Benedictine Health honors veterans for Valentine’s Day

DULUTH, Minn.– Veterans felt all the love ahead of Valentine’s Day, because of an opportunity to connect with fellow former service members.

The lovely gathering is part of an initiative to reduce social isolation among veterans.

American Red Cross, and Minnesota Power partnered up to show their appreciation through gifts as well as conversation.

The event was filled with laughs, reminiscing, and plenty of storytelling.

One of the veterans said, that camaraderie still shines through.

“We all have the common, common issues affecting us. It also kind of made you look cohesive from the standpoint because of your commonality of what you do, you got together and tried to work things out on your own, because you didn’t get a lot of help from above,” said Dan Ramlow, U.S. Army Veteran, 1st Air Cavalry Division.

The Executive Director with the American Red Cross north and central Minnesota said, it’s a moral boost for everyone involved.

“They’re a veteran that might, in this case, living in a care setting, want to make sure that we’re making sure they feel the pride for their service, for our country, the respect from the community, and that’s really a big part of anyone’s self-esteem, right, of feeling valued and feeling like you’re an important member of the community,” said Dan Williams, Executive Director NE American Red Cross.

This event alone works hand in hand with a yearlong goal to get vets more involved with one another.