Printer Friendly Page
VETERANS HELPING VETERANS -- Friendly advice
will
be free from retired state veterans' service
officer.
Lee Pascasio, former Marine and
state Division of Veterans Affairs employee, has organized a free
veterans assistance service at the Veterans of Foreign Wars post
in Greenville. (photo: Rhett Butler / The Daily Reflector) |
Story here...
http://www.reflector.com/
local/content/news/stories/2007/07/
02/0702vetservices.html
Story below:
-------------------------
Vets helping vets
'Friendly advice' will be free
By T. Scott Batchelor
The Daily Reflector
Greenville resident Lee Pascasio retired May 1
from the state Division of Veterans affairs.
But the 61-year-old former Marine won't stop offering his expert
assistance to fellow vets just because the paychecks have stopped.
He has decided to launch a veterans service center at the Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 7032 on Mumford Road, where he is a member.
"We've set up a little program out there at the VFW post — veterans
helping veterans, a volunteer service," Pascasio said last week.
Having worked with the state veterans office since 1990, and serving in
the Marine Corps for nine years, "I've seen a lot come and go with
regard to veterans affairs," Pascasio said.
The informal help center he envisions at the VFW fulfills the principal
role of such organizations, he said.
"Their main purpose is to help their fellow vets, especially disabled
veterans," said Pascasio.
He has "set up a small office" inside the VFW building, he said. "We
hope to have something operational by mid-July."
"The foremost thing is simply friendly advice," he said of the service,
"which entails an assessment of the veteran's situation, and what he may
be entitled to and that sort of thing, and getting the right forms —
papers and so forth — in the right place for the veterans, and simple
follow-up."
Bill Plueddemann, a former Marine who fought in Korea in 1951, has taken
over leadership duties of the Marine Corps League's local detachment,
which he said Pascasio founded.
"I think it's commendable," Plueddemann said of Pascasio's new venture.
"Especially since he is retired, and still to put time in for veterans
is something beyond what we normally would call a duty."
Pascasio's years working with veterans services has armed him with
detailed knowledge about what help is available, on the federal and
state levels.
"That's something you don't learn overnight," he said.
Besides bringing his own expertise to bear, the vet said he is "going to
implement some 'basic training'" for people who want to help out.
"I've already got a few volunteers," he said.
Pascasio sees the new initiative as "somewhat of a supplement" to
official veterans services.
Frequently his and the volunteers' role will simply be "to hook (a
veteran) up with who his representative is," said Pascasio.
For now, veterans seeking more information about the service can call
the VFW post at 758-3251.
T. Scott Batchelor can be contacted at
sbatchelor@coxnc.com and
329-9567.
-------------------------
Larry Scott --
