Stephen Colbert at IAVA Fifth Annual Heroes Gala.

A big thank you to our friends over FakeNewsJunkies, and staffer Nea for sharing her recap from last nights “IAVA Fifth Annual Heroes Gala”.

The Civilian Service Award from IAVA was presented to Stephen Colbert last night at their Fifth Annual Heroes Gala. I stephen colbert iava heroes gala 1 300×211 Civilian Service Award from IAVA: Fifth Annual Heroes Gala given the outstanding honor of attending the reception, and while Mr. Colbert himself, due to taping his show, The Colbert Report, was running late and unable to attend the reception, I did see Cpl. Aaron Mankin and Brian Williams, as well as many other vets of all ages and ranks.

I think we can all agree that nobody deserved this award as much as Stephen. While awaiting him in the press area, I overheard a gentleman talking about his contributions:

“He uses his humor and his show to introduce people to issues that might be obscure to them.”

Iraq vet Tom Tarantino echoed this sentiment during my discussion with him.

“He also makes it okay to laugh. A lot of these issues are very serious and frankly they can be a real bummer. And when things are a bummer, the American people- they’re already not engaged enough in these conflicts. So when someone like Stephen Colbert engages them, it makes it okay to laugh at some of these things that frankly as vets we all laugh at internally.”

Between the Wriststrong campaign, bringing high profile vets onto the Report, and even taking his show to Iraq for a week and getting his head shaved on air, Mr. Colbert brings aid in many forms, and visibility to the challenges our troops face both during and after their service. His trip to Baghdad, arranged through the United Service Organizations, was the first time in their history that a full length television show had been recorded, edited, and broadcast from an active combat zone, with the exception of the news. And much more than the news, The Colbert Report has the power to really help us form a human connection to the events going on overseas. Tarantino hit this point too.

“The experience of being in Iraq or Afghanistan is completely alien to 99% of the population. So even just showing that little glimpse, and again, making it funny making it relatable, so now being in Iraq, you see something you can relate to.”

Everybody I heard talking about what needed to be done to help support our vets seemed to come back to the same point: Be informed. Try to educate yourself on the issues facing the integration of our former soldiers back into society. Don’t just advocate for them politically, see what you can do to help out locally. Find an organization like IAVA that you can get involved with.

While I’m disappointed I didn’t get to have a real conversation with Mr. Colbert, I managed to shout him a thank you. I’d just like to reiterate that here.

On behalf of the Colbert Nation, thank you for everything, and congratulations on your award.