California GI Forum Taps Felipe Flores
Blinded Veteran Felipe Flores, a member of the Northern California
Regional Group and a dedicated volunteer at the VA Western Blind
Rehabilitation Center (WBRC) in Palo Alto, California, is the
new California State Commander for the American GI Forum. Felipe
was elected to the post on June 26 at the Forum’s state convention
in San Jose.
It is the first time in the nearly 50 years of American GI Forum
history that a blinded veteran has ever been elected state commander.
Felipe was born in Del Rio, Texas, in 1944. He was drafted into
the Army in 1967 and served in the Vietnam War. He was discharged
in 1969 as a disabled veteran because of severe retinitis pigmentosa,
a condition that left him legally blind.
Felipe experienced the challenges of his visual impairment at
the same time he faced discrimination from having served in Vietnam.
As a result, he found it difficult to secure employment. In 1979
Felipe entered his first blind rehabilitation program at the WBRC,
a decision that began a positive change in his personal and family
life. The program provided a new perspective and training on how
to live effectively as a visually impaired person.
Through the VIST program, Felipe has been assisting other blinded
veterans regularly at the WBRC since 1997. Although he has profound
vision loss, Felipe does not let the challenge obstruct his desire
or ability to serve others.
"Mr. Flores is very dedicated to educating veterans about
the medical and financial benefits that are available to them,"
said William Ekstrom, former director of the Blind Center.
BVA Assistant Director of the National Field Service Program Larry
Martinez agrees with Ekstrom’s assessment.
"Felipe is both an asset as well as an example to our blinded
veterans in rehab," he said. "We are very happy that
he is now being recognized for his achievements as the new GI
Forum state commander, where he will have even more opportunities
to serve and contribute positively to the lives of America’s
veterans."
Felipe has also served as the second vice state commander. He
has received two prestigious awards from the American GI Forum:
the 2002 Outstanding Member for the state of California, and the
2002 National Dr. Hector P. Garcia Founder’s Award (the highest
award given by the organization).
The American GI Forum is the nation’s first Hispanic veterans
organization. It was founded on March 26, 1948 in Corpus Christi,
Texas, by Dr. Hector Perez-Garcia, a veteran of the Army Medical
Corps during World War II, to defend the rights of Hispanic war
veterans as American veterans.
The Forum’s San Jose chapter, of which Felipe is a part,
is a community-based membership enterprise dedicated to promoting
education, advancing cultural understanding, and improving quality
of life for Mexican-Americans. For 25 years the chapter has provided
college scholarships in the amount of $1.2 million to promising
Hispanic Americans.
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