Gov. Gregoire addresses the American Legion State Convention

July 18, 2008

*As Written*

Good morning, and thank you, Larry (Watson, state commander), for the kind introduction.

I�m honored to be here this morning...

�I�m truly honored to speak to an organization that has been working hard to help our veterans since you formed way back in 1919, right after World War I.

�Among other things, the American Legion wrote the GI Bill, which helped launch thousands of young families into prosperity after World War II�

�And ever since, you have been there in the halls of Congress and State Legislatures to improve how this country treats veterans.

But you never forget your core mission � and that�s to be there every day for any veteran who walks into an American Legion Post and asks for your help.

I�m especially proud to know that the American Legion in Washington is nearly 40,000 strong � the largest veterans� organization in the country! And when you count the Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion � we�re talking 50,000 members in Washington!

My husband, Mike, is a member of the American Legion�and I�m honored to be a member of the Legion Auxiliary.

As most of you know, Mike is a Vietnam combat veteran � an artillery officer.

When I became Governor, Mike told me that among all my goals � health care for kids, an economy that creates good jobs, a world-class education system�

�His top goal would be more help and respect for veterans -- and I have joined him in making that one of my top priorities.

It�s very important for me that Mike was a Vietnam Veteran. That generation of veterans learned some painful lessons when they came home from that war, and I�ve learned them too.

I saw up close and personal how Vietnam veterans were regarded and treated in this country. And I saw it through the eyes and ears of my husband and his friends.

And now I can see clearly that Vietnam veterans have remembered those hard lessons.

I can see that they are doing one heck of a lot to make sure the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are honored, treated with respect, and given the services they deserve.

So I want to say to all the Vietnam veterans here today:

Welcome Home! And thank you!

We can�t say it enough!

Welcome Home�

�To all the veterans who served their nation in wars and conflicts in the last century, and who served in the first years of this century in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Welcome Home!

We honor all of you, and we honor your families and all who support you.

I have to tell you my experiences over the years with my husband, and more recently with the military funerals my husband and I have attended, only strengthened our resolve to honor this nation�s veterans�

�Be it through new programs to help them ease back into society with counseling, education and training or by helping to relieve the stresses spouses suffer while husband�s and wives are at war.

While we honor the dead, we must take care of the living � And we�re doing a lot more for our military and veterans.

In fact, there have never been more programs and legislation to help our veterans. I�ve signed 47 pieces of legislation to help veterans �the most in state history.

And I want to thank the many, dedicated advocates for veterans who have helped us every step of the way. We couldn�t have done it without you.

I want you to know that when the 81st Brigade begins its second tour in Iraq in a few months, Mike and I will be here to help the families back home as we pray for the safe return of our servicemen and women.

We did a pretty good job during the first deployment, but we are determined to do even better for our troops and their families this time around!

As some of you know, John Lee, my director of Veterans Affairs, recently received what�s called the �Diamond Award� from the Federal Veterans Administration � only the second time this award has been given to somebody outside the federal system.

This is important because the award recognizes the remarkable array of services and help we�re giving veterans. Let me share some of it today.

We realized early that our troops need more help to transition back home after serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. So to make that happen, we are partnering with Fort Lewis and McChord through what is called the Warrior Transition Battalion.

State employees with Veterans Affairs and Employment Security are embedded in the battalion to provide services such as coordination with other states for VA claims work, and counseling before the service member is discharged. We will expand this program to the Navy this year.

I�m proud to say we were the first in the nation, and now one of just five states, to offer help to returning troops and their families for post-traumatic stress disorder.

We are spending $2.5 million a year to help men and women and their families get through PTSD. And we�re focusing our resources in more rural areas, where the VA has little presence. Right now, we have a caseload of more than 1,500.

My husband and John Lee are moving forward on our �Helmets to Hardhats� initiative. We have connected with trade unions -- and this fall we will start helping returning veterans who want to become trade apprentices � jobs that pay family wages and offer a lifelong career.

We also recently helped create a way for you and me to help veterans and their families directly.

The Veterans Family Fund allows people to buy a CD in a participating bank, and half the interest goes to a fund to help returning veterans and their families. There is no overhead. Every dime of that money then goes to veterans and families in need.

We are also acting as quickly as we can to fix a problem that now blocks service members from easily transferring their military skills to civilian work because of licensing issues.

A good example of that would be a battlefield medic who definitely knows how to save lives but who can�t be licensed to save lives at home because of unnecessary obstacles.

And of course, we established what we call the Veterans Innovations Program two years ago, along with $2 million to fund it.

We provide immediate cash of up to $1,000 to returning National Guard veterans who need it, as well as substantial help to find living wage employment. To date, we have helped more than 400 veterans and their families.

I�m also proud to say that Eastern Washington is about to get its first state veterans� cemetery. We will break ground at the 80-acre facility in Medical Lake on Memorial Day 2009. The new cemetery will fill a significant gap. An estimated 140,000 veterans and their families live in Eastern Washington.

Before I close, I want to say thanks to the American Legion Auxiliary. I am genuinely honored to be a member.

It�s Auxiliary members who volunteer so much at our hospitals and soldiers� homes. The women of the Auxiliary are called upon to contact grieving families � the widows and widowers and to do so much else.

To the Auxiliary, I say thank you � from me and all Washingtonians.

While I�m at it, let me also recognize and thank Larry Watson and Eva Wallace as they step down from their respective posts as state commander and head of the Auxiliary. You two have helped our veterans and their families immeasurably, and thank you for your dedication and hard work.

And I�d also like to take this opportunity to thank your own Bill Schrier (Shhh-RYE-er) for his outstanding leadership on our Veterans Affairs Advisory Committee. Thank you, Bill.

Thank you all for having me here today. I want every veteran in Washington to know that we�re not done yet. I�ll keep working across the aisle and across the state to make sure our veterans are honored, respected, and helped when they need help.

Again, Welcome Home, and thank you for your service to our country. God Bless the Great State of Washington and God Bless America!