SAN ANTONIO – More than 160,000 veterans and 80,000 active-duty members call San Antonio home. More than anywhere else, Military City needs resources to support these men and women.
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) is one source. DAV Alamo 5 is the largest chapter in Texas with 5,800 members, as well as five other DAV chapters in the San Antonio area.
DAV members help veterans with their disability claims.
“Oftentimes that can be a complicated process,” explained Larry Whatley, a 28-year-old Navy Veteran who helps with those claims.
Artie McNeal, an Army veteran who served eight years, recently moved to San Antonio from California. He’s battling cancer and qualified for the DAV V-CLARK cancer relief fund.
“It means everything to me, I wouldn’t be alive if it wasn’t for the military,” McNeal said. “And, like I said, the DAV has a lot of people that I can relate to. I relate to veterans a lot more than I do civilians.”
Artie also said that the cancer fund has helped him buy food for his family.
“We’re all about being there for veterans. We are veterans ourselves and we understand the sacrifices that many people make,” said Whatley.
Other services the DAV offers is financial support for food and shelter, veteran burial benefits, and women veteran’s advocacy.
Artie is training to be a DAV service officer to help his fellow veterans with their claims.
“When I start talking about helping other veterans, I feel this, I don’t know how to explain it, this volcano coming but it’s a good thing like I want to reach around and help all the veterans,” he said. “I want to help everybody.”