Veterans welcome new department

Veterans from across the state packed into the American Legion in Smyrna Aug. 13, to celebrate the newly formed Veterans Affairs Department.

Gov. Matt Meyer said he expects to name the secretary of the department soon.

“It’s not the right thing to do just for our past; it’s the right thing to do for making a statement about who we are as a community,” Meyer said to more than 100 people in the audience.

Senate Minority Whip Brian Pettyjohn, R-Georgetown, joined on stage a bevy of legislators who worked to pass House Bill 1. The bill received unanimous approval before the end of session in June.

The new department will provide the state’s 70,000 veterans with services they deserve, Pettyjohn said.

“I don't know any one of them that if something happened today, they wouldn’t go in the closet and dust off their uniform,” he said.

Sen. Dave Lawson, R-Marydel, a Vietnam War veteran, said a dedicated Department of Veterans Affairs will help secure funding so veterans can get the treatment they deserve.

“We need to make sure it’s better for the next generation,” he said.

Rep. Jeff Hilovsky, R-Long Neck, a retired colonel with the U.S. Air Force, has backed the idea of a Department of Veterans Affairs since his election to the District 4 seat that covers the greater Millsboro area. As a medical commander for the 512th Airlift Wing during Operation Iraqi Freedom, he was among many who served.

Now an elected official, Hilovsky worked hard with other legislators to convince former Gov. John Carney’s administration and now Gov. Matt Meyer’s administration that there’s a need for a cabinet secretary position focused on veteran needs.

“What we did was realize the way to raise recognition was to make recognition,” he said.

Through various veteran appreciation events held at Legislative Hall, veterans were visible in Dover.

“At each one of these events, we built recognition and we built awareness. Veterans came and had an opportunity to speak to legislators, the governor and lieutenant governor,” he said.

He is now backing a bill to protect veterans against companies charging them fees, often at outrageous rates, for services that would normally be provided free. The bill has been delayed pending the outcome of a lawsuit that was filed in New Jersey.