This past year, VA’s Facebook gained nearly 350,000 new followers — helping us cross one million total page likes —  and our posts were seen more than 219 million times. We covered Medal of Honor ceremonies, joined our nation in honoring Veterans during the holidays and brought you many Veteran stories throughout 2015.

As we begin 2016, please continue to share your stories with us and let us know when you need help or how we can serve you better. We look forward to hearing more from you in the New Year and improving where we can.

These were the Facebook posts you enjoyed the most in 2015.

1. U.S. Army Capt. Groberg rushed and tackled a suicide bomber approaching his patrol, it detonated next to him. This video reached nearly 7.5 million people on Facebook.

U.S. Army Capt. Groberg rushed and tackled a suicide bomber approaching his patrol, it detonated next to him.

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Thursday, November 12, 2015


2. When Fort Hood’s “Hug Lady” passed away late in December, you shared her story and your memories with us so much so that the story reached 7.3 million people.

 

Elizabeth Laird made it her mission to hug each and every Fort Hood, Texas, Soldier deploying overseas and when they…

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday, December 28, 2015


3. This Vietnam Veterans Day post reached nearly 6 million Facebook users.

 

 

Take time this week to pay tribute to living Vietnam War Veterans, as well as those still unaccounted for and who paid…

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Monday, November 9, 2015


4. This “A Tribute to Vietnam Veterans” video featuring the voice of popular actor Sam Elliott was seen by 5 million people.

Thank you for your service…. and welcome home.

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Sunday, March 29, 2015


5. U.S. Army Specialist Tyler Roberts and his teammate captured 5 million people’s attention on #NationalDogDay.

It has been almost four years since U.S. Army Specialist Tyler Roberts has seen a teammate he spent every day with while…

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, August 26, 2015


6. On Veterans Day, this message reached more than 4.2 million Facebook users thanks to your likes, shares and comments.

 

On this day, we come together to commemorate and salute the service and remember the sacrifice or our men and women in uniform of every generation and honor all who served, in war and peace.

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, November 11, 2015


7. This video posted a few days after the Marine Corps Birthday was seen by more than 2.5 million people. It’s never too late to go to the Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

 

“Why’d you join the Marine Corps? Because it was the toughest,” she said.

Video credit: Fox 5 San Diego

Posted by U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on Wednesday, November 18, 2015

