Milwaukee VA Medical Center

Welcome Home 2011: Milwaukee takes 'em out to the ball game!

Zablocki took ’em out to the ball game — a whole bunch of ’em — for the annual Welcome Home event to tell people about VA healthcare and encourage them to enroll for services.

More than 850 veterans and family members attended the Welcome Home, which included free tickets to the Sept. 11 Brewers game, plus snacks, drinks and information booths at Lake Wheeler — along with the Racing Sausages.

“I guess one sentiment that stuck with me was the sense of overwhelming gratitude expressed by many of the vets,” said Delon Powell, one of the organizers. “They were very grateful for the opportunity to attend the game.  To me, it was just a game; but to some of these guys, it was an event.”

A few got some special surprise goodies. Five veterans from all branches of the service got to go on the field to throw out the ceremonial first pitch, and watched the game from a suite, where the Brewers provided food and drinks. Nine children stood next to ballplayers for the National Anthem.

Veteran Kyle Hanson, also won two free tickets to the Oct. 2 Green Bay Packers game, provided by the Zablocki VA.

“My kids kept saying it was the best day of their life,” said Air Force veteran Phylena Fowler, who threw out the first pitch, and whose children got to go on field for the National Anthem.

“I just thought it was going to be a game, but the VA did a great job,” she added. “Definitely they should do it more often.”