PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — On Nov. 16, the U.S. Veterans Hall of Fame invites those who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice to the city of Hampton for its first-ever Veterans Convention.
Local, regional and national veteran service organizations are ready to pour resources into the veteran community as they adapt to civilian life. Organization founder and chaplain Curtis Drafton said only about 30% of veterans know how their benefits work when they come out of service.
“What we do is we make sure that they have those benefits, as well as the benefits in the community, such as therapists out there that want to help those veterans deal with anything from a TBI to PTSD,” Drafton said. “So anything that helps them, even employment, we’re going to have some affiliations there.”
The convention will be held at the Hampton Roads Convention Center (1610 Coliseum Dr.) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will be free to all veterans, with lunch included. Later that evening, the U.S. Veterans Hall of Fame will host its 5th annual induction ceremony from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Eight men and women of honorable service will be recognized.