Visiting The Veterans

The USDVA teamed traveled to Costa Rica in September to meet some of the veterans in need, and to learn about their history, medical needs, and life abroad.

We arrived late in the day, then formulated a plan of action for the following days. We knew we had to go where the veterans were to get a true understanding of their lives. This meant we would have to travel across various terrains throughout Costa Rica.

In our first meeting, we went to a town called Grecia to meet an Army Vietnam Veteran from California named Michael. Now there is nothing that breaks the ice faster than college football rivalries, and despite the years passing that National Championship game between the University of Texas and USC quickly became the topic of conversation.

With a good discussion of the game out of the way Michael began to describe his life in Costa Rica, why he came down and how the general outlook on life in Costa Rica is just beneficial for him along with many other veterans. But he spoke about hardships as well. He recently had undergone major heart surgery which had been difficult for him for a time. Then he spoke of access to affordable medications, He said for many veterans this often requires an 8 hour bus ride to Nicaragua. That trip would be daunting for anyone, but especially for someone in their 70’s