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EDITORIAL: THIS MEMORIAL DAY, HONOR THE LIVING,
TOO --
Too many veterans are struggling with medical
or financial
problems. By the editorial board of the Denver
Post.
Story here...
http://www.denverpost.
com/headlines/ci_6002550
Story below:
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This Memorial Day, honor the living, too
Too many veterans are struggling with medical
or financial problems.
By The Denver Post Editorial Board
On Memorial Day, America honors the men and women who, in Abraham
Lincoln's words, gave their "last full measure of devotion" to this
country through their service in the U.S. armed forces.
It is wholly right and proper that we should remember those who gave
their lives so that our nation and our freedom would endure. But
honoring the dead is not enough. We must also repay our living veterans
for their valor and sacrifices to the extent that it is in our power to
do so.
Unfortunately, over the years, the U.S. government has often lavished
more rhetoric than money on the problems of veterans who have survived
their military service but are struggling with physical, emotional or
financial problems in their efforts to readjust to civilian life.
The scandalous treatment of some wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army
Medical Center is a recent example of this official neglect of our
honored living. Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives moved to
erase that blot on our national honor by approving several bills that
will benefit veterans and active-duty servicemen alike, including one
aimed at improving screening and treatment of veterans with traumatic
brain injuries.
Another measure will extend health care eligibility for combat veterans,
provide more chiropractic care and expand outreach programs to ensure
that veterans get the benefits they deserve.
It should be noted that Walter Reed is operated by the Department of
Defense to treat service members still on active duty. The Department of
Veterans Affairs, after wide-ranging reforms initiated under President
Bill Clinton, does a much better job of caring for the needs of veterans
discharged from active duty. In Colorado, the VA has announced it will
open a new health clinic in Burlington to serve about 10,000 veterans on
the Eastern Plains. The new facility will augment two VA hospitals in
Denver and Grand Junction and 11 community- based clinics.
Despite this generally good record of the VA, one area of veterans
benefits - the GI Bill - urgently needs reform.
The stipends paid to veterans under the GI Bill - a maximum of $1,075 a
month - have fallen far behind the current costs of a college education.
Those benefits should be increased and also extended to National Guard
and Reserve members who have been called up to active duty. Without such
incentives, it is going to be increasingly difficult to recruit and
retain citizen soldiers in the wake of the burdens imposed on them by
the Iraq war.
Today, all Americans should join in honoring those killed in our wars.
But we should also resolve to repay our debt to the living who have
served our country so well.
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Larry Scott --
