Nevada Veterans to Benefit from Vietnam Veterans Sale at Mesquite Self Storage

The Vietnam Veterans of Mesquite, Nevada are holding a garage sale this Saturday to benefit the Mesquite Veterans Center. The sale, which will be held June 19 from 8 a.m. until noon, will take place at Mesquite Self Storage. The sale will include typical garage-sale items, such as kitchenware, appliances, televisions, electronic equipment, furniture, and housewares. The Mesquite Veterans Center, at the moment, is an organization without a home -- the proceeds from the garage sale will help to finance the construction of the center. It will be built on Hafen Lane in Mesquite.

The Mesquite, Nevada area is home to veterans from several wars and combat operations, including World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and more recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Mesquite Veterans Center recently had a special ceremony at the Falcon Ridge Hotel in honor of Memorial Day. At the ceremony, the Nellis Air Force Honor Guard presented the center with the flag that flew over the capital on inauguration day. Then Colonel Michael Bartley, a combat fighter pilot who is a former wing commander at Nellis Air Force Base, told the story of a local veteran who saved an entire helicopter team through his valiant conduct while serving in Afghanistan. (The story was related in the local newspaper, The Mesquite Local News, on June 1.) The local veteran, Air Force sergeant John Chapman, was in Afghanistan in 2002 as part of Operation Anaconda. As his team tried to leave an enemy-held territory, his helicopter was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, and one team member, a Navy SEAL, fell out of the helicopter. Chapman volunteered to take another team back to rescue the SEAL, commenting later, “We don’t leave a brother behind.” Despite heavy fire, Chapman managed to take another helicopter back into the area, and was credited with saving his entire team, along with the fallen SEAL, who he successfully rescued. But he lost his own life in the effort, killed by gunfire from three directions. The Air Force posthumously awarded him its highest medal, the Air Force Cross.

Vietnam veteran Al Litman spoke at the ceremony about how important societal support for veterans can be. “Veterans faced many challenges in time of war,” Litman said in the Mesquite Local News, “and often face even more difficulties when they get home.” He went on, “We are seeing more cases of PTSD, homelessness, substance abuse and even an increases in incarcerated veterans....We are seeing a lot of the same issues in our young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and that is why we have pushed so hard for the Mesquite Veterans Center....It is not even built yet and we have already helped vets obtain about $1,500,000 in compensation for their military service.”

Mesquite Self Storage is located at 681 Hardy Way in Mesquite, between Falcon Ridge Parkway and Turtleback.

Sources used:

Mesquite Veterans Center, Mesquite, Nevada.

Taylor, John. “Local veterans gather to honor their brotherhood.” Mesquite Local News. June 1, 2010.

“Vets hold garage sale.” The Mesquite Local News. June 15, 2010.