 Welcome to Sheboygan County government working for you. I'm Dan Lemieux, County Board Chairman, co-host of this show that we put on every month. And hosting with me is Adam Payne, our administrative coordinator. This month we are focusing on the Veteran Service Department for Sheboygan County. And we have with us as our guest, Jim Riesenberg, Veteran Service Officer. We're approaching Memorial Day weekend, Jim and Sheboygan County, I believe has approximately 10,000 veterans located, living and residing in Sheboygan County. And we'd like to not only discuss the function of your office, but also some of the activities coming up from Memorial Day later on in the show. But why don't you start today, Jim, by just giving us a little background about yourself and when you became involved with the Veteran Service Office? Well, Dan, I've been Veteran Service Officer since January of 1987. I'm the fifth person to serve in that position, which was created by the Sheboygan County Board in 1936. The population figure is fairly close, about 10,100 more or less. Personally, I'm the second of eight children, five brothers who served 34 years, seven months and 24 days in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force during the Vietnam War. And in order to be a Veteran Service Officer, you need to be a Veteran too, I'm assuming. One of the stipulations in chapter 45, which governs Veterans Affairs in Wisconsin, mandates Honorable Active Service any time in your lifetime, correct? And maybe you could just give us a little background as to the mission of the department and some of the responsibilities of the Veteran Service. Our mission statement is relatively simple to serve those who served. And we basically, our mission is to contribute to the quality of life, based to the form of men and women who have served in our armed forces. The men and women we serve obviously have to be honorably discharged service personnel. They are wards of the Department of Defense as long as they're on active duty. They obtain Veteran status at one second past midnight on their last day of active duty and that's when they come to us for assistance. And then when they come to your assistance what are some of the programs and services that you provide to them? We have a ton of stuff. Basically, we have three sources of programs that we administer. Sheboygan County from the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs and from the Federal US Department of Veterans Affairs or the VA. You could probably lump those programs into four categories, I would say housing, healthcare, Memorial Affairs, and education. Now, as far as the housing part of it is concerned, the biggie there is the primary mortgage programs run by both the state and the federal VA, as well as the home improvement loan program of the state VA. Healthcare obviously is probably the big ticket item, the federal VA operates 172 healthcare facilities, major hospitals throughout the United States. And as such, they are the largest single healthcare delivery system in the free world. Add to that the myriad of new outpatient clinics that have been built around the country and that pretty much encompasses everything that the federal VA provides. At the state level, of course, we have the healthcare aid grant, we have the Wisconsin Veterans Homemade King, and the soon to be opened community-based residential care facility at the Southern Center in Union Grove. Also at the state level as far as housing as the Veterans, or medical care, I'm sorry, is the Veterans Assistance Program, which offers transitional housing and employment for homeless veterans. In the education part of it, you'd find, of course, the obvious one there. Again, the biggie is the now chapter 30 of the Montgomery GI Bill, the Federal Education Program, which offers financial assistance to those servicemen and women who are on active duty or have completed active duty. And it also recognizes the continued involvement of our reserve forces by making financial funds available to those reservists with a six-year military obligation. At the state level, we have the full-time tuition and fees reimbursement program, we have the part-time study grant reimbursement program, and we have the retraining grant program for those recently terminated from employment or about to be terminated. And as far as memorial affairs, well, I think that's pretty much self-explanatory. Memorial affairs basically deals with the casket flags, the grave markers, the graveside military rights, and the flags and flag holders that go on the cemeteries on Memorial Day. You mentioned, you just went through quite a long laundry list there. That's only part of it. Well, we only have 30 minutes, so. But you mentioned services provided by the state and by the federal government. Obviously, you're not the end-all when somebody applies for all these. So you work closely with these agencies, the state and federal agencies on a regular basis, or? Yes, we do, Dan. One thing, it depends on the situation and the particular need. If it's an educational program, obviously it's pretty much cut and dried. If it's a healthcare need, it's probably a little bit different. If it's a pension issue, we work with social security on a daily basis. We work with the people at the county's economic support programs and a lot of other state and federal programs that might be out there that would provide some type of assistance depending on the applicant's need. There are a lot of programs out there and a lot of red tape and not red tape, but a lot of paperwork to go through. We don't do anything without paper and it's our responsibility to try and coordinate as much as we can so the applicant will get the greatest benefit from the program. There's no putting two fists in the pot at one time. Double dipping is frowned upon by the government as you might expect. Some people get away with it, but not for very long and a lot of times it's unintentional. Sometimes it is, but our primary responsibility in that area is to see that they get all they have coming but also to make sure that they don't get too much. So if a veteran is watching this show sometime during the month of May and here's