BY DAN HILDEBRAN
The City of Keystone Heights hosted nearly 50 veterans and their supporters at a breakfast on November 8 at the Keystone Beach Pavilion.
The Rotary Club prepared the meal, and Mayor Nina Rodenroth and City Manager Jamie Booth hosted the event.
Heritage of veterans
Gen. James Eifert, the retired commander of the Florida National Guard, reminded the veterans in attendance of their heritage, tracing the actions of the country’s earliest freedom fighters.
Eifert told his fellow veterans that 250 years ago, in November 1775, American patriots faced one of their most perilous moments.
“Two months (prior), on August 23, 1775, King George III issued his Proclamation of Rebellion, declaring us rebels and traitors,” he said. “That decree took six to eight weeks to cross the Atlantic, arriving in ports like Philadelphia and Boston by almost exactly this date—250 years ago today.”
Eifert then recounted the struggles of the American army over the next 12 months
- April 1775: The Siege of Boston began after Lexington and Concord, where ordinary farmers faced the world’s most powerful army.
- June 1775: The Battle of Bunker Hill, fought mostly on Breed’s Hill, where low-on-ammunition Patriots held fire until seeing “the whites of their eyes,” inflicting over 1,000 British casualties.
- September 1775: General Richard Montgomery captures Montreal; months later, he would fall in a snowy assault on Quebec.
- December 1775: The Battle of Great Bridge in Virginia—a 30-minute rout of British and Loyalist forces by Patriot militia.
- October 1775: British ships burn Falmouth, now Portland, Maine, leaving 1,000 homeless, yet hardening colonial resolve.
“These were carpenters, tanners, fathers, and brothers,” Eifert emphasized. “Merchants like John Hancock risked ruin. Enslaved and free Black Patriots like Peter Salem fought at Bunker Hill. Women like Lydia Darragh smuggled intelligence past British sentries.”
Drawing a direct line to the veterans in the crowd, he declared, “You are their heirs. Just as those colonists stood firm when branded traitors 250 years ago this month, you defended the principles of 1776, here in Keystone Heights, amid the lakes and pines of Clay County.”
He closed with a declaration that the courage of the colonists and the bravery of today’s veterans are the foundations of the United States.
“The American experiment is a living promise,” he said, “that when brave men and women stand for what is right, their courage will be rewarded in the long run. We are evidence of that truth.”
Getting veterans the benefits they deserve
Rich Carey, Clay County’s Senior Veterans’ Officer, informed the audience that over 28,000 veterans now reside in Clay County. He added that his office helped more than 3,000 veterans unlock over $563 million in veterans benefits over the past year.
The Orange Park native and 24-year Army veteran then shared several examples of veterans who were denied benefits to which they were entitled.
“It hurts me when I get a call and I’m told, ‘Hey, I’ve got a veteran in my nursing home…and they’re dying and they’re on their last breath and they’re going to hospice. Can we do something?’”
“Well, if you’re not already enrolled in VA healthcare,” Carey told the audience, “VA cannot come in and help out. They cannot do that legally.”
Carey then urged the audience to encourage their veteran friends to enroll in VA healthcare, adding that even though the bureaucracy may have frustrated them in the past, it is worth the effort. He also stated that the government has streamlined the enrollment process, removed income limits, and expanded eligibility for toxin exposures, such as those from burn pits.
The senior veterans officer then addressed another common problem he encounters: surviving spouse benefits.
“I get surviving spouses in my office all the time,” he said, “and they think they’re going to get the veteran’s benefits.”
Carey added that he has to break the news to them that unless the veteran enrolled in the Survivor Benefit Plan upon retirement, the spouse has no benefits.
He said one exception to the rule is that if the veteran’s death is due to a service-connected disability, then the surviving spouse can get paid for the rest of his or her life.
He recounted a recent crisis: A veteran’s death from “blunt force trauma” after a fall. Questioning the attending physician on speakerphone, Carey uncovered underlying service-connected diabetes and hypertension as contributing factors.
“That veteran right there… the family got paid. If that had not happened, the family would not have gotten paid.”
This led to action in Clay County.
Carey said he collaborated with county commissioners, health officials, and physicians to demystify death certificates.
The result is a simple, wallet-sized card for veterans: One side declares, “I’m a United States military veteran. Please provide this card to the attending physician and to the funeral director. This can have profound effects on my family.” The back lists service-connected conditions and medical issues, urging updates even if not yet claimed.
Wreaths Across America event facing crisis
Mark Alexander, the newly appointed coordinator for the Keystone Heights Wreaths Across America, alerted audience members to a crisis the local event is facing.
“It’s a great cause to replace wreaths on all the graves for our veterans here locally,” he reported, “but the folks that run the program have moved the dates up on me, and I have between now and December 1 to come up with $5,000 to pay for those wreaths. I desperately need your help.”
Alexander said he was distributing flyers throughout the town with more details on the needed donations.
