Welcome
Established in 2016, we have a patriotic mission to support our veteran members as well as local veteran organizations
Stars, Stripes and Smiles Event
Free Veteran Dental Care
November 8, New Port Ritchy
Sponsored by Congressman Gus Bilirakus
Helping Veterans in Need: If you know a Veteran in need of dental care, please have them contact the Congressman's office at 727-232-2921 to register for this upcoming event.
GlenLakes Veterans Memorial
Veterans Day Retreat Ceremony
Join us on November 11th at 5pm for the Veteran's Day Retreat Ceremony at the
GlenLakes Veterans Memorial. The event will feature a Ceremonial Honor Guard, tributes to Veterans of past wars, and a special Flag Folding Ceremony accompanied by patriotic music. Don't forget to bring your own chairs!
GlenLakes Veterans Memorial. The event will feature a Ceremonial Honor Guard, tributes to Veterans of past wars, and a special Flag Folding Ceremony accompanied by patriotic music. Don't forget to bring your own chairs!
GLVFA 9th Annual Veterans Day
Nature Coast Golf Event
November 11th, 2024
Review/Support our 2024 Golf Event Sponsors
Veterans Day
Free Meal and Deal Offers
Looking for Veterans Day restaurant military and veteran discounts for 2024? The button below will bring you to the latest list maintained by Military.Com website. Their meals and deals list is already very lengthy and is also updated regularly as new discounts come in. For our area here in Weeki Wachee, places like Golden Corral, Chili's, Denny's, Texas Roadhouse, Bob Evans, Chicken Salad Chick, IHOP, Dunkin Donuts, Cici's Pizza, & TGI Fridays all have free meal offers. And there are even more deals so click on the button and read through all the latest deals being offered veterans during Veterans Day.
Post Hurricane Announcement
Veterans:
- The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs (FDVA) has announced that outpatient appointments at VA clinics in impacted areas are being rescheduled or moved to virtual appointments. For more details visit www.FloridaVets.org .
- All State Veterans’ Homes in Florida are operational and undamaged.
- Veterans needing immediate housing assistance can call the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans at 877-424-3838.
- If you can’t receive your benefit payments because of Hurricane Milton, please contact 800-827-1000 to request a special one-time payment. Agents are available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
FDVA can help Veterans:
• Identify goals and barriers.
• Connect you to local community-based partners.
• Offer one-on-one support to develop a plan to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
A PATHWAY FOR PATRIOTS
We can help you access:
• Housing • Employment • Medical Treatment • Transportation
• Education • Legal Assistance • Utility Payment Assistance • Childcare
• VA Benefits • Finance & Budgeting • Substance Abuse Treatment
Call 833-438-4673
• Identify goals and barriers.
• Connect you to local community-based partners.
• Offer one-on-one support to develop a plan to achieve economic self-sufficiency.
A PATHWAY FOR PATRIOTS
We can help you access:
• Housing • Employment • Medical Treatment • Transportation
• Education • Legal Assistance • Utility Payment Assistance • Childcare
• VA Benefits • Finance & Budgeting • Substance Abuse Treatment
Call 833-438-4673
Online Security - GMail Scam
Oct 12, 2024: Hackers are now targeting Gmail account holders with a “super realistic AI scam call” that can trick even the most experienced users. Many of our members use Gmail. Below is information, with links to the situation for your investigation on what the latest scam is about, how it works, and what you need to do if you are targeted by a hacker calling or emailing you to "recover" your Gmail account. In short, HANG UP if any caller tells you they are from Google's Gmail support center and your Gmail has been compromised and needs to be "recovered" to fix the problem. They are invoking fear in you but don't fall for this latest sophisticated hack!
Key takeaways (click on ech link presented below to learn more about each security takeaway topic:
Key takeaways (click on ech link presented below to learn more about each security takeaway topic:
GLVFA has a SCAM webpage of "5 Red Flags" to be on the lookout for. Click on the button below to review those red flags and be more aware of what to be on the lookout for in general (in addition to the Gmail scam detailed above).
Local Area Scam Tracker - AARP
The AARP Fraud Watch Network Scam-Tracking Map shows scams reported in our area. Click on the button below to see what scams have been reported in our local area.
Vietnam Gun Trucks
The Gun Trucks of Vietnam: Learn how US soldiers transformed cargo vehicles into fighting machines!
Click the button below to see our dedicated web page that provides a learning narrative along with several videos of real time gun truck "action".
Click the button below to see our dedicated web page that provides a learning narrative along with several videos of real time gun truck "action".
GLVFA Member Profile
Paul Griffin
USN Veteran, Musician
A member of GLVFA and GlenLakes resident, Paul Griffin (along with his wife Irene), has led an interesting life as many of our members have. As most of our members have, Paul served our country by joining the U.S. Navy back during the Cuban missile crisis. Little did he know back then that he would be a military honor guard participant in President John F Kennedy funeral procession.
Read more about Paul's personal memoirs of that experience by clicking on the link below.
Read more about Paul's personal memoirs of that experience by clicking on the link below.
