My wife, Sandi, and I recently returned from a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska to visit our son, Warren, who is stationed at Fort Wainwright with the U.S. Army. He and his wife, Bethany, were having their first child and we wanted to be there for this event. While we were away we received some bad news: A fellow veteran had passed away; another was in very critical condition. Both of these two gentleman are a part of our veteran family and members of all the veterans’ organizations in the county. They both are being missed.

When I returned, I was informed about an editorial letter that Don Cossack wrote about Cortez and its veterans, He wrote that they do not care about fellow veterans. I was also informed that David Johnson and Monica Noland, who I consider very good friends and who would go out of their way to assist any veteran if asked, submitted letters in defense of the veterans organizations in the county.

I found the articles and informed myself concerning the issue and have come to this conclusion: The veteran in question did not ask for help or has caused his own disassociation from the veterans’ organizations. Not one of these organization would deny a fellow veteran from its ranks; if that is the case he could have brought his problem to the county service officer for assistance. In either case, help is available for those veterans in need.

Speaking of our county service officers, Rick Torres and Bud Carrier have been very busy assisting veterans everyday. They have been doing outreach to veterans and their families at their homes, nursing homes and hospitals. The Montezuma County Service Office is located in the County Annex on the corner of Chestnut and Montezuma and is open Monday through Friday. Thanks have to be given to our county commissioners for addressing the need to support the veterans in our county.

At the American Legion located on North Harrison, someone is always available almost every day and the club is open at 2 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Legion member Don Swank and other Legionnaires are always their working on something. All anyone ever has to do is drop in and ask for some help. The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) Dunger Smith Chapter has grants available to assist veterans. The Montezuma County Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) also has a grant to help veterans in need.

All any veteran has to do is stop by and visit with Rick Torres and he will point you in the right direction. There are also Ladies auxiliaries for the American Legion and the VFW that will assist if needed. For those parents with children in the military, there is also the Blue Star Mothers with a chapter here in Cortez that provides support and assistance.

So, Mr. Cossack, if you were or still are so concerned about this veteran’s welfare, why didn’t you look for some assistance? The old saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink!” applies to this situation.

The Blue Star Mothers of Cortez will be sponsoring the George Geer Memorial Car Show starting on Aug. 9 with registration in the afternoon and burnout contest that same evening at Angel’s Sports Bar on North Broadway. The car show will be full of activities starting on Saturday morning parking cars. The sounds and fumes are wonderful. The only thing missing will be cold hot dogs and warm soda pop.

There will be a VFW Color Guard presentation at noon with an honor march to honor our fallen soldiers and those defending us today. Presentation of awards will be at 3:30 p.m. followed by a barbecue sponsored by Rimco of Cortez, a Main Street cruise, trivia contest and music.

The DAV will also be at the car show selling raffle tickets for a beautiful lap blanket and wall hanging to support the DAV Transportation Van Fund. The blanket and wall hanging will be awarded at the car show during the presentation of awards. The DAV will also have subscriptions available for the Veterans Business Directory, if you think you would be interested, stop by — we will have someone to explain this program.

All proceeds go to support the transportation van. Montezuma County Service Officer Rick Torres will also be hanging out with us at the DAV pop-up, so drop by and welcome him to Cortez if you haven’t already done so.

When I moved here 20 years ago, friends and family asked me why? My answer: It is a really nice place to live. The veterans and people I know here have become friends and family. After Sandi and I returned home from Alaska, I can honestly say there is no place like home, especially in Cortez

Robert Valencia is a retired Army Sergeant First Class, a member of the American Legion, the Disabled American Veterans and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He can be reached (970) 560-1891. Please tune into Veterans Forum at 8:30 a.m. the last Friday of the month on KSJD 90.5 FM radio.