Elaine Simmons:  

I was raised, educated and spent the first part of my life in an area of Severna Park , Maryland. Following graduation from Severna Park High School, I married my first husband, a Vietnam Veteran, who served with Mac-V as an Army Interrogator and we had two children, Angela, who is now 39 and William, now 29. After the birth of my daughter, and prior to the birth of my son, I joined the United States Army Reserve. My military occupation or MOS was 71 Lima Administrative Specialist with the 99th ASA Army Security Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland. This enlistment was from 1980-1986, and I am very proud of my service to my country. In 1988, following my divorce from my first husband, I re-established contact with my original High School Sweetheart, David Simmons, and we were married in 1989, and at that time, I also became the stepmother to David #2 who is now 31 years old. In 1991, following my husband's unexpected early retirement because of disabilities, we moved to Bluefield, West Virginia. It was then, that we became involved with Vietnam Veterans of America In June of 1996, I was appointed to be the West Virginia State Associate Liaison. Along with several other members of the West Virginia State Council, we renovated space and established an office that was manned five day a week in Princeton, West Virginia. I began attending Regional Conferences and visited all of the current VVA Chapters in West Virginia at least twice.One of my most outstanding accomplishments during this time was to be nominated in 1998 for t...Expand for more