Eloy Veterans Center

10/10/2026

"Honor Those Who Honored Us" at the Eloy Veterans Day Parade & Celebration on Tuesday November 11, 2026 at 9:00 am.

Register an entry for the parade online @ https://bit.ly/EloyVeteransParadeEntry26

09/25/2026

08/23/2026

There's a temporary monument honoring Veterans & military personnel being displayed in DC. You can check The National Military Monument website to see if someone is listed. If they aren't yet, you can request to be added. Proud to see our family & friends being
honored!

08/13/2026

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Veteran Su***de Prevention Annual Report released in early 2026 (analyzing 2023 final data), the U.S. veteran su***de rate was 35.2 per 100,000 people, averaging 17.5 deaths per day (6,398 total deaths). This rate is more than double that of the non-veteran U.S. adult population.Key

Report FindingsTotal numbers:
About 61% of the veterans who died by su***de had not received health care or been enrolled in the VA system during their final year of life.
High-risk groups:

Rates are highest among younger veterans (ages 18 to 34) and those dealing with chronic pain or traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Ongoing ResponseVA screenings: The VA reported reaching record levels of annual su***de risk screenings, evaluating roughly 88% of enrolled veterans under their care.

Crisis Support: If you or a veteran you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available 24/7. Connect via the Veterans Crisis Line by dialing 988, then press 1, texting 838255, or using online chat.

💜 Steps of Love: Su***de Awareness Walk & Vigil 💜

We invite you, your family, and friends to join us as we come together to honor and remember our loved ones and support one another in their absence.

Saturday, September 19, 2026
6:30 PM
Santa Cruz Valley Union High School – Football Track
900 N. Main Street, Eloy, AZ 85131

🩵 Memorial Banners
If you have a memorial banner from a previous year, please let us know if you will be bringing it back. If you need a banner replacement or would like to request a new memorial banner, please contact us as soon as possible.

💐 During the vigil, each family may designate one person to place flowers at their loved one’s candle beneath their banner. Flowers are provided, and families may take their banner and flowers home after the event.

There is no cost to families for the memorial banners. Please share this post with anyone who may want to honor a loved one lost to su***de.

💜 You are not alone. Your grief is valid. Your loved one deserves to be remembered, honored, and celebrated for the life they lived and the love they left behind.

For banner requests or questions, please contact [email protected].

07/15/2026

Let's keep supporting our veterans!!! 🇺🇸
This is a wonderful tribute. Well done!!

CASA GRANDE — Braving scorching summer heat, a crowd of approximately 100 veterans and community members gathered at the Honoring/Hiring/Helping Our Heroes of Pinal County Veterans Center on Saturday morning

07/14/2026

A wonderful post. 🇺🇸

Born in Mexico City. Raised in Morelia, Michoacán. He never became a U.S. citizen — yet America gave him its HIGHEST military honor. 🇲🇽

This is the story of José Francisco "Jo Jo" Jiménez, and every Mexican should know his name.

José was born in the heart of Mexico City on March 20, 1946. His childhood was pure Michoacán — raised by his grandmother in Morelia, walking to Benito Juárez School like any other kid from the neighborhood.

At 11, he crossed the border to reunite with his mother Basilia in Arizona. He learned English. He became president of his school's Future Farmers of America chapter. But one thing never changed:

He remained a citizen of MEXICO his entire life.

That's what makes what happened next so incredible.

In 1968, at 22 years old, José walked into a Marine Corps recruiting office in Phoenix and volunteered. No draft applied to him. No law required it. As a Mexican citizen, he could have simply gone home.

He chose to serve anyway.

On August 28, 1969, on a hill in Vietnam, his unit was ambushed by enemy soldiers hidden in camouflaged bunkers. While others took cover, Lance Corporal Jiménez charged forward.

He took out several enemy positions. He silenced an anti-aircraft gun. He crawled within TEN FEET of a machine gun trench under a storm of bullets — and destroyed it.

Then, still pressing forward, he fell. He was 23.

His fellow Marines refused to abandon him. Three more men died recovering his body. That's how much they loved Jo Jo.

In 1970, at the White House, the President of the United States placed the MEDAL OF HONOR — the highest award a warrior can receive in America — into the hands of his Mexican mother.

Only three men born on Mexican soil earned it in the entire Vietnam War. Jo Jo was one of them.

And here is the part that will break your heart:

Doña Basilia brought her son home. She buried him in Morelia, in the Michoacán soil where he played as a boy. But she couldn't afford to ship his official granite headstone from the United States.

So for SEVENTEEN YEARS, she kept it under her bed.

When the Marines who fought beside Jo Jo found out, they raised the money themselves. They traveled to Morelia. They honored him the way he deserved. Even the U.S. President sent a letter to be read at his grave.

Today, a Marine barracks in Spain carries his name: Jiménez Hall. His name is carved into the Vietnam Memorial in Washington.

But his body rests where it belongs — in Michoacán, Mexico. 🇲🇽

He was born Mexican. He fought like a lion. And he came home Mexican.