Purple Hearts Reunited

Captain Zachariah Fike spends a considerable amount of his own time to track down lost or stolen medals and return them to the veteran who earned them or to their families. He founded the non-profit organization, Purple Hearts Reunited, and travels all over the...

Train a Dog, Save a Warrior

“Train a Dog, Save a Warrior”, matches veterans with PTSD or traumatic brain injuries with service dogs. Sherrie King, a dog trainer from Springfield, and military veteran Robert Davis join Jim Madigan in the studio to talk about the program, and what it...

Soldier On

1 in 5 homeless in this country is a veteran, which means that on any given night more than 275,000 veterans in this country are sleeping on the streets. But a new approach to housing theses veterans is being pioneered in our region at Soldier...

Holyoke Soliders’ Home

Paul Barabani, Superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, discusses his hopes to expand services for veterans as well as efforts to contain costs while maintaining and increasing programs offered at the...

Veterans’ Benefits

John Paradise, Public Affairs, & Tom Belton, Director of Vet Services  at the VA Medical Center in Leeds MA, discuss some of the current initiatives relating to employing returning veterans, providing services to vets with PTSD, and new women’s...

Holyoke Soldiers Home

Paul Barabani, Superintendent of the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home, discusses the recent establishment of a Veterans’ Assistance Center there and other help available through the facility for...

Veterans Employer Summit

John Paradis of the Veterans Administration and Springfield Veterans Service officer Tom Belton will preview the June 6 “Employer Summit” at Western New England University, aimed at getting more businesses to actively consider hiring veterans —...

Pioneer Valley USO

Al Tracy, executive director of the Pioneer Valley USO, joins Carrie Saldo as part of our “Salute to Service and Sacrifice”. In times of peace and conflict,  the USO’s mission is to enhance the quality of life for the men, women, and families of the...

Saluting Service & Sacrifice

Marine Sergeant Joshua Bouchard of Granby, MA was on his second deployment when he lost his left leg and broke his back after his vehicle drove over a pressure plated IED in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on July 8th, 2009. While out on a night mission, Sgt. Bouchard...

Veterans’ Benefits

Jim Madigan interviews Springfield Veterans Service Officer Tom Belton and West Springfield Veterans Service Officer Jim Berrelli about “Chapter 115” and the special help and benefits it offers for Baystate veterans and their families. Information on...

The State We’re In: Jim Welch

State Senator Jim Welch (D) – West Springfield and the Hampden District will discuss the recently adopted 2013 House Budget and state finances, the  “Valor Act” to assist Massachusetts veterans and their families, and a bill he’s sponsoring to aid families of murder...

Service and Sacrifice

In ten years, the American Legion/VFW food pantry in Lanesboro, Massachusetts has grown from serving 20 people to 270. More recently, they have distributed 12,000 pounds of food, and about 85 percent of those visiting the pantry are Veterans. We visited the Pantry...