Community Outreach and Regional Engagement
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January 23, 2025
Lawrence Brooks (left) shakes hands with MVAA Director Brian L. Love
ROSEVILLE, Mich.—When 80-year-old Lawrence Brooks, a Vietnam veteran, contacted the Michigan Veterans Resource Service Center (MVRSC) in November, the technician who took his call said his sadness was audible.
“He served in Vietnam and was injured there but never properly recognized for his service,” says Laurie Nevin, MVRSC technician.
Nevin states Brooks, a Marine Corps veteran, had been fighting for proper recognition for 40 years. Brooks says the VA denied he ever served In Vietnam, despite being injured in an ambush while on guard duty.
The MVRSC was able to track down a correction to his discharge paperwork that clearly acknowledged his service and decorations for his time in Vietnam.
“Being a spouse of a retired Marine, his story tugged at my heart,” says Amie Barrett, MVRSC technician. “I’m glad to have been part of recognizing Mr. Brooks’ service.”
In addition to assisting Brooks with guidance on his VA disability benefits, Nevin guided Brooks through the benefits available to him in Michigan. The MVRSC took it a step further to express their gratitude to Mr. Brooks and passed his information along to MVAA Director Brian L. Love, a Marine Corps veteran himself.
Director Love personally went to Brooks home in Roseville to pin him with a Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin and give him the proper ‘welcome home’ he never received.
“I am so proud of the MVAA team for working with Mr. Brooks during a challenging time,” said Director Love. “And having the team join me to witness the pining of this brave veteran was an honor. As I go around the state and pin Vietnam-era veterans, I can see in their eyes, their younger selves looking back at me. It is truly humbling.”
“To have Director Love go to his home was brilliant,” said Nevin. “I’m truly grateful that he took the time to go to his home. Hopefully when Mr. Brooks celebrated the holidays this year he celebrated with peace, knowing, maybe for the first time, that he is home and his nation is grateful for his service.”
------ Since his appointment last October by Gov. Whitmer, MVAA Director Brian L. Love has traveled across Michigan pinning hundreds of Vietnam-era veterans, thanking each one for their service and officially welcoming them home.
The Commemorative Vietnam Veteran Lapel Pin Director Love presents to Vietnam-era veterans, is to symbolize a lasting memento of the Nations thanks. Any living U.S. veterans who served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces during Nov. 1, 1955 to May 15, 1975, regardless of location, are eligible to receive one lapel pin.
In 2012, the Department of Defense established the United States Vietnam War Commemoration initiative. The goals of this initiative was to thank and honor veterans of the Vietnam War, highlight the service of the Armed Forces during, pay tribute to the contributions made on the home front, highlight the advances in technology, science, and medicine related to military research conducted during the War, and recognize the contributions and sacrifices made by our allies.
LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) is hosting the Veterans Day Recognition Ceremony Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 9:30-11 a.m., at Heritage Hall in downtown Lansing.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Less than 100 tickets remain available for the 2024 Michigan Military & Veterans Gala, Saturday, Nov. 2, at the L.V. Eberhard Center in Grand Rapids. The Gala is the state's premier event that honors both those who have served our state and nation in uniform and those who advocate on their behalf.
LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) has received a letter and Certificate of Appreciation from the Director the United States Army, Major General Edward J. Chrystal Jr., recognizing the agency for faithfully representing our Nation by selflessly hosting events to thank and honor Vietnam-era veterans and their families.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) hosted their fourth annual Veteran-Friendly Employers Innovation Conference for Michigan employers committed to the recruitment, training and retention of military veterans. More than 75 attendees from nearly 70 businesses from across Michigan joined fellow employers to learn how they can better serve their veteran employees and how to best recruit veterans to join their organizations.