As the wife of a veteran and a veterans advocate I know
too well how little respect in so many ways a veteran receives. Old men start wars and young men and women fight them. It is so hypocritical to have a day to honor
veterans and see the injustices that these men and women
deal with everyday.
There are homeless veterans, veterans who struggle every single day on the streets and are given the run around with
VA Healthcare. There are so many vets and so few individuals who really do care about these people except on Nov. 11th. .
Family and friends and if a veteran is disabled, these people are scarce except for Veterans Day. They don't even call all year and then say, "Happy Veterans Day". Trust me, there is nothing happy about it. Veterans who are disabled from combat conditions do not do ver well on Veterans day or the 4th of July or Memorial Day. Christmas is no picnic either. They isolate themselves or check into the psych ward at a local VA if there is a bed.
Some go on benders for days on end. Some disappear into the woods. It is a good time to set aside a day to honor veterans but that is like Sunday pew sitting. Honor those who served everyday. Never forget to say to that man or woman Thank you. Welcome Home. Do you need anything?
Tears are being fought back from my eyes as I write this diary because as a wife, I know too well, how Veterans deal with things. The nightmares never end. The whole family learns to adjust to the isolation or the memory loss or when to just be quite and say nothing. Americans gather to place flags on graves and get together for a parade to honor former soldiers. In the meantime, when people like me ask them for a dollar to help a vet they quickly say we are in hard times and we can't help. AAAaah.....We must have asked on a day other than Nov 11th.
The huge corporations with the people who have money will step over a veteran before offering them a place to live. They won't volunteer at the local VA and these same folks making decisions to show up for a parade won't hesitate to shut off the power or water or throw them from their homes
There are so many vets and so few individuals who really do care about these people except on Nov. 11th. There are too many vet organizations who are lobbyists and just provide a place to play bingo, not really help. I know of a few who cater more to the special interest than the veteran.
We see these men and women with their canes and hobbling around doing the best they can to forget why they are in the position they are and only asking for respect and consideration on days other than Veterans Day.
I say to you all, we need to quit making combat veterans.One can serve in the uniform but war all the time needs to stop. Those that fight wars we start with no end. We need to remember the soldier that has been discarded after the uniform comes off and we need to reach out everyday.
Some go on about their lives and some of us live this life every day and deal with financial and other issues as well.
Don't just say thank you..Roll your sleeves up and try to
make a difference in a veteran and veteran's family's life.
Trust me, it is not an easy life and worst for the ones who
are homeless, addicted and suffering. They all suffer. They may not tell you that but no one goes to war and comes back the same. Some want to continue fighting as now many are broken and discarded and they live in their minds of a time when they were young and strong and bold.
Thank you for your service
God Bless the Veteran and their families
I am sorry your government has not given you a Cost of living increase and I am sorry you are in pain and I am appreciative of you every day, not just Veterans Day.
George Jones's wife, a friend of mine, encouraged me to use this video to get out the point of homeless vets and this was made before Iraq and Afghanistan.
http://www.youtube.com/...
QUOTE FROM Hank Williams....
You will meet many just like me upon life's busy street.
with shoulders stooped and heads bowed low and eyes that stare in defeat.
Poor souls that live within the past where sorrow plays all parts,
for a living death is all that's left for men with broken hearts.
You have no right to be the judge, to criticize and condemn.
Just think but for the grace of God it would be you instead of him.
One careless step, a thoughtless deed and then the misery starts
and to those who weep death comes cheap, these men with broken hearts.
Oh so humble you should be when they come passing by,
for its written that the greatest of men never get too big to cry.
Some lose faith in love and life when sorrow shoots her darts,
with hope all gone, they walk alone these men with broken hearts.
You've never walked in that man's shoes or saw things through his eyes,
or stood and watched with helpless hands while the heart inside you dies.
Some were paupers, some were kings, some were masters of the arts,
but in their shame they're all the same, these men with broken hearts.
Life sometimes can be so cruel that a heart will pray for death.
God why must these living dead know pain with every breath?
So help your brother along the road, no matter where he starts!
For the God that made you, made them too. These men with broken hearts!