Steve and Linda
Marine retiree Steve Centore and wife Linda Sutter.

Couple makes fellow veterans part of their family as a thank-you for DAV’s decades of help

The life of longtime DAV member and retired Marine Steve Centore forever changed in 1968 when he was wounded at the Battle of Dai Do in Vietnam, where Marines were vastly outnumbered by the North Vietnamese Army. It was a fiercely fought three-day battle, and the injuries that Centore sustained there would lead to numerous challenges for years to come.

After his military career, the Purple Heart recipient chose work where he could be of service to others. He and his wife, Linda Sutter, both spent their careers in public service. His most recent career was as a registered nurse, while Sutter worked in behavioral health care.

But complications from the injuries he sustained in Vietnam, along with complications from exposure to Agent Orange, resulted in multiple surgeries and hospitalizations for Centore. By the age of 52, declining health put an end to his ability to work.

Centore’s military portrait.

“DAV was there for us to help in filing multiple compensation claims to ensure Steve received both priority VA medical care as well as financial support for our family once he could no longer work,” said Sutter.

DAV’s support meant a great deal to the couple. In a gesture of appreciation, and through a desire to help other veterans and their families, they named DAV in their trust.

Estate gifts are fueling DAV’s ability to help more than 1 million veterans nationwide each year. Gifts through wills, trusts, retirement assets and life insurance policies have grown to provide up to half of DAV’s net fundraising revenue in any one year. After taking care of your loved ones, consider making veterans a part of your family by naming DAV as a percentage beneficiary of your estate plan. We are forever grateful to each and every supporter who remembers DAV in this special way. If  you have already included DAV in your estate plans or wish to learn more, please contact Judie List Sweeney in DAV’s Gift Planning department.