Wyoming Veterans

Two bills related to the University of Wyoming made moves through the Legislature this week. One would create a student loan repayment program for veterans who provide mental health care to other vets, and the other is related to the Hathaway Scholarship.

A couple of summers ago, the non-profit StoryCorps hosted an oral history project here in Wyoming in which veterans and their families recorded honest and personal stories about their military experience. We’re grateful to share those conversations now with our listeners. Today, we hear from 61-year-old Dianne Burner and her mother, Demi, as they recount fond memories of Dianne’s grandmother who joined the Navy in World War I, and stress the importance of passing on family history.

Suicide rates for female veterans are more than double that of non-veteran women in the U.S – and suicide rates among female vets have also increased at a much higher rate than their male counterparts. The Sheridan VA is trying to combat those statistics by organizing more opportunities for female veterans to create community, heal and give feedback about their health care needs.

The Lander Community Resource Center officially opened its doors last month. The space is focused on creating a welcoming space for veterans and first responders to process, connect, and access resources.

The National Museum of Military Vehicles has only been open for three years, but the site has consistently received recognition and is bringing visitors to Dubois from all over the world.

Wyoming AARP is raising awareness of a scam that claims to offer assistance to access PACT Act benefits. The act expands health care and benefits to veterans who were exposed to toxic environments in the Vietnam, Gulf War, and post-9/11 eras.

Wyoming VA officials are raising awareness of the expanded benefits for veterans under the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, a law enacted last August. It expands VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, burn pits, and other toxic substances from the Vietnam era to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The talk will be presented by Dr. Mark Johnson, a retired career Army officer who is currently writing a two-volume history of the Wyoming Army and Air National Guards. The event will be at the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Museum in Casper on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. and will also stream on their Facebook page. This is just one in a series of speakers that have been hosted since January, which the museum seeks to make a regular part of their public offerings.

George Ostrom served in the U.S. Army in France and a short time in Germany during WWI, sketching scenes that he encountered in combat as well as behind the lines. He lived most of his life in Sheridan and was actively involved in veterans affairs and had a career as a commercial artist, wolf hunter, and conservation advocate in later years. Some credit him with the iconic bucking horse image that's been featured on Wyoming license plates since the mid-1930s.

This summer, a University of Wyoming trail building program launched a work crew specifically for veterans in need of a job. The crew is the first of its…