The Zoo Hosts Welcome Home Event for Vets

The Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center held a welcome home event at the zoo today for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

by KYW's Paul Kurtz reports many of the servicemen and women brought loved ones along for their stroll through the zoo -- everyone got in free and afterward, VA officials were waiting under a big tent to pass along a lot of free information. Laurie Moss is the VA program director for Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

"Our combat veterans are eligible for five years of free health care for anything that's related to their service. Within 180 days they also have eligibility for a one time dental evaluation and checkup and then there's a multitude of things that they're eligible for including VA home loan guarantee, the GI bill."

45-year-old Iraq veteran Eduardo Vega, Jr. wants to buy a home but was having trouble getting hold of a certificate of eligibility.

"But now with the information I'm receiving here with the new pamphlets they gave me I have the new phone numbers to call, go online and receive the information I need."

Expect to see more events like this as more veterans come back home.

(photo by KYW's Paul Kurtz)