On June 10th, IAVA Member Veterans gathered at the Princeton Club in New York City to participate in a special panel discussion hosted by the Hudson Society with former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers. Click here to learn more.
On June 3rd, Palm Inc. partnered with Sprint to host a special benefit in honor of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans at the launch of the company's new Palm Pre in Los Angeles. As guests of honor, IAVA Member Veterans were treated to special performances by legendary comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander. During the VIP event, several celebrities in attendance took the opportunity to Twitter messages of support from the new Pre to our nation's troops and veterans. Click here to read their messages!
On June 3rd, IAVA Member Veterans attended the Mental Health Association of New York's 2009 Building Bridges Gala to honor two inspirational New Yorkers, Bob Woodruff, former Co-Anchor of ABC’s “World News Tonight,” and his wife Lee Woodruff for their incredible work with veterans and their families through the Woodruff Foundation.
In observance of Memorial Day, IAVA Members from across the country gathered at events in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C. to commemorate and honor the more than one million Americans who have died in military service for our country.
On May 5th, IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and IAVA Member Veterans went behind-the-scenes at Comedy Central's The Colbert Report where they talked to comedian Stephen Colbert about his June USO tour to visit U.S. troops in Baghdad. Ahead of his trip, IAVA Member Veterans also joined Colbert at a cover shoot for his special guest-edition Newsweek on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Click here to view the issue!
On May 1st, IAVA supporters Crispin Luna IV and Jordan Joseph started a 3,000 mile journey across the country racing on behalf of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the Gumball 3000 'Coast to Coast' Rally. With IAVA's endorsement, Luna and Joseph branded their customized Bentley GT and Lamborghini Gallardo "Superleggera" with the IAVA logo and collected supporter donations on behalf of IAVA during the race from Los Angeles to Miami. Click here to learn more about this amazing duo and their cross-country roadtrip in support of IAVA!
In April, IAVA participated in Pat’s Run 2009 to honor the life and legacy of fallen hero Pat Tillman. Over 150 IAVA Members joined 23,000 supporters for the 4.2 mile races in Pat's native San Jose, CA and Tempe, Arizona where he played football for Arizona State University. On May 16th, dozens of U.S. troops also ran the 4.2 mile race in honor of their fallen comrade in a "shadow" Pat's Run around Forward Operating Base Gardez in Afghanistan.
On April 9th, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff joined President Obama, Veterans Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki and Defense Secretary Robert Gates at the White House in support for advance funding of VA healthcare and an overhaul of the military and veterans’ record system.
On April 2nd, IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff and IAVA Member Veterans welcomed Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, to a gathering of the Hudson Union Society in New York.
In March, IAVA Member Veterans across the country recognized the outstanding contributions of women to the military in honor of National Women’s History Month. Click here to learn more about women's history in the military and take IAVA's quiz about women warriors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