about one of these programs and thinks I might be able to qualify or this might be able to help me, how does the veteran go about looking into these programs and getting access to some of these services? Well, there are several ways, Dan. I would say probably the first thing if you are within driving distance, come down to the office. If you see me downtown for heaven's sakes, don't be afraid to stop me. A lot of people do. You can also, the VA regional office, the federal VA has a toll free national hotline, the 1-800-827-10000. And wherever you live in the United States that number will ring through to the regional office. And depending on what you're inquiring about, 99% of the time the benefits counselors at the regional office will refer you back to the Veterans Service Office in your county of Domicile or wherever you live. You mentioned earlier that the mission statement of your department was to serve those who have served. Or I believe I... That's close. That's close. How many veterans do you work with on a regular basis? I mean, I'm a veteran and I think I contacted your office about 30 years ago at one time. And not since. So how many of these 10,100 do you do with on a regular basis? That's kind of a tough figure to deal with. I can't tell you this, the ones that we do deal with. We try to deal with courtesy, compassion and understanding. I think probably a better barometer of the level of our activity and involvement would probably be the fiscal impact that veterans programs have on the economy of Sheboygan County. I don't have current figures, but I can tell you based on annual reports that I have worked on, it probably averages somewhere between $15 and $18 million a year. That includes such things as the value of homes guaranteed under the state and federal loan guarantee programs, the compensation, the pension, the vocational rehabilitation and this type of thing. So for the yet about 10 to 12% of the population that we service, and if you use the multiplier figure on the 14 to 15 to 18 million dollars, I think the fiscal impact of veterans programs in this county is a rather significant number given the small number of people. Excuse me, given the small number of people that we provide service to. And we've been talking about the veterans, but what about their spouses and the immediate families? Do you work with them also? Yes, we do Dan. We have most all of the programs with just a couple of exceptions. Most all of the programs, both state, county, state and federal do have a system whereby we can provide some type of assistance, depending again on the need, these spouse and qualifying dependents also have access to not all, but some of these programs and the important programs, the widow's pension and the healthcare aid grants and the part time study reimbursement program from the state of Wisconsin. Some of what you would call programs that tend to lead to or lean toward quality of life would we refer to as quality of life type programs. Memorial Day weekend is nearly here and I know a lot of people look forward to the three day weekend or vacationing with their family, a self included. I also appreciate that a lot of people may not think about the significance of Memorial Day, especially our younger folks. What does Memorial Day mean to you, Jim? Well, I guess probably one from the old school in that I've always felt that Memorial Day is the day set aside to pay tribute to our fallen comrades. And I think what I've said for many years is even before I got this job when I was active in the American Legion, Memorial Day was not created by Madison Avenue to give them all a reason to have a four day sale and it wasn't created by the tourism industry to signal the start of the tourism season. There are a lot of things and obviously Memorial Day does take on a different meaning. I probably to those who so-called been there done that probably a whole lot different than for other people. I think the significance of the day is that we send on to the younger generation the fact that freedom isn't free. We pause and remember those who served and those who sacrificed. And if you walk through a cemetery sometime or even as you drive by but if you walk through a cemetery and look at a marker under one of those flags, company age 127th infantry 1776. And take yourself back to the Civil War and imagine what they were doing, a brother fighting a brother or someone who lost their life during the Civil, during World War II or Korea or Vietnam and imagine what they were doing. How did they die? What did their families go through while they were gone? What were they going through while they were over there? And I think that's one way to instill probably in yourself, go to the library and get a book and read something about some of these things that actually happened. And you probably not only get a better understanding but hopefully something that you can someday share with somebody. So it's a given the background in my family in the military, it's a very personal day for me as is Veterans Day. What are some of the key events and activities you're gonna be helping coordinate this month? Too many. There are quite a few activities planned and I think I certainly encourage everyone to check with the newspaper and make sure that you know if there's one going on in your town. I think just about every village and city and community in Sheboygan County does have something going on. Personally, we've worked with the United Military Association in Sheboygan as we always do, helping put the project together. I myself will be marching with the in the Sheboygan parade with the Vietnam Veterans of America Color Guard. We'll be making a presentation, I believe, out at Green Lawn out on County Drunk O, participating in their program. And other than that, I probably will be over at the Plymouth Legion sitting around telling war stories and just enjoying a day away from the office, doing what I do at the office, but not in the office. If people want to get more information about those events, they can contact your office or be looking for it in the newspaper. Probably we'll have some of the information. We don't generally get that deeply