Veterans want attention from candidates

United States Marine Vietnam veteran Wayne Wood of Central City discusses his time in the service and problems he faced afterward with Cedar Rapids sisters Mary Arenas (middle) and Paula Arenas Huber before the Circle of Friends for American Veterans began Operation United Reveille at the Knights of Columbus Council 909 in Cedar Rapids tonight. The Arenas sisters' father served in World War II and dealt with post traumatic stress his entire life.

Veterans want attention from candidates
By Adam Belz
The Gazette
adam.belz@gazettecommunications.com


CEDAR RAPIDS — More than a thousand veterans are homeless in Iowa, and the Department of Veterans Affairs funds only 56 beds for them, Brian Hampton, president of Circle of Friends for American Veterans, said tonight.

Hampton's organization kicked off a series of rallies called Operation United Reveille. The point of the tour is that many veterans believe the government that sends American men and women to war does not take care of them when they return.

The tour is following the key early states in the presidential campaign to try to get candidates to address veterans issues, which Hampton thinks have been largely ignored in the campaign and by the national media.

"The VA is doing little or nothing for homeless vets," Hampton said. "We're going to put the politicians' feet to the fire, 'cause when they feel the heat, they see the light."