Dayton, Ohio–CareSource, a nonprofit multistate health plan, is partnering with the Dayton Dragons for the second year in a row for the CareSource Veteran Salute. The program is an extension of CareSource’s commitment to improve the lives of veterans and their families through innovative programs and partnerships to support their health and well-being.
CareSource’s Veteran Salute is open to any living military veteran in the Miami Valley. Five veterans will be selected from entries submitted between February 4, 2020 and June 30, 2020. Selected honorees will be recognized at a Dayton Dragons home game during an inning break at Day Air Ballpark, April through August 2020.
Each veteran will receive VIP treatment during their night, including pregame activities, in-game recognition, seating in a luxury suite at the ballpark, a special gift and more.
“At CareSource, we lead with heart. We see our service members, past and present, as the heartbeat of our nation and we are proud to partner with the Dayton Dragons to recognize our local veterans. This program is a way to bring their amazing stories of service to audiences across the region and thank all veterans for their valuable contributions,” said Rachel Goodspeed, Director of Veteran Relations and Outreach.
“The Dragons are excited to once again partner with CareSource to honor local veterans,” said Robert Murphy, Dragons President & General Manager. “We look forward to continuing to recognize these individuals who have served our country and sharing their stories with our fans at Day Air Ballpark in 2020.”
A look back to our veterans who were recognized during the 2019 season through CareSource’s Veteran Salute Program:
Robert Looper – U.S. Marine Corp, Korean War Veteran. Robert Looper joined the Marine Corps after graduating high school in 1949, and was sent to Korea once the Korean War began. Looper and his brigade survived negative 40-degree temperatures in the Taebaek Mountains, where 15,000 Marines fought over 200,000 Chinese. Looper participated in every single major battle in Korea and was also a Prisoner of War for 17 days before escaping. Looper was awarded the Purple Heart for his time in Korea.
Daniel and Nicole Powers – U.S. Air Force, Desert Storm Veterans. Husband and wife Daniel and Nicole Powers are no strangers to the military. Both joined the U.S. Air Force in college, and met while deployed in Iraq in 2006. Nicole was deployed multiple places including Saudi Arabia, Italy, and Iraq. During Daniel’s almost six years of deployment overseas, Daniel was an intelligence collector, where he would visit towns and gather human intelligence from local shops and people. Both have been deployed a number of times, and have over 40 years of combined service in the U.S. military.
John Brown – U.S. Army, World War II, Korean War, & Vietnam War Veteran. John Brown joined the Army when he was 18 years old, and is a veteran of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During his career, Brown was stationed in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for reviewing and preparing the daily summary of intelligence that was presented to the high-level staff, including President Nixon. Brown had top-secret clearance in the Counterintelligence Corp for most of his service career, and served in the Army for almost 30 years.
Gene Camp – U.S. Marines, Vietnam War Veteran. Gene Camp joined the Marines in 1968 and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. On his last patrol before he was scheduled to go back home to the U.S., Camp’s battalion was ambushed and Camp was severely injured in an explosion. Camp was honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps in 1973 and was awarded three Purple Hearts for his time in Vietnam and has over 17 years of service.
Ed Damron – U.S. Army, Vietnam War Veteran. Ed Damron enlisted with the United States Army in September of 1970 at the age of 23 and was sent to fight in the Vietnam War. On September 6, 1971, Damron’s helicopter went down in the middle of a North Vietnamese Army (NVA) base camp with 5,000 enemy soldiers. Damron saved the lives of his helicopter pilot and gunner and hid in the enemy camp for over three hours before help arrived. Because of his heroic actions on that day, Damron was awarded the Purple Heart and Silver Star, and later was awarded the Bronze Star.
Nominations for CareSource’s Veteran Salute program are open to the public. Any living military veteran from the Miami Valley is eligible to be nominated. To nominate a veteran, go to www.daytondragons.com/veteransalute
About CareSource
CareSource is a nonprofit, multistate health plan recognized as a national leader in managed care. Founded in 1989, CareSource administers one of the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care plans and offers a lifetime of access to care through health insurance, including Medicaid, Health Insurance Marketplace, Medicare Advantage and a dual-eligible program.
Headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, CareSource serves nearly 2 million members in Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia. CareSource understands the challenges consumers face navigating the health system and is transforming health care with industry-leading programs that improve the health and well-being of our members.
For more, visit caresource.com, follow @caresource on Twitter, or like CareSource on Facebook.
About the Dayton Dragons
The Dayton Dragons are the Midwest League affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds and play a 70-game home schedule at beautiful Day Air Ballpark in downtown Dayton, easily accessible from Interstate 75.
Individuals and groups seeking information about Dayton Dragons group tickets, lawn tickets, season tickets, sponsorship opportunities, or booking a Dragons speaker are encouraged to contact the Dragons by calling (937) 228-2287, by email at dragons@daytondragons.com, or on the web at daytondragons.com.
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This story was not subject to the approval of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues or its clubs.