involved. Sometimes they tell us, sometimes they don't, we encourage them, at least get it out to the newspaper, get it out to the media. You'll get a greater number of people attention that way than you will trying to send it to our office. Earlier, you mentioned the flags that are placed at the grave sites for Memorial Day. And I imagine that is a tremendous task each year. How many flags are actually placed and how do you go about coordinating that every year? Well, the coordination part is relatively easy. I've got a very dependable staff who takes care of all of that. The county, through the budget process, purchases the flags. Last year, we put out, I think, roughly 7,700. So this year, I have a feeling it's probably going to be close to 8,000 flags will be placed in 110 cemeteries in Sheboygan County. We do that. The late Al Sterling laid out a plan for us with 26 veterans organizations geographically located throughout Sheboygan County. So Al laid out a plan where certain organizations would be assigned to the cemeteries in their area. So nobody is really overloaded, so everybody pretty much has an equal task with a couple of exceptions. I think Wildwood Cemetery here in the city of Sheboygan has like 1,600. The Sharp Cemetery out in Alcart Lake is the final resting place of one Edwin Sharps civil war soldier. And he's the only person laid to rest in that grave and he's a veteran. But it's a big job. They'll be doing it starting this weekend some places in the county. I know you mentioned you have a pretty good staff in your office in the courthouse. You have one person. So it must be the organizations that are really working with you to help accomplish this. The organizations do a lot. We are the focal point for all of the activities, including the death benefits. And when a veteran passes away, our office is usually somewhere in the process of getting called. Our office is responsible for recording the location of all veterans' graves in our county and sending that onto the Department of Veterans Affairs in Madison for future generations or for whatever reason. But the veterans' organizations do the bulwark or the heavy work. They pick up the flags and the flag holders. They're the ones who are physically responsible for walking up and down those long rows with bundles of flags and calling out names and making sure that the flags are in place. Let's hear a little bit more about the organizations. 26 organizations, I imagine. They have a variety of areas of focus. What can you tell us about them? Well, yes, we do have, they're 26. We've got the veterans of foreign wars, the American Legion, disabled American veterans, Vietnam veterans of America, Catholic war veterans of America, retired enlisted and retired officers. All of them have one thing in common in its honorable act of military service. And beyond that, the military of the Purple Heart, for example, you obviously have to be combat wounded and be recipient of the Purple Heart. VFW, obviously, during a war conflict and served on foreign soil, disabled American veterans, service-related disabled, retired officers, retired enlisted, pretty much just be retired of honorable act of service and you would pretty much qualify for membership. They all do have one common focus and that is service to veterans. I would say this, if there is a classroom anywhere in any school in this county that does not have a flag in it, I wanna know about it because there are organizations out there that will make sure that there are flags in every classroom and if you need help with the Pledge of Allegiance, we'll get somebody out there to do that for you too. Every year, the veteran population is decreasing and with it firsthand experience of the sacrifices for the quality of life we enjoy today. I know you touched on it earlier, but again, what would you recommend to get younger people and families more involved with appreciating the meaning of Memorial Day? Well, I guess it's been something that I've, one thing that I've started on since I took this job was trying to get the veterans' organizations together, different veterans from different war periods and going to our schools, especially the grade schools and the high schools and share your wartime experiences, not necessarily the blood and guts, but what was Paris really like in 1944 or what was Saigon like in 1977 or what was Hunchin Korea like in 1953? And things are, what was London like when we were over there and under Eisenhower? You know the rest of the song and dance about that, but, and I think, and I've been moderately successful. Some are rather reluctant to even say anything about it, but a lot of them have gotten together from all of the war periods and gone in and talked about it, every time we lose a veteran in this county every, roughly every 36 hours, one passes away. And when that happens, I always felt that a piece of history goes into the ground with them, never to be heard again by anybody. So my suggestion would be if you have family or friends or parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles or somebody, sit down with a tape recorder and record, talk and ask questions and ask them what it was like. And you know, we don't necessarily have to hear about the blood and guts and anything like that, but every serviceman had a different service number and a different experience and a different reaction to everything that happened to them no matter where it was from the World War I veteran telling about the time he got on the boat in New York on Armistice Day in 1918 and went overseas to serve. There's always a story to be told and if you can find somebody to help you to record it, to tell the stories, I think that's something that would really probably give you more appreciation for the guy who either almost froze to death or almost fried wherever he was. And I think if you know what they did and if you know what they went through probably would give you a little deeper appreciation for not only what your kin went through but probably also what others went through as well. I was home in 91 shortly after the Persian Gulf activity broke out and I mentioned, I was talking to my parents and we were talking about that