CRESTLINE — An oversized flat screen television showed grainy black-and-white naval battle footage airing on The History Channel as a handful of silver-haired men in blue jeans and ball caps traded stories while waiting their turn in the weathered barber’s chair.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) made sure to shake each man’s hand when he wasn’t passing out cookies baked by his wife, Polly. The conservative congressman of Ohio’s sprawling 4th District visited Ed’s Barber Shop on Veterans Day and was more than happy to pick up the tab for the several dozen Crawford County-area veterans who stopped in for a haircut.
“This is just a small way to say thank you to the veterans,” said Jordan, recently re-elected for his fifth term. “We can never repay the debt we owe them.
“Ed (shop founder Ed Naufzinger) is well-respected and he is a veteran. So we thought this is a great place to start something we hope to do around the district every Veterans Day.”
Naufzinger and his grandson, shop owner Josh Crosswhite, were glad to provide the venue.
“Congressman Jordan approached and we thought it was a great idea,” said Naufzinger, who served in the National Guard from 1965 to 1969. “We thought it was a small way to give back to the veterans.”
A line of veterans was waiting when Jordan and his aides arrived slightly before 9 a.m. They appreciated the gesture.
“It’s nice of Congressman Jordan to stop by and do this,” said Anthony Hohenbrink, who served in the Army from 1966 to ’68. “I needed the haircut, anyway.”
The well being of the nation’s millions of veterans has come to the fore in recent months in the wake of the Veterans Health Administration waiting list scandal. CNN reported in April that at least 40 veterans died while awaiting care at VHA facilities in Phoenix. The Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General has launched an investigation and the House passed legislation in May to fund a $1 million criminal investigation.
“The new head of the Veteran’s Administration, Bob McDonald, has some links to Ohio. He was the former head of (Cincinnati-headquartered) Proctor & Gamble,” Jordan said. “He’s a West Point grad and I think he’ll do a good job of cleaning up that administration and making sure our veterans get treated the way they deserve to be treated.”
Jordan often hosts veterans roundtables throughout the 4th District.
“We want to let veterans know who the person is in our office when they have specific constituent matters dealing with the Veterans Administration,” Jordan said. “I’m on the Benghazi Select Committee and all Americans care about that. The veterans most certainly do, so we will talk about that situation.
“And we talk about the scandal that took place this summer and how we can correct that and make sure veterans don’t get put on waiting lists.”
While the venue was a little less formal, Jordan relished the opportunity to hear from veterans Tuesday morning.
“There’s nothing like a barber shop to find out what’s going on,” Jordan said. “You hear about everything from high school football to history lessons on all the different experiences these veterans had.”
