Vietnam Veterans Remembered

When you hear news reports about Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, there are some things you need to know.

America’s homeless veterans have served in World War II, the Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, Grenada, Panama, Lebanon, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq (OEF/OIF), and the military’s anti-drug cultivation efforts in South America. Nearly half of homeless veterans served during the Vietnam era.

Two-thirds served our country for at least three years, and one-third were stationed in a war zone.

About 1.4 million other veterans, meanwhile, are considered at risk of homelessness due to poverty, lack of support networks, and dismal living conditions in overcrowded or substandard housing.

Before there were Veterans Courts, this was life looked like for some our veterans

There were an estimated 140,000 veterans held in state and federal prisons. State prisons held 127,500 of these veterans, and federal prisons held 12,500.

Male veterans were half as likely as other men to be held in prison (630 prisoners per 100,000 veterans, compared to 1,390 prisoners per 100,000 non-veteran U.S. residents). This gap had been increasing since the 1980s.

Veterans in both state and federal prison were almost exclusively male (99 percent).

The median age (45) of veterans in state prison was 12 years older than that of non-veterans (33). Non-veteran inmates (55%) were nearly four times more likely than veterans (14%) to be under the age of 35.

Veterans were much better educated than other prisoners. Nearly all veterans in state prison (91%) reported at least a high school diploma or GED, while an estimated 40% of non-veterans lacked either.

Pro Bono Resources for Veterans American Bar Association has a list by state where you can find legal help.

Vietnam veterans had been kicked out when they needed help, much like the newer veterans today still find as repayment for their sacrifices. It took a lawsuit before their records were reviewed.

“This decision will not be a blanket approval for every upgrade request, but it does open an avenue for those veterans who may have been diagnosed with PTSD years after separation to submit new evidence and hopefully correct an injustice from the past,” said John W. Stroud, the national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States organization.

The Pentagon will now likely face scrutiny over how quickly petitions are processed, and what it will do for those affected. The lawsuit said 250,000 Vietnam-era veterans received other-than-honorable discharges, and that 80,000 of them could have post-traumatic stress.

Still as Vietnam veterans returned home, turned away from the major veterans organizations, they started their own group. Vietnam Veterans of America. Unlike the other groups though, they understood what it was like to be thought of as less than the other generations.

VVA'S FOUNDING PRINCIPLE "Never again will one generation of veterans abandon another."

Suicides are another subject that shows they have been left behind. While the false reports of 22 a day were supposed to be about all veterans, most folks thought it only meant the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's the truth on that one.

Veteran suicide numbers have gone up in recent years with much of the attention focused on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan killing themselves. However, almost seven out of 10 veterans who have committed suicide were over the age of 50, according to a Department of Veterans Affairs study.

There were no wounds Vietnam veterans came home with that were different other than battlefield medicine had more surviving. There is no wound the newer generation suffers from today that is new, other than yet again, battlefield medicine has helped more survive.

The only difference between Vietnam veterans is they decided to fight for the wounds no one could see to be treated. They pushed for all the research done on PTSD. What was done to the was wrong and it is still going on.

When you watch this new video on Vietnam Veterans Remembered, ask yourself why they have been forgotten about then ask yourself what you can do to make sure they are not last of the list of veterans needing help.