Veterans filing for disability benefits at highest rate in history

This is what happens when people do not pay attention. When troops were sent into Afghanistan, there were less doctors and nurses working for the VA than during the Gulf War. When wounded were coming back from Afghanistan and the push was on to get Vietnam veterans to file claims for PTSD and Agent Orange by service groups, more troops were sent into Iraq. No one thought about the veterans from any wars. What did voters do? Nothing. They did not hold their politicians accountable. It didn't matter if they were Republican or Democrat, Independent or didn't vote at all, veterans should always be a national issue since this nation sends them from every part of this country.

If you want to really say you honor the fallen then we better do a better job of taking care of the living.

Iraq, Afghanistan vets filing for disability benefits at highest rate in history
Meg Farris
Eyewitness News

NEW ORLEANS -- The men and women veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan are filing for disability benefits at the highest rate in U.S. history.

Forty-five percent are seeking claims. That's double the rate from the Gulf War in the 1990s.

At Monday's Memorial Day gatherings, wounded veterans of the past talked about their experience with getting benefits. People in the packed Fleet Reserve Association hall in Gretna stood to salute the flag and sing the Star-Spangled Banner.

These veterans came home a generation or two ago with unforgettable experiences.

"We were being shot at when a Viet Cong with an M79 grenade launcher, and it is frightful when you hear those things coming in, and there was an explosion. I didn't know where I was," said James Tompson.

He is a marine and a Vietnam veteran who was awarded the Purple Heart when his arm was injured. Four years ago he filed for disability benefits for a brain condition. He is still waiting.

"Especially when it comes to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and either anything, it seems to be taking an awfully long time for the VA to sort it out," said Tompson.
read more here