Memorial Brick Program
"Garden of Honor"
GLVFA Memorial Team has begun the next phase of the memorial project by adding in a new area of the veteran's memorial designated to hold individual memorial bricks. This area will hold 450 bricks when fully completed.
The fourth round of brick orders are underway. Don't wait, if members desire to purchase a brick for their beloved veteran, please go to the brick program page by using the button below.
Download the brick purchase form and submit your completed form via mail or drop off the form at one of the GLVFA monthly meetings.
The fourth round of brick orders are underway. Don't wait, if members desire to purchase a brick for their beloved veteran, please go to the brick program page by using the button below.
Download the brick purchase form and submit your completed form via mail or drop off the form at one of the GLVFA monthly meetings.
VA Crisis Line
Expanded PACT ACT
The VA announced that all veterans who have served in a combat zone since the Vietnam War, as well as those who participated in training or operations and came into contact with hazardous materials, will be able to enroll in VA healthcare starting March 5. 2024. Veterans are not required to have a service-connected disability or file a compensation claim to be eligible for VA care.
You are encouraged to apply for VA health care starting March 5, 2024, if any of these descriptions are true for you:
For many of out GLVFA members who served in Vietnam or other wars mentioned above, and/or worked around toxins in or outside of war zones, can qualify to enroll for VA Healthcare starting Mar 5th. Even if you are enrolled in Medicare, simultaneously being enrolled in VA Healthcare gives you options such as no co-pay prescriptions, including prescriptions mailed to your home from the VA, free mental health care, VA primary and specialty care in Brooksville, New Port Ritchy, Tampa and other VA healthcare facilities, and much more.
You are encouraged to apply for VA health care starting March 5, 2024, if any of these descriptions are true for you:
- You served in the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, or any other combat zone after 9/11, or
- You deployed in support of the Global War on Terror, or
- You were exposed to toxins or other hazards during military service
For many of out GLVFA members who served in Vietnam or other wars mentioned above, and/or worked around toxins in or outside of war zones, can qualify to enroll for VA Healthcare starting Mar 5th. Even if you are enrolled in Medicare, simultaneously being enrolled in VA Healthcare gives you options such as no co-pay prescriptions, including prescriptions mailed to your home from the VA, free mental health care, VA primary and specialty care in Brooksville, New Port Ritchy, Tampa and other VA healthcare facilities, and much more.
Pentagon Virtual Tour
Vietnam War 50th Anniversary Commemorative
To commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, the Department of Defense and the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration created a permanent exhibit on the 3rd Floor, A-Ring, corridors 3-2 in the Pentagon as a way to thank and honor the service and sacrifice of Vietnam veterans and their families. This award-winning exhibit tells the story of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War through a timeline of events, artifacts, historic photographs, and video footage.
Enjoy this interactive virtual tour of the Pentagon Vietnam War Exhibit!
Veterans Living Memorial
VLM is an online memorial that honors nearly 10 million Veterans interred in VA National Cemeteries, VA grant-funded cemeteries, DoD-managed cemeteries (including Arlington National Cemetery); U.S. Park Service National Cemeteries, and thousands of private cemeteries where Veterans have received a VA-provided gravesite marker since 1996.
On Nov 2, 2023, the VA announced that nearly 5 million Veterans and service members have been added to the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) — the nation’s first digital platform dedicated to the memory of Veterans and service members.
With this expansion, nearly 10 million of the nation’s heroes now have individual pages on VLM — allowing family, friends, and others to post tributes, upload images and documents, and commemorate them. More than 72,000 tributes have been posted to Veterans’ profile pages since the site launched in 2019.
The VLM now honors the memory of Veterans interred in VA’s national cemeteries, VA-grant funded cemeteries, 27 Department of Defense-managed cemeteries, two National Park Service national cemeteries, and thousands of private and other non-VA cemeteries.
On Nov 2, 2023, the VA announced that nearly 5 million Veterans and service members have been added to the Veterans Legacy Memorial (VLM) — the nation’s first digital platform dedicated to the memory of Veterans and service members.
With this expansion, nearly 10 million of the nation’s heroes now have individual pages on VLM — allowing family, friends, and others to post tributes, upload images and documents, and commemorate them. More than 72,000 tributes have been posted to Veterans’ profile pages since the site launched in 2019.
The VLM now honors the memory of Veterans interred in VA’s national cemeteries, VA-grant funded cemeteries, 27 Department of Defense-managed cemeteries, two National Park Service national cemeteries, and thousands of private and other non-VA cemeteries.
For information about VA burial benefits, visit one of VA’s National Cemetery Locations in-person, visit online at VA burial benefits and memorial items, or call toll free at 800-827-1000. To plan ahead for you and your family, visit NCA’s pre-need eligibility website.
GLVFA Charities
Partner With Us
Be an integral part of these efforts to honor and aid veterans by making a gift on our DONATE page. Current fund-raising initiatives include GLVFA Veterans SAVES, maintenance for the new Veterans Memorial, and several sponsorship levels of our Veterans Day Nature Coast Golf Scramble.