An event kicked off in Waterloo last night designed to bring attention to the plight of veterans. Mel Kalagan is a spokesman for the Circle of Friends for American Veterans. Kalagan says the effort is called “Operation United Reveille.”He says it’s the second time they’ve done this, the last time in 2001. He says the purpose is to bring awareness to the cause of veterans and to energize communities to never forget those who served our country. Kalagan says many veterans have been left with nothing after serving their country.He says there’s around 500-thousand homeless veterans around the country and it’s an issue they want to make know to presidential candidates. Kalagan says they hope the public will get behind the issue too.The event kicked off in Waterloo last night and will continue on to 11 other cities.