This Saturday, members of the Vashon Veterans’ Association will host an open house at Sunrise Ridge to connect a growing, local population of younger vets with each other, as well inform them of the benefits and services they are entitled to.

“We started talking about it at our meetings about a year ago,” islander and Vashon Veterans’ Association (VVA) member Doug Kieper, a veteran of Desert Storm who served from 1988 to 1994, said. “We want to know what services these guys need, how will they know that we’re here and how do we connect them to the things that would benefit them.”

The VVA was formed a few years ago by incorporating members of the Vashon chapters of the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The intent was to connect island vets for support and community. The group participates in island events such as presenting flags at funerals or parades and putting American flags up around town on various holidays.

Kieper joined the group about a year ago and was struck by the fact that most of the vets who attended were older.

“When I looked up the demographics for the island’s zip code, it showed about 700 to 800 vets living on Vashon,” he explained. “But the shocking part was that the number of younger vets here literally doubled between 2010 and 2015.” He defined a “younger vet” as someone who served after the Vietnam War.

So, along with VVA members Mike Mattingly, Chris Gaynor and Roy Bumgarner, Kieper set to work on the open house project.

“We’re trying to put a face on the vets’ organizations on the island,” Mattingly, who is also the Commander of the local American Legion, said. “We want to do something to help these young vets get involved in the community, and help them get services if they need it.”

Mattingly went on to note that it’s not just the younger vets they need to reach, as he has met many veterans, some of whom served with the National Guard at the island’s Nike missile site (1956 to 1974), who had no idea that they were entitled to benefits or services. He explained that vets don’t always talk about their service with others, particularly those who were in Vietnam.

“It can be overwhelming for anyone, but imagine you’re 60-plus years old, you’ve never spoken to anyone about being a vet and you have no idea how to get into the system or how to use it,” he said. “We will have people there that can help get these guys into the system.”

Gaynor, a Vietnam vet and former Commander of Vashon’s American Legion, is focused on generating programs for the island’s younger vets, but like Mattingly, stated that it’s about helping anyone who needs it.

“These guys come back (from serving) and are not always that keen to join organizations like the Legion,” he said. “So we’re starting this outreach and hoping they’ll come by with questions. We do want to reach the younger crowd, as they’re the ones that will need to take the lead as many of us are well past ‘retirement age,’ but the overall purpose is to help vets of any age with whatever they need.”

Bumgarner, also a Vietnam vet, further explained that both the Legion and VFW have restrictions about what qualifies a vet for membership, and not all vets fit into those categories. The VVA, on the other hand, is open to all who have served. Acknowledging that it took him many years to get involved, he is optimistic about the event.

“I know what it’s like for these young guys. Most of them probably don’t want anything to do with vets’ services right now,” he said. “But we’re hoping we can get the word out that there are benefits that they can use and will help right now.”

Attending the open house will be members of the VVA, certified service officers that can help with obtaining service records and applying for benefits, as well as several VA-certified local counselors.

“Military guys are notorious for not talking about how they feel about things or letting people know they need help,” Kieper added. “But setting up some kind of activity and just being around others who’ve had similar experiences … sometimes brings things out. We just want to make sure that no one’s needs are left unmet. That is our primary goal.”