All 77 Oklahoma Counties.
All 50 states.
Numerous foreign countries.
The geographic reach of Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation is staggering.
But even moreso, the impact for veterans, their families and generations to come is incalculable.
The operation has grown beyond even Graham’s expectation but the process is always a familiar one.
A friendly voice on the phone leads to a visit to the Norman office where a hot cup of coffee and some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet are waiting to thank you for your service, pull you up a chair and show you how to get the benefits you’ve earned for you and your family.
At the heart of it all is Dale Graham, who served in the Marines.
The Veteran’s Administration ranks Graham’s foundation as the eighth-leading organization in the nation in terms of the amount of money procured for veterans and their surviving spouses.
He says service members who have worked with the foundation are currently receiving $900 million per year in benefits.
“In reality it’s double or triple that,” Graham said, noting those numbers only count the last eight years of the organization’s existence, not the 20 that preceded it. “It’s worked out real good.”
More than half of those who seek out the foundation’s assistance travel from out of state, he says.
“The men and women who served got the short end of the stick.”
Last fall, Graham welcomed a service member who flew in from Vietnam. Another from China, another from Dubai, another from Greece.
England, Australia, Africa, the list goes on and on.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Graham said. “But we’re winning.”
Graham still volunteers his time but the foundation pays a small army of staff that is amazing to watch in action. And there’s another dedicated group of volunteers that’s the backbone of what the foundation accomplishes.
“When you help somebody else it helps you,” he said.
It’s a lesson he learned later rather than sooner.
He turned to alcohol to cope with the PTSD he brought back with him after serving in Vietnam. He says it dotted almost 30 years of his life.
“It was the only way I could deal with life. Or I thought it was,” he said. “But we got all that past and now we just do what we can do to change lives.”
Changing lives involves helping navigate a seemingly unfair maze of paperwork to service-connect disabilities veterans thought just went hand in hand with serving their country.
“Everything we’re doing down here is working,” Graham said.
The stories that come through the front door are devastating; service widows losing their homes due to rising inflation, veterans living out on the street who don’t want to ask for help.
“I had one couple come in and I did his papers and he told me ‘next month I get my medicine,’” Graham remembers. “He told me they took turns getting their heart medicines every other month to keep costs down and they hoped nothing else ever happens.”
“Him and his wife were living on $1,200 a month. When I got through with him he was getting $4,000 a month from the VA. It’s the richest he’s ever been.”
The times Graham is able to get a service member 100-percent service connected they are able to receive free medical insurance for the spouse and the kids.
“What we’re doing today I think is wonderful,” he said.
More than a decade ago, Graham was invited to Harvard to speak about how he was helping returning veterans.
He’s an expert, but to some service members he’s a savior.
Taylor Poindexter agrees. As the foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Poindexter helps the foundation keep moving forward and track its reach.
“The impact we are having is unmeasurable,” Poindexter said. “Not only are we improving the quality of life for our veterans but we’re actually saving some of their lives.”
Nearly 30 years ago, the Dale K. Graham Veterans Foundation was founded by Graham and Rhonda Reynolds and is dedicated to serving veterans and their families.
Recognizing the challenges veterans face in accessing their entitled benefits, the founders were driven by a deep commitment to fight for those who have served our country.
Since its inception, the Foundation has provided essential services including accredited VA claims assistance, transportation, financial aid, and referral management, ensuring veterans receive the full range of support they deserve.
The Foundation has helped more than 50,000 veterans and their families.
“Not only does it change quality of life, it changes quality of opportunity,” Poindexter said. “We are making a difference and the difference we are making we’ll probably never know. But the only way we truly know is when you and I as veterans get service connected we know how it affects our lives.” •
story and photos by Bobby Anderson, staff writer
