A Homeless Veteran's Day

When you think about Veteran's Day, do you think about what it's like in a veteran's day, every day of the year? Do you think about the wounds they have to live with or the memories they have? Do you think about the hundreds of thousands who spent another sleepless night haunted by nightmares so vivid they were not sure where they were when they woke up? Do you think about how they function after those nights or how they survive with the daily flashbacks? Do you think about the families that fell apart because of PTSD, or the stress of being away from those serving today? Do you think about them being homeless, begging for change on the streets, sleeping in cardboard boxes, park benches or in the shelters when they are lucky enough to find an empty bed?

These are the things they deal with everyday of the year. Sure, there are some who come home fine and get on with their futures, but too many have yet to recover from their past as active duty. These are the ones I think about everyday. Anyone with a family member in the military or veteran, thinks of these things constantly. Veteran's Day to all of us is everyday.

Vietnam was really no different from Iraq. There are those who agree with it and those who do not. Some were drafted into Vietnam and some went willingly. Today they all volunteered but they did not all volunteer to stay. In the long run, these things have little to do with what they deal with as veterans. A limb blown off of someone who was regretting being where they are hurts just as much as someone who still believes in why they are risking their lives. PTSD hits both sides just as a bullet shows no favoritism. The price they pay for what they are asked to do should be repaid but this will only begin to be repaid if we listen to them, take care of what they need and finally understand that our obligation to them begins when we send them into combat and does not end until the lives they were willing to risk are returned home to God. They risk their lives for us, doing what we ask of them.

I just did a new video on homeless veterans in America and you can watch it below on this blog. To have homeless in this nation is terrible but to have homeless veterans is a disgrace. We build monuments to them instead of shelters. Millions are being raised to build a monument to disabled veterans right now, when we need to be rebuilding their lives. On Veteran's Day this year, do something for them. Change your heart to see them instead of just walking by them. Donate some money to a shelter in your state, or clothes, or time. Give them something back that will really matter to them.

Kathie Costos
Namguardianangel@aol.com
www.Namguardianangel.org
www.Namguardianangel.blogspot.com
www.Woundedtimes.blogspot.com
"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington