Serving in the military is not an easy job.
After leaving the Forces, the transition to civilian life is often difficult.
The Sault’s Frank Iezzi is one of many who has faced challenges during and after leaving the Canadian Armed Forces and, since 2017, his passion is helping other Sault and area veterans as president of the not-for-profit Algoma Veterans Association.
He served with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) from 1987 to 2008, including a six-month posting in Afghanistan in 2002.
“I was with the first group of Canadians that went in there. With the Air Force I worked on the C-130 Hercules military air transport planes as an aircraft maintenance and repair technician. I saw a ramp ceremony while I was there. It wasn’t the best place to be. The conditions weren’t the best and we made do with what we had. Those six months weren’t the best six months of my life,” Iezzi told SooToday.
“When I left the military I came back to the Sault and there was not much here for veterans during that time. I was having a hard time settling back into civilian life and then in 2017 I had a major neck injury that put me out of work and that's when I turned to Veterans Affairs Canada.”
That’s when Iezzi helped establish the Algoma Veterans Association.
The group has approximately 120 members, including veterans from 25 to 70 years old, their spouses and friends. It is governed by a board of 10 people, all but one of them veterans.
“We go out for coffee, we try to have breakfast together every so often, we do peer-to-peer support work. ‘Veterans helping Veterans’ is our motto. In seven years we’ve raised over $40,000 for veterans,” Iezzi said.
That money, gathered through Algoma Veterans Association fundraisers since the group’s establishment in 2017, is necessary.
“When a veteran leaves the military he’s often homeless and out of a job,” Iezzi said.
“When you’re in the military they give you everything you need, like clothing, boots and the tools you need to do your job. When you get out you’ve got nothing. We face a doctor shortage, which is the case with a lot of people. Algoma Veterans helps individuals get what they might need like psychologists, psychiatrists, massage therapists, anything we can help them with.”
When a soldier, sailor or air force member leaves the armed forces it can often be a hard adjustment to the civilian world.
A military man or woman can deal with permanent physical injuries or disability.
In addition, leaving the military’s structure, camaraderie and sense of purpose can lead to a bewildering loss of purpose, loneliness and fear.
“It’s a trying time for veterans when they get out. I know of veterans that are unable to leave their house. We have veterans who don’t want to be outdoors for too long so we work with them and take them for coffee,” Iezzi said.
“In my case, I want to help whoever I can to get to where I’m at. I have days where I’m not able to function at my best but I put that aside and try to do my best on those days.”
“You get out and there’s a time period where you’re waiting for your pension. If you’ve been injured your mindset isn't right. You will go into a deep, dark hole. Financially speaking, for a pension, it’s just a percentage of the pay you had in the military depending on what rank you were and what pay structure you were in. There is some homelessness because they’re not making enough money to survive on a pension to afford food, apartment rent and any other expenses they have,” Iezzi said.
That has led to loss of life in some cases.
“I’ve known two homeless veterans in this city and they both have passed. They got involved in the wrong stuff and that’s what happens to some of them, they can’t deal with it,” Iezzi said.
The paperwork involved with Veterans Affairs can be a challenge.
“Veterans Affairs Canada is getting a lot better. It’s still not where it should be because we have veterans waiting a year or a year-and-a-half to get an injury benefit from them. In that time homelessness has happened or they don’t want to leave their houses,” Iezzi said.
With funds raised by the Algoma Veterans Association over the last seven years, Iezzi and the group have stepped in to help with veterans’ various needs.
“During COVID there was a veteran’s family, they lost their jobs and they couldn’t provide Christmas gifts for their kids and themselves so we gave them a thousand dollars. There was another veteran’s family, we gave them eight hundred dollars. There was a veteran who wanted to go to the Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa last year. He needed the brakes fixed on his car so we gave him money for that and he went to Ottawa. It’s just little things but we help veterans out the best we can with the funds we raise,” Iezzi said.
The group will help veterans deal with paperwork and, Iezzi said, with paying a veteran’s rent if asked and if possible.
The group also helps out civilian agencies.
“We give to local charities like Pauline’s Place, St. Vincent Place and the Soup Kitchen just to give back and if there’s a veteran there they may get something to help their situation.”
A major, successful source of fundraising for veterans that Iezzi and the Algoma Veterans Association manage is the annual Red Friday Golf Tournament.
The term ‘Red Friday’ comes from Canadian Armed Forces members being encouraged to wear red as a symbol of support for deployed troops and veterans.
The 14th annual Red Friday Golf Tournament was held at Crimson Ridge Golf Course Friday, July 19.
The event marked the second time the annual tournament was organized by the Algoma Veterans Association. Previous tournaments were organized by the Military Family Support Group.
“We raised almost $18,000, the most in the event’s 14- year history. We had 34 sponsors. We had 141 golfers, up from last year’s 91,” Iezzi said, including veterans, family members and supporters.
New North Greenhouses was on that list of sponsors.
“For myself, I’m just looking to bridge the gap of understanding between civilians and veterans, their families and military personnel," said Robert Carroll, New North Greenhouses marketing director and an Algoma Veterans Association civilian board member. "For me personally my eyes have been very much opened to the unique challenges they face."
Carroll is also Due North Cannabis CEO and founder.
“Due North Cannabis has been working with the Algoma Veterans Association since the passing of one of our employees, Jarret Maniacco, who was a veteran," Carroll said. "Since that time we’ve created a very strong relationship with the Algoma Veterans Association and I was very honoured that Frank asked me to join the board this year."
Maniacco served with the 49th (Sault Ste. Marie) Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery for a decade.
Four now-deceased men — Maniacco, John Wayne Faught, Gilbert Willett and R.J. Anderson — each had a hole on the Crimson Ridge Golf Course dedicated to them in last month’s Red Friday Golf Tournament.
Hole 1 was dedicated to Willett’s memory, Hole 8 to Maniacco, Hole 14 to Faught and Hole 18 to Anderson.
Willett, whose son Matthew suffered wounds while serving with the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan, was the founder of the Red Friday Golf Tournament and died this year.
Maniacco died in January 2023.
Anderson passed away this year.
Sgt. John Wayne Faught was killed in action in Afghanistan Jan. 16, 2010.
A hole will be dedicated to each of the four men in each year’s tournament, Iezzi said.
Meanwhile, Iezzi’s work goes on, the ex-RCAF technician keeping a concerned eye on the Sault and area’s ex-military personnel who are facing challenges.
“We’re getting a lot better but it’s just hard. I try to keep track of as many veterans as I can. If I don’t hear from someone or see something from them on social media I’ll touch base to see if they’re okay or need something.”
As for this year’s successful Red Friday Golf Tournament, Iezzi said “we have tremendous gratitude to the city’s business community, to the volunteers, to the committee — and to the spouses who put up with us because we were so busy.”