th anniversary. The first issue of what was then known simply as “Oregon Veterans’ News” was published in the form of a newsletter in August 1945, just a few months after the agency was established. It has changed in the past seven and a half decades, evolving from a newsletter to a newspaper and eventually, to the magazine you hold today. But its essential function has remained the same: a way to inform, connect, engage and inspire our Oregon veteran community.

The coronavirus pandemic has changed our world. But it has not changed Oregon’s commitment to those who served and fought for us. In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, our state and nation are facing challenges that are very different, but no less great, than those we faced 75 years ago. Again, the strength, creativity and leadership of our veteran community will be critical to our recovery.

Oregon veterans are a diverse community, but we are united in our shared service, and this has never been truer than it is today. We are all in this together, and we are not defeated. We will stand again, united, to ensure all veterans and their families thrive in Oregon for another 75 years.