We took a special field trip to the Vietnam Era Museum in NJ yesterday.
Our crew was composed of DOVE Board members, an #armyveteran who received a kidney transplant (Team09); a #navyveteran (who may soon receive a transplant); and a #vietnamveteran who has been waiting for his transplant. This Veteran, Pat Velluci, also served as one of our guides. On Pat's days off from dialysis, he serves as a docent and is committed to sharing his story to ensure we continue to honor the sacrifices made, learn from our history and #neverforget.
We were also fortunate to be joined by Mark Otto, #usmcveteran and President of the @unitedwarvets who will soon join the DOVE team as an advisory board member.
This visit came the day after the 50th Anniversary to the end of combat operations during the Vietnam War.
Over 58,000 service members lost their lives. Many service members are still fighting for their lives due to emotional wounds as well as medical complications related to exposure from toxic materials such as Agent Orange.
Pat, is one of many Veterans who has suffered medically as a result of his service. These #Veterans have done so much for our country and communities and we need to support them in their time of need.
We were honored to personally thank several #vietnamveterans for their service yesterday.
If you would like to learn about supporting DOVE in our mission to find a life saving kidney donor for Veterans OR to learn about #livingkidneydonation please reach out via dovetransplant.org
or call 551-449-4319.