Legion Family leadership lay wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

American Legion National Commander Daniel Seehafer and American Legion Auxiliary National President Lisa Williamson joined leaders from other veterans service organizations at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to participate in wreath-laying ceremonies on Veterans Day.

“(We’re) honored to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown on behalf of The American Legion,” Williamson said. “It was something I have always dreamt of doing, and … having a son who serves in the military, I can only imagine what it feels like to perhaps be the mother of one of those servicemembers who are a part of that tomb.”

Seehafer said he was proud to lay a wreath at the Tomb with Williamson.

“The connection between us, and that is (the connection between) the (American Legion) Family and the Tomb of the Unknown, it’s this: we never forget. That’s important. We never forget,” Seehafer said.

The Veterans Day events at Arlington National Cemetery included President Biden speaking in the Memorial Amphitheater following his own presentation of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“Our veterans are the steel spine of this nation and their families, like so many of you, are the courageous heart,” Biden said.

The Veterans Day events at Arlington National Cemetery came the day after the White House announced new efforts to expand healthcare for veterans, including the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) offering no-cost healthcare to veterans living in nursing homes as well as all who served in World War II. And the eligibility timeline for veterans under the PACT Act is being accelerated so that all veterans who were exposed to toxins will be eligible for enrollment by March 2024.

Friday’s announcements also included the launch of the Veteran Scam and Fraud Evasion (VSAFE) Initiative and Task Force. The task force, aimed at protecting veterans and their families from scams, plans in the coming months to:

·       Release a fraud prevention toolkit.

·       Publish a series of video PSAs discussing different forms of fraud.

·       Centralize federal resources to help veterans report fraud.

·       Work with the FCC to prevent scam callers from targeting veterans.

·       Increase accessibility to resources for non-English speaking servicemembers and veterans.

·       And more.

“I think the importance of being here on this special day, Veterans Day, and being up on stage with the president and also (VA) Secretary (Denis) McDonough, it just gives us that voice; it’s our presence, and that’s the importance of being involved in an organization like this as we continue to champion for all veterans, really. Not just for our membership but for all veterans,” said Seehafer, who also joined other VSO leaders in meeting with President Biden at the White House Saturday morning.