Vietnam vet is awarded Silver Star after 43 years

Vietnam vet is awarded Silver Star after 43 years
The Boyle Heights man hadn't received the medal for heroism because of lost paperwork. When the officer who recommended him found out, he doggedly worked to correct the oversight.

By Esmeralda Bermudez

October 4, 2009


It took 43 years, but Marine Pfc. Daniel Hernandez finally got his medal.

And when he did Saturday morning in Boyle Heights, the Vietnam veteran stood up straight and proudly puffed out his chest, his eyes glistening with emotion.

"His immediate and fearless actions, while himself painfully wounded, undoubtedly saved many lives," said Marine Lt. Jim Lupori, reading from the Silver Star medal citation that, because of lost paperwork, was never awarded to Hernandez by the secretary of the Navy after he left Vietnam in the late 1960s.

The four-decade wait only made the honor more meaningful to Hernandez, 63, as several hundred relatives, friends and fellow veterans gathered for a ceremony in his honor at the Hollenbeck Youth Center. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) and a host of other state and city leaders attended.

They came in support of a man they had known for decades as a community youth leader and president of the Hollenbeck Youth Center, which provides after-school programs to keep children away from gangs and drugs.

Few knew Hernandez also was a war hero.

"There's a difference between action heroes in movies and action heroes in real life," said Schwarzenegger, who has long collaborated with Hernandez on youth issues. "Danny is a real action hero."
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http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-medal4-2009oct04,0,3123760.story

Schwarzenegger vetoes bill honoring Vietnam veterans

Stop playing political games using veterans and shame on Governor Schwarzenegger for not signing it to get his way, but also shame on Alberto Torrico for daring him to do it. Vietnam veterans have waited far too long for their sacrifices to be honored, not used in some kind of political game! Don't they get this? Don't they understand that some Vietnam veterans enlisted and others were forced to go but they all worked together and risked their lives no matter how they ended up there for each other? They did not serve Republicans or Democrats! They served doing what the nation asked of them. No one owns them but everyone seems to forget what they owe them!

Schwarzenegger vetoes bill honoring Vietnam veterans


By Kevin Yamamura
The Sacramento Bee
In the latest round of Capitol brinksmanship, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill honoring Vietnam veterans and threatened to kill 72 other proposals on his desk because he said lawmakers have ignored his priority issues.

The Senate withdrew all of its 43 bills from the Republican governor's desk for temporary safekeeping. But in an act of defiance, the Assembly left on his desk a bill that would designate March 30 as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day."

"I dare the governor to veto this bill," said Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Newark, before the close of Tuesday's session.
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Schwarzenegger vetoes bill honoring Vietnam veterans

California war vets to get PTSD, TBI testing

California war vets to get PTSD, TBI testing

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Wednesday Oct 8, 2008 13:53:53 EDT

Reacting to complaints of delays in care as well as a recent report that found hundreds of thousands of combat veterans are living with undiagnosed traumatic brain injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill providing screening and mental health care for California war veterans.

SB 1401, authored by State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, Calif., requires that the Defense Department or Veterans Affairs Department reach out and assist all National Guard members and discharged combat veterans returning to California to receive screening for PTSD or TBI.

A second bill requires the Calfornia’s Department of Health Care Services, in conjunction with its Department of Mental Health, to seek federal funding for mental health services for those combat veterans.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/10/military_california_veterans_100808w/