and Ma had just come home from visiting somebody in the neighborhood and their nephew or someone who was ordered to active duty. And I said to my mother, I said, Jesus, I said, what did you guys do? I said, you know, when you look back, I said from 1960 to 1982, you had one in uniform all the time, at least one. You had one time you had two in the war zone. At one time you had three in the war zone. I said, what did you do? She said, we prayed a lot. And these are the kind of things if you can get people to talk about those things might be a whole new experience for you. Right, Jim. Jim, we talked a little bit but before we came on and there's a lot of things we haven't touched on yet. You have one of the smallest departments in County, in Sheboyin County government with yourself and one staff member brought tremendous impact on the community, on the veterans that have served for us. And I have a little better idea now of the impact that you have on the lives of these individuals. But one of the things we wanted to talk about a little bit today was a recent press article talked about a 26 mile march, the Bataan Memorial Death March that you participated in, or you participated in this more often, more often than just this last year. Could you tell us a little bit about that and what's the meaning of that march? Well, the march itself commemorates the surrender of the Bataan Peninsula and subsequently the island of Corrigidor in the Philippines on April 9th, 1942. And that was shortly after the invasion of Pearl Harbor. General Wainwright was in charge of the operation under General MacArthur and he was ordered to surrender so they destroyed everything that they had and began the 66th march to Camp O'Donnell. I'm not gonna quote figures, but if I recall from the newspaper article and those were taken from the official website, the number of men who survived that march was rather minimal compared to, when you think of the number of people who actually took off and started off in that march, they marched night and day, 103 degree weather, whatever they had on when they took off, when they started marching is what they had. If they lost it, if they went back to pick it up or something, the enemy shot him. I think the thing about this, and I don't know if you can pick up that book or not, but if you have a chance, read this book. If you never read another book about how our men were treated in the Pacific, read this book. I cried when I read it and I think you probably will too, but the march itself is interesting. It's extremely challenging, but for someone who walks 4,000 miles a year, the challenge itself of walking wasn't as much of a challenge as listening to these men as they talk and to think that they survived an ordeal like this. It's phenomenal to say the least. Thank you, Jim. I can just feel the passion in your voice and the passion that you bring to the job. I would hope that all of our employees and all of our department heads bring that same passion. Anything else that we neglected to ask you that you're just at the tip of your tongue that you want to get out to the public yet and allow us a couple of minutes? Well, no, I think the important thing to realize is that we're starting to do outreach now. In fact, we're going out to the meal sites in the county two days a month. This month, Howard's Grove and Plymouth next month, I think, Adel and Random Lake and we're doing an outreach effort to reach some of the older veteran population in our community, thinking that it's probably easier for them to get downtown in Random Lake or wherever they're at than it is to get into the city. We have an outreach program that we focus on and actually focus on the veteran population. We have a public awareness effort that we focus on the non-veteran portion of our population because we know that while not everyone is a veteran, everyone seems to know a veteran somewhere, somehow. So, and we try to spread the word and make them understand that just because Uncle Louis didn't get anything from the VA, doesn't mean that you're not going to get anything. Well, he did the exact same thing as I did, not necessarily. So, and it's difficult sometimes to convince some of the older population that there are programs out there that may benefit them. The big thing right now is in the field of healthcare with the new clinic opening at Cleveland not too long ago and the VA putting new clinics up throughout, not only Wisconsin, but throughout the United States in an attempt to reach these veterans. And again, as you might expect, the out of sight cost of prescription medication is what the majority of them are coming in to get help for. And it's just, you know, when you can get somebody's medication cost down from $300 a month to $30 a month, you have to feel good about it. And this person also has to know, excuse me, that this person also has to know that in spite of the fact that they never got a bonus from the state of Wisconsin, they are getting something probably a little bit more meaningful than a fistful of dollars in a goodbye. And it's, the response has been just really tremendous and we're quite pleased with it. It's not something that helps everybody, but for the majority of people who get into the system, it is a godsend. Thank you, Jim. I really appreciate your presentation. And I hope everybody gets to do this before Memorial Day and use this as a reminder to get out to those services and the cemeteries and be a part of Memorial Day this year. Next month, we'll be bringing as our guest, Vern Gross, our director of building services. I was surprised when I got on the county board 13 months ago, the number of buildings that Sheboygan County is responsible for, the number of highway sheds, the UW Sheboygan system that we're responsible for, just the number of buildings and properties that Sheboygan County is responsible for. And Vern's gonna be here next month and along with Adam and myself. And we're going to be talking about the buildings and the responsibility we have and possibly even touch a little bit on some of the building programs that we are going on right now through Sheboygan County. Thank you and we'll see you again next month.