America Has Failed Our Veterans

We — that’s you and me — just had a Veterans Day. You might have missed it? Did you notice that we had fewer parades and TV and radio shows talked a little less about the holiday. Just last year, we were all over our men and women in uniform and retired — we all said no matter what we think of the war in Iraq or Afghanistan, we were going to honor thos who served … remember that?

Well, we have lost our way, we have failed them. We have let them all down. You cannot keep asking, hell demanding, that your soldiers go back to combat three, four and five times in five years — leave their families, lose their limbs, their lives, their souls and then not even have the decency to take care of them when they get hurt. We ought to be ashamed and embarrassed.

The one thing that steams me beyond belief is when we see things like this, or like the reports of soldiers being told to pay back their signing bonuses after traumatic injury prevented them from finishing their tour, or soldiers dunned for not turning in equipment that was lost on the battlefield... or... the list goes on and on.

And then we hear about the failure to keep our side of the bargain, & the first response is that it has to be the fault of the Democrats or Congress or some nameless whomever.

We ask people to stand up and volunteer, sometimes give the ultimate for us, and we ask them without asking their politics. But as soon as they need help, too many people use any excuse and every excuse to waffle and do nothing while actual soldiers are suffering actual pain.

I want the people who fail our soldiers named and punished. I want them embarrassed to show their weasely faces around decent people.

I am a responsible person. I would like to think that I vote responsible people into office. So the one thing I do not want to hear when soldiers go wanting and are in pain is a whiny "It's somebody else's fault". The soldiers don't whine. They soldiers are responsible. Our government needs to be, too.

No nameless blame - action - fix the soldier's problems and fire/punish/publicize the people responsible

The one thing soldiers should never have to worry about is how we will treat them if they need us.

Not a slam against ALL VA Dr’s, but (with his attitude)
You should have told him if it wasn’t for you he would probably be pumping gas or cleaning bed pans....
Mind you, I just had cataract surgery (both eyes) at a VA Hospital and was very impressed with the service, treatment and care in general...Although I don’t have much to go by since the last time I was in a hospital (as patient) was in Yokosuka Japan 1959 and have basically not been to a Doctor since getting out of the Navy.....

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