The Georgia Department of Veterans Service regrets to announce the passing of Commissioner Pete Wheeler.

Commissioner Wheeler joined the GDVS in 1949 and led the agency since 1954. With 66 years of service, he was the longest-tenured employee in Georgia state government.

Other details will be announced later today on veterans.georgia.gov.

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For more information on the content of this news release, please contact the GDVS Public Information Division at 404-656-5933 or gavetsvc@vs.state.ga.us.

Georgia veterans with a household income of $58,000 or less can access free tax preparation on Tuesdays and Saturdays until April 12, 2014.

Tuesdays: 4:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Saturdays: 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Locations:

Fort McPherson

Atlanta VA Medical Center, 1670 Clairmont Rd.
Decatur, GA 30033

East Point CBOC, 1701 Hardee Ave., SW
Atlanta, GA 30310

NOTE: Friends and family members of veterans who meet the household income guidelines can also take advantage of the free tax preparation.

There are more than 23 million veterans living nationwide, more than 23 million people to whom we owe gratitude for the freedoms and liberties we enjoy.

As we once again observe Veterans Day in the United States of America, we honor these brave men and women, each of whom swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution and laws of this great nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Let us never forget the blank check each of them wrote to us, at the value of their lives, in service to our nation.

Many have suffered the shock and pain of combat. Some have become disabled for life; many have made the ultimate sacrifice. All who served have given up some of the best years of their life.

Now, on this day, it is a small but important matter for us to simply say “thank you” to these courageous Americans.

Thank you.

We support you, and we stand behind you, who stood between us and harm.

And thank you to those serving in our armed forces today, for today’s service members are tomorrow’s veterans. As we honor our veterans today we set an example for how we will receive this next generation of America’s heroes, who continue by their actions the long and honorable chain of service that stretches back to the dawn of this great nation.

America has been honored by the service of its veterans, and it will continue to be as the great people of this great nation step forward to serve, and we all remember what is owed to them.

Thank you.

PETE WHEELER
Commissioner
Georgia Department of Veterans Service