WBFO Veterans News Desk

Following his first public statement about his forthcoming Medal of Honor ceremony at the White House, Iraq War veteran David Bellavia spoke one-on-one with WBFO Radio about his pending decoration, putting his memoirs into writing and the qualities he believes makes an ideal citizen.

He will become the first living Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran to receive the Medal of Honor later this month. Former Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia, a Lyndonville native, will receive the honor from President Donald Trump during a White House ceremony June 25. On Tuesday, he met with local media to discuss an honor he considers a tribute not to him exclusively, but to his many comrades.

He was a member of the famed 82nd Airborne, which participated in the invasion of Normandy that began on June 6, 1944. Commencement of Operation Overlord became better known as D-Day. Grand Island native Charles DeGlopper would lose his life three days later, willingly putting himself in the line of fire to help his platoon, pinned down in a ditch, escape that position.

Congress is closer to passing legislation which would give tens of thousands of Vietnam Veterans medical benefits - decades after they were exposed to the chemical Agent Orange.

This holiday weekend, ceremonies will be held throughout Western New York, from parades to the more solemn remembrances of those who died while in military service for the United States. While there's no shortage of events, there is a growing challenge to staff one of the most important elements of Memorial Day gatherings: the color guard.

Several men who once served aboard the original U.S.S. Little Rock have come to Buffalo to help give it some repairs and cleanup, in advance of the summer tourist season. They've also loaned their voices to share the Little Rock's story to Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park visitors.

He was born in Germany in 1925. Stephan Lewy and his Jewish family were able to flee that nation just after Kristallnacht in 1938, but he eventually returned to Europe as part of the U.S. Army, serving under General Patton's command and liberating many of his fellow Jews. Lewy, who now shares his life experiences with local students, was honored this week as Erie County's Senior of the Year.

She was there in Thailand as U.S. military personnel participated in a daring rescue watched around the world. She represented the U.S. Government as its spokesperson, providing a voice on behalf of those who worked to save a youth soccer team trapped for days in a flooded cave. Air Force Captain Jessica Tait wraps up a visit to Buffalo Monday, having shared her story and some advice to local students since Friday.

May 18 is Armed Forces Day in the United States. In Western New York, several events are scheduled to mark the day including family-oriented gatherings and one in Buffalo where veterans will be offered information about important services, while having the chance to receive a service at no cost to them.

According to federal statistics, there were more than 9,100 people experiencing homelessness in New York State one year ago. More than 1,200 of them were military veterans. Nationwide, veterans account for approximately nine percent of homeless persons. Many slide down a path to homelessness due to mental illness, while others get into economic trouble from which they cannot recover.

A laborer with the Erie County Department of Public Works, let go last summer while away on active duty with the Army National Guard, is being reinstated to his county job, County Executive Mark Poloncarz announced Monday. The move was announced just moments before Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw and the head of the union representing Sgt. Rapheal Ramos were to host a news conference demanding the employee's rehire.

The VA Western New York Healthcare System is receiving funding from the federal government that will allow three studies to proceed at the Buffalo VA Medical Center. The researchers leading the respective projects say these will benefit not only the veterans who will receive treatment but also the wider community.

The Buffalo Bisons will host a game in May celebrating veterans by donating a portion of ticket sales to a project to make capital improvements at more than a dozen local halls and posts. In partnership with the Erie County Clerk's Office and a private sponsor, one thousand veterans will get to watch the Bisons' may 18 home game for free.

Since the 1980s, April has been designated the Month of the Military Child. It's a recognition of the sacrifices children of military personnel must make when their father or mother is called to active duty. Their sacrifices and concerns for their well being are numerous and various.

A scholarship program for public colleges and universities offered to New York families whose loved ones are killed while on active military combat duty is expanding its eligibility qualifications. It comes following political backlash over stalled bills to provide free college tuitions to Gold Star families, while millions of dollars were included in the budget for similar tuitions for families of those who entered the US illegally.

Later this week, the New York State Veterans Benefits Advisors office will be moving from its longtime home in Amherst Town Hall to a new location not far to the east along Main Street, where it will join other services available to local veterans under the roof of a not-for-profit which is already eyeing further expansion.

Veterans and their advocates were celebrating the completion of updated, handicap-accessible restrooms at an American Legion post in Sloan Friday morning. But they looked back on a recent tragic fall at another local post. In light of that incident, Erie County Clerk Michael Kearns and the American Institute of Architects are announcing that an urgent assessment of handicap accessibility at other veteran posts is underway.

A motorcycle custom-built as a means to support a project to bring a traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall to Western New York permenantly was unveiled in a nationally-televised broadcast Wednesday evening. A local State Assemblyman hopes the Vietnam Veteran-themed chopper can join the replica wall as a permanent fixture in Knox Farm State Park in East Aurora.

A Vietnam Veteran who has lived with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder for the past 50 years is taking a walk across New York State to raise awareness and support for other veterans, young and old, who are also living with PTSD. He began his journey in Buffalo.

They willingly gave up their life vests so that four shipmates could be saved. The Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Buffalo hosted a ceremony Wednesday honoring four Army chaplains who sacrificed their lives in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic during World War II, as they recognized three local men - and a d0g - who serve in various volunteer roles.

His spontaneous kiss of a passing woman in Times Square was captured on film and published by Life Magazine. George Mendonsa died last weekend at the age of 95 but a part of his life now rests docked in the waters of the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park.

Last week, the nation's highest court, by a 5-to-4 unsigned order, allowed President Donald Trump's ban on transgender individuals serving in the military take effect. Proponents of the ban say military operations could be disrupted by including transgender soldiers and sailors. Advocates for the transgender community, as well as one who served in the military, say that's nonsense.

U.S. Coast Guard personnel, including those stationed in Buffalo and at Fort Niagara, are among those continuing to work without pay amidst a lingering partial federal government shutdown. A pantry has been set up to assist them with basic needs, while the shutdown stalemate in Washington, DC continues.