VFW Takes the Hill: An Advocate's Point of View by retired Navy Corpsman Joe Lumsden

Our third advocate submission leading up to the 2012 VFW National Legislative Conference comes from Department of Vermont Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Committee Chairman and retired Navy Corpsman Joe Lumsden. Be on the look-out for another story tomorrow from a VFW advocate who will be coming to Washington on March 3 to meet with leaders in Congress leading up to VFW Commander-in-Chief Richard L. DeNoyer’s testimony before a special joint session of the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Committees on March 7:

What really matters when you come to Washington, D.C., are issues concerning veterans. Your rank, political affiliation, sex, or the color of your skin play no role. What makes a statement, however, is unity. In a time where many different organizations form to represent a single conflict, the Veterans of Foreign Wars remains focused on fighting for all.

This March will be no different as generations of combat veterans "Storm the Hill" to address issues like healthcare, education, retirement and budget cuts. This is my second visit to our Nation's Capitol representing the state of Vermont as their Iraq and Afghanistan chairman.

I spent the last year traveling around my state listening to hundreds of veterans and their families while doing my [college] senior internship promoting the VFW. The conversations started out with [Voice of Democracy] and the Patriot's Pen essay contest, or teacher awards and college scholarships. Then conversations shifted to stories of the VA and the backlog of claims, or unemployment; and what shocked me more were the tears of frustration.

I made a promise that I would continue to be their voice and continue to fight for what's right. Some said they had no fight left in them, some wanted direction and leadership to continue the fight.

"What's in it for me?" -- a question asked many times about joining the VFW. This was asked of my state commander during a Yellow Ribbon ceremony by a young returning veteran. He turned him around to face the VA hospital and said, "That's for you, but it takes fighters like us to keep it."

Joe Lumsden is a retired Navy hospital corpsman who deployed during Operation Desert Storm in 1991 and returned to serve in Iraq again in 2003. In 2011, Lumsden served as a national co-chairman of the VFW Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Committee. He continues to serve today as Vermont's Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Committee chairman and membership chairman. Lumsden was also recently appointed as Vermont VFW National Deputy Chief of Staff by the department commander. Lumsden will also graduate this spring with Bachelor of Arts degree from Southern Vermont College with a minor in history and politics. 

(Images: Top: Joe Lumsden during the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Committee meeting at the 2011 VFW National Convention in San Antonio. Official VFW photo. Bottom: Lumsden, far right, and his fellow chairmen of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Committee speak with Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. 1st Class Leroy Petry during the 2011 VFW National Convention. Photo by Ryan Gallucci.)