BRICK – There is an organization dedicated to helping disabled veterans live their best lives by ensuring they can access the full range of benefits to which they are entitled, by keeping them informed about any new laws in Congress, and by providing the camaraderie and understanding that comes from having similar experiences.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) has a chapter in Brick and a building at 1810 Lanes Mill Road. Chapter 20 has some 300-400 members and meets on the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m.
Members, who must be a disabled from their time in the military, pay a one-time, life membership dues of $350.
DAV was founded by Judge Robert S. Marx in 1920. Marx was an Army captain and WW1 veteran who recognized the need for a veterans’ organization to support those who had returned with injuries and disabilities.
Disabled American Veterans (DAV) meets regularly to make sure everyone gets the benefits they’ve earned. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)
Brick’s chapter commander, Mike Lawrence, spent 21 years in the Navy and has endured knee surgeries and has back issues that stem from his time in the military.
“If you’ve ever spent any time on a Navy ship you’re gonna have some problems,” said Lawrence, who runs the DAV meetings and sets the agenda.
“If there’s any veteran out there who needs help, that’s what we’re here for – we’re looking to target the disabled, to get them their benefits they deserve and keep them informed on what they need to do to get their disability,” he said.
Bill Lang, a 1969-1972 veteran who served as an Army medic during the Vietnam era serves as a mentor at the Brick chapter.
He said even though there are hundreds of members, only a small core group are active and attend the meetings.
“The older members are going and the younger people don’t seem to have the interest,” Lang said. Sometimes it’s because younger veterans have families and jobs, but sometimes, “they don’t want to relive the experience.
“You find, inevitably, during periods of war, promises are made by the government and not kept; they weren’t fulfilling their promises to veterans,” Lang said.
Some veterans are being treated for mental issues, like PTSD, which is treated as a disability. “In fact, most of the [disabilities] are mental,” he said.
The DAV has a suicide prevention team that collaborates with other organizations that gets results by saving veterans’ lives. Some 17 – mostly younger – veterans commit suicide each day, he said.
One of several younger veterans at the meeting was Ian Giberson, 28, who enlisted in the Air Force when he was 20 and was on active duty in Jordan from the age of 20-24.
He said being a member of DAV is a way to help other people
“The DAV filed all my paperwork for my disability claim at the VA, so that’s how I got my rating and I get my pension check every month,” he said.
Giberson has arthritis in his knees, some hearing loss, and suffers from depression, anxiety and insomnia from substance use withdrawal. “It’s long- winded, but all together it’s 60 percent [disability] rating, so I am eligible for mental health care from the VA.”
He has agreed to serve as the chapter commander next year.
Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn
The DAV – which is an NGO (non-government organization) is funded in two ways: DAV national disburses funds through sponsors in accordance with a chapter’s membership, and through a “Forget-Me-Not” campaign where members hand out blue flowers with a yellow centers at public areas like shopping centers and the boardwalk.
The “Forget-Me-Not” campaign is held up to seven times a year and provides for most of the DAV operating expenses, Lang said.
Money raised is used to serve veterans. The Brick chapter has two vans that are used to drive disabled veterans to medical appointments, but a shortage of drivers means they are limited in the number of rides they can offer.
Navy veteran Dennis Smith, 75, who serves as the chapter chaplain, suffered from grand mal seizures for many years after a 1969 accident on his ship when a hatch from a watertight door was closed on his head resulting in a three month stay in a military hospital.
“It took almost 20 years to get on the right medication,” he said. “I haven’t had a seizure in six years.”
As a DAV member for 50 years, Smith said he finds comfort in being around other veterans and helping other veterans.
DAV is a nonprofit charity that provides a lifetime of support for veterans of all generations. The Brick chapter supports the veterans in the southern Monmouth and northern Ocean County areas.
To make a donation, to volunteer as a driver or for more information visit their Facebook page at Disabled American Veterans Chapter 20.
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