Lest We Forget

Op-Ed for Memorial Day: Lest We Forget
Written by Linda Seebeth
Monday, 24 May 2010 09:00
May 20, 2010, Issaquah, Washington (Issaquah Reporter Editorial) - Memorial Day became a national day of remembrance thanks to the efforts of wives and mothers of fallen soldiers. Civil War widows lobbied for years until Memorial Day - originally Decoration Day - was officially proclaimed in 1868.

Those women lost loved ones and didn’t want the rest of the United States to forget the painful costs of war.

Today, just as back then, our veterans and their families primarily carry the enormous burden of war for the rest of society.

Memorial Day is commemorated one day a year, yet many of our fellow Americans live Memorial Day every day of their lives.

This I know, because when I married my husband, in many ways I married Vietnam.

Forty-one years ago, John was a young soldier filled with the idealism of youth. He was a medic and volunteered to fly aboard helicopter ambulances. Unarmed Army medevacs- Dustoff had the highest casualty rate of all aeronautical units in Vietnam.

After nine months of flying rescue missions, John took a hit from an AK-47. Today, he still breathes and speaks from a hole in his neck - a daily reminder of the gunshot wound he received in Vietnam.

Every war causes loss of life and limb. And every war creates disabled veterans with lifelong physical challenges.

While treating the wounded, John saw sights in the chopper’s cargo bay that no one would ever want to see - and no one could easily forget. He doesn’t want to remember the pleading, frightened eyes of grotesquely wounded soldiers or the whimpering of dying Vietnamese children.

But those memories are etched deep inside him. I have learned that war does not always end when the warrior comes home.

He’s not the same Johnny anymore.
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http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/index.php/veterans-category-articles/1715-linda-seebeth

also on Veterans For Common Sense

VCS Invited to Testify Before Congress

Our pro-veteran advocacy continues to be recognized by Congress
. On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, Veterans for Common Sense will be honored to testify before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee regarding the "State of the Veterans Benefits Administration."

Yes, that means VCS will be offering our suggestions on how to fix the broken and overwhelmed VBA. We support VBA staff who are trying their best under difficult circumstances and burdensome rules.
VCS also hopes help is on the horizon.

We recently asked VA when it would publish final regulations to streamline and modernize PTSD claims. VA replied the agency is still working on new regulations. We hope they come out soon. The longer it takes VA to write new rules based on new scientific evidence, then the longer veterans wait for healthcare and benefits.

For a sample of what we plan to say to Congress about VBA, please visit our new program web site http://www.fixva.org/.


This week's update is mostly about veterans' issues.

Here's a news clip providing an example of why VA urgently needs reform. Journalist Michael Sedon at NorthJersey.com reports on the plight of an Iraq War veteran facing multiple VA challenges. Please read the article and see how VCS is fighting for research and treatment for illnesses related to exposure to depleted uranium, a radioactive toxic waste.

Gulf War veteran and Army Times investigative reporter Kelly Kennedy reveals how PTSD may harm veterans' immune system.

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), who sits in the important Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, is quoted in by the Fayetteville Observer describing VA as having "a culture of no" when it comes to veterans' benefits.

Even other top government officials recognize VA is held back by old, inadequate technology. In an article by Eliot Van Buskirk for Wired Magazine, President Obama's chief information officer Vivek Kundra says VA poses a challenge to itself and veterans because VA uses such outdated technology.