COLUMBIA, S.C. — A donation on Friday will help some Midlands veterans get to and from appointments more easily at Columbia Dorn VA Hospital.
The donation came from Blue Star Mothers of the Midlands, a group made up of moms who have children serving in the military. They wanted to do something to help veterans here in South Carolina.
Kaye Smith, president of the Midlands Chapter of Blue Star Mothers of the Midlands, knows some veterans depend on vans as a way to get to and from appointments.
"There's a lot of people within South Carolina that come to the VA, but they don't have transportation. These vans go to different towns within South Carolina and will pick veterans up and bring them here to the doctor, the hospital, or whatever they need," said Smith.
The van dedicated on Friday cost around $30,000. Blue Star Mothers of the Midlands said they worked with other organizations and used proceeds from their Palmetto Patriot Ball to help raise the money for the vehicle.
The new van will help transport veterans from different counties back and forth to the Dorn VA Medical Center.
This is the sixth van the Blue Star Mothers have helped purchase.
Smith believes it's important to lookout for veterans in our community.
"They've put their life on the line, and that's the least we could do to support them and they have a quality life," explained Smith.
The vehicle is being named in honor of World War II and Prisoner of War Veteran Major Albert "Al" Hamilton.
Major Hamilton is originally from Chicago and has always wanted to be in the military. After he graduated from high school, he joined the Army.
Later on, Major Hamilton was deployed with the 88th Division, 351st Regiment, 3rd Battalion, K Company, 3rd Platoon to Naples, Italy.
While serving overseas, he was captured by German forces where he was a Prisoner of War for nine months. In 1945, he was liberated.
After coming home, he reenlisted in the Army. He later went on to be stationed in Japan.
According to a biography from Friday's ceremony, "Doctor's diagnosed that he had an Amnesia Attack. What we now call PTSD. He was treated for over 4 months to bring his memory back from 1943 to 1950. After Al's recuperation, he and (his wife) Lois were stationed at Fort Jackson, Columbia, SC. Al retired as a Major after 20 years of service."
After retiring, Major Hamilton spent more than two decades working for the United States Postal Service.
"He is a true American hero and he had come and was our honoree at a Palmetto Patriot Ball that the Blue Star Mothers put on each year," said Smith. "We have been working with the VA helping purchase vans each year for about the last seven years and we decided he deserved one so we raised the money and had his picture put on it."
Major Hamilton said he enjoyed being able to meet people at Friday's ceremony.
"I figured it's good enough for me, it's good enough for anybody... the good part about helping other people get the job done," said Major Hamilton.
"I like to talk and reminisce a little bit about my service because the guy that's turning in to get into the service, he doesn't know those answers," explained Major Hamilton. "I thought by me talking to people who put me on camera talking, they need to pass the word along how we can help the military."
David Omura, CEO of the Columbia VA Healthcare System, said he was glad to see people from the community to come together in a social distant way to honor a veteran in Columbia.
"Our great community has stepped up, as they always do. The Blue Star Mothers, the DAV (Disabled American Veterans), have come together to raise the funds to give us a van that we can help out veterans, not only today, but in the future, get back and forth and have necessary transportation," said Omura.
The CEO says having a van like is integral to their success.
"Many veterans can get access back and forth with loved ones and some certainly drive themselves back and forth to this facility, as well as our seven other out-patient locations across the state, but for those that need help, we need to make sure that we can provide these types of services so veterans can get back and forth easily when they need those accommodations," explained Omura.
Omura went onto say, "I hope when people see a van like this driving through their community they realize that there's a VA in this community that cares about veterans, will always put them first and will do whatever we can to support them."
If you're a veteran looking to sign up for transportation, you can find all the information you need by clicking here.