What happened to Alvin Pugh reflects decades-long issues with how the VA tracks veterans who die alone, allowing remains of 21,000 vets to go unclaimed.
Anne Marshall-Chalmers
Anne Marshall-Chalmers was an investigative journalist at The War Horse where she covered the health of veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and military families. Her work has appeared in Mother Jones, Inside Climate News, Civil Eats, USA Today, NPR, and the Los Angeles Times.
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‘Unclaimed’ No Longer: Volunteers Work to Provide Military Burials for Forgotten Veterans
The remains of veterans who die alone, without connections to friends and family, can sit on shelves of morgues and funeral homes for decades.
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‘Invisible’–More Women Veterans Are Dying of Suicide and VA Still Lacks Resources, Advocates Say
The rate of women veterans dying by suicide is growing, showing VA lacks systems to protect them and that women veterans are invisible, advocates said.
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Booted From the Army, He Spiraled. Now He Works to Solve the Veteran Homelessness Crisis.
“Bad paper” military discharges can interfere with a veteran’s ability to receive benefits and health care. Some of those veterans end up unhoused.
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VA Hospitals Vulnerable to Extreme Weather as Climate Changes, Report Finds
More than half of VA medical centers are exposed to climate change-driven extreme weather that could risk operations, a new report found.
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VA’s Work to End Veteran Homelessness Is a Nationwide Model. Can It Translate for Civilians?
To date, 83 communities and the states of Connecticut, Delaware, and Virginia have effectively ended veteran homelessness. But can that success translate?
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Aging Veterans Are in Crisis. This New Program Aims to Help With Housing.
California has more homeless veterans than any other state and is trying a new approach to keep the oldest and most vulnerable housed.
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Vet Center Changes ‘a Stab in the Back’ as Delays, Counselor Shortages Grow
Vet centers may be losing what led veterans to depend on them after a slate of changes clients and counselors say have been damaging.
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Short Changed: Military Comes with Unique Risks for Domestic Violence, Can Silence Survivors
A War Horse review of military women’s noncombat deaths since 9/11 found domestic violence often ended in death.
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Veterans Who Are Food Insecure Are Less Likely to Seek Help Than Civilians
More than a million veterans are food insecure. Most at risk are younger vets with families, women, and those with mental health concerns or lower incomes.
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Troops Weigh Leaving Service Over Lack of Care for Kids With Autism Under Tricare
Health care is a military recruitment selling point, but some parents are leaving service to ensure their kids get care they need that Tricare can withhold.
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Sergeants Major Built a Culture of Camaraderie, as Soldiers and as Black Women
Despite making up just 36% of the women of the U.S. Army, Black women soldiers make up almost half of women command sergeants major.
