November is a time to recognize and honor the people who have served in our armed forces. It is also an opportunity to celebrate the many ways veterans continue to serve their communities after their military careers.
Former Friends of the San Juans Board President Ken Carrasco knows firsthand the value of service. A U.S. Coast Guard veteran and former salmon biologist, Ken has spent much of his career working to protect the environment. In this story, he shares how he met fellow veteran John Beal, whose remarkable commitment to restoring a polluted creek inspired the creation of Washington’s Veterans Conservation Corps.
The program honors Beal’s legacy by connecting veterans with meaningful conservation and restoration work while helping them transition to civilian life. Ken explains why this program is such a valuable opportunity for both veterans and the environment in the San Juan Islands.
The following is written by Ken Carrasco.
I’m often humbled by the stories of American military veterans. I admire the personal grit they draw upon to complete difficult missions, their devotion to duty and their fellow citizens, and their ability to innovate on the fly.
Let me introduce you to one such veteran I’ve had the pleasure of meeting: John Beal.
John was a Marine who fought in Vietnam. He experienced such horrific combat that he returned home in 1968 with physical injuries and severe PTSD. His condition was so serious that he suffered three heart attacks over the next few months. His doctor told him he had only a few months left to live, that it would be a very painful death, and that he should find himself a hobby.
After leaving the hospital, John returned home south of Seattle. He recalled sitting beside Hamm Creek, a tributary of the industrialized Duwamish River. Like himself, and the country he had been fighting in, the creek was a mess. Cars, tires, and refrigerators littered the water. Much of the creek had been put into culverts, and chemicals from nearby industries were contaminating the water. Neighborhood children couldn’t play in the creek without developing rashes.
So John got to work cleaning it up, first by himself and later by motivating and organizing his neighbors. Instead of dying within the few months his doctor had predicted, he lived another 27 years. When he passed away in 2006, Hamm Creek had been restored to much of its original health. His work had been so successful that salmon returned to spawn there. It became one of only two tributaries of the Duwamish River where salmon could spawn!
I had the privilege of meeting John several times at Hamm Creek while he was working on it. He was clearly passionate and had become very knowledgeable about stream and salmon biology. He had also developed the skills to organize community members and work with industry and government to reduce pollution and protect the stream and its wetlands.
I was a salmon biologist with the local county government at the time, so I was familiar with his work. Even in my mid-life, I recognized that John could become a mentor to me. He had faced so much resistance and so many setbacks, including challenges with his own health, yet he kept going with his mission like, well, a Marine. He was determined to make a difference for the environment.
Former Friends Board President, Ken Carrasco, US Coast Guard, Saint Paul LORAN-C transmitting station in the Bering Sea, Alaska.
Continuing a Legacy of Service
Recently, I was thrilled to learn about a wonderful opportunity to serve people like John, who served our country, while also stewarding the San Juan Islands.
I’m a military veteran myself. I served four years in the U.S. Coast Guard as a corpsman, the equivalent of a medic in the Army. I guess I still look for opportunities to continue taking care of my “shipmates.”
One such important program is the Veterans Conservation Corps (VCC), a volunteer program within the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs founded in 2005 in honor of John Beal. The program has successfully placed veterans in internships in both the environmental and agricultural sectors.
The VCC uses the leadership and teamwork skills veterans gained during their military service to restore and protect our natural ecosystems while helping them transition back into civilian life.
In 2025, there were 22 VCC interns working with 18 different government agencies, Tribes, and nonprofit organizations in conservation and agriculture.
The program operates through grants that typically require matching funds from the state. However, those state matching funds have recently been curtailed. Grant funding is available when matching funds can be secured, and corporate or individual donations can help provide that match.
An Opportunity for the San Juan Islands
The Veterans Conservation Corps obviously offers a wonderful opportunity to support our veterans while protecting the environment we all depend on. Here in the San Juan Islands, the program could provide meaningful work and career experience for a local veteran while helping restore and steward our natural ecosystems.
People sometimes wonder whether they can really change their own lives, the lives of others, or the environment. They might think they don’t have enough education, the right job, or enough influence. John Beal is a prime example of someone who found the ability to heal himself through healing the environment around him.
The Veterans Conservation Corps, created in his honor, can provide that same kind of opportunity to veterans in the San Juan Islands while improving the ecological health of our home.
This is an opportunity for my fellow islands to see the value in this program and help make it possible here in the islands. If you would like to help both our environment and those who served, please consider a donation to Friends of the San Juans.
Ken Carrasco is a former Board President of Friends of the San Juans and a U.S. Coast Guard veteran.
Help bring the Veterans Conservation Corps to the San Juan Islands
Friends of the San Juans is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that can employ a VCC intern here in the islands. Donations from individuals and businesses can help secure the matching funds needed to make an internship possible. Click here to make a donation and support these efforts.