[From the diaries - BarbinMD]
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The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
I forget sometimes how fortunate I am to live in close proximity to a city rich with history, memorials, museums and beauty. One thing that we aren't lacking for are memorials dedicated to particular wars, battles, and the military.
While I appreciate these monuments and honor the sacrifice which spelled their necessity, I'm not certain that we are memorializing the right things.
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Vietnam Veteran's Memorial |
I remember visiting the
Vietnam Veteran's Memorial shortly after its dedication on Veteran's Day 25 years ago. My family waited until the following spring to visit, combining a trip to The Wall with a visit to the
Tidal Basin to see the Cherry Blossoms. I was 15 at the time, and I was undoubtedly focused on things that didn't much consider history. In fact, if I recall correctly, I was quite the pill when informed that I would NOT be staying home to watch MTV (which was new at the time - man I'm old!), I would be making the annual family trek
with the family.
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World War II Memorial |
I still remember when we first walked near The Wall, near enough for it to truly come into view. Flowers were everywhere. Dog tags lay on the ground. Photos lay with dog tags and flowers. Remembrances competed with each other in an unbroken line at the base of the wall. People stood by, close, looking - reading - searching for a name. Some had found them and stood touching a name on the wall. Still others touched and wept. I must have been rooted to the spot, gaping, because my mother told me not to stare.
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Korean War Memorial |
That was probably the first time I remembered really connecting to wars and consequences and devastation. I was profoundly moved by that trip and, as my parents can attest, picked their brains forever after about what it was like to be alive in the 60s and how they felt about Vietnam past and present. It was one of those moments in life when you can feel your outlook fundamentally altered and, in some ways, your innocence irretrievably lost.
These memorials exist for us to see and reflect, to draw our own conclusions about how we feel or felt about a particular war and make judgments as to the war's relative "rightness" or "wrongness". I deeply appreciate these memorials despite the fact that in some ways they glorify battle, something which should be avoided at all costs. What I mean is, if you were an alien who was dropped in the middle of Arlington at the Iwo Jima Memorial or you were dropped into the center of the World War II Memorial you'd see odes and testaments to bravery and patriotism that wouldn't necessarily tell the real story of the war itself. It would utterly lack context. Yet living in this country and being reasonably well-educated allows me to appreciate the memorials within their respective proper contexts.
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The sign reads: "Vet Air Force. Dont use drugs or drink. Money for food". |
The Memorials You Don't See
I didn't write this diary, however, to talk about the beauty of our national war memorials or to specifically discuss the bravery of the individuals honored or the folly or wisdom of the particular war itself. Rather, this diary operates in reverse order of my thought process as I rose this morning and reflected on Veteran's Day. It made me think of a report I saw on CNN last Thursday, one which featured this staggering opening:
More than 25 percent of the homeless population in the United States are military veterans, although they represent 11 percent of the civilian adult population, according to a new report.
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The sign reads: "Homeless veteran very sick with liver disease. Lost job after 21 years. Please help. God bless you." |
I personally see them every single time I go downtown, which is several times a week. They stand at the light where Roosavelt Bridge ends and becomes Constitution Avenue at the entrance to DC. They walk up and down between the cars, carrying signs. Most people ignore them - but I always roll my window down and give them some money (and yes - I realize it could be a scam but my conscience won't allow me to ignore them on the chance that it's
not), usually moved by the signs they carry. Recently, I've seen these vets moving farther out of the city. They appear at busy intersections along the DC Metro lines having traveled, presumably, to greener pastures.
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Disabled homeless veteran. |
One thing that I'm also noticing is the change in the
appearance of these vets. They have, sadly, been a mainstay in DC and the always seemed roughly the age of a Vietnam vet. Yet lately, younger faces have been appearing on the streets of DC and holding signs. I suspect this is something that is going to continue to increase, given the dire state of funding for Veteran's care coupled with the appalling lack of wellness care afforded the current Iraq War veterans. The CNN article touched on this as well:
Veterans such as Jason Kelley find themselves in a Catch-22, not able to find a job because of the lack of an apartment, and not being able to get an apartment because of not having a job, The Associated Press reported.
"The only training I have is infantry training, and there's not really a need for that in the civilian world," the AP quoted Kelley as saying in a phone interview. In addition, he has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, he told the AP. Kelley served in Iraq with the Wisconsin National Guard, the news agency said.
There have been some great diaries on PTSD here at Daily Kos (follow the link to all 502 of them), and I believe that the readership here understands what a huge problem it already is and its potential for growth. In a system that already clearly can't accommodate the unique needs of veterans, I'm sick to think about how many Iraq War vets will degenerate from lack of proper mental and physical care and join the ranks of the veteran homeless in the coming years. I sadly expect that the faces will continue to get younger, blending in with the older, telling a story of literally generations of veterans tossed aside by a system that doesn't serve their needs or interests.
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Remembering ALL Veterans on Veteran's Day. |
So coming full-circle - I appreciate the memorials. I do. But most of these memorials honor the dead. Yes, the living may be represented, but The Wall, for example, is all about the dead. It's about those who died in service to our country, right or wrong. The irony is that
YARDS AWAY from The Vietnam Memorial you see homeless veterans. I always wonder, when I see them, if they believe that the people on The Wall itself were the lucky ones. Here is a living person who gazes at a memorial to those who didn't survive yet he, the living, is dishonored daily. The irony is enough to make me cry.
As I watched the ceremony laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this morning and saw that it was Cheney who did the honors and heard the reporter stating that Bush was in Crawford engaged in "critical meetings", I became incensed. That passed, though - because I don't know how I could expect better of a person who didn't serve and who currently treats living veterans like GARBAGE. The only bright spot with this Veteran's Day and the days leading up to it was the attention that the homeless veteran story received within the more mainstream press. What better time to show the criminal treatment veterans are receiving than nearly simultaneous with Cheney's wreath-laying and Bush's speech at the Waco VFD? Does he think that whatever words he spoke this day have truly spoken louder than his actions?
Sadly, there are living memorials across this country. Right now I can tell you for certain that there's an encampment under an overpass on 395 north - I see them there all the time, camped out. They are more valuable than any stone or engraving that men's minds can conceive.