A group of local veterans and their families came together at Freedom Park in Cleveland on Friday, June 6, to advocate against plans set by the Trump administration to cut funding from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The “Unite for Veterans” included live music from local Americana duo Mayberry Wine, guest speakers, voter registration opportunities, and candidate information tents.
The ceremony began by introducing Nick Raptis, the oldest World War II veteran in White County. The 101-year-old served as a communications officer in the Second World War and the Korean War. He graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in electrical engineering.
“I’m so thankful for you all that could make it today,” Raptis said. “Keep up the good fight.”
The first guest speaker was Gary St. Lawrence, a veteran running for the State Senate District 51 seat as a Democrat. His campaign website describes him as a “fiscal conservative and social liberal.”
St. Lawrence described veterans care, benefits and assistance as his top campaign priorities. “As someone with a disability, I’ve gone through all the processes through the VA, and I know how convoluted and delayed those processes are,” he said. “We can streamline these processes by getting them online.”
Education was another topic discussed by St. Lawrence. He argued that apprenticeships and trade schools should be encouraged and receive more public funding. “32% of graduates who started their degree program in IT don’t have anywhere to get jobs because of AI. What do they do? Burger King can only hire so many people,” he said.
Another guest speaker was veteran Jerry Ramos, who plans to run for sheriff of Hall County as a Democrat in 2028. The Civic Guardians of NE GA founder previously ran for sheriff in 2024 but lost to Republican Gerald Couch. Ramos was the only Hispanic candidate on the ballot.
Ramos condemned the current VA administration, saying that Georgia is one of the top five states in the nation for the highest amount of backlogged claims. He noted that 44,000 veterans in Georgia are now unemployed because of VA layoffs.
“They are saying [certain veterans] are non-mission critical. To me, everyone that works in the VA is mission critical,” he said.
The event was sponsored by the Georgia 9th Congressional District Democrats, the Georgia 9th District Democratic Women’s Network, and the Fannin County Democratic Women’s organization. It coincided with a rally at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the nonprofit advocacy group Unite 4 Veterans.
