Ex-Marine's inspirational speech wraps up Stand Down
By Angelica Martinez, amartinez@ VenturaCountyStar.com
After providing new jeans, shoes and other necessities to about 140 homeless veterans over three days, the 12th annual Ventura County Stand Down concluded Sunday afternoon with an inspirational message from one of its own.
Mark Graves, a former corporal in the Marine Corps, stood before the group of homeless vets at "Seabee Camp Hope" -- nickname of the Stand Down site at the National Guard Armory in Ventura -- and said, "I've lived the life that all of you guys live."
Twelve years ago, Graves was homeless, with rotten teeth and other medical problems. He had no identification to get medical help or to even begin looking for a job.
He said his visit to the Stand Down back then was the first step in turning his life around, an achievement many of the vets Sunday said they dream of making.
After his return from Vietnam in the late 1960s, Graves said, he wandered the streets in Santa Barbara and later in Ventura. Eventually, with the help of the Stand Down and several other services, Graves got back on his feet and even bought a home for himself and his pregnant wife. read more
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