Labor Secretary Solis holds veterans issues town hall meeting in downtown LA

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.scpr.org/news/stories/2009/04/24/19_solis_3_042409.html

downtown LA

Frank Stoltze
April 24, 2009
Audio story at link.

During her visit to Southern California today, federal Labor Secretary Hilda Solis met with military veterans who come home from war and can't find a job. KPCC's Frank Stoltze reports that several who spoke at the town hall-style meeting told heart-wrenching stories.

Frank Stoltze: In a cavernous hall at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, Solis sat on a stage below a giant American flag. A man in a brown camouflage uniform carefully made his way to a nearby table.

Jesse Acosta: Good morning, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. My name is Sergeant Major Jesse Acosta.

Stoltze: Acosta's strong voice weakened as he described how he was blinded while fighting in Iraq three years ago. A bomb sent shrapnel through his eyes.

Acosta: I was an energy tech at the gas company 23 years. What am I gonna do now?

Stoltze: The 52-year-old father of four from Santa Fe Springs said that when he returned home, the Veterans Administration did little to help him cope with his medical problems or find a job. Jordan Eash served three tours of duty with the Marine Corps in Iraq. He said the telecommunications company he'd worked for promised a job when he returned after his third tour. The 26-year-old Long Beach man said the company reneged on that promise.

Jordan Eash: Pretty much we're not asking here to be a millionaire. I just want to be able to serve and have the opportunity to live this American dream that I fought so hard to preserve.


FULL story at link.