Topics in this story

Leave a comment

The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

5 Comments

  1. SP5 Norman Walters January 8, 2016 at 05:12

    The Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the American people still just don’t get it or don’t know that we didn’t officially get a “welcome home”: for fifty years. That’s true. And when “Bob” came into office as the new Secretary, he stood there at the memorial for Disabled American Veterans and said to the crowd, “don’t call me Mr. Secretary or any such title, call me “Bob” because I am one of you. That I pure, unadulterated lies. He has had it far better than 99% of any Vietnam veteran ever has. I for one, took me 35 years to get my benefits and now the vets coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan get everything in less than a year. And, what about the lies that we were told about in Vietnam; Agent Orange wont hurt you, its only to kill the foliage to make it clearer to see the Viet Cong, and that the American people were supporting us 100%. Lies. Lies. Lies. The story of Vietnam is a book of lies. The Americans were back “home” protesting the war. They wanted it to end because too many young men and women were losing their lives and the costs were just too high. An innocent student at Kent State lost his life for what we were supposedly fighting for; freedom of speech. I wrote President Obama a letter and made sure that the most important statement of the whole letter stood out above every other line of that letter, and I said, “Sir, I wish I had died on the battlefield with my buddies, then at least I would have come home to an honorable, respectful burial,: whereas we are dying, slowly, day by day an the VA is responsible for such pathetic healthcare that we linger on just waiting for our turn to once again meet our Brothers in Arms. There have been nights that as I child I would pray, “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, but, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take” These days, I pray “Lord, please let me die in my sleep tonight. Let me gently die in my sleep so I wont be fighting it. I have fought too many battles in this life and I am ready to come Home. The VA is one of the most dishonorable branches of our government and they should be the most prestigious of them all, but, sadly report after report prove that they are the most disrespected due to their lack of caring for Vietnam Veterans and other veterans when it comes to simple healthcare. I think they want as many vets to die as soon as possible because it would leave more money in the till for their next year’s pay raise that they don’t deserve to begin with. They act like the bottom 5% of their medical school class or that had malpractice lawsuits in a far away state so they went the other direction and got a job as a VA doctor. So, they killed off a few thousand Veterans that “gave it all,” the only difference is our all is taking a long time to achieve as we lie in pain, depression, PTS, anxiety and all the other horrors of war; the more vets that die leave more money in the till for their next year raises, even though they are not deserved. They forgot what the Hippocratic oath is all about. Do no harm. Really? To them, their motto is give them as much misery as we can muster up against them. I have watched my fellow Vietnam vets die, just because they had to wait for years just to get an appointment to get an appointment. Myself, it took me 13 months just to have a sleep study done. And that is considered adequate and appropriate healthcare? In whose eyes? Its for damned sure not in the eyes of any veteran, regardless of whatever war. But, the day of Judgment is coming and do you think all you lies, letting vets die biding “ghost ” appointments, telling them lies as to what their health status is, when they know that that vet has lung cancer, damaged organs from the effects of Agent Orange, but, yet, they going on lying to us, trying to convince us we are getting top quality healthcare. More lies. We get treated less than that of a dying dog on the side of any roadway across this great country. We fought for the American people to have life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; what about our lives, liberty and happiness? Most of you and the VA could care less. In fact they pray that at least a few more will die each day. And, sadly they get their wish because at least 22 veterans commit suicide every day, tired of fighting the system and giving up the only way they know how, so the pain will go away. Yes, God bless America, but, give no gratitude to the VA and many, many Americans who to this day consider us a “crazy baby killers.” I swear to God and everything Holy, that I never killed one baby. I love children. Regardless as who their father is/was; even our enemy. The children of Vietnam veterans pay the pricel, too. from spina bifida and many other maladies from the effects of Agent Orange. But, its all about the money. Our lives were merely collateral damage in a war that Johnson and his cronies wanted to continue because they were making millions on investing in the machines of battle. Our lives were less important than a new F-15 rifle. When a couple of years ago, when they finally had the 50thj anniversary of the Vietnam War and it was to be a Day of Remembrance and a day of “Welcome Home, at last. What a farce that one was too. Another lie from our government. If they really meant it, there would not be veterans dying in droves every day at every VA hospital. But, you get (in doctors) what you pay for. If you hire crap, you get crap. In the 51 ears since I “came home” from Vietnam, maybe 20 people have actually shook my hand and truly said, “Welcome Home. Thank you for your service.” Pretty pathetic, isn’t it? Yet they go about their daily lives as we fight our pain, our depression, our anxiety attacks, our PTS and all the other diseases and maladies of war and they never give us a second thought. When I go to the local clinic because I got a disease that I only had a 5% chance of living, I was still treated by fellow veterans that worked for the VA as scumbags that they were superior over because they had that “great job at the VA” where they could be in the plot to kill off Vietnam vets. Now, they are going after the Iraq and Afghanistan vets. What the hell does this country expect from our young men and women when they give their all for this country’s freedom and liberty? You want the rest of our blood that the Cong didn’t splatter on the rice fields near Saigon, Plieku, Vung Tau, and many other small hamlets that we were trying to protect the South Vietnamese from the Viet Cong. It has finally come that my days on this earth are numbered and I am glad, because I am ready to go Home to the only that will not lie to me, but, rather love me for who I was and who I am, an American Patriot.

  2. Jeffrey Hance January 8, 2016 at 03:06

    It seems like the vba doesn’t want to approve any claims , as if they’re paying for it out of their own pocket . I was told that they would expedite my appeal eight years ago . If that’s expediting , I would hate to see if they were to take their time .

  3. Owens Earl Jr January 6, 2016 at 21:54

    To my Government and to my Fellow Veteran out there who service in the Korea War not a occupation lets not get it twisted it was a War and Thousand of Veteran died. Think you for your service and to all those who came after and lost there live and to the Family of service men who never came home because our government call it friendly fire and are just not to long ago being told that if you service anywhere along the DMZ and many miles be on that you were expose to agent Orange God Bless you all and Good luck trying to prove that to Veteran Affairs to get a claim

  4. Owens Earl Jr January 6, 2016 at 18:03

    I won’t to think all the people who work so hard to get these story out so we Veteran and the world can share in all the good and the many honorable sacrifices these men and woman have done to keep this Country Free.What I don’t understand is why when veteran files a disability claim it take two to five years and if you are denied and refile you are ask to weight another fifty months are more.Why don’t they hire more people and do wright by us.

  5. John Travis Gottula January 6, 2016 at 15:51

    I want to know if you served in the national guard if your consider a vet yet.

Comments are closed.

More Stories