Senator Baldwin Celebrates Veterans Day in La Crosse

LA CROSSE, WI – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin honored veterans and current servicemembers at Viterbo University’s Annual Veterans Day Program. After the program, she had lunch with Abby Siakpere, a local veteran who was one of the many Wisconsin veterans misdiagnosed by a doctor at the Tomah VA Medical Center, depriving her of the benefits and compensation she deserved.

“Veterans Day is a time for us to reflect and honor the sacrifice that our servicemembers have made in defense of our country,” said Senator Baldwin. “From the tens of thousands of Wisconsinites who served dating back to World War I, to the thousands currently enlisted – Wisconsin has a long and proud tradition of service. Wisconsinites have stepped up to defend our values, freedom, and way of life, and it is our duty to ensure that they receive the high-quality benefits they earned and deserve.”

At Viterbo University, Senator Baldwin joined veterans, current servicemembers and their families, faculty, students, and La Crosse community members to honor veterans and current servicemembers. Senator Baldwin gave remarks during the program and joined in the raising of the POW/MIA flag.

At lunch, Senator Baldwin was joined by Abby Siakpere, a La Crosse area veteran who served for fourteen years, including a deployment to Iraq in 2007. In 2017, Abby received a medical discharge from service and later reported a misdiagnosis by Dr. Lanska at the Tomah VA Medical Center to Senator Baldwin. After years of working with impacted Wisconsin veterans, like Abby, Senator Baldwin announced last week that nearly 650 potentially impacted veterans’ will get new exams and those impacted will be eligible for years of benefits backdated.

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