#163: Helping Reunite Veteran Families w/ Nathan Goncalves - Army Veteran, Equal Justice Works Fellow
Release Date: 09/18/2019
#174 Wreaths Across America w/ Wayne Hanson
Borne the Battle
Hanson discusses his time in the Army and the socio-political atmosphere of when he returned from Vietnam. He talks about transition and his gradual involvement to becoming the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Wreaths Across America. Lastly, he shares the four words from a stranger that kept him motivated to work even to this day.
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#173 On the Firing Line with Marine Veteran Dan Duitsman
Borne the Battle
Marine Veteran Dan Duitsman is Camp Valor Outdoors’ Shooting Sports Program Director. His role is to get disabled veterans into competitive shooting – no matter the disability. Currently, Camp Valor Outdoors’ shooting teams compete in professional matches all over the country.
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#172 Lakota Warrior and Vietnam Veteran Dr. Robert Primeaux
Borne the Battle
From reservation to the Army and later to Hollywood, Primeaux describes life as member of a Lakota tribe, his service during the Vietnam War, and shares the Four Cardinal Lakota Virtues in hopes of helping other Veterans. He credits the Lakota Four Virtues he had been taught as a young man for helping him recover from the war as well as from car accident.
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#171: Seven Summits w/ Benjamin Breckheimer
Borne the Battle
Army Veteran Benjamin Breckheimer discovered mountain climbing after his service and is now aiming to be the first Purple Heart recipient to climb the Seven Summits of the world. Breckheimer details on how he survived an IED blast, a divorce during his four-year recovery and the 2015 Nepal earthquake while on Mount Everest.
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#170: Dale Dye, Marine Corps Birthday Episode
Borne the Battle
When watching a movie, it’s easy to think that everything is real and true and lifelike. It's no surprise that that isn't always the case, especially with military movies. That's how Marine Veteran Dale Dye got involved. He wanted to tell Hollywood the right way to portray the military on screen. In this episode Dale Dye talks Vietnam, post-military careers, treating PTSD
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#169: Benefits Breakdown - Appeals Modernization
Borne the Battle
Executive Director of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s (VBA) Appeals Management Office (AMO) and Army Veteran David McLenachen talks about the appeals modernization process.
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#168: Coaching NCAA Lacrosse with Marine Veteran Chris Burke and Mitchell Shafer
Borne the Battle
Chris Burke discusses his service in the Marines, including his injury and recovery from an IED explosion. However, Burke's real story begins on what he did after his service.
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#167: Paging Dr. Albert Weed, Green Beret Medic, Army Medical Officer, VA Surgeon
Borne the Battle
Dr. Weed's career has taken him from enlisted Green Beret Army medic to an Army medical officer to VA surgeon. Weed discussed his name, his family’s military background and medical experiences led him to, among other things, from peacekeeping in Egypt, to swimming in Saddam Hussein's pool, and receiving four different DD-214s. Listen as Weed recounts his experiences in the military and medical fields and his current work serving Veterans as a surgeon with the Salem VA Medical Center.
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#166: Navy to NASCAR w/ Jesse Iwuji
Borne the Battle
After his football career ended, Jesse found racing. However, he was at a disadvantage compared to his peers who started racing at a very early age: Iwuji started in his mid 20’s. He lacked sponsorship and he wasn’t born into a racing family. Despite this, his determination has led him to a variety of open doors. He funded the first part of his NASCAR K&N racing career through a variety of ways to include starting his own business. Currently he is racing in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series.
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#165: The Battle of Mogadishu w/ Army Ranger Veteran, Jeff Struecker
Borne the Battle
This week’s Borne the Battle episode features Army Ranger Veteran Jeff Struecker. He discusses the Battle of Mogadishu and his life as a chaplain, a pastor, and an author.
info_outlineOn this week’s episode, Borne the Battle features guest Nathan Goncalves, who shares his story of struggle and perseverance.
While Goncalves didn’t have the intrinsic calling to join the military, he enlisted at 23, seeking reform and discipline. It was in the Army that Goncalves sharpened his focus and developed lifelong friendships and mentors.
Rough transition
However, Goncalves' transition back to civilian life was not easy. In fact, it turned out to be some of his lowest valleys--involving addiction, PTSD, and anger management.
But things started to change when Goncalves heard he was going to be a father. In this episode, he discusses how an intense work ethic allowed him to achieve a bachelor’s degree at UCLA in less than three years.
Goncalves applied to UCLA’s Law school to study corporate law. He was accepted, but a bitter divorce hampered those plans. Through his own experiences, Goncalves realized there was no advocacy for situations like his own. So he sacrificed a potentially lucrative corporate law career and switched to family law to offer services to homeless and low-income Veterans.
Goncalves is now hosted by Harriet BuHai Center for Family Law and sponsored in house by Equal Justice Works. He continues to fight for family integration for homeless and low-income Veterans as they transition back into the civilian communities.
Listen to the full episode HERE
Additional Links:
- https://www.equaljusticeworks.org/fellows/nathan-goncalves/
- https://vetsdontforgetvets.com/
- https://academic.oup.com/jamiaopen/advance-article/doi/10.1093/jamiaopen/ooz024/5538629
- https://ps.psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.ps.201900104
- https://www.va.gov/homeless/gpd.asp
- https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/hvrp
- bethereforveterans.com
#BtBattle Veteran of the Week:
- Air Force Veteran William Shuttleworth