Samuel Luna
Samuel Luna, Founder of Vets’ Journey Home Texas, Receives Presidential “Champion of Change” Award for Vietnam Veterans
WEB LINK: http://www.whitehouse.gov/champions/vietnam-veterans/samuel-luna
The ManKind Project USA Board of Directors and Staff wish to recognize and honor Samuel Luna, Founder of Vets’ Journey Home Texas for his powerful service offering healing to Veterans. Luna is one of 11 men and women recognized by the White House and the President of the United States, Barack Obama, as a “Champion of Change” for Vietnam Veterans.
From the White House web site:
Samuel Luna, a Vietnam veteran, is Founder of Vets’ Journey Home Texas, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides a weekend retreat at no to cost to veterans and active duty military personnel. The weekend retreats offer a safe place where participants can come to learn about what their experiences in war did to their bodies, also learning the role that those experiences continue to play in their daily lives and in their quest to co-exist peacefully. Mr. Luna is the Chapter Service Officer for four veteran organizations and helps veterans navigate the Veterans Administration to obtain medical care and compensation. In the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), he also does Color Guard duty for the burial detail and is the Department of Texas Commander for the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Additionally, Luna serves on the board of Spaulding for Children, a special needs adoption agency. Samuel Luna is being recognized as a Champion of Change for his dedication to service and his continued support for efforts to: end homelessness, boost employment and treat mental health disparities for fellow veterans.
You can read Luna’s personal account of his journey here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2012/05/24/joy-sharing-my-pain
We thank Samuel Luna for holding the space to heal the hearts and lives of Veterans in his work with Vets’ Journey Home and in the many other ways he serves. Like many of the men who serve with Vets’ Journey home, Luna is also a graduate of the New Warrior Training Adventure.
Today, on Memorial Day, we honor the sacrifices made by the men and women who serve in the military. The ManKind Project honors and supports organizations like Vets’ Journey Home that serve Veterans.
From Vets’ Journey Home Co-Founder Patricia Clason:
Working with veterans throughout the year in the Vets Journey Home retreats, Memorial Day has a very special meaning for me. While the day is intended to honor the deceased, I also remember those who gave their soul, their spirit and have not yet recovered it. The day for me is red, white and blue carnations and a wreath on the graves of the fallen with a prayer that all are made whole, in body and in spirit, and blessings of gratitude for the gift of freedom.
Patricia Clason, Milwaukee, WI
Co-founder, Vets Journey Home
www.vetsjourneyhome.org
We are continuously amazed by the work of men and women like Samuel Luna, out in the world giving from their hearts in powerful missions of service. It is deeply gratifying to see the ManKind Project connected in small ways to so many men and women making the world a better place. We are indeed changing the world, one person, one heart, at a time.
Sincerely,