WASHINGTON — Veterans Day is meant to honor those who have served the
country, but a group of area war veterans plan to spend the holiday giving
back.
“The most impactful thing you can do on Veterans Day is to help a veteran,”
says Connor Mallon, platoon leader for The Mission Continues. The
organization is made up of war veterans who make it their mission to do just
that.
On Veterans Day, they’ll be working on the Southeast D.C. Veterans Center on
Chesapeake Street. The building is home to 95 veterans and provides them with
services and programs to help them get back on their feet.
Mallon says they will paint three floors of one of the center’s two buildings
and improve landscaping outside.
Mallon served in the U.S. Army, and after two tours in Iraq, he says he knows
how tough it can be to come back from war.
“I left the military in 2008 and struggled reintegrating back into society,”
Mallon says.
He says The Mission Continues helped him, and that’s why he wants to help
other
organizations, such as the Veterans Centers, do the same.
Mallon says they have enough volunteers for the Veterans Day event, but more
information about how to help can be found on the organization’s
website.
For himself and the other veterans in the organization, Mallon says, it is a
chance to serve the community outside of the military.
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