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Army veteran Clay Jensen, left, talks about events in his military career as songwriter Brian White, right, puts them into lyrics as they work in a dressing room in the Grand Ole Opry House as part of the CreatiVets program on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

NASHVILLE – Richard Casper shakes his head as he touches one of the boarded-up windows in the once-abandoned church he plans to transform into a new 24-hour arts center for veterans.

The U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient said he was an arm’s length away from military officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, at Marine Barracks Washington when he learned the former church his nonprofit CreatiVets just purchased had been vandalized.

The physical damage to the

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