Forever Young Veterans: Stories of Sacrifice, Healing, and Hope BOOK TO BE RELEASED ON
VETERANS DAY – NOVEMBER 11TH
Forever Young Veterans Raises Awareness to the Ways Senior Veterans Suffer in Silence by Honoring Them
DATE: October 19, 2022 Media Contact: Laura Orrico Public Relations, LLC
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Collierville, TN – VETERANS DAY BOOK RELEASE: Forever Young Veterans: Stories of Sacrifice, Healing, and Hope will be released on November 11th. From Diane Hight of Forever Young Veterans (FYV), the extraordinary non-profit raises awareness on the ways our senior veterans often suffer in silence. Founded by someone who is not a member of the U.S. military, Hight, who was awarded the Points of Light by President George H.W. Bush in 2018 and a Jefferson Award Winner, which is the Nobel Peace Prize for volunteerism at a local level, has created a remarkable organization that goes above and beyond to ensure these heroes feel the weight of our gratitude by the ways our vets are honored and their needs and wishes are granted.
FYV does many special things to honor our vets, including the Trip of Honor® to the Nation’s Capital, a four night/five day trip and vets can’t get over the love and honor they receive. On FYV’s most recent trip, one of our Vietnam vets walked into the airport with applause, salutes, and people chanting, “Welcome Home.” With tears in his eyes, he said, “I’ve waited over fifty years for this.” This welcome is just the first of many experiences FYV plans for our vets over the five days in D.C. Another great example of their work is described by a veteran’s wife. After a recent trip to DC, she called and said, “My husband has PTSD, but he hides it well. He has been difficult to live with and he’s had a lock on his heart our whole marriage. The FYV trip was the key that unlocked his heart and love came pouring in. He’s a different person now.” FYV and Diane have received national media attention including ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, Huckabee, and NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, to name a few, which has boosted the organization’s efforts in supporting our Veterans while giving them the honor and attention they so much deserve.
Interesting and remarkable facts about FYV:
2500+ veterans have been honored by FYV
FYV has granted 300+ individual wishes
52 trips of honor taken that changed veterans’ lives
Vets have had a chance to visit 9 countries and return to their war locations
About the book Forever Young Veterans: Stories of Sacrifice, Healing, and Hope
Are you ready to hit Omaha Beach on D-Day; step out on a suicide mission in the North African desert; fight your way out of Chosin Reservoir at 30 degrees below zero; eject from your F-4 fighter over Hanoi; and fall in love with a young French girl as you leave for the battle front? These are only a few of the stories from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam contained in this book; stories that are disappearing from the American mind. Join our writers as they detail the personal war stories of the American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who were there – ordinary Americans who were asked to do extraordinary duties. Prepare yourself for a new sense of gratitude and respect for the men and women who fight our wars in the trenches. To pre-order the book click here.
About Forever Young Veterans
Forever Young Veterans works to end the silent suffering of military veterans, 65 years and older, by granting their unfulfilled dreams, returning them to the places where they fought, and bringing them the honor, healing, and hope they need and deserve. Diane Hight started Forever Young Veterans because her dad became an alcoholic after WWII. He used alcohol as a way to deal with the negative effects of combat stress. Diane watched her father suffer, and as a result of his alcohol use, she and her family suffered too. Diane recalls, even as a young child, looking at her dad and thinking, “What is wrong?” It took many years for her to realize that his struggles were a result of what he experienced in war. FYV was founded as a 501(c)(3) organization in 2006. Originally, Diane wanted to bring joy to WWII veterans by granting individual wishes for them, like reuniting them with a comrade or getting a medal they never received. However, FYV started to become so much more when she realized our WWII veterans, like her father, were suffering in silence. In 2009, FYV started taking our veterans on “Trips of Honor” to D.C., and then in 2011, trips to Normandy, Belgium, Italy, England, and Pearl Harbor began. The organization also takes them to the WWII Museum in NOLA. They have honored thousands of veterans, granted hundreds of wishes, and returned veterans to nine countries. Their trips to D.C. are military “Trips of Honor,” which truly make a difference in our veterans’ lives. However, there’s no comparison to returning them to the places where they fought.
Forever Young Veterans links:
Website: foreveryoungvets.org
Link to purchase the book: Forever Young Veterans: Stories of Sacrifice, Healing, and Hope: https://foreveryoungvets.org/book/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ForeverYoungVets
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foreveryoungvets