WBFO Veterans News Desk

Sixty-seven years after his death, a Buffalo native has received a half-dozen medals - including the Purple Heart - for his service in the Korean War.

Robert Wilkie, who was confirmed overwhelmingly by the U.S. Senate as the new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, takes over a department that President Donald Trump has vowed to shake up by firing "bad" employees and steering more veterans toward private health care. The head of a veteran support agency in Buffalo says change is good, though no one's talking about replacing or fully privatizing the VA.

More than 100 youngsters are wrapping up a week's getaway at a summer camp in Angola, along the Lake Erie shoreline. It's a summer camp hosted specifically for children of military personnel who have been deployed, are currently deployed or soon will be. It's known as Operation Purple Camp.

A traveling version of the wall bearing the names of tens of thousands of U.S. military personnel who died in the Vietnam War is arriving in Niagara Falls Wednesday. The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall, once assembled, will be on display through next Monday in the city's Hyde Park.

A suburban Buffalo agency that serves military veterans and families in need has a program available that makes many youth programs attainable for those who might otherwise struggle to afford it.

Two state lawmakers, one from each house of the Legislature, are announcing funding that brings a long-desired memorial closer to reality on Buffalo's waterfront.

Visitors to the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park will have an added piece of technology to enhance their experience. WBFO’s senior reporter Eileen Buckley says Bak USA delivered 20-tablets to the downtown Naval Park at Canalside. 

As the nation marks its annual observance of Flag Day, the Erie County Clerk's Office and the county's auto bureaus are launching the sale of flag-themed cards that will raise much-needed funds for local veteran posts and halls.

A regional retailer, raising the money one dollar at a time, presented a locally-based veterans organization with more than $12,000 to support ongoing efforts aiding those who have left the military and are transitioning - many times with difficulty - into civilian life.

Niagara Falls City High School students gave a World War two veteran a hero’s welcome Thursday.  WBFO’s senor reporter Eileen Buckley says the veteran delivered a historic lesson to the students.

He is best known to most Americans as the developer of classic television shows including "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons" and "Good Times." Before that, during World War II, Norman Lear was part of a B-17 crew that ran missions over Germany. What many may not know is his Buffalo connection and how the war influenced his TV career.

Jewish Americans accounted for a higher percentage of the US military during World War II than the entire US population. On Sunday, May 27 at 9:30 p.m., WNED-TV will broadcast a documentary which celebrates the Jews who contributed to the war effort, specifically members of the US Army Air Corps.

Students at St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute in Kenmore tackled a difficult mental health issue through a stage play performed this past weekend.  WBFO's senior reporter Eileen Buckley says students wrote, directed, composed music and choreographed the two act musical called 'Army of One' with all proceeds going to a veteran organization. 

The Polish-American newspaper Am-Pol Eagle will mark this year's 100th anniversary of Poland's restoration as a sovereign state with a special ceremony at St. Adalbert Basilica in Buffalo. Among those to be honored as part of the celebration are surviving Polish-born World War II veterans.

Among the challenges veterans face upon ending active duty and entering civilian life is being able to communicate one's thoughts and emotions to spouses, other loved ones and other peers. The Lothlorien Therapeutic Riding Center in East Aurora played host this week to a group of veterans and spouses who were participating in Project Odyssey, a retreat facilitated by the Wounded Warrior Project.

Two Buffalo-area colleges, one of them a two-year public institution and the other a four-year private school, are uniting in a partnership to provide a smooth path to a bachelor's degree for students with military connections.

By this fall, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs hopes to begin construction on the new Western New York National Veterans Cemetery in the Town of Pembroke. Officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs encourage those who served in the military to do their homework, and take advantage of a benefit that many may not know is one to which they are entitled.

Construction of a new monument paying tribute to African-American veterans is expected to begin this spring, boosted by the recent awarding of a $600,000 state grant.