As many of you know I am classified as a Disabled Veteran (40%) based off of injuries I incurred while serving on Active Duty in the USAF. For those of you who did not know, now you do.
Anyway, I’m required to attend the VA on a regular basis to deal with a few of my medical problems. I see many Vets on my visits from several wars and many of them share the same common bond, mental illness. I can assume this was likely caused by the horrors of combat and being exposed to such chemical weapons as Agent Orange.
A lot of these Vets are homeless and I know this because I’ve heard it when they’re speaking to others. Nobody speaks to me, they probably figure I’m here bringing my Grandpa to the clinic for his appointments and there is no point in speaking to me because I cannot relate. I can relate, but luckily I am of the era where the Government believes in taking care of its “Soldiers.”
I feel that our nation has found it convenient to forget about these Veterans because their day has come and gone and the government is looking out for OIF/OEF Veterans because they’re in the limelight right now. The Govt. knows that if they do not take care of all these Men and Women coming home, they will answer for it. They have at the same time, basically forgotten about our older Veterans. You know, our Dad’s, Grandpa’s, and Great Grandpa’s? The ones who stormed the beaches at Normandy, and treaded through the swamps in Saigon?
There are an estimated 200k homeless Veterans in the USA, most who suffer from PTSD and other illnesses caused by combat. There are only a little over 7k of Government funded beds for these Heroes to stay in. Yes, probably some of them have dug their grave and gotten themselves mixed up with drugs and the wrong people and that is not our problem, but there are several of tem affected by their combat illnesses who are helpless, alone, and forgotten about.
What is my point of this blog? Aside from raising awareness to the few people who read this that do not know about it is to express my anger. These are Men and Women (mostly Men, from what I have seen) who were willing to give the ultimate sacrifice for their country and the Govt. has found it really easy to shit on them and forget them. This is not the way it should be done, the Government is responsible for these Men and Women because it’s their fault that they went to war and were hurt. Yeah, they volunteered and some could argue the fact that they knew the risks. Anyone who would argue this has never had the pleasure of serving our Nation and is a total jackass and should keep his or her mouth shut.
These Soldiers are owed a debt by the United States and it’s time someone answered the call and took care of them. You should not come back from war to be pissed on and shit on by the Pentagon. It’s bullshit, it’s not right, and it needs to be fixed. Barack Obama Jr. the ball is in YOUR court. You need to make this right!
