There are some things they do that we can't put a price on

Friday I was at the Orlando VA with my husband. When I walked by the reception desk, there was this picture of General Eric K. Shinseki and a picture of President Obama. I smiled as I walked by and felt so much better than in years of going there or to other VA hospitals. The Orlando VA is the size of a hospital but it is just a clinic. The new hospital being built in Lake Nona isn't scheduled to open until 2012. Until then, the parking lot will still not have enough space even when the snow birds go back north, the waiting rooms will still be full and every eye I see in the halls will remind me of the price paid by so many.

It is all a reminder of how far the VA has come in such little time. It greatly saddens me when I hear veterans bash President Obama and claim Democrats are evil, yet had it not been for them taking control of congress in 2007, this would all be so much worse for our veterans. It's not that Republicans don't care but they had other things on their mind. I heard them and read their speeches about having two wars to pay for and used that as a reason to not fix the VA to take care of those they sent to Iraq and Afghanistan any better than they had taken care of older veterans still waiting for care.

President Obama was on the Veterans Committee when things started getting better, funding was increased and there was hope once more for our veterans. He knows there is so much more that needs to be done and I am one never reluctant to post on how much they still need to get right, but when it comes to "change" he promised in his campaign speeches, it is "change" I can believe in.

There is such a great need out there for them across the country. The VA needs us to help them take care of the men and women we claim to care so much about. Showing up for parades, visiting a cemetery or monument to their sacrifices is wonderful but as we try to raise funds to build more, there are living monuments to our freedom suffering and waiting for this nation to live up to the promises.

With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in
the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on
to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds;
to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow,
and his orphan--to do all which may achieve and cherish a just
and lasting peace among ourselves, and with all nations.
President Lincoln

Or take these words seriously enough that we run out of excuses to not take care of our veterans. That we live up to the true worthiness of being a grateful nation toward them.

"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

There needs to be people stepping up across the country to really take care of them. The VA can only do so much. We need to stop saying "let the VA do it" because between now and then, there are veterans suffering for their service. These men and women, no matter how severe their wounds are, still say they would serve again, do it all over again for the sake of those they served with. The bond built by combat surpasses all understanding of human nature because we see the situation with human eyes instead of loving ways. They loved each other and were willing to die for each other. How great is that in a time when so many others only think of themselves?

So what's our problem? They need us. Where are you? What are you doing? Joining any of the organizations trying to take care of them? Donating to any of the charities dedicated to veterans? Spending any time as a volunteer at a VA hospital? Volunteering any time to mow the law of an elderly veteran or helping one get to the VA when they cannot drive themselves? It's never enough to make us ever feel as if there is nothing more we can do when they did it all and still want to do more.

Shinseki Extols Value of Volunteerism

Volunteers "Priceless" to VA, Country



WASHINGTON (May 15, 2010) - Random acts of kindness are nice, but
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki told graduates at the
University of Maryland University College (UMUC) that the world needs
more "people who are regularly, habitually and deliberately kind."

"We can no more put a value on kindness than we can put a price on
heroism," Shinseki told nearly 1,300 graduates. "People who make caring for others a personal devotion, a part of their everyday lives, that's what's needed - people who are willing to serve the needs of others."

At the Department of Veterans Affairs, Shinseki noted, about 140,000
volunteers help Veterans at VA's hospitals, Vet Centers and cemeteries.
Conservatively, VA prices their time as worth $240 million, while the
volunteers also contribute more than $80 million yearly in gifts and
donations.



"There are some things they do that we can't put a price on. Not
everything can be reduced to a dollar value," Shinseki added. "What's
the price of a Thank you? How about an hour of patience? What's the
going rate for dignity and respect for a combat Veteran? Such values
cannot be calculated."



The VA Secretary noted that Veterans in the class of 2010 were the first
to take advantage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, the largest improvement in
the traditional educational program since its inception in 1944.



"By time [the original GI Bill] ended in 1956, it had profoundly
transformed America economically, educationally and socially,
catapulting our economy to the world's largest and our nation to a
global leader and a victor in the Cold War," Shinseki said.



He saluted the UMUC staff for their programs tailored to the educational
needs of the men and women on active duty. About 60,000 of the school's
100,000 students are military personnel. The school operates on 130
military installations, including four in Iraq and four in Afghanistan.



"UMUC and the military have long shared a vital partnership in
education," said Shinseki, a retired Army four-star general. "Wherever
the Army went campaigning, UMUC went with us."