Veterans Day 2009
Veterans Day 2009 has a different meaning this year as we look back only days ago to the Fort Hood shooting.
The first Armistice Day was on Nov. 11, 1919, and it marked the one year anniversary of the end of World War I. It is what many proclaimed, with an optimism that turned out to be an over exaggeration, The War To End All Wars.
Veterans Day became a U.S. national holiday in 1938 and in 1954 was renamed Veterans Day to honor all veterans. With the end of the draft and the end of the World War II generation, military service is not the common denominator in American life it was once was.
There are currently 23.2 million veterans, down from a peak of 28.6 million in 1980. There is no danger of those numbers dwindling. But, are we taking care of our veterans? I do not think we are and I bet if you ask any vet, they will say the same thing.
As the scandalous treatment of the wounded undergoing rehabilitation at Walter Reed Army Medical Center showed, bureaucracies can move in fits and starts. I am encouraged that the Obama administration, especially the Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, have undertaken several worthwhile initiatives.
We will see what the end results are.
Both have pledged to attack the cumbersome and maddeningly complex paperwork needed to process veterans’ disability. These claims have created a very large backlog at the VA. They have doubled the funding for treatment of the side effects of the nature of the fighting for our Vets from Iraq and Afghanistan…traumatic brain injuries and mental health issues.
Veterans Day 2009 makes me want to know what happened to our Vietnam Vets?
Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki has also promised to end veterans’ homelessness in five year period. There are an estimated 130,000 homeless veterans in America. That’s figure is down substantially from 195,000 six years ago, but Shinseki doesn’t believe any should be homeless. He proposes to attack the problem by preventing veterans from becoming homeless in the first place.
Sunday, November 8th, 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to vamp up the federal government’s employment of veterans across its agencies.
Congress has passed a law to make the VA’s funding more secure and predictable, rather than leaving it to the lawmakers’ mood swings. That means that our Congress had been sitting on their thumbs with the VA’s budget in 20 of the last 23 years.
Remember, we vote who goes to Congress.
Our Veterans have justification that publicity about veterans tends to focus on those with problems. America’s post-World War II economic boom was fired by the millions returning from the armed services with new skills, confidence, discipline and the ability to work with others and within an organization. Today’s newly minted vets are no different but are getting less benefits…
Here is the 2009 Salute to the Marines from the CEO of GoDaddy.
Veterans Day 2009 is a day to remember those who have served our country. BBAC says Thank You to all of our Veterans.
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