My fellow veterans,

It wasn’t very long ago that I was depressed, demoralized, unemployed, and feeling pretty hopeless. In one year I had a heart attack followed by a triple bypass, I was forced to retire early because of it. Then, after 43 years of marriage, I navigated an unfortunate divorce which left me a financial mess. I was at the lowest point of my life. I was 68 years old, raising three young grandchildren and didn’t know how I was going to do it. My heavy lifting work days were over and after several unsuccessful interviews and fruitless job fairs I firmly believe that I was a victim of outdated skills and age discrimination. I did not see a bright future.

The only thing I knew about Palmetto Warrior Connection at the time was that they helped those in need. It never occurred to me that they could really help someone like me – then I reached out. With their encouragement, patience, and guidance I was able to move forward with my life. In addition to helping me job search, they called me frequently just to make sure I was doing well and managed to lift my spirits on more than one occasion. With their help I was able to update my resume and eventually find suitable employment.

I will always be grateful to the wonderful people at Palmetto Warrior Connection. They helped me dig out of a huge hole that I didn’t believe I could escape from. Palmetto Warrior helped me regain the dignity and self-respect that I had lost.

During World War II, when Germany was bombing London nightly, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was asked to give a commencement speech at a local college. Things were pretty grim then, but he agreed to give the speech. It turned out to be one of the most inspirational commencements of all time. It was also the shortest.

“Never, never, never give up.”

Those five words are as powerful and meaningful today as they were then.

No matter what your situation may be today, remember the words of that great man & never ever give up.