When asked if America is
honoring her veterans, the fair answer is probably a debatable
“yes.” If, however, the question is, “Are we honoring them
enough?” the answer has to be an embarrassing “no.”
We should always be mindful
of President Kennedy’s statement, “As we express our gratitude,
we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to
utter words, but to live by them.” Although many of us are
pleased to thank those wearing military uniforms for their
service when we bump into them on our streets and in our
airports, what else are we actually doing for our
veterans? As the author Cynthia Ozick once wrote, “We often
take for granted the very things that most deserve our
gratitude.” Among all the treasures of America, veterans are
probably the most valuable natural resource that Americans take
for granted.
Since the time of Plymouth
Colony, our country has provided pensions and other limited
services to our veterans who became disabled in her defense.
America also instituted the GI Bill to assist its Greatest
Generation
(providing veterans with limited financial support for education
and housing) when it
returned from World War II. More recently, however, we’ve read
about the scandals at Walter Reed Army Medical Center where
claims of neglect and deterioration led to the forced
resignation of a handful of generals (including the Secretary of
the Army) and resulted in numerous government investigations.
The media has also reported that today’s military suicide rates
are the highest they have been since records have been kept.
Although our nation has done a great deal to honor and care for
our veterans in the past, we obviously aren’t doing enough for
them today and we have to ask ourselves, “Why aren’t we doing
more?”
It seems that far too many people are disconnected from (or
disinterested in) our veterans. This may be because few of our
neighbors and politicians seem to have served in the military,
or even have veterans in their family. People may be wearing
American flag lapel pins in record numbers (which is absolutely
a good thing) but how many are wearing pins showing that they
have served or have a family member in the service? Without a
personal frame of reference or sense of loss, I believe it’s
difficult to understand and respect the sacrifices of our
veterans -- and to honor them appropriately.
I am privileged to have had
veterans in my family for generations. In fact, a member of my
family has served in almost every armed conflict in which
America has been involved. I believe that stories about
soldiers landing on the beaches of Normandy have to mean more to
you if they are about your great-great uncle. An HBO series
about the war in the Pacific is less a matter of mere historical
entertainment if your great uncle served at Bougainville, Iwo
Jima, Guadalcanal, Okinawa and Tarawa and credited his survival
with being “lucky” enough to have been wounded early in each of
these epic battles. One’s sense of history is probably also
skewed when your father currently serves in the same New York
Army National Guard unit in which his great uncle served during
the “War to End All Wars” and then again in World War II. The
War on Terror may also seem more relevant and personal when your
father is waiting to see when his unit will next be
deployed.
They say that those serving in
the National Guard are “twice the citizen.” I believe that this
applies to all veterans. I was lucky enough to be born in
America and, almost by default, am blessed with American
citizenship. I have spent my entire life enjoying the freedoms
others have obtained and maintained for me. It is not an
accident that this country has historically made it easier for
immigrants who have honorably served in our military to become
citizens. After all, if an individual is willing to forfeit
his/her life for America, how can you not honor them with
citizenship? But what about the vast majority of those who
served and were already citizens when they joined up or
were drafted? How can we ever sufficiently honor them?
There are certainly many private programs devoted to helping
those serving and who have served our country. For instance, an
infantry soldier with a traumatic brain injury can reach out to
Project Victory. While a National Guardsman is deployed,
his daughter’s piano classes can be made possible through Our
Military Kids. And although these programs are great, it
speaks volumes that they are privately funded and
operated. I believe we need to expand the resources provided to
our military and our veterans as a people and as a country. Our
military and our veterans should not need to rely on the charity
of private individuals to support themselves and their
families.
It may be that the real problem when it comes to honoring our
veterans is the collective attitude of the American People. Too
many of us apparently feel that America is not at war -- it’s
just her military. Where is our collective responsibility as
a Nation? We must remember that no matter what our opinions
on the current war (or any other), these soldiers and sailors
are fighting to maintain our freedom, and we must support them.
This issue is not a matter of policy or government; it is a
matter of people putting their lives on the line to protect
ours.
As in the past, the benefits
we give our veterans today are an obvious reflection of the
cultural and political views of our military. When a veteran
dies, a flag is given to his or her family as a token “on behalf
of a grateful nation.” It seems, however, that the
“gratefulness” of our nation very much depends on the times. I
believe that America can only be said to honor her veterans
when, as a country, we fully recognize what veterans have
actually given us – the ability to exist as a nation. Although
there are many noble forms of public service, it is only the
veteran who has left his or her home – sometimes for years at a
time – to risk his/her life and earn our freedoms. We as
a nation are lucky that veterans believe in deeds, not just
words. Because I believe we owe so much to veterans, I can only
wonder why we aren’t doing more to actually honor them.
|