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Empowering Navajo Veterans through Service - Part 2
August 18-19, 2026
Serving Navajo Veterans: DAV Delivers Relief,
Benefits Assistance, and Lasting Support
DAV STAR Chapter 24 (Sun City/Surprise) and Department of Arizona leaders put DAV’s primary mission into action by bringing practical relief and direct support to Navajo veterans and their families. Before the Chapter 24 Executive Committee meeting, members loaded a 26-foot truck with donated supplies and new furniture for delivery to the Navajo Nation on August 18. The furniture was designated for a Navajo veteran’s family that had owned a home for eight years but had been unable to live there because it lacked essential furnishings. With the support of Chapter 24 and community partners in the northwest Phoenix metropolitan area, the family is now closer to occupying its home with dignity and stability.
The team arrived in Chinle on the afternoon of August 18 after a long journey in the fully loaded truck and two support vehicles. Marine veteran Lorrain Browning and Air Force veteran Tineke Hage guided the truck through the difficult route, ensuring that the donated goods reached the Navajo veteran community safely and on schedule.
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Shown in the photo on the left are members of Chapter 24's loading team: Rod Hage (Ch 24 Treasurer & Department Sr. Vice), Tineke Hage (Ch 24 member), Thomas Dawson (Ch 24 Jr. Vice), Brian Novinger (Ch 24 Commander), and Lorrain Browning (Ch 24 member and former professional truck driver).
On the morning of August 19, the truck was positioned at the Piñon Veterans Wellness Center storage area. When its doors opened, Navajo veteran leaders and community partners received the supplies with appreciation and began organizing them for distribution to veterans and families in need.
Department Senior Vice Commander Rod Hage joined Piñon Chapter Commander Barton Hosteen and All-Navajo Veteran Auxiliary President Sara Josley, the Department’s liaison with the Navajo Nation, as volunteers unloaded the donations. At the same time, Department Adjutant and CEO Carl Forkner assisted Navajo veterans and their families with VA disability claims, explained available financial assistance, and answered questions about VA, DAV, and other Veterans benefits. By combining immediate material relief with free, professional benefits assistance, the effort reflected DAV’s commitment to help veterans access the services they earned and to extend hope directly into the communities where they live.
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The mission continues beyond this delivery. The team will return the following weekend to complete the Ganado Remote Service Office systems, located with the local VA Vet Center, and will host a National Service Officer seminar in Chinle on November 4. These follow-up efforts will bring trusted benefits guidance closer to Navajo veterans, reduce barriers created by distance and transportation, and strengthen an enduring partnership focused on dignity, access, and service.
August 19, 2026
Paying our respects to Navajo Veterans and their Community
On the way back to our hotel after getting the initial setup completed for the Ganado Remote Service Office, we stopped and paid our respects to Navajo Veterans and their Community. In the forward part of the cemetery are gravesites of members of the Navajo Nation. In the far end of the cemetery are the graves of Navajo Veterans from many eras.
